Dr Mukdarut Bangpan's interdisciplinary research focuses on issues in international development, especially on inequalities, violence, displacement and social factors influencing health and well-being of young women and girls. Her recent research includes social capital, gender-based violence, access to health and education for displaced populations, equity in education during COVID-19 and mental health and psychological well-being of populations affected by humanitarian crises. She works with international partners to build capacity in evidence synthesis with policy and academics in South Asia, and Southeast Asia regions.  She is the founder and co-director of the Southeast Asia Evidence Policy Partnership (SEAEPP)- a share learning platform aiming to build partnerships between academics and policy-makers in SEA for evidence generation and evidence use in social sciences. 

 

Dr Bangpan completed her MSc and DPhil at Oxford University focusing on conducting systematic reviews and qualitative research to inform decisions relating to sexual and reproductive health interventions. Prior to joining Oxford University, she gained BA and MBA and worked in the banking sector. She leads and conducts a wide range of research and evidence synthesis projects funded by Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Foreign and Commonwealth and Development Office (former DFID), National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Department for Culture and Sport (DCMS), Wellcome Trust, Oxfam, the World Bank and the HM Treasury.

She is a Departmental Graduate Tutor at Social Research Institute, a working group member of the UCL Grand Challenge Human Wellbeing and an Advisory Group member of UCL Arts Collections.

Recent research projects

• A working group member, the WHO GlobalCentre for Traditional Medicine (GCTM) evidence task force, WHO, Lead consultant
• The International Public Policy Observatory (IPPO), 2023-2024, ESRC, Co-I
• Criteria for making evidence claims for use: an evidence synthesis, Centre of Excellence for Development Impact and Learning (CEDIL), FCDO, 2022-2023, PI
• Prioritisation and promotion of wellbeing in sick and/or small newborns across Mexican Hospitals: consolidation of a stakeholder network and supportive alliances to establish greater policy and practice, research collaboration, Global Engagement Funds, UCL, Co-I
• Building an interdisciplinary partnership for evidence ecosystems in Southeast Asia, 2022, IOE International Funds, PI
• The Partnership for Evidence and Equity in Responsive Social Systems (PEERSS), IDRC
• Understand the impact of school disruptions on inequalities: international evidence review, 2020, IOE International Funds, PI
• Understanding the impact of displacement on mental health: A cross-sector, cross-country initiative (2020), the UCL Grand Challenges, Co-I
• Interdisciplinary research network to address the mental health impact of COVID-19 in vulnerable and at-risk groups in South Asia, (2021) UCL Global Health Funds, Co-PI 
• Tackling VAWG in times of conflict: Responding to youth voices from South Sudan, Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) (2020-2022), Co-I
• Understanding the impact of displacement on mental health: a cross-sector cross-country initiative, UCL Global Health Grand Challenges, Co-I
• Evidence-based Mental Health Care Practices for Young People in the Middle-East: Building research and knowledge exchange partnerships in Jordan, 2019-2020: IOE International Fund, Co-I 
• Agrarian transformation and migration: building research and teaching partnership in Myanmar and Thailand, working with Department of Social Science, Chiang Mai University, UCL Global Engagement Fund (2019-2020), PI
• UCL Institute of Education International Engagement Funds for collaborative working with Faculty of Education (2019), Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, PI
• Co-producing evidence in migration, public health and human rights in Thailand, UCL Global Engagement Fund (2017-2018), PI
• Manufacturing Agribusiness and Services Evidence Gap Map, International Finance Corporation (IFC), The World Bank Group, 2017, Consultant
• Support Group for a systematic review of the Indonesian Evidence, Innovation for Indonesia’s School Children (the Government of Indonesia and the Australia Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade-DFAT), 2016, PI
• Systematic review of mental health and psychosocial support interventions (MHPSS) in humanitarian settings: a mixed-methods review, Oxfam, 2015-2016, PI 
• DFID Support Group to Manage Systematic Reviews, 2015-2018, DFID: Co-I and programme manager