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Being charged by elephants, crossing the Nile River and hiking through an African conflict area with armed guards has humbled . Now, he鈥檚 embarking on a two-year journey funded by National Geographic to study community perspectives of public health in Uganda for his dissertation project.Dowhaniuk hopes to build on his eye-opening experiences from his first trip to Uganda in 2014.

鈥淚 had a lot of misconceptions, and I鈥檒l be the first to admit it,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 definitely had the idea, as a 24-year-old college student, that I knew best. Then I got over there and learned I know nothing.鈥�

When Dowhaniuk first came to the to pursue a Ph.D. in medical geography and a Master of 网红黑料 Science in environmental and global health, the 28-year-old had never been to Central Florida. Before arriving in Gainesville, Dowhaniuk obtained a master鈥檚 degree in conservation from the University of New Hampshire.

鈥淭he more I did research with conservation issues the more I saw an overlap with public health, and it started to get me really interested in public health,鈥� said Dowhaniuk, a native of Canada. 鈥淭hen, it seemed like a no-brainer for me to go back and get a Ph.D. and master鈥檚 in public health.鈥�

But Dowhaniuk didn鈥檛 always know what he wanted to pursue. During his undergraduate years at UNH, he took a geography course focusing on sub-Saharan African. 鈥淚 was able to connect my passion and love for the world and other cultures with something that I could do,鈥� he said.

Later, he got involved in his UNH adviser鈥檚 research in Africa and pursued it as his master鈥檚 project. Eventually, he made his first trip to Uganda in 2014 to study the impact of oil development on conservation and nearby communities.

Dowhaniuk randomly applied for a grant from National Geographic for his first master鈥檚 project and was awarded the funds. Since then, he has attended conferences, traveled to headquarters in Washington, D.C., is an for the organization and has had articles and photographs featured on National Geographic media platforms.

In late September, he traveled back to Uganda for his Ph.D. dissertation project using a another grant from National Geographic. Dowhaniuk will conduct research in Uganda for up to two years but hopes for the project to become a long-term relationship.

鈥淥ne of the big themes of this research is including the community in every stage of it and not just being somebody from the other side of the world going over and doing what I want, but more letting loose a lot of the decision-making process,鈥� he said.

., a clinical professor in the 鈥� , is a former professor of Downhaniuk鈥檚 who now serves on his dissertation committee. She acknowledged how passionate he is about community building and improving health in Uganda.

鈥淗e is mindful of understanding the local population and addressing the local population鈥檚 needs and perspectives,鈥� said Blue, the college鈥檚 associate dean of educational affairs and 网红黑料 associate vice president for interprofessional education.

Dowhaniuk, an avid photographer, plans to implement photography into his research by giving Ugandans cameras to capture their perspectives of community health issues.

鈥淔or me, it鈥檚 always been such a big tool to be able to communicate difficult stories and cross culture and linguistic barriers through photography,鈥� he said.

His Ph.D. adviser, professor ., a professor in the 鈥檚 thinks Dowhaniuk demonstrates what the point of a Ph.D. is.

鈥淯ltimately, what a doctorate is supposed to be able to do is be out there on their own and be independent in both their research and teaching,鈥� Glass said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 shown he can do that.鈥�

To Dowhaniuk, it鈥檚 about more than just research, a degree or a career 鈥� it鈥檚 about collaboration.

鈥淚 think a lot of times in research we get bogged down by our own career goals and wanting to get published and sometimes the end goal gets lost,鈥� he said.

Of course, he couldn鈥檛 do this if it weren鈥檛 helping his degree or future career, but it doesn鈥檛 have to only be about that.

鈥淚 think, in a lot of ways, it should be less about that than anything, and it should be about building capacity in the communities you work with and making sure they get tangible benefits,鈥� Dowhaniuk said. 鈥淯ltimately, trying to work toward a shared vision.鈥�