GH Alumni Profile: Sirjana Pant

Sirjana Pant is currently Program Development Officer (drug portfolio) at the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH). CADTH is an independent, not-for-profit organization that provides health care decision-makers with objective evidence to help make informed decisions about the optimal use of health technologies, including drugs.

“Learning how evidence and values inform and influence health policies has helped me in my current role at CADTH,” Pant says, as she speaks about the real-world skills she gained during the MSc Global Health program.

Pant’s role involves consulting with representatives from publicly funded federal, provincial, and territorial drug benefit plans in Canada, and liaising with clinical experts to develop project proposals. She has managed various environmental scan projects focusing on policy changes and trends in Canadian and international healthcare systems, and leads the development of therapeutic reviews and optimal use projects for drugs. 

Before gaining an MSc in Global Health from McMaster, Pant completed her Bachelor of Pharmacy degree in Nepal, working in the pharmaceutical industry in Nepal and Canada for over six years. Her keen interest in health policy and health systems led her to join the Global Health program. “The program also helped me shift to ‘thinking in systems’ and has made me appreciate why strengthening health systems is key to better patient outcomes,” she says.

Pant says she is most fond of the international exchange opportunities that the MSc. program offers. “It’s not just the interdisciplinary nature of the program, but also where and how you learn that makes it a truly ‘global’ program,” she says. “Plus, you have the opportunity to learn from your peers, who come from different educational and professional backgrounds, and cultural settings.”

 Global Health News