Lena Merkel

Lena Merkel is a Research Fellow at the GIGA Institute for African Affairs and the Leibniz Research Alliance INFECTIONS project. Her roles include analyzing health systems, antimicrobial resistance, and global development contexts. She holds advanced degrees in Development Economics and Global Markets from Georg-August-Universität Göttingen. Prior to her current position, she worked as a project manager in India, a student assistant in economic history, and contributed to research on international financial markets.

• Education: M.A. History of Global Markets, M.Sc. Development Economics, B.A. Economics & History (Georg-August-Universität Göttingen)

Her research focuses on behavioral insights regarding antimicrobial resistance and health system dynamics in Africa. She examines how socio-economic factors like depression influence diabetes care access in middle-income countries. Current projects address urbanization's role in infectious disease spread, particularly antimicrobial resistance.

Notable work includes a 2024 study in Diabetes Care exploring depression-diabetes-care linkages. She participates in interdisciplinary initiatives funded by the Leibniz Association (2021-2025).