Arish Mudra Rakshasa-Loots (UK)
Arish Mudra Rakshasa-Loots
has been awarded the ALBA-FKNE Diversity Prize 2023 in recognition of his contribution and outreach efforts towards reducing HIV-related healthcare inequities and also in promoting gender, ethnic and regional diversity in mental healthcare, research and teaching. Among them, the ALBA Network and the FENS-Kavli Scholars would like to highlight the following achievements:
- He led the design of a demographic questionnaire which offered participants diverse and culturally sensitive options in isiXhosa to self-report their sexual orientation and gender identity, making a strong case for the increased inclusion of gender and ethnic diversity in participant cohorts.
- He led the production of the first open-access isiXhosa-language version of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), expanding its use as a culturally specific tool for clinicians serving South African Xhosa speakers to screen for depressive symptoms.
- He contributes to building science capacity in his hometown in India by organising research skills training programmes for high school students and offers free mentorship support for Project EduAccess, a non-profit initiative that aims to improve access to higher education in the UK for learners from marginalised communities in South Asia.
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