Matt Steele

Clinical and Field Research Coordinator, Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH)

• Ph.D. Anthropology/Biodemography, University of Washington
• M.P.H. Epidemiology and International Health, University of Washington
• B.S. Brown University

While an undergraduate at Brown University, Matt got his first taste for international health and development work through participation in large studies of diabetes and cardiovascular disease in Samoa. This five-year endeavor produced an added benefit in the meeting of his wife-to-be, Nelle. Following the epidemiological studies in Samoa, Matt undertook a malnutrition study in northern Kenya among nomadic pastoralists. Then came his PhD fieldwork with migrant men in Nairobi slums with a focus on HIV prevention.

Matt’s work at PATH involves the management of projects associated with the development and introduction of simple, rapid diagnostic test technologies for use in resource-limited settings. The fieldwork on these projects has taken him to Bolivia, Ukraine, South Africa, India, Kenya, and Vietnam. A recent addition has been a study of diarrheal diseases in favelas (urban slums) in Brazil.

Through his extensive fieldwork in impoverished regions of developing countries, Matt has gained a keen appreciation of the importance for long-term sustainability of communities building solidarity around the ideas underlying projects like safe water, sanitation, and hygiene. He brings an enthusiasm for the Water 1st mission and an extensive background in program monitoring and evaluation methods.