The Scholars Table with Dr. Banda

Dr Banda Khalifa

5.0 (1)
Education
Biweekly

The Scholars Table with Dr Banda brings scholars, leaders, practitioners, and emerging voices to the table for thoughtful conversations about health, science, academia, leadership, and public life. Hosted by Dr Banda Khalifa, each episode explores the journeys, ideas, and decisions shaping meaningful careers, public health, and global impact.

2d ago

War, Aid Cuts & the Price of Saving Lives | Project HOPE CEO Rabih Torbay

What happens to patients when funding for essential health services is suddenly withdrawn? Rabih Torbay, CEO of Project HOPE, joins Dr Banda Khalifa on The Scholars Table to discuss humanitarian aid, global health leadership and the people providing care in conflict zones. After growing up during Lebanon’s civil war, Rabih trained as an engineer and built a business in Sierra Leone. An encounter with the suffering caused by war changed the direction of his career. In this conversation, he reflects on humanitarian responses in Ukraine, Gaza and Lebanon, explains the effects of 2025 foreign aid cuts on patients and frontline teams, and describes why Project HOPE invests in local health workers. He also offers practical career advice for people interested in working with humanitarian organizations, including what he looks for in a CV, cover letter and interview. We discuss: Leaving engineering for humanitarian work after a cholera emergency in Sierra Leone. Making decisions in crises when information is incomplete. The demands of working in conflict settings and caring for humanitarian teams. How funding cuts affect essential medical services and what organizations can do next. Opportunities in humanitarian work for clinicians, engineers, logisticians and other professionals. Why potential, emotional intelligence and a specific motivation for the work can be more persuasive than an AI-polished CV. About the guest Rabih Torbay is Chief Executive Officer of Project HOPE, a global health and humanitarian organization supporting health workers and communities in more than 30 countries. Guest profile: https://www.projecthope.org/person/rabih-torbay/ Project HOPE: https://www.projecthope.org/ About the podcast The Scholars Table with Dr Banda brings scholars, leaders and practitioners together for conversations on health, ideas and public life. Podcast website: https://www.drbandakhalifa.com/podcast/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7l6gFGVjfy14iaqx28i1kw Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-scholars-table-with-dr-banda/id1821310299 Hosted by Dr. Banda Khalifa. #HumanitarianAid #GlobalHealth #TheScholarsTable
Oct 15

From medicine to leading global health with Prof. Judd Walson

What does it take to build a career in global health, and is the field still worth entering in 2026? In this episode of The Scholars Table, Dr Banda Khalifa speaks with Professor Judd Walson, Chair of the Department of International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Professor Walson reflects on his unconventional path from anthropology and street performance to clinical medicine, research, and academic leadership. He shares the experiences that shaped his career, including his work in Nepal, Kenya, and the United States. The conversation examines his research on childhood mortality and parasitic infections, the consequences of US foreign assistance cuts, and the future of international health at a time of considerable institutional change. For prospective graduate students, Professor Walson also offers a candid account of PhD admissions at Johns Hopkins. He explains what distinguishes successful applicants, why mentorship is critical, and how privilege and unequal opportunities can influence academic selection. The episode closes with his perspective on whether global health remains a worthwhile career, what young professionals should consider before entering the field, and why the next generation has an opportunity to help redefine its future. The Scholars Table with Dr Banda. Conversations on health, ideas, and public life. Available on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.
Oct 1

Inside the Johns Hopkins MPH: Admissions, Careers & One Health | Dr. Meghan Davis

An MPH is a major investment of time and money. What should you weigh before applying, and where can the degree take you? Dr. Banda welcomes Dr. Meghan Frost Davis, chair of the Master of Public Health program at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, for a conversation about public health training, leadership, and career choices. From her path through veterinary medicine to her work in One Health, Dr. Davis explores the connections between human, animal, and environmental health. The conversation also covers MPH program formats, applications, financial support, and the questions facing students entering public health during funding cuts and job uncertainty. For Dr. Banda, a Hopkins MPH graduate, this conversation is also a return to the program that helped shape his own career.
Sep 14

Dean Monica Swahn: From the CDC to Leading a School of Public Health

Dr. Monica Swahn is Dean of the VCU School of Public Health, director of Global Women's Health for the VCU Institute for Women's Health, and holder of the Charles W. and Evelyn F. Thomas Endowed Professorship of Epidemiology. She came to the role in July 2025 after serving as dean of the Wellstar College of Health and Human Services at Kennesaw State University, and before academia she spent nearly a decade at the CDC as a health scientist and epidemiologist. In this conversation with Dr Banda Khalifa, she traces the route from a psychology degree to a PhD in epidemiology, through a decade inside government science, a Fulbright year building an alcohol research center at Makerere University in Uganda, and into academic leadership. We cover: What a decade at the CDC taught her about how evidence moves into decisions, and when it does notWhy she left government science for the universityBuilding research capacity in a partner institution so it survives after the funding endsPresenting research to the WHO, UNDP, and PAHOWhat a dean does all day, and what surprised her mostHer strategic vision for the VCU School of Public HealthWhat strong graduate applicants get right, and the mistake she sees most oftenAdvice for early-career professionals choosing between government, academia, and global work The Scholars Table with Dr Banda brings scholars, leaders, practitioners, and emerging voices to the table for thoughtful conversations about health, science, academia, leadership, and public life.
Jul 23

AI, Misinformation, and Global Health Security

Can AI and stronger readiness systems help us respond faster to the next pandemic, or just expose how fragile our systems are? Dr. Prativa Baral, Deputy Director of the Pandemic and Emergency Readiness Lab (PERL) and Assistant Professor at McGill University, joins The Scholars Table with Dr Banda on AI, misinformation, and global health security. The conversation covers where AI genuinely helps in emergencies, preparing for misinformation before a crisis, and what recent outbreaks reveal about global readiness. Hosted by Dr Banda Khalifa.
Jul 16

A purpose-driven career in public health | Prof. Tiffany Gary-Webb

In this episode of The Scholars Table, Dr. Banda Khalifa sits down with Prof. Tiffany Gary-Webb to discuss what it means to build a career in public health with purpose, clarity, and service. Prof. Gary-Webb reflects on her journey through epidemiology, health equity, mentorship, leadership, and community-centered research. The conversation explores how public health careers are shaped by more than titles or publications. They are shaped by the problems we choose to work on, the communities we remain accountable to, and the people we help bring along the way. Together, they discuss the importance of staying grounded, building meaningful collaborations, mentoring the next generation, and using research to address inequities that affect real lives. This episode is for students, early-career researchers, public health professionals, and anyone thinking deeply about how to build a career that is both excellent and useful.
Jul 9

Who Gets to Lead African Health? | Dr Catherine Kyobutungi, APHRC

Who gets to lead in African health? Dr Catherine Kyobutungi, Executive Director of APHRC, joins The Scholars Table with Dr Banda on African voices and African leadership in global health: who sets the agenda, where credibility comes from, and what changes when African institutions lead. A Ugandan physician and epidemiologist, she co-directs CARTA and has spent her career arguing for African leadership in health and research. Hosted by Dr Banda Khalifa.
Jul 2

Who Really Holds the Power in Global Health? | Prof. Lawrence Gostin

Who actually governs global health: WHO, powerful countries, donors, private industry, or law itself? Professor Lawrence O. Gostin, Founding Director of the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law and Distinguished University Professor at Georgetown University, joins The Scholars Table with Dr Banda for a conversation on law, power, and the next pandemic.One of the most influential voices in global health law, public health ethics, human rights, and pandemic governance, Professor Gostin examines where real power sits in global health decision-making, what the WHO Pandemic Agreement adopted in May 2025 can and cannot do, and the unresolved fight over pathogen access and benefit-sharing heading into 2026.

The Scholars Table with Dr Banda brings scholars, leaders, practitioners, and emerging voices to the table for thoughtful conversations about health, science, academia, leadership, and public life. Hosted by Dr Banda Khalifa, each episode explores the journeys, ideas, and decisions shaping meaningful careers, public health, and global impact.

Creator

Dr Banda Khalifa
Years Active

2025 - 2026
Episodes

31
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© Dr Banda Khalifa
Show Website

The Scholars Table with Dr. Banda