Inspiring Early Career Researchers: Tiffany Angelin
More than fifty Early Career Researchers have made significant contributions towards the Action Against Stunting Hub workstreams in India, Indonesia, Senegal and the UK.
In this series, researchers reflect on their personal and professional growth through contribution to Hub research.
The Importance of the Team
Tiffany Angelin
INDONESIA
Tiffany Angelin is passionate about the role that science research can contribute towards children’s health and development. Her Master’s degree in Genetic and Nutritional Factors Related to Height-for-Age-Score amongst children in East Java positioned her well for her role as a Research Assistant within the Action Against Stunting Hub.
Based at Indonesia’s SEAMEO RECFON Centre for Excellence in Food and Nutrition For Quality Human Resources, her work in anthropometry requires her to capture and analyse the physical measurements and health (analysed through samples) taken from babies and children.
Since joining the project in 2021, Tiffany has embraced multiple opportunities for training in pursuit of knowledge and skills that can contribute to the project, the community, and especially to the lives of children.
Her extensive training on Saliva and Stool DNA extraction and Parasite detection have been pivotal.
Additionally, her mentors in Indonesia, Dr Umi Fahmida and Dr Min Kyaw Htet have provided ongoing support in areas such as how to conduct research with ethics and shared project values.
"The training has helped me contribute to the project, the community, and especially to the lives of children. The training I have received has been very helpful since those are new things for me to learn and applicable to my current work. I have improved my laboratory skills, data analysis skills, and research skills such as manuscript writing."
Tiffany has particularly enjoyed gaining new skills and understanding of the importance of engagement beyond the Hub's academic group.
"I also learned new things related to the public engagement skill, such as writing an article in newspaper, video editing, and making a social media content."
For the Action Against Stunting Awareness Day in September 2022, Tiffany enjoyed supporting activities, competitions and events for a range of general public audiences, and collaborating across partner organisations including Universitas Indonesia and Universitas Mataram.
"We conducted two competitions for the young people to make a poster/video about stunting and whole child approach, and on making a complementary food for children.
We also managed to gather more than 400 people to join our event, starting with exercise in the morning, and continuing with a talk show that highlighted the importance of father in childcare, a nutrition booth and stimulation booth."
Tiffany recognises the value of teamworking across multiple workstreams within the project. She feels the Indonesia Team's regular team building activity has helped strengthen the bond between the different project workstreams.
"Besides all the laboratory and data collection activities in the field, we have taken time for activities twice a year to strengthen our bond as a team. A good teamwork is very important to maintain while conducting this kind of research study.
We have joined fun team building days in the mountains and on the beach, with games, reflection and evaluation of our work.
"I am passionate about child development. I plan to continue my work, either by joining another research project or becoming involved with a non-governmental organization that aligns with my interests."
Tiffany's story demonstrates the significant impact of the Action Against Stunting Hub in equipping young researchers with essential skills and experiences, paving the way for their future contributions to clinical nutrition and public health.