Back March 31, 2021

SE Health is pleased to announce that Reza Hosseini is the winner of the 2020 Michael Decter Scholarship for Health Leadership and Policy Studies.

The Scholarship, in its 10th year, seeks high-performing students entering a first-year graduate health leadership or policy program who are passionate about making a difference in Canadian healthcare. The scholarship supports students across the country and reflects Michael Decter’s exceptional health leadership and legacy.

Reza Hosseini is a Master of Public Health student at the School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia (UBC). Born in Iran, Hosseini graduated with a Doctor of Medicine degree from the Iran University of Medical Sciences (IUMS). He was among the top ten percent of graduates at IUMS and received the Graduate Support Initiative Award from the UBC.

After seeing patients in clinical rotations and completing an internship in public health during his medical training, it was clear to Hosseini that interventions beyond personal care are needed to promote people’s health. Working in underserved areas of Iran helped him to appreciate how interconnected individuals’ health is with the housing, educational, anti-violence, and neighborhood-improvement policies.

Hosseini also participated in programs at the UBC Chapter of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, where the focus is to make the healthcare services safer, more timely, effective, efficient, equitable, and patient-centred. Furthermore, as a member of the UBC Graduate Student Wellbeing Ambassadors Program, Hosseini had the opportunity to be involved in a peer support experience.

Hosseini hopes to complement his clinical knowledge with a broad public health perspective to engage beyond the health sector and work with leaders and stakeholders from other sectors – to address the root causes of health problems in our communities using evidence-informed policy making.

Please join us in congratulating Reza Hosseini on this remarkable achievement!

About the Michael Decter Scholarship for Health Leadership and Policy Studies:

The scholarship is announced every fall with the application submission deadline in November. For more information on the scholarship please contact: learninganddevelopment@sehc.com.

Stay tuned to our website and social media channels for a special event, commemorating the 10th year of the Michael Decter Scholarship for Health Leadership and Policy Studies, featuring Michael Decter, past scholarship winners and various SE Health leaders, coming soon.