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Dr Sophie La Vincente

Rheach Deputy Director

Sophie La Vincente

Rheach Deputy Director

BPsych (Hons) MAppEpi PhD

sophie.lavincente@thekids.org.au

Sophie is an epidemiologist with over 10 years’ experience in operational health research in low and middle income countries. Her work has primarily focused the delivery of maternal and child health services to vulnerable populations, management of childhood pneumonia and vaccine impact evaluation.

Prior to joining The Kids she worked with the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, where she was an investigator on grants totalling over $10 million from funding agencies including the GAVI Alliance and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. She was based in the Philippines during 2009-10 as Country Manager for a multi-country activity to support the use of local evidence to guide prioritisation and planning for maternal and child health. More recently, she co-led an evaluation of the impact of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine introduction in Mongolia.

Sophie has worked extensively as a consultant to the UN and other agencies in Africa, Asia and the Pacific. She joined The Kids Research Institute Australia in May 2017 as a Senior Technical Advisor with RhEACH, based at the World Heart Federation in Geneva.

Projects

Reach: to stop rheumatic heart disease

Reach works to promote the health of vulnerable populations by providing technical support to local, regional and global efforts to prevent and control rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease (RF/RHD).

Learn more about Reach: to stop rheumatic heart disease

September 2018

RHD Action

RHD Action is the name given to the global movement to reduce the burden of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) in vulnerable populations of all ages throughout the world.

Learn more about RHD Action

September 2014

Published research

Evaluation of a phased pneumococcal conjugate vaccine introduction in Mongolia using enhanced pneumonia surveillance and community carriage surveys

Streptococcus pneumoniae causes substantial morbidity and mortality among children. The introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV) has the potential to dramatically reduce disease burden. As with any vaccine, it is important to evaluate PCV impact, to help guide decision-making and resource-allocation.

Published research Immunisation Infectious Diseases Strep A Translation
Learn more about Evaluation of a phased pneumococcal conjugate vaccine introduction in Mongolia using enhanced pneumonia surveillance and community carriage surveys

March 2019

Time to tackle rheumatic heart disease: Data needed to drive global policy dialogues

This report provides an update on the contemporary global and regional policy landscapes relevant to rheumatic heart disease

Published research Rheumatic Heart Disease Strep A Translation
Learn more about Time to tackle rheumatic heart disease: Data needed to drive global policy dialogues

December 2018

Education and Qualifications

Master of Applied Epidemiology, 2006-2007 (Australian Field Epidemiology Training Program)
The Australian National University, Canberra

PhD, 2001-2004
Faculty of Medicine, University of Adelaide, Australia

Bachelor of Psychology (Honours), 1996-1999
Flinders University of South Australia, Australia

Awards/Honours
  • National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health Scholarship 2006-2007
  • Rotary Scholarship awarded in support of WHO internship, 2004
  • The Foundation for Young Australians Youth Investment Grant (formerly the Queens Trust Award), 2004
  • Dawes Postgraduate Research Scholarship, Royal Adelaide Hospital, 2002-2004
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), USA, Postgraduate Research Scholarship