Gillings School faculty members are leaders in determining risk factors for cancer, using technology to reduce the health impacts of diabetes, creating policy changes to discourage young people from smoking, and designing better ways to reach millions with clean, safe water and sanitation. The lessons we learn globally often are used to save lives and transform public health in North Carolina, and research conducted here has impact and relevance around the world. Last year nearly half of our faculty members research grants and contracts had a global health focus.

Browse our 80+ global health faculty members by department, focus area/research interest, and country.

NameDepartmentFocus Areas/Research Interests
Countries (Current and Previous Research/Work)
Annie Green HowardBiostatisticsCardiovascular disease; Obesity; Longitudinal and correlated data; Missing data; Latent variablesChina, Thailand
Donglin ZengBiostatisticsCharacterizing environmental impacts on public healthUnited Arab Emirates
Joe BrownEnvironmental Sciences & EngineeringThe use of fecal waste streams in public health surveillance; the development and application of novel tools to track pathogens in environmental media; and observational and experimental studies to estimate the effects of water, sanitation and hygiene interventions in controlling the transmission of infectious diseasesMozambique, Cambodia, Bolivia, Zambia, South Africa, Vietnam, India, Tanzania, Malawi, United States
Michael FisherEnvironmental Sciences & EngineeringMonitoring and evaluation of water and sanitation processes, infrastructure, and service delivery; Improving water and wastewater treatment; Applications of implementation science and quality improvement methods to improving the performance of water and sanitation systemsBolivia, Burkina Faso, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Ghana,
India, Ireland, Mali, Mexico, Nepal, Niger, Sierra Leone, Spain
Musa MangaEnvironmental Sciences & EngineeringPlanning, monitoring, evaluating and improvement of water, sanitation, and fecal sludge management practices/programs in the Global South; Optimization of sanitation technologies/ wastewater treatment systems and BioResource Recovery (Nutrient and BioEnergy); Development and validation of faecal pathogen hazards and risk models; Sanitation and climate change; Addressing Inequalities in access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in underserved/ marginalized communities; Life cycle costing of water and sanitation programs; Environmental Justices; Aerosols and airborne pathogens emissions associated with Sanitation and FSM practicesBangladesh, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States, Zambia
Glenn MorrisonEnvironmental Sciences & EngineeringChemical and transport phenomena; Air Quality and Atmospheric ProcessesDenmark, Germany, Sweden
Aaron SalzbergEnvironmental Sciences & EngineeringDrinking water and sanitation; Water resource management; Transboundary water cooperationBurma, Cambodia, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Iraq, Kenya, Laos, Pakistan, South Africa, Sudan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda
Jill StewartEnvironmental Sciences & EngineeringGlobal Environmental Health; Contaminant Sources, Fate and Transport: Human Exposure and Health Effects, Sustainable Water Resources; Exposure Science; Water and Sanitation; Infectious DiseaseEcuador, India, Mozambique
William VizueteEnvironmental Sciences & EngineeringAir quality; Atmospheric processes; Policy, decision-making and risk assessmentUnited Arab Emirates, Qatar, Thailand, Ecuador
Jason WestEnvironmental Sciences & EngineeringGlobal Environmental Health: Air Quality & Atmospheric Processes; Impacts and Mitigation of Climate Change: Air Quality & Atmospherics Processes, Human Exposure & Health Effects; Policy, Decision-Making and Risk Assessment: Air Quality & Atmospheric ProcessesMexico, United Arab Emirates
Dale WhittingtonEnvironmental Sciences & EngineeringWater supply and sanitation in developing countries; Vaccine policy and economics; Management of international rivers; Benefit-cost analysis; Nonmarket valuationEgypt, Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Ethiopia, Mozambique, China, Philippines, Pakistan, Nepal, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, India, Korea, Bangladesh, Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, Haiti, Guatemala, Mexico, Chile, Bulgaria, Ukraine
Courtney WoodsEnvironmental Sciences & EngineeringIndustrial Hazards; Exposure and Risk Assessment; Environmental JusticeBrazil
Noah KittnerEnvironmental Sciences and EngineeringEnergy systems analysis; Environmental impacts of energy; Low-carbon energy innovation; Deployment; Energy policy; Life-cycle assessment; Energy storage; Electricity system planning, sustainability and development; Air pollution and health effectsThailand, Kosovo, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Uganda, Switzerland
Ryan CronkEnvironmental Sciences and EngineeringWater and environmental health in low-resource settings; Linkages between science, policy, and practice; WASH; Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning for water programs; Rural water security and supplyGhana, Guatemala, India, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nicaragua, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tanzania, Tonga, Ethiopia, Ghana, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Ralph BaricEpidemiologyInfectious DiseasesMultiple countries
Sylvia Becker-DrepsEpidemiologyChildhood gastroenteritis; Vaccine-preventable illnesses; Childhood pneumonia; Zika virus infectionsNicaragua
Ross BoyceEpidemiologyVector-borne diseases; Malaria; Hepatitis B; Spatial Epidemiology; Clinical TrialsIraq, Kenya, Palestine, Somalia, Uganda
Myron CohenEpidemiologyTransmission of HIV; Prevention of transmission of HIV; Pharmacology of ART in the genital tract; Treatment to prevention of transmission of HIV; Sexually Transmitted DiseasesMultiple countries particularly: Malawi and China
Andrew EdmondsEpidemiologyInfectious disease epidemiology (HIV); Women’s and children’s healthDemocratic Republic of Congo, Zambia
Jessie EdwardsEpidemiologyEpidemiologic methods; HIVUganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Dominican Republic
Larry EngelEpidemiologyEnvironmental, Occupational, Cancer; Disaster; Neurological; GeneticsChina, Norway
Stephanie EngelEpidemiologyRepro/Pediatric; Environmental; GeneticsNorway
Nora FranceschiniEpidemiologyCardiovascular disease; Kidney; Hypertension; Genetic epidemiology; Diverse ancestry populations (African & African Americans, American Indian, Hispanic/Latinos)England, Brazil. Collaborations in Europe, Australia, Africa in genetic studies
Emily GowerEpidemiologyInfectious diseases (trachoma, lymphatic filariasis); Pharmacoepi; Ocular epidemiologyEthiopia, Tanzania, Kenya, Niger, Mali, Cameroon, Burkina Faso
Justin LesslerEpidemiologyInfectious disease dynamics; emerging infections; phylodynamics; SARS-CoV-2; influenza; cholera; dengueBangladesh, Cameroon, China, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, South Sudan, Tanzania, Thailand
Steve MarshallEpidemiologyInjury; Methods; Concussion; ViolenceAustralia, New Zealand
Joanna "Asia" MaselkoEpidemiologyGlobal mental health; Social epidemiology; Maternal depression and child developmentSri Lanka, India, Pakistan
Kari NorthEpidemiologyObesity; Cardiovascular DiseaseBolivia, Chile
Brian PenceEpidemiologyHIV transmission dynamics; HIV care engagement; HIV transmission prevention; Acute HIV infection; Mathematical modelingMalawi, Zambia
Audrey PettiforEpidemiologyHIV/AIDS; Infectious Diseases; Social; Reproductive, Child and Adolescent Health; Implementation ScienceSouth Africa
Kimberly PowersEpidemiologyInfectious Disease Transmission; Mathematical Modeling; HIV Care Continuum; HIV Surveillance; Acute HIV Infection; HIV PreventionMalawi
David RichardsonEpidemiologyOccupational and environmental epidemiologyFrance, Germany, Canada, Czech Republic, Japan
Jennifer SmithEpidemiologyCancer; Infectious Diseases; Womens HealthBangladesh, India, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, Ukraine
David Jay WeberEpidemiology"Healthcare associated infections; New and emerging infectious diseases; Vaccines;
TB disinfection and sterilization; Hepatitis A and B; Biothreats"
Thailand, Japan, Hong Kong, England, Saudi Arabia, Nicaragua, multiple locations in Africa
Daniel WestreichEpidemiologyHIV/AIDS; Women's reproductive health; Infectious diseases (Ebola, Zika, HCV); Epidemiologic methods for implementation scienceMalawi, Nicaragua, South Africa
Mollie WoodEpidemiologyInnovation Analytical and Intervention Methods; Precision Health; Lifecycle and Families; Cardiovascular and Cardiometabolic Diseases; Opioids, Substance Abuse, and Mental HealthNorway
Clare BarringtonHealth BehaviorGender; HIV/AIDS; Latino Health and Migration; Qualitative Methods; Sexuality; Social NetworksCuba, Dominican Republic, Ghana, Guatemala, Malawi
Ed FisherHealth BehaviorCancer; Diabetes; Global Health; Health Behavior; Mental HealthChina
Vivian GoHealth BehaviorGlobal Health; HIV/AIDS; Sexually Transmitted Diseases; Substance Abuse; Implementation Science; Health BehaviorVietnam
Abigail HatcherHealth BehaviorIntimate partner violence, HIV/AIDS, Prevention of mother-to-child transmission, food insecurity, structural determinants of health, violence prevention, intervention design, structural equation modeling, mixed-methods researchKenya, South Africa, Uganda
Larissa Jennings Mayo-WilsonHealth Behavior

Maternal and Child Health
HIV; Sexual and reproductive health; Maternal health; Structural and microeconomic interventions; Behavioral economics; Minority health; Mixed methods; mHealthBangladesh, Benin, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda
Alexandra LightfootHealth BehaviorYouth development; HIV prevention; Adolescent health and education; Health EquitySouth Africa, Niger, Kenya
Suzanne MamanHealth BehaviorGlobal Health; Health Behavior; HIV/AIDS; Infectious Diseases; Sexually Transmitted Diseases; Violence Prevention; Women's HealthTanzania, South Africa
H. Luz McNaughton ReyesHealth BehaviorDating and intimate partner violence; Adolescent health risk behaviorsNicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, South Africa, Tanzania
Beth MoraccoHealth BehaviorEthics; Global Health; Health Behavior; Health Policy; Injury Prevention; Reproductive Health; Substance Abuse; Violence Prevention; Women's HealthDemocratic Republic of Congo
Nora RosenbergHealth BehaviorHIV testing, prevention, care and treatment; Family planning; Intimate partner violence; Implementation Science; Behavioral Science; Social protection; EpidemiologyMalawi, South Africa, Kenya, Botswana, Mozambique, Nicaragua
Tran Viet HaHealth BehaviorHealth behavior, HIV/AIDS preventionVietnam
Deshira WallaceHealth BehaviorPsychosocial stress; Diabetes management; Cardiovascular disease; Health inequitiesDominican Republic
Jane ChenHealth BehaviorGlobal Health; HIV/AIDS; Sexually Transmitted Infections; Substance useMalawi, Vietnam
Bruce FriedHealth Policy & ManagementHealthy Systems Strengthening; Quality Improvement; Healthcare Workforce; Health System Financing; Mental Health/Substance AbuseFrance, Germany, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom
Bill GentryHealth Policy & ManagementHealth administration;
Health policy;
Public health leadership;
Public health preparedness / Disaster management
Moldova, Botswana, Ghana
Sheila LeathermanHealth Policy & ManagementGlobal Health; Quality, Quality Improvement, and Performance MeasuresMultiple countries
Benjamin MeierHealth Policy & ManagementHuman Rights in Health Policy; the Right to Health, and Global Health GovernanceInternational Institutions
Sean Y. SylviaHealth Policy & ManagementHealth Economics; Behavioral Economics; Impact Evaluation; Performance-based Contracts; Quality of Care; Early Childhood DevelopmentChina
Tara TemplinHealth Policy & ManagementHealth Economics; Causal Inference; Impact Evaluation; Obesity Prevention; Cardiometabolic Disease; Diabetes; Health System FinancingMexico, Zambia, United States
Karl UmbleHealth Policy & ManagementProgram evaluation; Continuing Professional Training and Development; Leadership and management developmentVietnam, Philippines
Gustavo AngelesMaternal and Child HealthInternational health; Research Methods; Program Evaluation; Health EconomicsMexico
Janine Barden-O'FallonMaternal and Child HealthFamily Planning; Reproductive Health; Program Evaluation; Information SystemsMali, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Liberia, Guinea, Honduras, Bolivia, Uganda
Dorothy CilentiMaternal and Child HealthEvidence-based Public Health; Health Administratio; Health Care Delivery; Health Policy; Maternal Health; Mental Health; Public Health Leadership; Public Health Practice; Women's HealthTerritories: American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands
Sian CurtisMaternal and Child HealthReproductive, Child and Adolescent Health; Injury, Violence and Safety; Health Services and Systems Strengthening; Implementation ScienceBangladesh, Ukraine, Zambia
Carolyn HalpernMaternal and Child HealthAdolescent Health; Sexual Health; Health Equity; Mental Health and Neurological Disorders; Reproductive and Child Health; Alcohol and Drug Use; Behavior Science;Kenya
Angela ParcesepeMaternal and Child HealthHIV/AIDS; Mental health; Substance use disorders; Gender; Violence; Epidemiology; Mixed methods; Implementation scienceCameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Mongolia
Herbert PetersonMaternal and Child HealthReproductive Health; Implementation ScienceMultiple countries
Kavita Singh OngechiMaternal and Child HealthEvaluation of Maternal and Child Health Interventions; Studying the Influence of Social Factors (Poverty, Education and Gender Equality) on Maternal and Child Health; Water and Sanitation; Infectious Disease; Health Equity; Reproductive Health; Behavior Science; Public Health Studies (Design, Conduct and Analysis); Health Services and Systems Strengthening; Implementation ScienceEthiopia, Ghana, India, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Ilene SpeizerMaternal and Child HealthEvaluation of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Programs; Study of Unintended Pregnancy Risk; Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health Programs; Health Equity; Gender Based and Intimate Partner Violence; Behavior Science; Public Health Studies (Design, Conduct and Analysis); Implementation ScienceGhana, Haiti, India, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Togo
Christine TuckerMaternal and Child HealthLatino Health; Migrant Farmworker Health; Women's Reproductive Health; Postpartum Mood and Anxiety DisordersGuatemala, Mexico
Kat TumlinsonMaternal and Child HealthInternational family planning; Quality of family planning service delivery; Contraceptive use dynamics; Global reproductive, maternal, and child health; Provider motivation; Health systems strengthening; Implementation scienceKenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Peru, Portugal
Linda AdairNutritionEpidemiology: Maternal and Child Nutrition; Nutrition and HIV; Development Origins of Adult Disease; Cohort StudiesChina, Malawi, Philippines, Rwanda, South Africa
Shufa DuNutritionNutrition; Hypertension; Obesity; Other non-communicable diseasesChina
Penny Gordon-LarsenNutritionEpidemiologyChina
Yuan LiNutritionNutritional approaches to prevent and manage metabolic syndromes; Precision Health; Molecular, Genomic, and Other Omics; Cardiovascular and Cardiometabolic Diseases; Nutrition, Behavior, and the EnvironmentChina, Hong Kong (S.A.R.)
Stephanie L. MartinNutritionMaternal and Child Nutrition; Infant Feeding; HIV Prevention; Implementation Science; Behavioral InterventionsEthiopia, Ghana, India, Kenya, Lesotho, Mexico, Namibia, Nicaragua, Tanzania, Zimbabwe
Philip MayNutritionEpidemiologyItaly, South Africa
Elizabeth Mayer-DavisNutritionEpidemiology: Diabetes; Health Equity; Nutrition and Physical Activity; ObesityChina
Shu Wen NgNutritionHealth Economics; Epidemiology: Health Equity; Obesity; Public Health Ethics and Law; Cancer; Exposure Science; Reproductive, Child and Adolescent Health; Nutrition and Physical Activity; Behavior Science; Public Health Studies (Design, Conduct and Analysis)Chile, China, Mexico, United Arab Emirates, United States
Barry PopkinNutritionDesign and evaluation of large-scale regulatory/tax measure to improve food systems and diets; Epidemiology: Health Equity; Nutrition and Physical Activity; Obesity; Public Health Studies (Design, Conduct and Analysis); DiabetesBrazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Denmark, India, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Philippines, Korea, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom
Lindsey Smith TaillieNutritionNutrition epidemiology; Food policy; Obesity prevention; Cardio-metabolic diseaseChina, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Brazil
June StevensNutritionEpidemiology: Obesity; Nutrition; Physical Activity; Heart Disease; CancerChina, United Kingdom
Mirek StybloNutritionBiochemistry and Toxicology: Disease associated with environmental exposures (Cancer; Metabolic disease, Diabetes); Public Health Studies (Design, Conduct and Analysis)Czech Republic, Mexico
Amanda ThompsonNutritionInfant and young child feeding; Social and environmental predictors of health; Growth and development; MicrobiomeEcuador, China
Heather WasserNutritionDeterminants of adherence to optimal feeding recommendations for children birth to two years; Behavioral interventions to promote optimal growth and development of infants and toddlersUnited States, Senegal, Indonesia, Honduras
Steven ZeiselNutritionCholine and brain development; Choline and cancer; Dietary requirements for choline; Choline and fetal alcohol spectrum disordersSouth Africa, The Gambia
Karar Zunaid AhsanPublic Health Leadership ProgramEquity in health services utilization; impact evaluation of social and public health programs; epidemiologic transitionBangladesh, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Maldives, United States
Marie Lina ExcellentPublic Health Leadership ProgramHIV/AIDS; Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI); WaSH; Migrants; Leadership; Health EquityHaiti, Ghana, India
W. Oscar FlemingPublic Health Leadership ProgramApplied implementation science; System science; Design thinking; Implementation support practice; Technical assistance system strengthening; Maternal and child health; HIV care and treatment; Care and support for children and families affected by HIV/AIDS; Early childhood developmentBelarus, Benin, Brazil, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Guinea, Honduras, India, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, Scotland, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Thailand, The Gambia, The Philippines, Uganda, United States (including work in 30+ states and territories), Zambia, Zimbabwe
Minzhi XingPublic Health Leadership ProgramHealth Equity; Community-Engaged Research; Evidence-Based Public Health Interventions; Health Services Research; Cancer; Diabetes; Hepatitis; Liver Disease; Women's HealthRwanda, Tanzania, Singapore, United States

Global Faculty Research Map

UNC Gillings faculty members conduct research in 62 countries.

Explore our research on the map below!

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CONTACT INFORMATION
Global Health Team
globalsolutions@unc.edu

135 Dauer Drive
104 Rosenau Hall, CB #7415
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7415
(919) 843-3945