Education
PhD, University of London, 2005
MPhil, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 2000
MPH, California State University, 1994
Overview
Dr. Dagna Constenla has over 20 years of experience in the economic evaluation of health interventions, 15 of these have centered on the evaluation of pediatric vaccines. Her research on the measurement of the value of vaccines has been wide-ranging. She was one of the first in Latin America to develop a conceptual framework that allowed the differing incremental cost-effectiveness of vaccination between countries to be understood in context and to point the way towards a general approach that might be used by the public health community to plan future vaccination programs in the region.
Dr. Constenla’s work has focused mainly on gaining a better understanding of the economics of pediatric and adult vaccination in countries of emerging economies. Her methodological interest center mainly on the need to use standardized methods for economic analyses of vaccination programs, the suitability of study endpoints, the generalisability and representativeness of data, and how variable data can best be applied to local situations. Dr. Constenla recently shifted her attention to develop innovative financial tools to value dengue, malaria and meningococcal vaccination programs in countries that need it most.
Before joining Johns Hopkins University, Dr. Constenla worked many years as consultant for several national and international organizations. In this role, Dr. Constenla led health economic programs to evaluate rotavirus, pneumococcal, meningococcal, HPV, malaria and West Nile vaccination in several countries in Latin America, Sub-Sahara Africa, Europe and North America. Major achievements of these programs include the conduct of various training workshops with experts in the region, and production of local and regional papers.
Dr. Constenla has organized training and taught courses in health economics, health policy and health promotion and health services research to public health professionals in academic institutions of the UK and Latin America. She continuously supports academic activities in the following courses: public health management, social policy analysis, outcomes research. Dr. Constenla has contributed intellectually to a number of international scientific committees.
Honors and Awards
Pre-Doctoral Fellow, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Award
Pre-Doctoral Fellow, Pan-American Health Organization Grant Award
The Dean’s Alumni Advisory Council Scholarship
McNair Scientific Research Scholar
Dean Lesher Scholarship Award
Betty Baldwin Scholarship Award
Kennedy-King Scholarship Award
Teacher’s Association Award
Golden Key National Honor Society Fellow