Dr. Miriam Opwonya Laker  

Miriam is the Global Director of Research at GiveDirectly and a Senior Research Scientist and Epidemiologist with nearly two decades of experience conducting research.  Amongst her extensive experience, she led the design of the evaluation plans for GiveDirectly’s recently launched Yemen Refugees program; the learning agenda for large cash for refugees in Rwanda, and the evaluation of cash transfers in a disaster (floods and landslides) response in Uganda.  She was also involved in a recently concluded randomized controlled trial evaluation of the impacts of large lump sum cash transfers on refugee and host households in Uganda.