Global health isn’t just technical, it’s political. In this episode of The Scholars Table, we sit with Seye Abimbola to unpack how knowledge, power, and voice shape what gets funded, published, and implemented in global health.

We discuss:

• How power determines whose knowledge is seen as legitimate

• Representation vs real shifts in power

• What early-career researchers misunderstand about publishing & peer review

• How peer review can be rigorous AND just

• How to stay critical in global health without becoming cynical

• Graduate study & academic opportunities in Australia (University of Sydney context)

Discover what it really takes to stand out in PhD applications, excel in doctoral interviews, and build a meaningful, long-term academic research career.

In this episode, Professor Ana Navas-Acien shares practical, experience-driven insights on PhD selection, mentorship, academic leadership, and how to create impactful research that lasts beyond publications.

Whether you’re preparing for a PhD interview, choosing mentors, navigating academic culture, or aiming to become a future research leader, this conversation breaks down the hidden signals committees look for and the habits that sustain a successful academic career over decades.

In this wide-ranging conversation, we sit down with Dr. Albert Hofman, Chair of the Department of Epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, to go beyond rankings, GPAs, and buzzwords.

Dr. Hofman shares rare insight from decades of global academic leadership, covering PhD admissions, mentorship, funding cuts, and the future of epidemiology in an era shaped by AI, climate change, and widening inequities.

This episode is essential viewing for PhD applicants, early-career researchers, faculty, and global health leaders, especially those navigating elite academic spaces from outside traditional pipelines.

In this powerful and historic conversation, we sit down with Professor. Keshia M. Pollack Porter, the first Black Dean and only the second woman to lead the #1 school of public health in the USA, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in more than a century.

This is the beginning of a new vision for public health, leadership, and the next generation of change-makers.

The Dean opens up about her early life, her academic journey, and the leadership lessons that shaped her rise within one of the world’s most influential public health institutions.

What does it take to move from clinical work to shaping global policy? In this episode of Global Health Uncensored, we sit down with a leading health economist and former senior advisor to multilateral institutions who now leads global impact measurement at one of the world’s largest companies.

She shares how her early medical training in Nigeria shaped her systems thinking, how she navigated career pivots into health economics and policy, and what it really means to drive change in complex institutions.

Former CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden joins us to discuss what the world must do now to prevent the next pandemic.

From lessons learned during COVID-19 to actionable steps for global health security, this conversation reveals what it takes to protect lives and strengthen health systems worldwide.

#TomFrieden #GlobalHealth #PandemicPreparedness #BandaGlobalForum

What does it really take to succeed in global health? In this eye-opening episode of The Scholars Table, Dr. Ngozi shares the unfiltered truth about building a sustainable and impactful career in public health, beyond the classroom and credentials.

From navigating career transitions and fieldwork challenges to thriving as a woman of color in high-stakes leadership roles, Dr. Ngozi unpacks the real mindset, skills, and strategies you need to make it in global health today.

In this powerful episode of The Scholars Table, Dr. Banda Khalifa sits down with Prof. Madhukar Pai, the Inaugural Chair of the Department of Global and Public Health at McGill University and Canada Research Chair in Epidemiology & Global Health, for an unfiltered conversation on the state of global health today.

Prof. Pai offers not just critique, but also clarity —a call to reimagine global health with equity, justice, and local leadership at its center.