Dr Franklin Onukwugha is a Senior Lecturer in Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Hertfordshire. Before joining the University in 2022, He was a Research Fellow and the project manager for an NIHR-funded project on Alcohol harm prevention in pregnancy (2020-2022), a Lecturer at the University of Sunderland in London (2016-2019), and an Associate Lecturer at Coventry University Scarborough (2017-2019).

Franklin was the Lead Coordinator for the Global Health Research Network at the University of Hull and a Co-Investigator in a QR-GCRF-funded Global Health Project involving Adolescent Reproductive Health in Nigeria in partnership with INASP Oxford, and a Research Associate in a Community-based mHealth project in Western Kenya in collaboration with the Tropical Institute of Community Health and Development (TICH) in Kenya.

He is an active researcher with solid experience in the application of mixed methodological approaches in solving public health problems with a specific focus on Adolescents and Young People's Mental Health and Sexual/Reproductive. Franklin is the Principal Investigator in a Wellcome Trust-funded and BSA-managed NORM Wellbeing Project in partnership with Researchers from the University of Hull and the University of Nottingham to develop innovative tools and creative outputs to improve young people mental health and well-being (Grants awarded: £124,000).

Beyond teaching and research, Franklin is a Youth Capacity Development expert whose passion is to inspire, empower, and mentor young people from BAME communities and disadvantaged families to achieve their full potential. A passion that led him to set up Youth Aspire Connect- A youth-led charity that currently supports over 300 young people to achieve their aspirations, develop employability/life skills, become leaders, and engage in social actions to address the barriers that limit their career prospects.

Franklin has received external recognitions and several prestigious awards/fellowships including the invitation to His Majesty The Kings Royal Garden Party, the Commonwealth Early Career Academic Grants, and the Population Reference Bureau Policy Communication Fellowship sponsored by USAID in partnership with the African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP). He is a Fellow of the Royal Society for Public Health (FRSPH), and a member of several Professional Associations such as the British Society for Population Studies (BSPS), the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP) and his work has been featured on BBC, AIT and other national and local media stations.

Public Health

Evidence-Based Practice

Research Methods

Epidemiology

Module Leader- Public Health Research and Epidemiology & Advance Research Methods

Adolescent Mental Health and Wellbeing

Adolescent's Sexual and Reproductive Health

Maternal and Child Health

HIV/AIDS

• Founder and Chair of Trustees for Youth Aspire Connect (https://youthaspireconnect.org.uk/)- A youth led charity that supports over 300 young people from BME and disadvataged communities in England to achieve their aspirations, develop their employability/life skills, provide career mentorship, and empower them to becomeleaders and engage in socialactions to address barriers that limit their career prospects while connecting them to life-changing opportunities to achieve their full potential.