Spotlight on New Staff: Shireen Assaf

This part of a series of posts introducing readers to new staff at The DHS Program. Welcome,Shireen!

Shireen Assaf, Senior Research Associate

Name: Shireen Assaf

Position title:  Senior Research Associate

Languages spoken: English, Arabic and basic Italian

When not working, favorite place to visit:  Lebanon and Italy

Favorite type of cuisine: Mediterranean food (especially Middle-Eastern and Italian) but I also love Thai and Japanese.

Last good book you read: The Shoemaker’s Wife.

Where would we find you on a Saturday?  Either in some sort of exercise class or visiting my sister and her family in Arlington.

First time you worked with DHS survey data: During my Masters studies.

What is on your desk (or bulletin board/wall) right now?  Pictures of family and old pictures of Palestine.

Special Report on Intervention Zones in Niger based on the 2012 DHS

What is your favorite survey final report cover?  The Special Report on Intervention Zones in Niger based on the 2012 DHS. Just look at that  face!

Favorite chapter or indicator, and why?  If I had to choose one indicator perhaps it would be modern contraceptive use. This one indicator can give you a lot of insight about a country, from demographics to gender issues.

What’s your favorite way to access The DHS Program’s data? STATcomplier for quick access to indicators and trends, and The DHS Program website for the final reports and other published material.

What population or health issue are you most passionate about?  Why?

Family planning and gender issues. So much still needs to be achieved in these areas and studying the factors associated with them is one of the issues I am passionate about. I am also very passionate about studying trends in various health indicators both temporal and spatial.

What are you most looking forward to about your new position?

I look forward to working on different analytical and research studies each year for different countries and topics. I love research and analysis and I am happy to be in a position that allows to me conduct analysis on new topics using new data each year. I am also looking forward to learning from my work here and from my colleagues who are all very cooperative and great to work with.

What has been your biggest surprise so far?

The national diversity of The DHS Program team. Also the amount of work required to manage the DHS in all its aspects; survey management, training, data processing, analysis, and dissemination.

What do you look forward to bringing to The DHS Program (job-related or not!)?

I look forward to bringing my research and analytical skills and to contributing the best of my abilities to The DHS Program research activities.