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Home » Degrees » Doctorate » DRPH

Explore Doctor of Public Health Programs (PhD & DPH)

Pursuing higher positions in public health can prove to be beneficial for individuals with leadership characteristics. Those in public health that seek the most out of their degree should consider enrolling into Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Public Health or Doctorate of Public Health (DrPH) in Public Health programs across the country.

The Doctorate of Public Health (DrPH) and the PhD in Public Health are advanced terminal degrees for public health, meant for experienced public health professionals that already have their Masters in Public Health (MPH) or similar degree. Specific degree nomenclature varies based on university and specific public health school. Some offer DPH degrees, while other universities name the terminal degree PhD in Public Health, Doctorate in Public Health, or Doctoral Public Health.

These terminal degree programs in public health can prepare learners for careers in research, education, or even management within the public health sector. Graduate level public health specialists are in great need across the country to assist with nationwide epidemic research as well as the implementation of vital government programs.

George Washington University

School of public health.

Earn your DrPH online from the George Washington University. Our CEPH-accredited program combines interactive, online classes and an on-campus immersion to prepare you to become a thought leader. You will graduate poised to shape public health policy, programs, and initiatives in the U.S. and worldwide. No GRE required.

• Complete the online DrPH program in as few as 36 months. 
• The online DrPH program is CEPH accredited. 
• No GRE required.

info SPONSORED

PhD in Public Health vs. Doctor of Public Health

A PhD in Public Health will be focused on developing the skills needed to become an advanced researcher. The understanding of research theories and methodologies is an important part of this degree. Even though a PhD in Public Health is more narrowly focused, it lends itself to careers in various health sectors, such as academia, governmental agencies, and pharmaceutical companies.

A DrPH is an advanced graduate-level degree that focuses on the professional and practical elements of the field, rather than the academic. It is designed for public health practitioners and is geared towards practice and fieldwork. It is multidisciplinary and will cover everything from communications and marketing to advocacy and economics. It was developed to train students and practitioners for careers in public health leadership. 

Both the DrPH and PhD have career options in academia available to them. These two degrees are suited for individuals who have received an MPH or another graduate-level degree and have worked in their field for a number of years. The DrPH is ideal for the public health practitioner looking to advance their career to positions needing additional education. The PhD may suit an individual earlier on in their career who is looking to embed themselves in a career of research.

What are the Typical Pre-Requisites of a DrPH/PhD Degree?

As mentioned above, the prerequisites for advanced degrees require a master’s degree and post-graduate work experience. For some programs, if an individual applying does not have their master’s in public health they will require master’s level classes in public health up to a certain amount of credit hours. A recent Graduate Record Exam (GRE) score is often required along with academic transcripts. An additional requirement for admittance into a Doctorate program is a personal statement or statement or purpose.

Concentration Options for a DrPH/PhD

The degree options for a DrPH or a PhD become more specialized within those concentrations. Those receiving their PhD in public health will have to pick a program by the department they wish to specialize and conduct research in. This could be Health Policy and Administration, Health Economics, Health Systems, etc. A DrPH will also specialize by department, but will often pick from the core public health concentrations (Epidemiology, Environmental Health, etc.) along with a few additional departments (i.e. International Health and Social and Behavioral Sciences).

Online Doctor of Public Health Options

Entering the right educational program is important to the success of a career. Students that are interested in obtaining their degree online should research their chosen school’s accreditation status prior to applying. Since this program is highly research-oriented, learners are expected to take part in a lot of independent learning in an online environment.

Online Doctorate programs will have the same requirements and courses as a traditional degree. Online programs allow for greater flexibility with work and family life but also require self-discipline and accountability. Some online programs will require site visits to the campus or alternate sites for orientations, leadership development, adviser meetings, etc. Classes will be taught online either through live streams or recorded video. Online discussion forums and group work are also the main parts of the online curriculum. A dissertation is still a requirement for online doctorate programs and it may be required that it is presented in person.

Typical Curriculum & Classes

In general, the DrPH degree curriculum will consist of core courses, research courses, and a culminating project such as a capstone course, dissertation, or thesis. The core courses, much like the MPH, will cover the main concentrations in Public Health (Epidemiology, Biostatistics, Environmental Health, Health Policy, etc.) and will also include statistics and data management. Each of these classes are taught with a focus on Leadership and Organization. Additional classes may include:

• Marketing and Public Relations
• Community and Cultural Understanding

These will guide the focus of the degree. A Dissertation or thesis is often required at the end of each semester, year or at the end of the program.

PhD in Public Health

The PhD in Public Health is much less straightforward and will vary significantly from program to program and within degrees. A PhD in Public Health is much more research-based and will cover topics ranging from disease and injury prevention to health informatics and communication. Many schools do not offer a PhD in Public Health per se, but in Health Policy, Bioethics, Environmental Health Sciences, Chronic Disease Epidemiology, etc. Each of these is rooted in public health but are much more focused in their scope. Because of this, classes and curriculum will be much more focused and centered around research.

Different Career Opportunities

After completing a DrPH or Ph.D. in Public Health, graduates may seek out positions in government agencies, healthcare facilities, or even community organizations. Professionals at this level have the capacity to become instructors of public health at universities, researchers for public health associations, and directors of nonprofit agencies.

Having a doctorate degree in this discipline gives learners the most education available for this field. With a Ph.D. in Public Health, professionals in the field may have access to careers working with government organizations in the planning, implementation, and training of important public health procedures. Organizations, such as  American Public Health Association ,  accept members that are in public health careers that desire to communicate their studies and policies on different platforms. Getting involved with a society such as this one can allow professionals to spread their work to educational and professional settings across the country.

Information updated as of April 2020

Doctor of Public Health (DrPH)

Bloomberg school of public health, program overview.

The Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) degree is a professional doctoral degree for early to mid-career public health professionals with an MPH or health-related master's degree. It is well-suited to professionals seeking leadership roles in domestic or international public health agencies and organizations. Graduates are able to: (1) synthesize  and translate knowledge  to practice, (2) communicate with and convene diverse partners to effect change across a range of public health settings, and (3) advance programs, policies, and services through evidence-based public health practice. Alumni hold mid to senior-level positions in a variety of settings, including government agencies, non-profit organizations, academia, and healthcare.

In addition to the standard School application materials, DrPH applicants should also possess: (2) an MPH or public health-related master's degree; and (2) a minimum of 3 years of professional, full-time public health experience in a relevant area. Students apply to and matriculate into a concentration, which offers specialized training in a specific area of public health. 

The DrPH program is built around a set of required courses that offer the opportunity to achieve foundational competencies in health policy, public health practice, professional skills (i.e., leadership, strategic planning, communication), data analysis, education, and workforce development. Students develop specialized expertise through the completion of coursework for their chosen  concentration or track. I n addition to coursework, the program requires applied practice experience (i.e., practicum) and a dissertation. 

The DrPH program is a flexible, part-time program with courses offered during regular terms and weeklong intensives. The program can be completed fully online. Students are required to register for a minimum of 1 credit per term. Most students complete the DrPH in 5-7 years; part-time students have up to 9 years to complete the program.

Concentrations (Tracks)

Custom Track

• Environmental Health (Environmental Health; Health Security)
• Health Equity and Social Justice
• Global Health: Policy & Evaluation
• Health Policy and Management (Healthcare Management & Leadership; Public Health Informatics; Health Policy; Quality & Patient Safety)
• Implementation Science
• Women's and Reproductive Health

Program Requirements

The program includes core requirements, foundational coursework, concentration coursework, an applied practice experience (practicum), a comprehensive written examination, and a dissertation. Students will be required to successfully complete a minimum of 64 term credits, including 57 didactic credits, 7 credits from dissertation proposal development, and credits from dissertation research combined. Dissertation work includes preliminary and final oral examinations, a public seminar, and an integrative learning experience. Of the 57 didactic credits, 30 are earned through foundational courses and 27 are earned through concentration courses. Each concentration has required and elective courses. After completing required courses, students must complete elective courses to meet the minimum requirement for concentration credits. 

Course location and modality is found on the BSPH website .

Prerequisite Requirements

The following courses are prerequisites for the DrPH program. If students have not taken these courses or equivalent ones within the past 5 years (for a B or higher), they will be required to take them after matriculation. Students who take the prerequisite coursework after matriculation cannot apply the credits toward the minimum credit requirement for the DrPH degree. For biostatistics, the prerequisite can be fulfilled with a course in statistical methods or with two courses in statistical reasoning.   

When students matriculate into the DrPH program, their prior coursework will be reviewed and considered for fulfillment of the prerequisite coursework. Students will be asked to submit course descriptions and syllabi for prior coursework in order to evaluate the comparability of topics and learning objectives.  Students will be informed about which prerequisites  they need to address through coursework or waiver exams. The coursework and/or waiver exams may be completed during the DrPH Program; they do not need to be completed prior to matriculation.  

Foundational Course Requirements

Foundational course requirements are designed to ensure students achieve DrPH Foundational Competencies established by the Council on Educational for Public Health (CEPH).  Students earn 1 credit from DrPH Seminars, 12 from problem-solving courses, 1 1 from professional skills courses, and a minimum of 6 from data analysis courses, totaling to 30 .   

1. DrPH Seminars

During their first year, students are required to take  DrPH First-Year Seminar ( 550. 611-550.614) , a non-credited, monthly course that provides fundamental training in research (e.g., reviewing literature, qualitative vs. quantitative research) and offers an overview of the DrPH program requirements. Students are required to take  DrPH Proposal Planning Seminar ( 550.620 – 550.622 )  in their second or third year; these seminar courses span 3 terms and provides guidance in developing research proposals. Students cannot waive out of either of the seminars.   

2. Problem-Solving Seminars

Problem-solving seminars offer the opportunity to achieve foundational competencies while learning about today's most pressing public health challenges. A distinct set of selectives is offered each term. At least one of the problem-solving seminar s chosen, one must fulfill the Environment, Ecosystems, and Globalization (EEG) requirement . Students cannot waive out of problem-solving course requirements.   

3. Professional Skills Courses

Professional skills courses cover communications, leadership, teaching and learning, and strategic planning. Students can request to waive out of a professional skills course requirement based on previous coursework or professional experience. Students who waive a professional skills course must take a higher-level course that offers training in the same area.

4. Data Analysis Series

Students are required to complete a series of data analysis courses in qualitative methods, quantitative methods, or mixed methods. There are two sequences of courses to choose from for quantitative methods and two for qualitative methods. Students who opt to complete the mixed methods series must complete a qualitative methods sequence, a quantitative methods sequence, and a required course in mixed methods.

Students must complete at least 6 credits in data analysis. Those who wish to substitute a specific course must take a similar course at a higher level to meet the credit requirement. After meeting the 6 credit requirement, students may be able to apply additional credits toward their concentration credit requirement if the course is listed as an elective for their concentration.  

The Custom track allows students the flexibility to tailor the DrPH program to their academic and professional goals. Students may choose to specialize either in a cross-cutting topical area (e.g., child health and welfare, substance use), in a public health field (e.g., mental health, surveillance, nutrition), or in another applied area not reflected in the other concentrations/tracks. This track is well-suited to those seeking leadership positions in agencies and organizations concerned with planning and implementing projects designed to meet a wide variety of public health needs. Students are required to complete: (1) the required courses listed below, (2) courses identified as meeting their individualized competencies, (3) additional elective courses in their area of study, and (4) 2 credits of DrPH Custom Track Seminar .

Environmental Health Concentration

The goal of the Environmental Health concentration is to train professionals to provide leadership and management in a wide variety of environmental health issues. Graduates should be able to analyze and assess complex environmental risks, emergencies, and problems; and should also be able to offer guidance for the reduction of these risks and the resolution of environmental problems. They will also work toward becoming practitioners who can comprehend and integrate the many dimensions of environmental health sciences, define the disci­plines that can best be applied to a problem, make sound and critical judgments, and interpret their recommendations clearly in the decision-making processes of policy formulation in industry, government, or academia. In addition to the listed courses, students are required to complete 2 credits of DrPH Environmental Health Concentration Seminar .

A. Environmental Health Track

The  Environmental Health  track emphasizes the skills necessary to: (1) assess needs for occupational and environmental health services at regional, national, and international levels, and (2) develop and monitor policy and regulatory frameworks. 

B. Health Security Track

The  Health Security  track prepares students to prevent, detect, and respond to health security threats and public health emergencies, such as COVID-19, Zika, and Ebola. 

Global Health: Policy & Evaluation Concentration

The concentration focuses on evidence-based interventions in public health to improve population health and health access globally. Students will learn methodologies related to policy and evaluation in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) through the application of interdisciplinary tools and approaches to study processes in complex global health systems. Some of the many global challenges students will address include sustainable development, environmental degradation and climate change, globalization, migration, displaced persons, diseases prevalent in LMICs, epidemics, vaccine access, injuries, emerging and reemerging diseases, and risk factors such as obesity and smoking. This concentration is well-suited to those seeking leadership positions in domestic and international agencies concerned with planning and implementing projects designed to meet global public health needs, particularly in LMICs. In addition to the listed courses, students are required to complete 2 credits of DrPH Global Health: Policy & Evaluation Concentration Seminar .

Health Equity & Social Justice Concentration

This concentration is focused on understanding and addressing the multiple determinants of health, particularly among disadvantaged and marginalized groups. Students learn about innovative epidemiological, social, and behavioral tools to assess population health and influences upon it. Required and elective courses offer the opportunity to learn about the conceptual and philosophical bases of health equity and social justice and also to acquire skills relevant to the design, implementation, and evaluation of health programs designed to benefit poor and marginalized groups. This concentra­tion is well-suited to those seeking leadership positions in agencies concerned with planning and implementing projects designed to meet public health needs. In addition to the courses listed below, students are required to complete 2 credits of DrPH Health Equity & Social Justice Concentration Seminar . 

Health Policy & Management Concentration

This concentration trains students to: (1) analyze policies that impact population health, (2) evaluate health services, healthcare delivery, and information systems, and (3) identify strategies for enhancing the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of systems of care. Training addresses today’s most pressing health, medical, and mental and behavioral health problems. In addition to the courses listed below, students in the concentration are required to take 2 credits of DrPH Health Policy & Management Concentration Seminar .

A. Healthcare Management & Leadership Track

This track is focused on measuring, monitoring, and improving the clinical and financial performance of health services organizations, as well as training leaders for organizational change.

B. Public Health Informatics Track

This track offers training in methods and concepts of informatics for application to public health and population health management. It is designed for public health professionals or population health managers who wish to develop an area of expertise or specialization in the emerging field of public health informatics.

C. Health Policy Track

This track provides training to develop, identify, and translate the best available evidence to inform critical public health policy challenges at the local, national, and global levels. The curriculum incorporates systems-thinking and rigorous scientific methods from multiple disciplines to be responsive to the needs of public health practitioners and policymakers. Through coursework, students develop skills needed to understand and evaluate complex problem and to propose and critically assess solutions to those problems. The track is relevant to those currently working in public health policy and practice settings at the intersection of evidence, decision-making, and implementation.

D. Quality and Patient Safety Track

This track addresses issues related to quality of healthcare, patient safety, patient-centered outcomes, and performance measurement and improvement.  The curriculum is designed for public health, clinical, and management professionals—especially those who wish to develop the expertise to implement evidence-based interventions and improve care delivery.

Implementation Science Concentration

This concentration is focused on developing and sharing evidence to support the formulation, implementation, and scale-up of new health policies and programs through the application of interdisciplinary tools and approaches to study processes in complex health systems. The curriculum provides students with the skills to work collaboratively and integrate diverse perspectives into cogent intervention designs and implementation strategies. Students learn how to support iterative cycles of implementation and adaptation of public health programs based on evaluation and learning and how to synthesize and present complex information to policymakers and practitioners. This concentration is relevant to those working domestically and internationally and is well-suited to people seeking to develop careers as program managers, physician managers, and those working in the knowledge translation field or in policy advisory positions. In addition to the courses listed below, students are required to take 2 credits of DrPH Implementation Science Concentration Seminar.

Women’s and Reproductive Health Concentration

This concentration focuses on the general and reproductive health status of women, the determinants of their health status, the disparities therein, the application of relevant gender equity frameworks, and preventive strategies and programs to address women’s health and the health of their newborns and young children. There are many challenges to improving women’s and reproductive health, including the low status of women in many cultures and countries, political constraints to addressing reproductive health needs, limited access to reproductive health services, and insufficient evidence on the effectiveness of strategies to improve women’s health and reproductive health. This concentration is well-suited to those seeking leadership positions in domestic and international agencies concerned with addressing the complex and challenging problems in women’s and reproductive health. In addition to the courses listed below, students are required to take 2 credits of  DrPH Women's & Reproductive Health Concentration Seminar.

PhD Program Policies

For a full list of program polices, please visit the  DrPH Program  page where students can find our handbook.

DrPH Program Objectives

• Identify, synthesize, and apply evidence-based public health research and theory from a broad range of disciplines and health-related data sources for problem-solving and to advance programs, policies, and systems promoting population health. (Data analysis)
• Identify and analyze ethical issues including balancing the claims of personal liberty with the responsibility to protect and improve the health of the population and act on the ethical concepts of social justice and human rights in public health research and practice. (Ethics)
• Influence decision-making regarding policies and practices that advance public health using scientific knowledge, analysis, communication, and consensus building. (Policy)
• Assess and use communication strategies across diverse audiences to inform and influence individual, organization, community, and policy actions to promote the health of the public. (Communication)
• Enable organizations and communities to create, communicate and apply shared visions, missions and values; inspire trust and motivate others; build capacity; improve performance, and enhance the quality of the working environment; and use evidence-based strategies to enhance public health.  (Leadership)
• Provide fiscally responsible, strategic, and operational guidance within both public and private health organizations for achieving individual and community health and wellness. (Management)
• Design and evaluate system-level and programmatic initiatives in multidisciplinary teams so as to promote public health outcomes and health equity (Program design and evaluation)
• Assess adult learning needs and design and deliver training or educational experiences that respond to these needs using the best pedagogical practices available. (Education)

CEPH Learning Objectives & Foundational Competencies

According to the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) requirements, all BSPH degree students must be grounded in foundational public health knowledge. Please view the list of specific CEPH requirements by degree type .

Concentration & Track Competencies

Compare and contrast intrapersonal, interpersonal, community, and social behavior change theories and frameworks and assess their usefulness for designing public health interventions overall and in a chosen specialty area.

Assess the strengths and weaknesses of applying the systems approach to public health problems overall and in a chosen specialty area.

Design a comprehensive evaluation plan for a health program.

Note.  There are three competencies that all students are expected to achieve. In consultation with their advisors, students identify at least two additional competencies that are tailored to their planned course of study. 

Environmental Health Track

• Analyze and address the science and current issues related to environmental and occupational health.
• Explain how environmental and occupational health sciences can be integrated to improve public health practice.
• Evaluate environmental and occupational health risks by applying toxicology and risk analysis (i.e., risk assessment, risk communication, and risk management) to improve environmental and occupational health outcomes.
• Design, advocate, and provide leadership for effective environmental and occupational health.
• Assess environmental and occupational health-related illnesses and risks based on human physiology and human-environment interactions.

Health Security Track 

• Apply risk assessment principles to program planning, implementation, and goals, particularly in the context of emergency response and health security problems.
• Evaluate major health security threats, and characterize the human, social, economic, and political risks they pose to societies.
• Analyze major US and international initiatives to prevent, detect, and respond to health security threats, and assess those areas of health security where preparedness is strongest and where additional progress is needed.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of strategies to enhance health security and prevent or mitigate health security threats.
• Synthesize and communicate important health security information in a way that increases the likelihood that political leaders and policymakers take appropriate action.
• Assess global public health burdens and threats and formulate strategies to solve complex health issues.
• Examine health systems frameworks, strategies, actors, and tools to analyze and evaluate health systems performance and their reforms in global settings with a primary focus on LMICs.
• Apply key policy frameworks and models in policy development and analyze the role and contribution of actors, context, and evidence in shaping effective policies and programs in LMICs.
• Create effective and comprehensive evaluation plans for small and large programs in health with ethical and resource considerations, with a primary focus in LMICs.
• Examine theories on globalization's impact on health and apply analytical tools to evaluate globalization's impact on health, with a primary focus on LMICs.

Note. LMIC is an acronym for low- and middle-income countries. 

• ​Critically evaluate issues relating to health equity and social justice in analysis of public health programs and policies.
• Apply theoretical frameworks to identify social determinants of health that promote or compromise health equity and health disparities in disadvantaged groups.
• Apply methods to measure social determinants of health and their relation to health outcomes for vulnerable and marginalized populations.
• Apply social justice principles to inform strategies and policies to promote health equity in communities.
• Evaluate the implementation and sustainability of health programs at the interpersonal, intrapersonal, organizational, social/environmental, and political levels.

HEALTHCARE MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP TRACK

• Evaluate the role of organizational leadership in the development and communication of a shared mission, vision, and core values.   
• Evaluate the role key financial performance indicators serve in managing and improving organizational performance.
• Apply evidence-based tools and frameworks to enhance organizational performance in the human, clinical, financial, information and supply chain domains to drive value and improved outcomes.
• Manage data, information, and knowledge systematically to improve assessment of patient outcomes, reduce medical errors, enhance quality of medical care and patient safety, and strengthen overall service delivery.
• Assess Quality and Patient Safety programs as a means to develop and sustain a culture of patient/client focused excellence.

HEALTH POLICY TRACK

• Critically assess policy interventions to address complex public health problems.
• Apply data to inform decision-making for policy formulation and weigh scientific, political, ethical, and social public health concerns.
• Formulate and execute advocacy strategies that are responsive to public health policy goals.
• Communicate the role of public health within the larger health and social policy system, with a focus on response to managing health crises.
• Apply state-of-the-science, leadership, and communication strategies to effectively disseminate scientific evidence to policymakers.

PUBLIC HEALTH INFORMATICS TRACK

• Assess the state of the science and current research and policy issues related to the foundation of population health informatics.
• Identify the most effective visualization techniques that can be used to convey impactful results to different end users (e.g., patients, clinicians, care managers/coordinators, health system admins, and policymakers).
• Propose a high-level design for a decision support intervention and implementation.
• Evaluate various informatics solutions for public or population health management interventions based on different criteria such as user-centered software design and system architecture, design thinking and interoperability, standards, human factors, security, privacy, and ethical issues.
• Articulate the proper management approaches for an organization to evaluate organizational readiness and implement solutions utilizing change management strategies.

Quality & Patient Safety Track

• Apply quality improvement and evaluation frameworks to health services challenges.
• Evaluate and manage measurement challenges.
• Identify implementation barriers and leverage facilitators and evidence to enhance quality and patient safety in practice.
• Assess utility of specific quality improvement and patient safety measurement interventions and methods.
• Apply a framework for analyzing and improving the quality of medical care.
• Apply key implementation science constructs and theories to public health problems.
• Distinguish implementation outcomes from efficacy, service, and client outcomes.
• Recognize which stakeholders should be engaged in the process of developing, implementing, evaluating, and sustaining a community-based program.
• Propose implementation of research study aims, methods, data sources, and study designs to address a public health question.
• Critically evaluate the relevance of study designs used for efficacy, effectiveness, and implementation research.

Women's & Reproductive Health Concentration

• Assess the principal health concerns for women or mothers and newborns, the associated population-based risk factors, and the relative impact of each risk factor.
• Apply a life course framework to understanding the determinants of a woman’s or reproductive health concern, implications for a woman’s health later in life, and the population strategies to address it.
• Evaluate strategies to promote population-level women's or reproductive, maternal, and child health, including healthcare services and systems delivery strategies used to address health concerns in the population.
• Evaluate research approaches to understand woman’s or reproductive health concerns and the implications of the research.
• Apply frameworks related to women’s and reproductive health for improving their health.
• Identify and assess the causes and consequences of population change related to women’s and reproductive health using demographic methods.

• Current Students

DrPH - Doctor of Public Health

The Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) degree at Berkeley School of Public Health is conferred in recognition of a candidate’s command of a comprehensive body of knowledge in the field of public health and related disciplines, and of the candidate’s proven ability to initiate, organize and pursue the investigation of significant problems or interventions in public health. The focus of this degree is the development of transdisciplinary knowledge about the determinants of health and the scientific and professional leadership skills to translate this knowledge into effective health interventions.

Those who earn this degree are expected to occupy leadership positions that have major influence on public health research, policies, programs, systems and institutions. Such leadership may be in diverse traditional and nontraditional settings at the international, national, state, or local levels and in the public, private and academic sectors.

Applicants must hold a master’s or doctoral degree in the health sciences or in another related field or non-US equivalent degree. Applicants must also have a minimum of two years or more of professional public health experience post-master’s degree showing progressive responsibility and evidence of leadership potential.

The DrPH program is a full-time campus-based program of study designed to be completed in three or four years for those applicants with an MPH from a CEPH-accredited institution and at least two years of postgraduate professional public health leadership experience. Any students with deficiencies in coursework equivalent in content to the MPH at UC Berkeley must take prerequisite courses either before starting the program or during the first year of the program.

Students will participate in an integrative doctoral training program that incorporates knowledge and skills from all divisions of the School of Public Health as well as the Schools of Education, Public Policy, Social Welfare and the Haas School of Business. The required course work consists of 4 full-time semesters (48 units) and a minimum of 12 units of dissertation research credits. This course work encompasses a thorough grounding in leadership, research methods and the application of these methods to the analysis of public health and policy issues. Students must fulfill all the course requirements from the Council on Education for Public Health CEPH specific competencies listed in the student handbook. Due to the diverse experience each student brings to the program, it is expected that students will also select courses and independent studies that advance their knowledge and ultimately their proficiency in all of the core and breadth knowledge areas listed below.

• Health Politics and Policy Analysis
• Public Health Interventions
• Global Health Sciences
• Research Design and Methods
• Public Health Ethics

Each student is also required to complete a research and/or professional residency in a public health setting that will provide the opportunity to advance knowledge and skills, identify data for dissertation research, conduct analyses and participate in decision making. Examples include: positions with local, state, or national legislatures, international agencies, city, county and state departments of public health or health services, policy think-tanks, multi-hospital systems and large health maintenance organizations.

As part of the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, DrPH students are eligible to take elective classes at other schools within the University including the Haas School of Business, Goldman School of Public Policy, City Planning, Journalism and others.

The DrPH program is a full-time professional degree program with a residency requirement. For this reason, the program is not recommended for persons who want to continue to work full-time. Overall, the program averages 3-4 years in length. There are no online or night courses available. The first two years of the program are primarily devoted to required coursework.

UC Berkeley DrPH graduates are employed in leading universities, policy research centers and “think tanks” across the country and internationally.

The DrPH is a professional degree program designed primarily for students interested in occupying leadership positions in the field. However, the program includes coursework in research methods, academic mentorship and completion of a dissertation involving the conducting of original research on a problem of public health importance. A number of graduates of the DrPH have gone on to accept university teaching positions or positions as full time researchers in academic or other scholarly settings. Although there is no specific “academic track” within the DrPH, students interested in teaching and research should choose as electives additional coursework in theory and research methods and undertake a dissertation consistent with such a career choice.

DrPH Admissions

Applicants must hold a master’s or doctoral degree in the health sciences or in another related field or non-US equivalent degree and have a minimum of two years or more of professional public health experience post-master’s degree, showing progressive responsibility and evidence of leadership potential. Questions about the applicability of a prior master’s or doctoral degree towards this requirement should be directed to the program office.

A Statement of Purpose is required, that explains how the DrPH program would help build on prior experiences and contribute to his or her career goals. Identify possible topics and research areas you may want to focus on for the dissertation project.

DrPH applicants are also required to provide a writing sample. Writing samples should be no more than 7,000 words in length and examples can include: publications in peer-reviewed journals on which you were the sole or first author, papers written for a graduate course, media pieces, or reports written for public agencies.

We recommend submitting a GRE if you have no other evidence of quantitative, verbal, or analytical abilities in your application.

Note: The average entering student has a verbal score above the 86th percentile and a quantitative score above the 66th percentile.

Official transcripts from all institutions (including community college and graduate coursework) are also required, with a minimum B average (3.0) or equivalent (work completed in the last two years of a bachelor’s degree program and in all post-baccalaureate coursework.

We look at an application in its entirety to determine a person’s strengths and relative fit to our program; available advisors, areas of research interest and academic history are important considerations as is research work experience. Letters of recommendation are also carefully reviewed.

Go to the Berkeley Public Health Graduate Admissions Dates and Deadlines page for general application information and instructions. Some dates and deadlines are specific to the application process for the DrPH program:

December 1: Application deadline

January: Admission committee begins review of applications. Members of the committee may contact applicants during this review period to arrange for phone interviews. Interviews for admission are conducted on an ad hoc basis – not receiving a request for an interview is not indicative of an admissions decision and vice versa.

March (Early): First round of communication of offers are sent. Candidates are offered admission during this time are able to attend a Spring Visit Day in mid-March.

March (Late)—April (Late): Subsequent rounds of communication of offers and final decisions made during this period, after Spring Visit Day. The academic year begins in the fall; spring admission is not permitted.

The DrPH Program typically hosts a Spring Visit Day in mid-March for those candidates who have been offered admission during the first round of offers.

The UC Berkeley Graduate Division and the DrPH Program do not allow for deferred admission. We recommend that you update your CV, obtain at least one new letter of recommendation and reapply.

Some applicants who are not admitted are encouraged to reapply the ensuing year to allow for additional coursework and/or relevant research experiences.

Waitlisted candidates will receive information about their final status on or before June 1. Some of our best students were originally on the waitlist for admission before receiving their offer of admission. We regret the inconvenience and ask for your patience during this process.

The faculty listed here teach the DrPH seminars and provide mentoring and advising to all DrPH students. In addition, faculty throughout the School work with DrPH students as advisers, mentors and Qualifying Exam and dissertation committee members.

Sometimes faculty are unable to respond to prospective students’ queries about mentorship prior to admissions decisions because the admissions committee is responsible for making recommendations for admitted students’ assigned advisors. Applicants with an interest in working with a particular faculty member should indicate this in their applications.

Core Faculty

Drph student directory.

• 2024–2025 Cohort div; cls: uk-animation-fade; delay: 18" uk-grid > Olumayowa Adebayo Christine Board Paulina Castro Nava Joyce Cheng Priya Gangolly Amy Garfinkel Pritika Khatri Frederick Mubiru Chinwe Obudulu Lucia J. Rodriguez Alvizo Pamela Williams

Olumayowa Adebayo is a first year DrPH student. Her formative years were marked by an acute awareness of the public health challenges in her community, particularly among women and children, which steered her away from an initial pursuit of a medical career towards a preventive and health-promoting approach. She holds a bachelor’s degree in physiology and completed her Master’s degree in Public Health with a concentration in reproductive and family health. Her career began as a program officer managing a project aimed at empowering women through financial literacy, gender socialization, and family planning. Most recently, she has worked as a research consultant, supporting the implementation and coordination of reproductive health research programs. Olumayowa is dedicated to tackling health disparities and improving service delivery, with a strong focus on maternal and child health. Her research interests also align with these areas, aiming to develop evidence-based strategies to enhance health outcomes for women and children.

A southern California native, Christine Board was drawn to public health from a young age through childhood experiences in her community and family. She received her BA in public health from UC Berkeley in 2015, and an MPH in Epidemiology from Berkeley in 2021. Her career in healthcare began working in healthcare administration, with a focus on health equity and reducing gaps in disparities through clinical quality improvement, education, and data equity. Currently, she works as a data analyst for a clinical research team looking at the health care delivery for type 2 diabetes patients and the impacts of social and clinical determinants on short and long-term health outcomes. She has a passion for applied social epidemiology that has been driven by her love for narrative, and she believes the ability to share our stories and have our voices valued, is an integral part of health equity and our health and healing. Her primary area of interest lies in illuminating the systemic inequities that have harmed communities, not only to reduce health disparities but to improve overall wellness and the quality of life these communities deserve. Understanding that historically data has not been collected to serve the communities it has been taken from, she hopes to join those pioneering a movement on the decolonization of data. In her free time, she enjoys dancing, being outdoors and gathering in community.

Paulina Castro Nava (she/her) is a first-year Doctor of Public Health student. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Human Biology from Stanford University and her Master of Public Health and Certificate in Public Health Economics from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. Through years of conducting community-based participatory research in food justice and supporting a federally-qualified health center through a pandemic, she developed her commitment to co-create healthier communities to cultivate health equity. Most recently, she served her hometown of Ventura County, California as the first Climate Change and Health Equity Coordinator, developing multilingual health education, collaborating with community organizers, and implementing clinician trainings to bridge the public health, community-based, and medical to establish a foundation for addressing the climate crises as a health equity imperative. Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2023, she understands the importance of and advocates for an accessible health system with investment in the socio-ecological determinants of health. She enjoys hosting reflective journaling sessions with friends and reading (especially Octavia Butler).

Joyce Cheng is a mother of three. Joyce started her career in the non-profit community health sector in 2006 and held a leadership role since 2020. She brings lived and in-field experience in serving communities of color. Joyce serves as the Executive Director and Community Researcher at the Chinese Community Health Resource Center to lead a mission to build a healthy community through culturally and linguistically appropriate preventive health, disease education and management, research, and advocacy. She serves as Co-Principal Investigator, Co-Investigator, Community Advisor for national- and state-funded research studies.

As the Director of Community Outreach at the Chinese Hospital, Joyce leads collaborative efforts within the integrated health system and among local partners. Amid the COVID pandemic, in collaboration with San Francisco City and community-based partners, Joyce oversaw the operations of the primary COVID-19 testing site in San Francisco Chinatown, where over 25,300 screenings were administered between January 2021–February 2023.

As Senior Community Advisor at the University of California, San Francisco, she advocates for community engagement and participation while ensuring scientific rigor. Moreover, as Board Member of local- and state-level committees, Joyce seeks opportunities to improve the ways communities are engaged through research.

Furthermore, as a Doctor of Public Health student, Joyce aims to strengthen her training in community engagement partnership and research, equitable health information delivery as well as to explore cross-sectoral partnership and innovative systems thinking. Joyce is passionate about mentoring youth and early professionals, leading collaborative efforts, and incorporating artistic expressions into her work.

Priya Gangolly is a first-year doctoral student. She has predominantly focused her career on the health technology industry, specializing in building trust and credibility for social networks and building online products to improve population health. As an early member of Facebook’s Health team, she collaborated with government agencies across Asia, South America, and the US on products addressing global health challenges, and developed campaigns with the CDC to counter online misinformation during the pandemic. At other tech companies, she established online communities for patients and physicians to interact and share evidence-based information and research, alongside initiatives addressing emerging public health issues like loneliness and burnout. Her previous professional experience includes Stanford Children’s Hospital, the United Nations Foundation, and the Department of Health & Human Services where she assessed ethical considerations of vaccine mandates. Priya’s research interests are network effects, online health information seeking behavior, algorithmic bias, digital wellbeing, human-centered design, and ethics of emerging health technologies. She holds a BA in Psychology and Healthcare-Social Issues from the University of California, San Diego, and an MPH in public health communication and marketing from George Washington University. She enjoys travel, tennis, and volunteering with rescue dogs.

Amy Garfinkel is a first-year DrPH student. She is passionate about developing, implementing, and evaluating programs that increase access to nutritious food, support community food systems, and engage communities in experiential learning opportunities about food and nutrition such as cooking and gardening. Her experience ranges from implementing farm to school programming at the school district level to supporting farm to school programs statewide at the California Department of Food and Agriculture. She received her BA in Social Welfare and MPH in Public Health Nutrition from UC Berkeley.

Pritika Khatri, a DrPH student at UC Berkeley, hails from the serene rural Himalayas of Nepal, bringing over 10 years of experience in health research, policy, and global health. With a background in MPH and Nursing, she currently manages multiple clinical trials on cardiovascular diseases in Virginia, collaborating closely with cardiologists and nephrologists. Her role includes site selection, protocol development, regulatory compliance, CRO management, and team coordination. Previously, as a Research Fellow for Southeast Asia at the World Health Organization, she worked at the intersections of gender and intersectionality in health policy, conducting comprehensive scoping reviews and developing study modules to address health disparities, working in Bengaluru, India. Additionally, as a Quality Assurance Officer for Save the Children International, she supervised Nepal’s first paperless tuberculosis survey, covering 57,000 people in 99 clusters.

Pritika’s roles reflect her broad impact on global health. As a Program Manager for the Harvard Lown Scholar Program, she played a pivotal role in establishing and managing a health center in Nigeria, providing health services to more than 60,000 people across nine communities.

Her research interests include utilizing data science and artificial intelligence to explore health disparities, particularly in sexual and reproductive health and rights in low- and middle-income settings. Beyond academia, she loves hiking, reading non-fiction, writing poetry, and is an avid dancer.

Frederick Mubiru will be joining the DrPH program at UC Berkeley in the Fall,2024. He is a Global Health professional with over 20 years of experience, holding a BSc and MSc in Population and Reproductive Health from Makerere University, Kampala. He is also a certified Project Management Professional (PMD Pro by Humentum) and has earned a Global Health Leadership certification from the University of Washington-Seattle.

Prior to UC Berkeley, Frederick served as a Technical Advisor at FHI 360’s Scientific and Technical Evidence Advancement Department, leading research utilization and knowledge management for projects such as USAID Research for Scalable Solutions (R4S), BMGF SMART HIPs, USAID MOSAIC, and Knowledge SUCCESS. His work also included advocacy for new family planning and HIV prevention technologies like Hormonal IUD, DMPA SC for Self-Injection and D-Ring and Ca-Prep, and exploring private sector distribution channels for reproductive health commodities. Earlier, as Director of the USAID-funded Uganda Family Planning project (APC), Frederick oversaw the scaling up of high-impact community-based family planning initiatives and implemented critical adolescent health programs across 25 districts of Uganda.

His leadership and membership extend to several global and local communities of practice, including the Implementing Best Practices Consortium, FP Insights, Scale-Up Community of Practice, and the East African FP/RH Community of Practice. Proficient in English and Luganda, and conversant in basic German and Swahili, Frederick’s career spans diverse international settings, including Uganda, Mozambique, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Nepal, Ghana, Kenya, and the USA. His pragmatic approach, dependability, passion for inclusive development programming, and logical decision-making make him a respected leader in public health.

Frederick enjoys networking and collaborating on charity and developmental activities through Rotary International, his neighborhood, and church communities. He also enjoys jogging in natural environments, following global news and events, and sports such as soccer and athletics.

Chinwe Obudulu is a registered dietitian with diverse experience working alongside medical and public health practitioners, researchers, entrepreneurs, and policy makers to implement nutrition and health initiatives. Struggles with childhood obesity drove her initial interest in dietetics, and she has since aligned her career with understanding the determinants that influence food choice and reducing health disparities. As the daughter of Nigerian immigrants, Chinwe is passionate about providing health education grounded in cultural understanding and in using food and nutrition to support physical, mental, and social wellbeing. She began her dietetics career working with communities under the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education, Head Start, and the Ryan White HIV/AIDS programs.

Chinwe was part of the inaugural class of Biden-Harris Administration White House interns within the Office of Science and Technology Policy where she gained an interdisciplinary perspective on public policy and health. Most recently, Chinwe has worked as a Nutritionist at the USDA facilitating the development and implementation of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Science from the University of Texas Medical Branch. She enjoys traveling, cooking, being active (running, weight lifting and Pilates), drawing portraits, writing, comedy shows, and trying to learn how to dance (so far, to no avail).

Lucia J. Rodriguez Alvizo is a public health professional driven by her lived experiences. Her work is deeply influenced by her roots in Arandas, Jalisco, where she aims to leave a lasting impact akin to the indelible mark of red dirt on white clothes. As an immigrant, Lucia draws inspiration from her mother’s resilience in navigating complex systems to achieve health and well-being. She honors the knowledge gained from her own experiences and those around her. Lucia works passionately to bring her full self into everything she does, including her experience navigating her mental health and grief. Her mission is to ensure that health systems are as diverse and dynamic as the populations they serve. Through her work, Lucia hopes to ensure everyone is able to achieve their highest level of health possible and thrive in a life they find fulfilling. Community, growth, and finding moments of joy are important to Lucia in navigating the cycles of life.

Pamela Williams was born and raised in the Bay Area and currently hails from South San Francisco. Following the completion of her undergraduate degree, she lived in Namibia as a Peace Corps HIV/AIDS Prevention and Community Health Volunteer. Since then she worked as research staff for UCSF, San Francisco General Hospital, and Stanford University. She also completed a MSc in Global Health from UCSF. Most recently she’s worked as a data analyst for a global health supply chain program that provides procurement support to strengthen local capacity in HIV supply chains in over 25 countries. In the DrPH program, Pamela plans to pursue the study of reproductive health, specifically, non-hormonal, reversible, male contraception.

• 2022–2023 Cohort div; cls: uk-animation-fade; delay: 18" uk-grid > Larissa Benjamin Ravneet Gill Caleb Harrison Marisol De Ornelas Rouselinne Gómez Mounika Parimi Marlena Robbins Cara Schulte Morgan Vien Brian Villa Brian Wylie

Larissa Benjamin is a third year DrPH student. Larissa was born in Detroit, MI to parents from divergent socioeconomic and racial backgrounds who were brought together by their shared commitment to fighting social inequality. Larissa holds a BS in Evolutionary Anthropology and English from University of Michigan, and an MPH from UC Berkeley in Health and Social Behavior with a specialty in multicultural health. She is a proud former Kaiser Permanente Public Health Scholar, and a current APHA KP Community Health Scholar and Perez Research Fellow. She has 5 years of work experience in health and science communications, and 3 years of experience as a Project Policy Analyst at UC Berkeley School of Public Health on health equity-centered projects (PIs Herd and Mujahid). She is a Graduate Student Researcher with Dr. Mujahid’s social epidemiology group PLACE and works on the Social Determinants Core (PI Mujahid) of the newly NHLBI-funded RURAL cohort study in the Southeastern US. Larissa’s dissertation research uses mixed methods to explore how historical and structural factors drive neighborhood-level exposures to cardiovascular risk in rural communities in this region.

Ravneet Gill is a third year DrPH student at UC Berkeley. Her research focus is on breast cancer prevention among low income and geriatric women within the diverse Asian American subgroups in the United States. She is a proponent of preventive oncology and her professional pursuits are guided by the glaring need for reformation in health equity and the role of data disaggregation in addressing persistent cancer health disparities.

Ravneet holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and a Master’s in Public Health. Her professional experience includes over seven years of post-graduate work experience in the managed care industry, leading cancer prevention programs for Medicaid, Medicare, and ​​Dual-Eligible beneficiaries.

Ravneet loves traveling, visiting museums, and trying different cuisines from around the world. She loves to cook, write, hike, and spend time with family and friends.

Caleb Harrison is a third-year DrPH student. Prior to coming to Berkeley, he worked as the lead epidemiologist at a local health department, overseeing disease surveillance and program evaluation efforts. His research interests include evaluating policies that seek to reduce health inequities in rural settings. Caleb’s time outside of work and studies is usually spent cooking or engaging in outdoor recreation with his wife and two kids.

Marisol De Ornelas (she/her) joined the UC Berkeley’s DrPH program Fall 2022 and is an American Public Health Association and Kaiser Permanente Community Health Scholar. Marisol attended Boston University where she received a Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences and a Master of Science in Public Health. She brings over eight years of experience in public health research and project management. Marisol’s research focuses on assessing interventions on perinatal and mental health outcomes among underserved populations. She is a Graduate Student Researcher at the UC Berkeley’s Wallace Center for Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health. Outside of her scholarly work, you’ll likely find her cooking Venezuelan arepas, reading the “Ideas” section of the Atlantic , or outdoors on an adventure!

Rouselinne Gómez is a third-year student at UC Berkeley in the Doctor of Public Health program. He is a Medical Doctor who graduated from the Autonomous University of Nuevo León and earned his master’s degree in Public Health from the National Institute of Public Health (INSP) in Mexico. Prior to entering the DrPH program, he worked as a researcher in the Health Economics Unit at the INSP in Mexico. His research focused on influencers for health system navigation for the Mexican Public Healthcare system. During his time as a doctor he worked providing care for rural communities in Chiapas, Mexico. Rouselinne is currently interested in working on sexual and reproductive health issues.

Mounika Parimi is a Doctor of Public Health student at UC Berkeley. She was born and raised in Bengaluru, India, and immigrated to the US as a teenager. Mounika received her Bachelor of Arts in Music and Biology from the University of Redlands and a Master of Science in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Mounika has previously worked as a researcher studying the immunology of type 1 diabetes at the City of Hope in Duarte, California, and as a Fulbright scholar at the Center for Regenerative Therapies in Dresden. During her Master’s, Mounika’s work focused on the association between diabetes during pregnancy and congenital abnormalities. Most recently, Mounika has worked as a consultant and project manager with the Real-World Insights department of IQVIA in the United Kingdom. In this role, she has co-designed and managed several retrospective cohort studies in the UK/EU setting for various non-communicable diseases (including cardiovascular disease, asthma, and cancer). Her current research interests include post-partum health and women’s health over the life course, especially among racial and ethnic minority communities. Mounika is a graduate student researcher at UC Berkeley’s Wallace Center for Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health. In her personal life, Mounika is an avid cook, singer, and enjoys weekend hikes with her spouse and toddler.

Marlena Robbins is a third year doctoral student researching the cultural, social, and policy aspects of psilocybin use within Native communities, highlighting differences between urban and rural perspectives to inform educational frameworks, culturally informed psychedelic assisted therapy models and public health policy. Robbins is a graduate student researcher at the Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics (BCSP), focusing on evaluations and data analyses to refine the program’s structure. Her collaboration with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) led to the development of a tribal engagement toolkit, showcasing the significance of psychedelics in spiritual and recreational contexts among Native American communities. Recently, Robbins was invited to join the Federally Recognized American Tribes and Indigenous Community Working Group for the Natural Medicine Health Act with the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies. This role enables her to advocate for the protection of sacred plants against commercialization and cultural misappropriation.

Cara Schulte is a third-year doctoral candidate at UC Berkeley, where her research focuses on the intersection of climate change, global health, and human rights. She is a fellow with the Berkeley School of Law Human Rights Center and the Chowdhury Center for Bangladesh Studies. In addition to her full-time doctoral research, Cara currently works as a researcher for Climate Rights International and as a research assistant to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Climate Change and Human Rights. She is also a graduate student instructor in Global Health Ethics and a guest lecturer in Human Rights Research and Practice. Cara earned her MHS in Environmental Health Science and BA in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University. She is a member of the Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health.

Morgan Vien joined the DrPH program at UC Berkeley School of Public Health in fall 2022. Her research is focused on the intersection of precision public health, public-private partnerships, and regulations and legal considerations to improve population health. Additionally, Morgan is a research associate and works on public health and healthcare projects with the team at Health Research for Action (HRA), a research center at Berkeley Public Health. Morgan received her MPH in Health and Social Behavior from UC Berkeley and her BS in Public Health Science with minors in Biology and Sociology from Santa Clara University. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, playing piano, traveling, and creating arts and crafts.

Brian Villa is a third-year DrPH student. He received his B.A. in South and Southeast Asian Studies, MPH in Health and Social Behavior, and MSW in Strengthening Organizations and Communities from UC Berkeley. He is currently the Research Projects Director for Professor Emily Ozer’s research lab and serves as a core member of the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) and UC Berkeley Research-Practice Partnership. One of the projects he supports explores the impact of youth-led participatory action research (YPAR) on school decision-making processes. Prior to graduate school, he taught Ethnic Studies at a High School in San Francisco through the Pin@y Educational Partnerships. He also worked as the Community Health Program Manager at the RYSE Youth Center in Richmond, CA. Brian enters the DrPH program as a APHA/KP Community Health Scholarship recipient and is excited to continue his work on YPAR, adolescent mental health, racial justice, health equity, and healing-centered liberatory approaches. He enjoys cooking, playing sports, and writing music.

Brian Wylie completed his undergraduate degree at UC Berkeley, professional training in occupational therapy at USC, and his MPH in epidemiology at Harvard. During and since then, he completed a Fulbright in South Korea, developed health and wellness programs for the Los Angeles YMCA, and worked for the California Department of Public Health in infectious disease prevention and the San Francisco Department of Public Health in opioids and chronic pain management. When not working or studying, he’s usually out with his poodle Lucy, being active (running, lifting, cross country skiing), or listening to live music. Also, Go Bears!

• 2021–2022 Cohort div; cls: uk-animation-fade; delay: 18" uk-grid > Juan Carlos Bordes Brittany Campbell Purba Chatterjee Renee Clarke Yao Doe Blake Erhardt-Ohren Olufunke Fasawe Bhavya Joshi Silvana Larrea Solange Madriz Wan Nurul Naszeerah Nadia Anahi Rojas Ida Wilson Emily Winer

Juan Carlos Bordes (he/him/any) is a fourth-year DrPH candidate. Their background as a clinician in occupational therapy has led them to work in various adult healthcare settings, including hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and acute rehabilitation hospitals. Being an occupational therapist has allowed Juan Carlos to engage with individuals navigating the healthcare system, their support systems, and the multiple team members involved in patient care and collaborate with hospitals and healthcare professional organizations on various inclusion efforts. These experiences provided a foundation that led Juan Carlos to seek to make an impact through public health. Some of Juan Carlos’ goals during the DrPH program are to promote health equity and anti-racism within healthcare, with a particular interest in optimally addressing healthcare workers’ emotional health and well-being. In their spare time, Juan Carlos enjoys spending time with his niece and nephews, going on long walks around the Bay, engaging in mindfulness activities, and spending quality time with friends.

Brittany Campbell is a fourth-year DrPH student bringing 7 years of experience working on projects that center cancer health equity and community engagement at the UCSF Center for Vulnerable Populations and the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. Prior to attending UC Berkeley, she was awarded a NCI Diversity Supplement to understand patients’ experience navigating care following a positive genetic test result in the safety-net setting. This project led to her current research interests at the intersection of cancer survivorship, mind-body wellbeing, and healing from racial trauma. She received her Master of Public Health from Saint Louis University and Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from the University of Missouri. She is a proud St. Louis, Missouri native who enjoys music, dancing, and bringing people together in the spirit of healing and connection.

Purba Chatterjee is a fourth year Dr PH student. Purba grew up in India; her formative years were spent in Chennai and Kolkata. Purba came to the US to pursue her undergraduate studies. She has a Bachelor’s in Economics from University of California Los Angeles and a Master’s in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Purba has over 15 years of public health program management experience. She has worked on HIV/AIDS and other non-communicable diseases projects in Uganda, India, and now Kenya. After completion of the DrPH program, Purba plans to pivot to global mental health research with a focus on the impact of stigma on access to mental health care in low and middle-income countries. She is passionate about partnering with the community to build capacity, address stigma, and increase access to treatment for common mental health disorders. In her current role as the Associate Director of Global Equity, UCSF Dept. of Ob/Gyn, Bixby Center, she oversees operations and administration for HIV/AIDS affiliated research studies in Western Kenya and co-leads global health equity initiatives. Aside from work, Purba enjoys going on long hikes with her husband, daughter, and son. She is also an avid traveler, loves to cook, and enjoys practicing yoga!

Renee Clarke is a fourth year DrPH candidate with over 10 years of experience in the healthcare industry. Renee completed her Master of Public Health in Maternal and Child Health at the University of South Florida and holds two bachelor’s degrees in nursing and health sciences. Prior to University of California, Berkeley, she served in a variety of clinical settings including Emergency Management, Neonatal Intensive Care, Women’s Health as a Registered Nurse. Her passion has always been service leadership and eliminating health disparity gaps among women, infants, and children. Renee’s interest in improving health outcomes extends nationally and internationally. She has served in places such as Niger (Africa), Milot, Haiti and St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. Quality improvement, evaluation, implementation and decreasing health disparities has always been a cornerstone of her experiences. Renee was born in the twin island of Trinidad and Tobago and enjoys traveling, learning new cultures, outdoor activities and spending time with friends and family.

Yao Doe joins the DrPH program from fall 2021 at UC Berkeley. He was born and raised in Ghana. He Attended Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana where he completed his BSc. Chemistry. Upon completion, he worked as a laboratory chemist for a year and then moved to medical school in Ukraine. After graduating from medical school, he did his residency in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Kyiv, Ukraine. Following the completion of his residency, he returned home where he worked as head of the OB/GYN department of a hospital in Ghana and a medical director of a hospital in Togo.

Besides working as a medical doctor, he took active roles in community outreach programs such as screening for breast and cervical cancer, HIV prevention, vaccination programs, chronic-care home visits in underserved communities, and vesicovaginal and rectovaginal fistula repair in sub-regions of Ghana.He also introduced an innovative program that employed the use of prophylactic misoprostol (an inexpensive and easy to use medication that needs no refrigeration) for postpartum hemorrhage and he provided training for midwives and nursing assistants in various regions in rural Togo and this led to drastic reductions in postpartum hemorrhage and subsequent reductions in the evidence of maternal mortality and hospital referral rate in rural areas of Togo. Being thirsty for more knowledge, he moved to the United States to further his studies in Public Health at the University of New Haven, where he obtained his degree in Master of Public Health.

Yao’s primary interest is in maternal and child health, especially the prevention of maternal morbidity and mortality in developing countries. He likes playing soccer, going on road trips, and listening to classic country music.

Blake Erhardt-Ohren is a fourth year DrPH student. She is passionate about improved access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, particularly abortion services, for forcibly displaced populations. Prior to joining the program, she spent three years at Pathfinder International, where she provided monitoring and evaluation support to SRH projects around the world. During her master’s program, she worked at CARE USA, assisting with the Supporting Access to Family Planning and Post-Abortion Care (SAFPAC) project in emergency settings. She holds a BA in History from UC San Diego and an MPH in Global Health from Emory University. In her free time, Blake enjoys hiking, cooking, and traveling.

Olufunke Fasawe is a fourth year DrPH candidate from Nigeria. She joined the program from the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) where she worked as a Senior Director, Primary Health Care (Global), Director of Programs (Nigeria) and Technical Lead for the Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Program (Nigeria). She has over ten years’ experience in global health working on program design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation cutting across HIV/AIDS, Routine Immunization, Sexual and Reproductive Health, Maternal and newborn health, Cervical Cancer, and health systems strengthening. Prior to starting her career with CHAI, she worked with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS in Geneva as a health economics consultant conducting economic modeling for HIV programs and. She also interned at the World Health Organization Headquarters in Geneva during her Masters program. Olufunke holds a Master’s degree in International Health Management, Economics and Policy from SDA Bocconi, Milan, Italy; she earned her Bachelor of Dental Surgery degree from the University of Lagos, Nigeria. She loves to play tennis and enjoys running outdoors. She is passionate about gender equity and promotion of universal health care in developing countries.

Bhavya Joshi, joined the DrPH in the fall of 2021. As a Global Public Health Fellow, Bixby Summer 2022 Fellow, and the Human Rights Center Fellow 2022, Bhavya’s research focuses on understanding reproductive needs of marginalized populations in countries affected by crises. As a women human rights advocate and educator, Bhavya supports women rights defenders from across the globe to build their capacity to use international human rights mechanisms for advocacy and activism at national, regional, and international levels. Before joining the program, she managed, implemented, and evaluated public health projects in South Asia for more than 5 years. Within India, she has worked in 18 out of 28 states. Bhavya received her MA in International Law and Human Rights from the United Nations mandated University for Peace, Costa Rica and is finishing her second MA in Peace, Security, Development and International Conflict Transformation from University of Innsbruck, Austria. Her bachelor is in Political Science from Delhi University, India. She is a travel enthusiast and is fond of outdoor sports, drinking coffee and experimenting with cuisines.

Silvana Larrea is a fourth-year DrPH candidate at UC Berkeley. She is a Medical Doctor from the National Autonomous University of Mexico and received her MPH in Epidemiology from the National Institute of Public Health (INSP) in Mexico. Prior to starting her graduate program in UC Berkeley, she was a Program Officer for the Poverty, Gender, and Youth department in the Population Council Mexico office. In the Population Council, she provided technical support for the Council’s research portfolio: design, implementation, and evaluation of interventions and developing new proposals, IRB protocols, briefs, donor reports, and manuscripts. She is also a co-investigator in diverse research projects related to migration and health, with a focus on sexual and reproductive health. Her research interests include sexual and reproductive health, migration and health, and inequalities in health. Her dissertation research focuses on the challenges and opportunities of accessing and using sexual and reproductive health services for in-transit migrant women in Mexico.

Solange Madriz, MA, MS is a fourth-year doctoral student as well as an Academic Coordinator at the Institute of Global Health Sciences at University of California, San Francisco. She has designed, implemented and monitored global health programs in diverse settings including Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador, Paraguay, India and the United States. Her research focuses on global health and professional development of health professionals in low-resource settings. In addition to her research activities, Ms. Madriz teaches graduate level courses on global health for public health practitioners and medical providers. From 2015 to 2018, Ms. Madriz led the implementation of a maternal and newborn health quality improvement project in all the secondary health facilities of the states of Huehuetenango and Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. During the COVID-19 pandemic Ms. Madriz led the educational program to train over 100 community-based organization members as case investigators and contact tracers working for the San Francisco and California Departments of Public Health. She lives with her husband and 2-year old daughter in the Mission District of San Francisco. Ms. Madriz obtained her undergraduate degree from the Central University of Venezuela and a MA in International Studies from the University of San Francisco followed by a MS in Global Health from the University of California, San Francisco.

Lt. Wan Nurul Naszeerah (she/her) is a fourth-year Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) student with Designated Emphases in New Media (Berkeley Center for New Media) and Development Engineering (Blum Center for Developing Economies) at the University of California-Berkeley. As a Digital Transformation of Development (DToD) Fellow, Wan is passionate in enhancing public health preparedness through infoveillance and infodemic management in Southeast Asia. Born and raised in Brunei, Wan is currently developing a human-centered digital intervention against vaccine misinformation for the Malay-speaking communities in Southeast Asia.

This professional endeavor stems from her personal experience as a native speaker of the Malay language, for which social media technologies have not been equitably developed to moderate the spread of vaccine misinformation and to sufficiently address the emerging issues of vaccine hesitancy in this region. Hence, she has been collaborating with data scientists as well as developing her computational skills, specifically in Artificial Intelligence and Natural Language Processing, both of which are increasingly integrated into today’s public health preparedness and research. She believes that global health equity can only be achieved when there is equity in public health technologies.

Prior to becoming a Cal student, Wan had served as an infantry-trained military officer in Brunei, where she was involved in training, operations, research, and communications in the context of military medicine and health. In 2015, Wan had also graduated from the Yale School of Public Health, where she was trained in infectious diseases epidemiology and global health as Yale’s Global Health Research Fellow. She identifies as a first-generation graduate in her Malay family. She currently lives in the Bay Area with her supportive husband and sweet toddler.

Nadia Rojas (she/her) is a fourth-year DrPH candidate and a proud Bay Area native. She received her MPH from UC Davis and BA from UC Berkeley with a double major in Ethnic Studies and Integrative Biology. Before attending the DrPH program, Nadia worked at ChangeLab Solutions, a national nonprofit in Oakland, CA, where she developed tools and resources for community-based organizations, policymakers, and public officials across subject matters on upstream policy interventions. Nadia also worked at the School of Public Health at Berkeley, where she led the data collection and management of various projects evaluating Berkeley’s soda tax. Nadia is a DACA recipient and a strong advocate for the undocumented community. She co-founded Graduates Reaching a Dream Deferred Northern California (GRADD NorCal), where she was instrumental in organizing conferences throughout California for undocumented youth interested in attending graduate school. Nadia’s dissertation focuses on the association between sleep, physical activity, and cognitive function among Latinas in California’s Central Valley. Her additional interests include research that will reduce health disparities and promote equity among communities that have been marginalized, including the undocumented population. Nadia enjoys eating lots of vegetables and loves salsa and bachata dancing.

Ida Wilson is an Oakland native and DrPH candidate. She received a Master of Arts in Applied Anthropology from San José State University and a Bachelor of Science in Anthropology from UC Riverside. Ida has served as a Project Manager for the Center for Critical Public Health at the Institute for Scientific Analysis for several NIH- and Tobacco Related Disease Research Program-funded projects that investigated substance use among young adults in the Bay Area and in rural counties in Northern California. In addition to her duties as Project Manager, she also served as the Coordinator for the Center’s Internship program. Ida’s current research focuses on framing police violence as a public health issue by examining the experiences of Black and Latina women. Her additional research interests include health inequities, as well as the use of critical perspectives in examining public health issues by exploring the ways in which socio-structural systems contribute to health inequities for marginalized populations.

Emily Winer (she/her) is a fourth year DrPH candidate. Emily’s doctoral work is focused on the impact of using participatory, arts-based methods when engaging youth in research. Her other research interests include youth mental, social, and emotional health, the built environment and health, and the role of the arts in public health research and practice. Before coming to UC Berkeley, Emily worked at the International WELL Building Institute as one of the developers for WELL, a global certification for advancing health and wellbeing in buildings and communities. Emily’s work focused on the promotion of mental health through design and policy strategies at the building, organizational, and urban scale. Emily holds a BA in Psychology from Carleton College and an MPH from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. Outside of the DrPH program, Emily enjoys baking, ceramics, yoga, and spending time outdoors.

• 2020–2021 Cohort div; cls: uk-animation-fade; delay: 18" uk-grid > Mikail Aliyu Samanta Anríquez Ifunanya Dibiaezue Amanda Mazur Julia Ryan

Mikail Aliyu is a fifth-year DrPH student at UC Berkeley. He graduated from the University of Lagos, Nigeria with a degree in pharmacology. He started his career in the pharma industry working with Sanofi, where he focused on increasing access to essential medicines at primary health care level in anglophone West and East African countries. Mikail later received his MPH from the University of Leeds, in the UK, and moved into management consulting as a Program Officer at The Palladium Group. Before UC, Mikail managed a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation-funded investment called the Technical Support Unit (TSU) project. Through this grant, he provided technical support to the Federal Ministry of Health in Nigeria to create an enabling environment for women and girls to access better reproductive health and family planning (RH/FP) services. He worked closely with government officials and decision-makers to facilitate the creation of enabling structures and processes for accountability, priority setting, and coordination of RH/FP services—this involved strategy design, policy development, and implementation. Notably, he supported the development and execution of the Nigerian Family Planning Blueprint. Mikail is passionate about reducing barriers and addressing sociocultural norms that hinder access to reproductive, maternal, child and adolescent health, and nutrition using system thinking and context-based approaches. In his spare time, he enjoys traveling, sports and trying new food.

Samanta Anríquez (she/her/hers) is a fifth-year DrPH student, who came sponsored by the Fulbright commission in Chile (2020–2021). She served in Chilean public health services for 6 years, focusing in Primary Care and Family Practice in extreme zones, where she has been the director of a family health center in the Chilean Patagonia. She has a medical specialization in Public Health and a MSc of Epidemiology, both from the Universidad Católica of Chile, where she focused her research on Chronic Multimorbidity and Primary Care Models. She has advocated for Health and Human Rights as a volunteer in Amnesty International while being a medical student at the Universidad of Chile and later worked with Medical Residents Union in Chile. She is currently a fellow at the UC Berkeley Human Rights Center, where her work with Amnesty International Chile focuses on the reparation of Human Rights violations in the Chilean social outbreak in October 2019. She is the mother of two beautiful girls who joined her, and her husband in this adventure.

Ifunanya Dibiaezue is a fifth year DrPH student. She is a Public Health Professional with over 7 years of experience in maternal and child health, communicable and non-communicable disease prevention, nutritional awareness and training programs, and public health policy development. She holds a Bsc degree in Biomedicine from the University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK, and a Master of Public Health (MPH) from the University of York, York, UK. While working as an Assistant Program Officer in Africare under the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves Project, Ifunanya helped increase the earning capacity of over 1000 women cooks, reduce indoor air pollution and reduce the incidence of respiratory diseases by 65% in Lagos State, Nigeria. In addition, she has helped improve the health of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in Southern Nigeria. She has coordinated over 25 HIV testing and counseling programs, and training campaigns with over 70 clinical staff to improve the overall quality of care for PLWHA. She is also very passionate about promoting healthy lifestyles among women. She is the founder of ActivEaters, an organization that focuses on improving the quality of health of women through diet, exercise, and behavior change.

Amanda Mazur is a fifth-year DrPH student at UC Berkeley. She received her MS in Global Health Sciences from UCSF and a BS in Biological Science and BA in International Relations from the University of Calgary. Before attending UC Berkeley, Amanda worked at UCSF on projects in adolescent sexual and reproductive health and coordinated international behavioral health research projects focusing on HIV adherence and stigma reduction, detection and treatment of common mental disorders in community rural health clinics, and understanding intersectional stigma related to HIV and cancer. Prior to starting graduate studies, she worked with the United Nations Development Programme in Zimbabwe to accelerate achievement on the UN Millennium Development Goals. Her research interests include global mental health, sexual and reproductive health, and understanding how systems level approaches can address health outcomes in low-resource settings.

Julia Ryan is a fifth year DrPH student with a passion for improving sexual and reproductive health in vulnerable communities globally. Over the past seven years, she has worked on a broad range of quantitative and qualitative research projects at academic institutions, non-profit organizations, and governmental agencies. Most recently, she spent three years as a qualitative research coordinator focused on HIV prevention in sub-Saharan Africa with the Women’s Global Health Imperative at RTI International. Prior to that, she worked on reproductive health research with UNC Project in Malawi, vertical HIV transmission with USAID, Ebola response with the WHO, and Zika response with the CDC. Julia received her BA in Health and Societies with a concentration in Public Health at the University of Pennsylvania, and her MSc in Reproductive and Sexual Health Research from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). She grew up in Boston and Philadelphia and loves hiking with her dog, reading, and snowboarding.

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Asa Radix, MD, PhD, MPH

• Associate Professor of Clinical Epidemiology

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Credentials & experience.

Dr. Radix is an infectious disease/HIV specialist at the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center in NYC and Associate Professor of Clinical Epidemiology in the Department of Epidemiology. They also serve as the Director of the Online MS in Epidemiology program at the Mailman School of Public Health. Dr. Radix is a recognized expert in transgender medicine and has contributed to multiple national and international guidelines for the care of transgender and gender diverse people. Dr. Radix serves on several boards including the New York State AIDS Institute Medical Care Criteria Committee, the American Sexual Health Association (Chair) and the HHS Panel on Antiretroviral Guidelines for Adults and Adolescents and was co-chair of the World Professional Association of Transgender Health (WPATH) Standards of Care 8 working group. Their research focuses on STI/HIV risk, HIV prevention and health outcomes in transgender populations.

Academic Appointments

Education & training.

• PhD, Columbia University
• M Phil, Cambridge University
• MPH, University of Connecticut
• MD, St. George's University
• Other, DTM&H, University of London

Committees, Societies, Councils

Editorial boards, honors & awards, research interests.

• Community Health
• Infectious Diseases
• LGBT health
• Public Health

Selected Publications

Wirtz AL, Poteat T, Radix A, Althoff KN, Cannon CM, Wawrzyniak AJ, Cooney E, Mayer KH, Beyrer C, Rodriguez AE, Reisner SL. American Cohort to Study HIV Acquisition Among Transgender Women in High-Risk Areas (The LITE Study): Protocol for a Multisite Prospective Cohort Study in the Eastern and Southern United States. American Cohort To Study HIV Acquisition Among Transgender Women (LITE). JMIR Res Protoc. 2019 Oct 3;8(10):e14704. doi: 10.2196/14704. PMID: 31584005

Malina S, Warbelow S, Radix AE. Two Steps Back - Rescinding Transgender Health Protections in Risky Times. N Engl J Med. 2020 Nov 19;383(21):e116. doi: 10.1056/NEJMp2024745. Epub 2020 Jul 31. PMID: 33210859

Dimant OE, Cook TE, Greene RE, Radix AE. Experiences of Transgender and Gender Nonbinary Medical Students and Physicians. Transgend Health. 2019 Sep 23;4(1):209-216. doi: 10.1089/trgh.2019.0021. eCollection 2019. PMID: 31552292

Reisner SL, Deutsch MB, Mayer KH, Potter J, Gonzalez A, Keuroghlian AS, Hughto JM, Campbell J, Asquith A, Pardee DJ, Pletta DR, Radix A. Longitudinal Cohort Study of Gender Affirmation and HIV-Related Health in Transgender and Gender Diverse Adults: The LEGACY Project Protocol. JMIR Res Protoc. 2021 Mar 1;10(3):e24198. doi: 10.2196/24198. PMID: 33646126

Radix AE. Addressing Needs of Transgender Patients: The Role of Family Physicians. J Am Board Fam Med. 2020 Mar-Apr;33(2):314-321. doi: 10.3122/jabfm.2020.02.180228. PMID: 32179615

Radix AE, Harris AB, Goldstein ZG. How can we improve uptake of oral HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis for transgender individuals? Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther. 2020 Sep;18(9):835-838. doi: 10.1080/14787210.2020.1759418. Epub 2020 May 5. PMID: 32316773

Radix A. Hormone Therapy for Transgender Adults. Urol Clin North Am. 2019 Nov;46(4):467-473. doi: 10.1016/j.ucl.2019.07.001. Epub 2019 Aug 19. PMID: 31582021

Marzinke MA, Radix A. Healthcare Is a Spectrum: The Utilization of Population-Specific Reference Intervals Is Essential in the Standard of Care for Transgender Patients. J Appl Lab Med. 2021 Jan 12;6(1):7-10. doi: 10.1093/jalm/jfaa206. PMID: 33438733

Duncan DT, Schneider JA, Radix A, Harry-Hernandez S, Callander D. Sleep health among transgender women of color in New York City: Preliminary analyses of interim baseline data from the TURNNT study cohort. Sleep Health. 2021 Feb 19:S2352-7218(21)00005-X. doi: 10.1016/j.sleh.2021.01.005. Online ahead of print. PMID: 33619011

Dubin S, Cook TE, Radix A, Greene RE. Sexual Orientation Demographic Data in a Clinical Cohort of Transgender Patients. Appl Clin Inform. 2021 Mar;12(2):222-228. doi: 10.1055/s-0041-1725184. Epub 2021 Mar 17. PMID: 33730758

Department of Surgery

Thembekile Shato, PhD, MPH

Assistant Professor (Research)

• Phone: 314-454-7940

Specialty Areas

• Public health sciences

Cancer research

• Data analysis

2017 Master of Public Health, Epidemiology University of Cape Town, SA

2020 PhD, Public Health, Behavioral Science and Health Education Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO

Professional Memberships

American Association for Cancer Research

Society for Social Work and Research

American Public Health Association

American Statistical Association

Awards and Honors

2012 Beit Student Support Fund Postgraduate Centre & Funding Office, University of Cape Town2012 Beit Student Support Fund Postgraduate Centre & Funding Office, University of Cape Town

2013 John and Margaret Overbeek Scholarship Postgraduate Centre & Funding Office, University of Cape Town

2012 Dean’s Merit List Recipient (Above 70%) Faculty of Humanities, University of Cape Town

2015 International/Refugee Students’ Scholarship Postgraduate Centre & Funding Office, University of Cape Town

2015 – 2016 Sidgwick-Miller Scholarship, Visiting Research Scholar Telluride Association/University of Michigan

2018 – 2019 Doctoral Dissertation Award College for Public Health and Social Justice, Saint Louis University

2018 – 2019 Behavioral Science and Health Education Award College for Public Health and Social Justice, Saint Louis University

2019 – 2020 Sister Shirley Kolmer Memorial Grant Women’s Commission, Saint Louis University

2019 – 2022 Researcher Resiliency Training Fellowship Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St. Louis

Areas of Research Interest

Health disparities

Improving health outcomes

Pediatric oncology

Vaccination protocols

Publications

To contact Dr. Shato, please call 314-454-7940 .

• Biography & Research

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News and Events

Beth moracco, phd, mph, named unc injury prevention research center director.

A message from Penny Gordon-Larsen, Vice Chancellor for Research

Dear colleagues,

I am pleased to announce that Kathryn E. (Beth) Moracco has been named director of the UNC Injury Prevention Research Center (IPRC), effective September 1, 2024. Moracco brings over 15 years of experience in higher education leadership to her role and is widely recognized as an outstanding teacher, mentor, practitioner, and researcher.

Moracco has served as interim director of IPRC since February of this year. Before her interim appointment, she was associate director of the institute since 2017. She is also an associate professor in the Department of Health Behavior at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and serves as the University’s Chair of the Faculty.

As a researcher and a public health practitioner, Moracco is skilled in intervention development and evaluation research and an expert in engaging with communities and community-based organizations. Her research focuses upon the primary and secondary prevention of gender-based violence in the U.S. and global settings using qualitative and quantitative methods. She holds a bachelor’s in political science with a certificate in African Studies from the University of Florida, and a Master of Public Health and Ph.D. in Health Behavior from Gillings.

For more than 30 years, researchers at IPRC have addressed vital societal issues including domestic abuse, motor vehicle crashes, traumatic brain injury, child maltreatment, workplace safety, and opioid overdose — and have worked closely with practitioners to change policies and save lives. IPRC is responsible for hundreds of research projects that have improved the wellbeing of people in our state and beyond.

Under Moracco’s interim leadership, IPRC renewed its funding as a Centers for Disease Control Injury Control Research Center (ICRC). It is one of eleven active ICRCs nationwide, and one of only two to be continuously funded since the program’s inception.

Please join me in congratulating Beth on assuming her new role.

Penny Gordon-Larsen W. R. Kenan, Jr. Distinguished Professor Vice Chancellor for Research

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Melanie Graham, MPH, PhD, Appointed Executive Vice Chair for Research Strategy and Operations

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Melanie Graham, MPH, PhD, as the new Executive Vice Chair for Research Strategy and Operations in the Department of Surgery. Dr. Graham will provide leadership and strategic direction to enhance our department’s research efforts, with a focus on growing a robust NIH portfolio and fostering innovation. Her role promotes and supports the Department’s mission of discovery and collaborative science, aids in training the next generation of researchers, serves as the primary liaison to align research goals with university-wide initiatives, and guides the professional development of our scientist faculty and trainees.  Dr. Graham’s research, recognized both nationally and internationally, explores how behavioral and environmental factors shape, buffer, and constrain physiological processes, ultimately influencing outcomes and the overall care experience. Her research spans a broad range of fields, including diabetes and obesity, gene therapy, stem cell biology, cell and tissue engineering, solid organ and cellular transplantation, and medical devices. Embracing the One Health concept, which connects human, animal, and environmental health, her work integrates these elements to accelerate the development and clinical translation of innovative therapies. Distinguished by its collaborative nature, her diverse portfolio includes NIH-, foundation-, and industry-sponsored research.

We look forward to the advancements Dr. Graham will help drive in our research mission.

Sayeed Ikramuddin, MD, MHA Jay Phillips Professor and Chair

Emerging Principal Investigators: Dr. Dana Bakula

September 06, 2024.

Dana Bakula, PhD

Child psychologist; program and research director; assistant professor of pediatrics, university of missouri-kansas city school of medicine.

As Children’s Mercy Research Institute (CMRI) grows its research programs, the institute has welcomed many innovative, early-career investigators to its roster of researchers. These investigators bring their novel ideas, unique talents, and diverse interests to CMRI. The following profile is one in our series on emerging principal investigators.

Dana Bakula, PhD , Gastroenterology, is the Program & Research Director for the Interdisciplinary Feeding and Swallowing Program and an assistant professor at University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Medicine. From an early age, she knew she wanted to be a child psychologist. “I have no idea how I decided this so early in life, but I've always wanted to work with kids,” said Dr. Bakula. “I've always liked talking to people, and I knew I wanted to be a psychologist. It wasn't until late college that I realized I also wanted to do research.”

When she first began graduate school in psychology at Oklahoma State University, she planned to someday work one-on-one with children with medical conditions. During her research and clinical training, her career goals evolved when she observed how much stress parents experienced because of their children’s medical conditions. While studying for her PhD, she conducted two meta-analyses studies and found a link between parent mental health and a child’s wellbeing. “When parents aren't feeling supported, it has downstream effects on child health and wellbeing,” said Dr. Bakula. “That got me interested in understanding what interventions we can do at this two-generation level to improve both parent and child outcomes.”

In 2020, Dr. Bakula began her fellowship in pediatric psychology at Children’s Mercy Kansas City (CMKC), and she joined the faculty in 2022. Much of her research focuses on improving the wellbeing of children with pediatric feeding disorder (PFD) and their families. PFD is common, affecting one in 37 children. Children with PFD have so much difficulty eating that it affects their growth and nutrition. Without effective treatment, it can lead to severe malnutrition. 

Caring for a child with this disorder is very stressful, and 40% of parents of children with PFD report mental health concerns like depression, anxiety, and parenting stress. “It is one of the most stressful conditions that parents face,” said Dr. Bakula. “It’s so prevalent among young children, and there's such a need to support these parents.” Parent mental health issues are known to impact PFD treatment, including mealtime interactions. Yet, addressing parent mental health in PFD care is not part of the standard of care, and no mental health treatments for these parents have been tested. Dr. Bakula is one the first researchers to address this problem.

In May 2023, she received a National Institutes of Health K23 award to study a brief mental health treatment for parents of children with PFD. The intervention uses focused acceptance and commitment therapy, which is a type of therapy that can be helpful in just two sessions. Her team will measure whether the treatment results in positive effects on parent mental health and parent-child interactions at mealtimes. The study’s mental health treatment is designed to be easily scalable so that it can be shared and implemented at children’s hospitals around the country. Because of this, it has the potential to reach parents of children with PFD throughout the United States. This project builds on her earlier study to develop and pilot test the mental health intervention.  

Along with her research into parent mental health, Dr. Bakula also focuses on other projects to improve the quality of life of children with pediatric feeding disorder. She is a co-investigator on a project with Lori Erickson, PhD, RN, MSN, CPNP-PC , Remote Health Solutions, and Sarah Edwards, DO , Gastroenterology, to implement CHAMP® App , a mobile health software platform to help patients with feeding tubes transition from tube to oral feeding in the home. 

Dr. Bakula has also worked with community advisors in her research projects at CMKC. She would like to continue working with community members on future research projects, including in a qualitative investigation that looks at gaps in support systems for parents of children with medical conditions. She is planning the project with community member Nicole Crump who is the parent of a child with a rare genetic disorder. Crump would serve as a co-investigator on the project. “Nicole is very active in community advocacy and has a great sense of what’s going on in the community of parents of children with feeding issues,” Dr. Bakula said. “It’s nice to partner directly with her. When we partner with the community, the research we do is so much stronger and better informed.”

Dr. Bakula is mentored by Ann Davis, PhD, MPH , Director, Center for Children’s Healthy Lifestyles and Nutrition ; Delwyn Catley, PhD, San Diego State University; and Kandace Fleming, PhD, University of Kansas.

Behind the Research

Grants & projects.

• Frontiers KL2 Mentored Career Development Award
• CHAMP App for Feeding Tube Weaning

Departments

• Gastroenterology
• Feeding Clinic

Children's Mercy Mentors & Collaborators

• Ann Davis, PhD, MPH
• Lori Erickson, PhD, RN, MSN, CPNP-PC
• Sarah Edwards, DO

Marybeth Nedrud, MD, PhD

Nuclear medicine specialist, radiologist, my locations, training and education, clinical focus and research, external relationships.

Part of the Duke Cancer Institute

I am passionate about using nuclear medicine and diagnostic radiology to improve both the detection and treatment of disease, particularly cancer.

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I am interested in translational research which utilizes radiopharmaceuticals for the improved detection and treatment of metastatic disease.

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*Duke HomeCare and Hospice does not participate in the plan.

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*Please call Cigna Behavioral Heath to see if the provider is participating in your plan.

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Before scheduling your appointment, we  strongly recommend you contact your insurance company  to verify that the Duke Health location or provider you plan to visit is included in your network. Your insurance company will also be able to inform you of any co-payments, co–insurances, or deductibles that will be your responsibility. If you proceed in scheduling an appointment and your health insurance benefits do not participate with Duke, your out of pocket liability may be higher. We will contact you regarding your coverage and patient liability. If you are uninsured, learn more about our  financial assistance policy .

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• Andrew R. Jones, MD, PHD

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Physician Andrew R. Jones, MD, PHD

• Mir Namath Ali, DO
• Alexander Behnaz, MD
• Peter N. Brieloff, DPM, FACFAS, FACPM
• Scott Berkenblit, MD
• Vipul Mangal, MD
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• Peter Trent, MD
• Warren Yu, MD
• Hollie Green, NP-C
• Bernard Andre, PA-C
• Lisa Broome, PA-C
• Aisha Hasan, PA-C
• Elizabeth Fifelski CRNP-BC

A native of Indiana, Dr. Drew Jones has practiced for 35 years in diverse settings with many practice interests. He pursues a service-minded approach in our rapidly changing health care system. He uses surgical advances shown to reduce the scope of surgery to speed recovery such as the use of cameras (arthroscopy) and the Direct Anterior approach to hip replacement. He enjoys updating his knowledge and skills in general orthopedics to provide a broad range of expertise important to the patients he serves.

Dr. Jones enjoys time with his wife, family, and grandchildren in the D.C. area, Seattle and Raleigh. He is currently developing new products for the orthopedic field and enjoys golf, swimming, and reading.

If you have an orthopedic need, we have you covered. We can even accommodate new appointments within 24 hours for acute injuries.

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Dr. Shafik Dharamsi | Dean of the College of Public Health

Dr. Shafik Dharamsi, PhD, brings more than 25 years of transdisciplinary and international teaching, research and leadership experience to his role at HSC as the Dean of the College of Public Health.

Born in Tanzania, Dr. Dharamsi is a first-generation college graduate deeply committed to student success. He began his career as an inner-city schoolteacher. After completing his graduate education, he joined the Aga Khan Development Network as Regional Director of an early childhood development program in East Africa.

In 2004, Dr. Dharamsi was recruited to the University of British Columbia, where he earned tenure in the department of family medicine. He helped lead the Center for International Health and fostered the development of an interprofessional community engagement and social accountability curriculum within medical and dental education. As Research Director, he advanced translational and applied research in primary care settings focused on health disparities in underserved communities.

In 2015, Dr. Dharamsi was invited to help establish a new school of Osteopathic Medicine in San Antonio at the University of the Incarnate Word, where he served as the Founding Associate Dean of Social Accountability, Professionalism and Community and Global Engagement.

In 2017, he was recruited to the University of Texas at El Paso, where he spent the next four years serving as Dean of the College of Health Sciences and Professor of Public Health.

Prior to joining HSC, Dr. Dharamsi served as Senior Advisor to the Provost and Visiting Professor at New Mexico State University, where he played a pivotal role in advancing the formation of the new College of Health, Education and Social Transformation.

Dr. Dharamsi holds a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies and an M.S. in Dental Science from the University of British Columbia, a B.S. in Dental Hygiene from the Medical College of Georgia, a B.A. in Human Geography and a Bachelor of Education in Teacher Education from York University in Canada.

This page was last modified on March 22, 2024

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FAQs for the Schoolwide DrPH Program

The PhD program prepares students for careers as advanced researchers and academicians, while the DrPH program is designed to prepare experienced public health professionals for leadership positions in a variety of public health settings--both international and domestic, and is more practice oriented. Students finishing with a DrPH also can pursue a career as a tenure track or adjunct faculty. The DrPH Program is a part-time program that permits professionals to continue working full time wherever they are while pursuing their studies. PhD programs are full-time and require residency in Baltimore.

Yes, the DrPH program is available entirely online.  Students are encouraged to supplement their program through intensive onsite course work in summer and winter institutes--about a week in June and January respectively. The institutes take place in Baltimore and students should plan to attend during their first and second years in the program. Otherwise, DrPH foundational and concentration courses are offered in an online format. Additional course options may be available onsite and students also are welcome to attend courses on campus if they wish.

The DrPH program is very flexible and we encourage students to complete the program at a pace consonant with their work-life balance and their budgets, and these may fluctuate throughout the program.

Most students take 1-2 courses per 8-week term. Most of our courses are 3 credits, and for each credit, students can expect approximately 3 hours of study per week. This may vary slightly throughout a course and change slightly from course to course.

The program is designed to allow full-time professionals to continue working while pursuing their studies.

The lectures in an online course are recorded (asynchronous), typically in segments of 20 minutes, so you can watch them at times convenient for you. In addition, courses typically have 3-4 "LiveTalks" in which faculty or field experts offer lectures and discussion synchronously, allowing you to interact and network in real time; LiveTalks are always recorded in case you can't attend.

Some onsite courses also may be available in an online, synchronous format (via Zoom). See our course catalog .

Courses typically comprise a balance of individual and group work. Students also interact through discussion forums and presentations.

The School organizes and presents all course material using an in-house, online Learning Management System called CoursePlus.

The very large majority of students entering the DrPH program will be part-time students and the program typically only allow students to matriculate full-time if they have external funding sources that require full-time enrollment. Please contact the DrPH Program Office if you anticipate requiring full-time enrollment; this also should be noted in the SOPHAS application.

Student Sponsorship

This program currently  does not  qualify for F-1 or J-1 student sponsorship. Legal Permanent Residents and non-immigrants who are otherwise physically present in the U.S.  and  in a status that allows for full or part-time study, may pursue this program.

The Bloomberg School of Public Health has four 8-week regular terms (1-4), summer term (not required), and summer and winter institutes. Courses during the four regular terms are typically online and asynchronous, while institute courses typically are offered onsite intensively during June and January.

Please see our Academic Calendar for more information.

The DrPH program requires 57 didactic credits and a minimum of 7 proposal/thesis research credits. Depending on students' backgrounds, additional core coursework or waiver exams in epidemiology and biostatistics may be required; these credits would not count toward the didactic credit requirement of the DrPH.

Students' master's transcripts will be evaluated  after matriculation  to determine if any additional course work or waiver exams will be required. Waiver exams are offered free of charge and some preparation materials are provided.

If students have previously taken a required DrPH course, they would seek waiver for the required course and, if approved, would take an equivalent number of elective credits of their choosing. Materials and instructions for submitting a waiver are provided during the onboarding process; waiver reviews are not conducted prior to matriculation.

The program can be completed in a minimum of four years. We anticipate that most students will complete the program in a period of 4-6 years. Students must complete their coursework, comprehensive exams and preliminary oral exams within five years of matriculation, and have up to nine years, if needed, to complete the full program requirements.

At this time, the  Bloomberg American Health Initiative  provides 8-10 highly competitive fellowships to incoming DrPH students focusing in one of the Initiative's five focus areas; this fellowship is open only to students working in domestic organizations.

Interested students must apply for both the DrPH program and the Fellowship ( two separate applications ) by December 1st in order to be considered for funding when they matriculate. 

For further details regarding eligibility and application process please visit the  Bloomberg Fellows application page .

Please note that only about 12% of fellowship applicants receive an award. It is important that students consider additional funding means prior to application for the DrPH Program.

No. The DrPH Program no longer requires GRE or GMAT scores for application to the program and these scores will not be considered if submitted. The Admissions Committees evaluate applications holistically, weighing applicants' work experience, past academic performance, the focus of the statement of purpose and alignment with the program/concentration/track, and the strength of the letters of recommendation.

Applicants who have completed an applied master's degree in a topic relevant to public health (such as health service administration, environmental health, an MBA with a health services focus, or similar) will be considered eligible to apply for the program. In one of our recent cohorts, 73% of incoming students had an MPH. In addition to the MBA, MPP, and MSPH, other degrees included a master's in health administration, economics, epidemiology, biomedical engineering, health information systems, health, urban planning, and nursing.

Matriculated students who do not have an MPH may need to take additional courses to fill gaps in their learning. Please note that these courses can be taken during the coursework phase of the DrPH program, but core course credits do not apply towards the didactic credit requirement for the DrPH. Corresponding waiver exams also are offered free of charge.

The DrPH Program will not evaluate transcripts for fulfillment of core courses in advance of matriculation; however, applicants are encouraged to consider their prior graduate coursework in light of the core course requirements indicated on the DrPH website.  

Yes, Johns Hopkins believes that dissertations are a critical component of doctoral degree studies – and employers with whom we have spoken to agree with us! Dissertations enable students to gain experience addressing high-level and complex public health problems, and also expose students to the whole cycle of identifying problems, collecting and analyzing data and developing public health solutions. We are committed to making DrPH dissertations practice-oriented, and to supporting students as they identify and develop their dissertation proposals from the very beginning of the program. 

All admitted DrPH students are assigned a faculty advisor and the advisor is shared with students shortly after receiving their offers of admission. If students indicate faculty in their applications with whom they would like to collaborate, all efforts are made to connect students with these faculty; however, sometimes due to advising capacity or other constraints it is not possible. In that case, a faculty member will be identified based on the students' academic and professional interests expressed in the application.

It is unnecessary to contact faculty during the application process. We will personally connect you with your faculty advisor shortly after admission to the program!

There are a few resources that may be helpful if you would like to search for faculty by department or interests.

•  When you view a faculty member’s profile in the Bloomberg School faculty directory , many will have a link to their SciVal profile and/or specific research interests noted in a tab in the middle of their page.
• You can also search  SciVal  information directly. 
• Centers and Institutes  may have faculty affiliated with particular interests.
• You can find additional information regarding faculty and centers and research under each of the individual  department websites  as well.

No - if we already have an official credential evaluation of an international degree from WES or another agency on file from a previous application to the School of Public Health, you do not need to resubmit an evaluation. Please let us know if this applies for your application, so that we can verify that the credential evaluation is on file and add it to your new application. Please keep in mind that the existing evaluation would only be valid for JHSPH applications. if you are applying to programs at multiple schools, other academic institutions would require their own copy of the evaluation. 

State-Specific Information for Online Students

Students should be aware of additional  state-specific information for online programs .

Doctoral Degrees

Doctor of public health (drph) program.

A doctoral degree for those who want to translate knowledge into powerful results as the leader of a public health organization:

Doctor of Public Health

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) programs

All PhD programs at Harvard University are administered by the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (Harvard Griffin GSAS), and applications are processed through the Harvard Griffin GSAS online application system .

The following three PhD programs are based at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, designed for students seeking specialized scientific and technical expertise to propel an academic or research career:

PhD in Biological Sciences in Public Health PhD in Biostatistics PhD in Population Health Sciences

Harvard PhD program in Health Policy The PhD in Health Policy is a collaborative program among six Harvard University schools, including the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Ryan H. Rochat, MD, PhD, MS

• Infectious Disease

Pediatric Infectious Disease Specialist

Director, Biomedical Informatics Dual Degree Program, Baylor College of Medicine

Phone: 832-824-4330   Fax: 832-825-4347  

Languages: English

Departments: Infectious Diseases

Office locations:

1102 Bates Avenue Houston, TX 77030

Get to know Ryan H. Rochat, MD, PhD, MS

Dr. Ryan Rochat is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Pediatric Infectious Disease at Baylor College of Medicine. He also directs the Biomedical Informatics Dual Degree Program and oversees the Bioinformatics Thread in the Foundation Modules for Medical School Curriculum. With a keen interest in bioinformatics, Dr. Rochat has an interest in the progression of congenital infections throughout childhood as well as the real-world costs associated with these conditions.

His expertise in informatics has been pivotal in addressing congenital syphilis, a neglected disease with rising cases in Texas. Observing gaps in follow-up care for these infants, Dr. Rochat established a clinic in 2022 dedicated to congenital syphilis, where he centralizes the care of affected children. This clinic aims to provide excellence in patient care and serves as a valuable resource for health care providers, the community and local health departments. By normalizing the evaluation and management of congenital syphilis within this centralized clinic, Dr. Rochat hopes to better understand the epidemiology of the infection and improve treatment and follow-up efforts to address this ongoing issue.

Personal Statement

My journey as an MD and a PhD has been diverse and unique. During my graduate training I developed a strong interest in bioinformatics. This has influenced how I approach medicine, especially with the use of electronic health records (EHRs). During my fellowship in pediatric infectious disease, I used advanced informatics to study the real-world utilization of resources as well as progression of disease for congenital infections. Recently, Texas has been front and center amidst a resurgence of a once forgotten disease, congenital syphilis. With cases nearly 20 times what they were a decade ago in Texas, I sought to establish a clinic dedicated to this congenital infection. It is my belief that by centralizing evaluation and management of patients, we can provide excellent patient care and serve as a valuable resource for providers, the community and local health departments. By integrating the evaluation and management of these children across the Texas Children’s Hospital system, I feel we will be exceptionally well equipped to understand the natural epidemiology of this congenital infection and prioritize treatment, and patient follow up, to ebb this current trend.

Clinical Interests

Congenital Syphilis, Congenital Infections, Structural Virology, Pediatric Infectious Disease

Organizations

Board Certification

American Board of Pediatrics, FAAP

* Texas Children’s Hospital physicians’ licenses and credentials are reviewed prior to practicing at any of our facilities. Sections titled From the Doctor, Professional Organizations and Publications were provided by the physician’s office and were not verified by Texas Children’s Hospital.

Research interests

Leveraging clinical informatics to understand the long-term outcomes and healthcare utilization of children affected by a congenital infection

Del Valle Penella A, Miller J, Rochat R , Demmler-Harrison G. Utility of Dried Blood Spots for the Diagnosis of Congenital Cytomegaloviruses within the First 21 Days of Life in a Single Center. International Journal of Neonatal Screening , 2023 Aug 4;9(3):44. doi: 10.3390/ijns9030044. PMID: 37606481; PMCID: PMC10443379

Kara, E.M., Arısoy, A.E., Rochat, R.H. Congenital Syphilis and Hearing Loss. In: Arısoy, A.E., Arısoy, E.S., Bayar Muluk, N., Cingi, C., Correa, A.G. (eds) Hearing Loss in Congenital, Neonatal and Childhood Infections. Comprehensive ENT. 2023. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-38495-0_10

Zimolzak AJ, Davila JA, Punugoti V, Balasubramanyam A, Klotman PE, Petersen LA, Rochat RH, Liao G, Laubscher RR, Leiber L, Amos CI. Lessons Learned from an Enterprise-Wide Clinical Datathon. Journal of Clinical and Translational Science . Published online, 2022. doi:10.1017/cts.2022.450

Rochat RH , Demmler-Harrison GJ, Herpes Simplex Virus 1 and 2 In: Cherry JE, Harrison GJ, Kaplan SL, Steinback WJ, Hotez PJ, editors. Feigin and Cherry's Textbook of Pediatric Infectious Disease 8th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2018. Chapter 158; p.2145-2150

Dai W, Fu C, Raytcheva D, Flanagan J, Khant H, Liu X, Rochat RH, Haase-Pettingell C, Piret J, Ludtke S, Nagayama K, Schmid MF, King JA and Chiu W. Visualizing Virus Assembly Intermediates Inside Marine Cyanobacteria. Nature , 2013 Oct 31;502(7473):707-10. Epub 2013 Oct 9. PMID 24107993

Schmid MF, Hecksel CW, Rochat RH , Bhella D, Chiu W, Rixon FJ. A Tail-like Assembly at the Portal Vertex in Intact Herpes Simplex Type-1 Virions. PLoS Pathogens , 2012 Oct;8(10). Epub 2012 Oct 4. PMID 23055933

Bammes BE*, Rochat RH* , Jakana J, Chen DH, Chiu W. Direct electron detection yields cryo-EM reconstructions at resolutions beyond 3/4 Nyquist frequency. Journal of Structural Biology , 2012 Jan 21. PMID: 22285189

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• 2024 Artemis Awardee: Dominique Geoffrion, MD, CM,...

2024 Artemis Awardee: Dominique Geoffrion, MD, CM, PhD

Dominique Geoffrion, MD, CM, PhD, is the recipient of the 2024 American Academy of Ophthalmology Artemis Award. She was nominated by the University of Montreal Hospital Center for her dedication to global ophthalmology and her work with marginalized patients in Montreal, Canada.

When Dr. Geoffrion was a second-year medical student concurrently pursuing her PhD at McGill University, she founded the Orbis Future Vision Leaders (OFVL) Program, the world's first medical student–run global health initiative aimed at combating avoidable blindness.

Recognizing the need for more exposure and involvement in global ophthalmology, Dr. Geoffrion established OFVL in 2020, leveraging online education during the pandemic to create a virtual community of passionate medical students and ophthalmology residents. Under her leadership, the program has grown to over 250 students from all Canadian medical universities. It offers learning opportunities such as speaker events, simulation training, and networking with young ophthalmologists.

OFVL provides support to members, organizing events to increase knowledge about ocular conditions among the general public. The group also leads fundraising events for domestic eye health initiatives in remote and rural communities, including tele-retina screening in Indigenous communities. Recent fundraising efforts from OFVL have been directed towards addressing vision loss among Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.

Dr. Geoffrion, now a resident in ophthalmology at the University of Montreal, completed her PhD focusing on improving the Boston keratoprosthesis, a life-changing device for patients affected by corneal disease. Her doctoral work, conducted in the Department of Experimental Surgery as part of McGill's MD-PhD Program, aimed to enhance the effectiveness and accessibility of this artificial cornea, which is crucial in restoring vision for individuals suffering from corneal opacification, the third-leading cause of blindness worldwide. This research holds particular significance in low- and middle-income countries, where the burden of visual impairment is substantial and impedes education and autonomy.

In addition to her academic pursuits, Dr. Geoffrion is passionate about driving social and economic change both domestically and abroad. She advocates for gender equality in eye care access as a member of the Orbis Gender Task Force, leading an international awareness campaign to address gender disparities in low-resource countries. Furthermore, through her involvement with Eye on Prevention since 2018, a McGill student-led initiative, she strives to make ophthalmic knowledge more accessible to patients and increase awareness of ocular injuries in the Montreal community.

Dr. Geoffrion's commitment to global ophthalmology extends beyond her academic and advocacy roles. She currently serves as the youngest Director of Orbis Canada, representing medical students, residents, and young ophthalmologists across the country. In this capacity, she has been instrumental in expanding the reach and impact of Orbis initiatives in Canada and beyond.

Her dedication to education and outreach will continue as she transitions to a new role teaching examination and surgical skills on board the Flying Eye Hospital, furthering her mission to empower the next generation of eye health leaders and combat avoidable blindness worldwide.

In 2022, Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award recognized Dr. Geoffrion for her academic accomplishments, innovation within her community, and her involvement in global ophthalmology.

Since 2014, the Academy’s Lifetime Engaged Ophthalmologist (formerly Senior Ophthalmologist) Committee has honored a young ophthalmologist with the Artemis Award, in recognition of the tremendous work he or she has done to help disadvantaged communities obtain vision care. The award is named after the Greek goddess Artemis, who was the protector and nurturer of the vulnerable and suffering. Past recipients have helped deliver health care to impoverished communities and designed or launched community-based health care or educational programs for patients.

All content on the Academy’s website is protected by copyright law and the  Terms of Service . This content may not be reproduced, copied, or put into any artificial intelligence program, including large language and generative AI models, without  permission from the Academy.

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