Stephanie Topp, MPH, MPhil (Oxon)

About Stephanie Topp, MPH, MPhil (Oxon)
Stephanie was formerly the Integration Program Manager at the Centre of Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ). In this role she was responsible for the development, implementation and research efforts related to the integration of stand-alone HIV care and treatment services into routine outpatient services in primary healthcare facilities across four Zambian provinces. She successfully developed, piloted and promoted a model of integrated HIV service delivery and is now acting as a consultant supporting a Ministry led scale-up of the model. Steph trained originally in political science and modern history. She holds a dual Masters in International Public Health (University of Sydney) and International Development Studies (Oxford University). She is currently a PhD candidate in the Nossal Institute for Global Health at the University of Melbourne Australia, where her dissertation is i) exploring the characteristics of primary healthcare service-delivery systems, ii) examining where and why differences occur between de jure (assumed) and de facto (actual) systems, and iii) with what implications for strengthening health systems at the service delivery level.

Prior to living in Zambia, Steph was the Think Tank Coordinator at the Cape York Institute for Policy and Leadership in Northern Queensland, working directly under lawyer and academic Noel Pearson. Her job encompassed development of and advocacy for social and economic policy reform related to health, welfare, housing and employment issues of remote and rural Indigenous Australian communities. Her eclectic training has resulted in a strong belief in multidisciplinary approaches and a professional focus on the intersection between research, policy development and implementation.