Dr Kathryn L. Franko BSc(Hons), PhD

• Postdoctoral Research Fellow, The Liggins Institute

• Project Manager, International Healthy Start to Life Project, The Liggins Institute

Research interests

Mathematical bioeconomics; development economics; health and public policy

NRCGD Project

Suboptimal development before birth and in infancy reduces human capital and national productivity through effects on growth, labour performance and cognition. In many countries chronic adult diseases arising from a poor start to life are a growing public health concern with important economic consequences. Economies highly dependent on manual labour, as in low and middle income countries, are particularly sensitive to such reduced health but most public health programmes focus on short-term palliative approaches to chronic disease. A longer-term approach based on early life prevention of risk will be more cost-effective. To substantiate this concept we will develop a model to calculate the total cost of a poor start to life in populations at various stages of the nutritional transition accompanying Westernisation using established collaborations with groups which have collected health data over many years in Bangladesh, India, Jamaica, New Zealand, the UK and Singapore. We will link health and economic data for individuals in each country. The model will help policy makers evaluate the benefits and cost effectiveness of health interventions at critical times in the life course.   » More details

Biography

Dr Kathryn (Kate) Franko completed her BS in biological sciences at Cornell University in 2001. There, she was a Presidential Research Scholar and a member of the Varsity Rowing team. She went on to win a Gates Cambridge Scholarship and completed her PhD in perinatal physiology at the University of Cambridge in 2007. Having moved out of the laboratory, Kate is now analysing the economic consequences of poor health during pregnancy and in early life as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow. She enjoys the outdoors while in New Zealand, but also thrives on the travel involved with her work.

Contact details

The Liggins Institute

The University of Auckland

Private Bag 92019

Auckland 1142, New Zealand

Email ; Phone +64 9 9233450