Data and Analysis:

• Explain qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods and policy analysis research and evaluation methods to address health issues at multiple (individual, group, organization, community and population) levels.
• Design a qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods, policy analysis or evaluation project to address a public health issue.
• Explain the use and limitations of surveillance systems and national surveys in assessing, monitoring and evaluating policies and programs and to address a population’s health.

Leadership, Management, and Governance:

• Propose strategies for health improvement and elimination of health inequities by organizing stakeholders, including researchers, practitioners, community leaders and other partners.
• Communicate public health science to diverse stakeholders, including individuals at all levels of health literacy, for purposes of influencing behavior and policies.
• Integrate knowledge, approaches, methods, values and potential contributions from multiple professions, sectors, and systems in addressing public health problems.
• Create a strategic plan.
• Facilitate shared decision making through negotiation and consensus-building methods.
• Create organizational change strategies.
• Propose strategies to promote inclusion and equity within public health programs, policies and systems.
• Assess one’s own strengths and weaknesses in leadership capacities, including cultural proficiency.
• Propose human, fiscal and other resources to achieve a strategic goal.
• Cultivate new resources and revenue streams to achieve a strategic goal.

Policy and Programs:

• Design a system-level intervention to address a public health issue.
• Integrate knowledge of cultural values and practices in the design of public health policies and programs.
• Integrate scientific information, legal and regulatory approaches, ethical frameworks and varied stakeholder interests in policy development and analysis.
• • Propose interprofessional and/or intersectoral team approaches to improving public health.

Education and Workforce Development:

• Assess an audience’s knowledge and learning needs.
• Deliver training or educational experiences that promote learning in academic, organizational or community settings.
• Use best practice modalities in pedagogical practices.

The School's DrPH program requires students to complete at least 48 credits (those having prerequisites to meet will be asked to complete additional coursework).  See the DrPH Guidebook for more information about course offerings and requirements.

Students also complete:

• written and oral qualifying examinations
• a public health practice dissertation
• oral presentations of both the dissertation proposal and the final dissertation

Dissertation

Each candidate will prepare a dissertation demonstrating the ability to analyze and solve complex, practice-based problems in public health. The dissertation should reflect the variety of perspectives needed to meet major public health challenges and should include explicit, population-based policy and practice implications. The format will be determined largely by the nature of the public health problem addressed. Appropriate dissertation formats may include:

• case studies and policy analyses
• development of new practice interventions
• design and implementation of public health programs
• program or policy evaluations
• historical program or policy analyses
• substantial legislative proposals

Barkha Bhatnagar, MS, MA

My time with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has placed the critical problem of donor transitions in my crosshairs. As the first full-time project manager overseeing the foundation’s lymphatic filariasis elimination initiative in India, I became committed to tackling the complex question of how governments can sustain vertical programs and the associated health gains once donor support is withdrawn. In my estimation, the real challenges have been associated with building local capacity and expertise to support the Indian government in planning and executing the transitions effectively. To become a public health professional equipped to deal with this problem head-on, I joined the DrPH Program in Fall 2019 to acquire the technical and leadership skills necessary to promote effective execution of donor transitions in my home country.

At SPH I serve as a Program Officer for the Emerging Women Leaders Program, a Research Fellow in the Department of Global Health, and an organizer for the nationwide DrPH Coalition. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I joined The Task Force for Global Health, Inc. as a Health Systems Specialist, where I collaborate with other public health colleagues dedicated to strengthening health systems and programs globally and protecting communities locally during this unprecedented worldwide crisis.

Christian Mazimpaka, MS

With a career devoted to improving the health of mothers and children in Rwanda, I am joining the DrPH Program at Boston University to hone my research and leadership skills and to introduce best management and public health education practices into the field in my home country.  Since 2014, I have applied my skills to bridging the clinical and public health worlds in service to the Rwandan Ministry of Health and as a leader in various Partners in Health programs (known as Inshuti Mu Buzima in Rwanda).  Prior to matriculating at SPH, I served as the PIH Clinical Director for Kayonza District, where I oversaw the implementation and evaluation of all clinical programs at all levels of that district’s health sector, encompassing all health posts, health centers, and the district hospital.

Upon obtaining the DrPH degree, I plan to return to Rwanda to conduct high-level research and develop evidence-based, system-level interventions for the Ministry of Health.

Hiwote Solomon, MPH

A recipient of the prestigious Martin Luther King, Jr. Fellowship, I entered the Fall 2018 cohort with a wealth of experience in fostering healthy communities and mobilizing teams of public health professionals.  In my former position as Senior Research Associate and Global Health Corps Fellow at the Ministry of Health in Zambia, I led efforts to modernize and improve health research information sharing for the country. Additionally, when the deadly cholera outbreak arose in Zambia in October 2017, I quickly volunteered to be part of a team of public health experts leading efforts to provide sound epidemiological and surveillance data, and dissemination of proper hygiene practices, and other preventive measures targeting those at high risk in Lusaka. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I joined Caduceus Healthcare, Inc. to serve as a Public Health Advisor at the CDC Boston Quarantine Station, inside Boston Logan Airport.

I am pursuing the DrPH at BUSPH to focus on program design and implementation, and health systems strengthening and capacity building in low-income countries with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa.

Karen White, MHA, MBA

With a career of more than thirty years in various senior management positions in the health insurance field, I joined the DrPH Program in 2019 while still serving as Assistant Vice President for Health Care and Exchange Solutions at Sun Life Financial, U.S.  In this position, I have overseen the development, implementation, and monitoring of the customer journey for 400 large U.S. and multinational employers to ensure flawless delivery of life, disability, critical illness and accident products and absence management solutions to both plan sponsors and their employee members. Now, inspired by the challenges faced by individuals attempting to navigate health insurance systems and afford the cost of required coverage, I am committed to working with the insurance industry, employers, and customers to achieve effective, sustainable health care reforms that promote improved health outcomes, especially for those who with low health literacy and low income.

To achieve these ends, I am pursuing the Doctor of Public Health to gain analytical and health communication skills in a formal public health educational setting.

Full-Time Students: 50%
Part-Time Students: 50%
International Students: 32%
Underrepresented US-based Racial Minorities: 23%
Graduate Employment Rate: 100%

Abdalla SM, Galea S. Is female genital mutilation/cutting associated with adverse mental health consequences? A systematic review of the evidence. BMJ Global Health. 2019;4(4):e001553. Published 2019 Jul 15. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2019-001553

Abdalla SM, Mahgoub EA, Abdelgadir J, Elhassan N, Omer Z. Operationalization of patients' rights in Sudan: Quantifying nurses' knowledge. Nursing Ethics. 2019;26(7-8):2239‐2246. https://doi.org/10.1177/0969733018787224

Aldana N, Abdala V, Sousa J, Gallego-Perez D, Villar M, García H, Benavides I, Andrade M, Barajas Y, Benitez L. Thematic Structure development for the Virtual Health Library on Traditional, Complementary, and Integrative Medicine of the Americas. Advances in Integrative Medicine. 2019;6(1)(Suppl.):S4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aimed.2019.03.009

Ahonkhai AA, Banigbe B, Adeola J, Bassett IV, Idigbe I, Okonkwo P, Freedberg KA, Regan S, Losina E. High Medication Possession Ratios Associated With Greater Risk of Virologic Failure Among Youth Compared With Adults in a Nigerian Cohort. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. 2018;78(3):322‐328. https://doi.org/10.1097/QAI.0000000000001670

Ahonkhai AA, Onwuatuelo I, Regan S, Adegoke A, Losina E, Banigbe B, Adeola J, Ferris TG, Okonkwo P, Freedberg KA. The patient-centered medical home: a reality for HIV care in Nigeria. International Journal for Quality in Health Care. 2017;29(5):654‐661. https://doi.org/10.1093/intqhc/mzx083

Alattas MT. Cancer Control Priorities and Challenges in Saudi Arabia: A Preliminary projection of Cancer Burden. Gulf Journal of Oncology. 2019;1(29):22‐30.

Alattas M, Ross CS, Henehan ER, Naimi TS. Alcohol policies and alcohol-attributable cancer mortality in U.S. States. Chemico-Biological Interactions. 2020;315:108885. doi:10.1016/j.cbi.2019.108885

Banda K, Chilengi-Sakala S, Chunga CC, Solomon H, Chalwe V, et al. Towards universal coverage for nutrition services in children under five years—A descriptive analysis of the capacity of level one hospitals to provide nutrition services in five provinces of Zambia. PLoS One. 2020:15(5): e0232663. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0232663

Banigbe B, Audet CM, Okonkwo P, et al. Effect of PEPFAR funding policy change on HIV service delivery in a large HIV care and treatment network in Nigeria. PLoS One. 2019;14(9):e0221809. Published 2019 Sep 25. http://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0221809

Banks KP, Karim AM, Ratcliffe HL, Betemariam W, Langer A. Jeopardizing quality at the frontline of healthcare: prevalence and risk factors for disrespect and abuse during facility-based childbirth in Ethiopia. Health Policy and Planning. 2018;33(3):317‐327. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czx180

Carrion M, Madoff LC. ProMED-mail: 22 years of digital surveillance of emerging infectious diseases. International Health. 2017;9(3):177‐183. https://doi.org/10.1093/inthealth/ihx014

Coe LJ, St John JA, Hariprasad S, et al. An Integrated Approach to Falls Prevention: A Model for Linking Clinical and Community Interventions through the Massachusetts Prevention and Wellness Trust Fund. Frontiers in Public Health. 2017;5:38. Published 2017 Mar 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2017.00038

Desai AN, Kraemer MUG, Bhatia S, Cori A, Nouvellet P, Herringer M, Cohn EL, Carrion M, Brownstein JS, Madoff LC, Lassmann B. Real-time Epidemic Forecasting: Challenges and Opportunities. Health Security. 2019;17(4):268‐275. https://doi.org/10.1089/hs.2019.0022

Ford JV, Ivankovich MB, Douglas JM Jr, et al. The Need to Promote Sexual Health in America: A New Vision for Public Health Action. Sexually Transmitted Diseases. 2017;44(10):579‐585.

Galea S, Abdalla SM. Putting Health at the Heart of National Policymaking: Learning from New Zealand [published online ahead of print, 2019 Oct 24]. Milbank Quarterly. 2019;97(4):901‐905. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0009.12410

Gallego-Perez D. Therapeutic Pluralism in Latin America: from practice to policies, and the chasm in between. Advances in Integrative Medicine. 2019;6(1)(Suppl.):S19.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aimed.2019.03.052

Gallego-Perez D, Salicrup A, Ghelman R, Aldana N, Miele-Amado D, Edwards E, Bedregal P. Advances, Challenges and Opportunities for Integrative Health Research Partnerships in Latin America and the Caribbean. Advances in Integrative Medicine. 2019:6(1)(Suppl.):S19.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aimed.2019.03.053

Krans EE, Campopiano M, Cleveland LM, Goodman D, Kilday D, Kendig S, Leffert LR, Main EK, Mitchell KT, OʼGurek DT, DʼOria R, McDaniel D, Terplan M. National Partnership for Maternal Safety: Consensus Bundle on Obstetric Care for Women With Opioid Use Disorder. Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2019;134(2):365‐375. https://doi.org/10.1097/AOG.0000000000003381

Kumar A, Nayar KR, Koya SF. COVID-19: Challenges and its consequences for rural health care in India. Public Health in Practice, Vol. 1, 2020,100009, ISSN 2666-5352. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhip.2020.100009

Li W, Gouveia T, Sbarra C, et al. Has Boston's 2011 cigar packaging and pricing regulation reduced availability of single-flavoured cigars popular with youth?. Tobacco Control. 2017;26(2):135‐140. https://doi.org/10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2015-052619

Lover AA, Dantzer E, Hongvanthong B, et al. Prevalence and risk factors for asymptomatic malaria and genotyping of glucose 6-phosphate (G6PD) deficiencies in a vivax-predominant setting, Lao PDR: implications for sub-national elimination goals. Malaria Journal. 2018;17(1):218. Published 2018 Jun 1. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-018-2367-5

Lover AA, Dantzer E, Hocini S, et al. Study protocol for a cluster-randomized split-plot design trial to assess the effectiveness of targeted active malaria case detection among high-risk populations in Southern Lao PDR (the AcME-Lao study). Gates Open Research. 2019;3:1730. Published 2019 Dec 17. https://doi.org/10.12688/gatesopenres.13088.1

Mandelbaum J, Pérez-Escamilla R, Sandow A, Gallego-Pérez DF, Lartey A, Hromi-Fiedler A. Factors Influencing Dietary Practices Among Ghanaian Residents and Liberians Living in a Protracted Refugee Situation in Ghana. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. 2019;51(5):567‐577. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2018.09.007

McCann E, Fuentes-Alabí S, Antillón F, Vega-Vega L, Sanchez MS, Albanti I. Identifying and Prioritizing Family Education Needs at Pediatric Oncology Centers in Central America and Mexico. Journal of Global Oncology. 2019;5:1‐10. https://doi.org/10.1200/JGO.19.00272

Mitchell K, Hacker HP, Adegoke T, Hutchinson K. Hospitals are separating mothers and newborns during the coronavirus pandemic—with little evidence it will help slow the spread of disease. Boston Globe. Published 2020 May 9. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/05/09/opinion/hospitals-are-separating-mothers-newborns-during-coronavirus-pandemic-with-little-evidence-it-will-help-slow-spread-disease/

Mottl-Santiago J, Herr K, Rodrigues D, Walker C, Walker C, Feinberg E. The Birth Sisters Program: A Model of Hospital-Based Doula Support to Promote Health Equity. Journal of  Health Care for the Poor and Underserved. 2020;31(1):43‐55. https://doi.org/10.1353/hpu.2020.0007

Noguchi J. The Role of Primary Care Physicians in Public Health Advocacy: Lessons from Flint. BUSPH Viewpoint. Available at: https://www.bu.edu/sph/2019/06/10/the-role-of-primary-care-physicians-in-public-health-advocacy-lessons-from-flint/

Peloquin CA, Phillips PPJ, Mitnick CD, Eisenach K, Patientia RF, Lecca L, Gotuzzo E, Gandhi NR, Butler D, Diacon AH, Martel B, Santillan J, Hunt KR, Vargas D, von Groote-Bidlingmaier F, Seas C, Dianis N, Moreno-Martinez A, Kaur P, Horsburgh CR Jr. Increased Doses Lead to Higher Drug Exposures of Levofloxacin for Treatment of Tuberculosis. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. 2018;62(10):e00770-18. Published 2018 Sep 24. https://doi.org/10.1128/AAC.00770-18

Perkins RB, Banigbe B, Fenton AT, O’Grady AK, Jansen EM, Bernstein JL, Joseph NP, Eun TJ, Biancarelli DL, Mari-Lynn Drainoni (2020). Effect of a multi-component intervention on providers’ HPV vaccine communication. Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics. https://doi.org/10.1080/21645515.2020.1747923

Ross WL, Gallego-Pérez DF, Lartey A, Sandow A, Pérez-Escamilla R, Hromi-Fiedler A. Dietary patterns in Liberian refugees in Buduburam, Ghana. Maternal and Child Nutrition. 2017;13(4):10.1111/mcn.12401. https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.12401

Sando D, Abuya T, Asefa A, Banks KP, Freedman LP, Kujawski S, Markovitz A, Ndwiga C, Ramsey K, Ratcliffe H, Ugwu EO, Warren CE, Jolivet RR. Methods used in prevalence studies of disrespect and abuse during facility based childbirth: lessons learned. Reproductive Health. 2017;14(1):127. Published 2017 Oct 11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-017-0389-z

Solomon H, Linton SL, Del Rio C, Hussen SA. Housing Instability, Depression, and HIV Viral Load Among Young Black Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men in Atlanta, Georgia. Journal of the Association of Nurses AIDS Care. 2020;31(2):219‐227. https://doi.org/10.1097/JNC.0000000000000114

Solomon H and Abdala SM. (2020, June 2). Public health implications of Trump’s decision to terminate the US relationship with WHO in sub-Saharan Africa and how to mitigate them in the short term. International Health Policies. https://www.internationalhealthpolicies.org/blogs/public-health-implications-of-trumps-decision-to-terminate-the-us-relationship-with-who-in-sub-saharan-africa-and-how-to-mitigate-them-in-the-short-term/

Wardle J, Adams J, Gallego-Perez D. Developing a public health agenda in traditional, complementary and integrative health care. Advances in Integrative Medicine. 2019;6(1):S48-S49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aimed.2019.03.142

Wardle J, Gallego-Perez D, Chung V, Adams J. “Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine: Policy, Legal and Regulatory Perspectives.” In: Public Health and Health Services Research in Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Health Care; International Perspectives. Ed. Jon Adams. London: World Scientific. 2019. 57-78. Print.

Zhang Q, Sharan A, Espinosa S, Gallego-Perez D, Weeks J. The Path Toward Integration of Traditional and Complementary Medicine into Health Systems Globally: The World Health Organization Report on the Implementation of the 2014–2023 Strategy. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. 2019;25(9):869–871. https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2019.29077.jjw

Mayowa Alade

• Boston University Women’s Guild Award (2020)
  • Awarded by Boston University Women’s Guild:
    http://www.bu.edu/womensguild/

Bolanle Banigbe

• Activist Fellowship on Regionalization (2019-2020)
  • Fellowship Site: Massachusetts Department of Public Health
  • Awarded by SPH Activist Lab:
    https://www.bu.edu/sph/2019/09/25/bola-banigbe-activist-fellow-regionalization/

• Katherine Connor McLaughlin Memorial Scholarship (2020)
  • Awarded by Boston University Women’s Guild:
    http://www.bu.edu/womensguild/

Julie Bosak

• BUSPH MCH-Epidemiological Applied Research Fellowship (2020)
  • Dissertation: Evaluating an approach to enhance engagement of pregnant and parenting women with substance use disorder (SUD) in the co-design of a residential treatment program
  • Awarded by HRSA/MCHB

Rachael Cain

• Cain R (2019, November 6). Improving health across sectors: A Health in All Policies approach for the state of Delaware. [Conference Presentation]. APHA Annual Meeting: Paper. Philadelphia, PA.
  • Available at: https://apha.confex.com/apha/2019/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/434509

Malwina Carrion

• Clinical Faculty Scholarship Grant (2020)
  • Project: “Chagas Disease in Massachusetts: Raising Awareness in At-Risk Populations through a Comprehensive Public Health Campaign”
  • Awarded by Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences: https://www.bu.edu/sargent/research/research-funding-administration/funding-opportunities-for-sargent-faculty-and-students/funding-awardees/

• Beverly Brown Award (2020)
  • Awarded by Boston University Women's Guild:
    http://www.bu.edu/womensguild/

Daniel Gallego-Perez

• International Complementary & Integrative Medicine Research Leadership and Capacity Building Program Fellowship (2020)
  • Awarded by Australian Research Centre for Complementary and Integrative Medicine (ARCCIM), University of Technology Sydney
    https://www.uts.edu.au/research-and-teaching/our-research/complementary-and-integrative-medicine/research/international-leadership-and-capacity-building-program/international-complementary-integrative-medicine-research-leadership-and-capacity-building-program

Tami Gouveia

• The 1905 Fellowship (2020)
  • Dissertation: The political feasibility of non-arrest policies for illicit opioid use and addiction
  • Awarded by Mount Holyoke College Alumnae Association
    https://alumnae.mtholyoke.edu/career/alumnae-fellowships/

Natasha Lerner

• BUSPH MCH-Epidemiological Applied Research Fellowship (2020)
  • Dissertation: Developing a contraceptive decision aid informed by patients’ values that is acceptable to patients and providers to use for contraceptive counseling in the clinical setting
  • Awarded by HRSA/MCHB

Rachel Mitrovich

• Eugene Declercq Award for Excellence in a Public Health Practice Dissertation (2020)
  • Dissertation: Examining determinants of vaccine acceptance for maternal immunization in a low-resource setting in Zambia: a qualitative assessment from the patient and provider perspective
  • Awarded by Boston University School of Public Health

Julia Noguchi

• Activist Bucks Award (2019-2020)
  • Project: “Engaging Medical Students in the Shower to Empower Foot Care Clinic for People Experiencing Homelessness in Providence, RI”
  • Awarded by SPH Activist Lab

• COVID-19 Research-to-Action Award (2020) (Ceballos D, Liebler J, Green J, and Noguchi J)
  • Project: “Assessing City Health Care Workers’ SARS-CoV2 Transmission to Families.”
  • Awarded by Boston University Initiative on Cities
    https://www.bu.edu/ioc/research/covid-19-urban-research-to-action/

• Engaged Course Mini-Grant (2019)
  • Awarded by Brown University Swearer Center for Public Service

Presentations

• Noguchi J, Merritt R, & Rougas S (2019, May 15). Integrating Service-Learning into a Clinical Skills Curriculum. [Conference Presentation]. The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University Medical Education and Scholarship Poster Session, Poster. Providence, RI.
• Noguchi J, Merritt R, & Rougas S (2019, October 7). Integrating Service-Learning into a Clinical Skills Curriculum. Alpert Medical School of Brown University 6th Annual Med Ed Talks. Providence, RI.
• Noguchi J, Merritt R, & Rougas S (2019, November 8). Integrating Service-Learning into a Clinical Skills Curriculum. [Conference Presentation]. Directors of Clinical Skills Courses (DOCS) Annual Meeting. Phoenix, AZ.
• Lam J, Ramayya S, Noguchi J, Koenigsberger V, & Rougas R. (2019, September 23-25). A Medical Student “Pocket” Guide to Community-Based Resources. [Conference Presentation]. CityMatCH Maternal & Child Health Leadership Conference. Providence, RI.
• Lam J, Ramayya S, Noguchi J, Koenigsberger V, & Rougas R. (2019, November 2-6). A Medical Student “Pocket” Guide to Community-Based Resources. [Conference Presentation]. APHA Annual Meeting: Poster. Philadelphia, PA.
• Lam J, Ramayya S, Noguchi J, Koenigsberger V, & Rougas R. (2020). A Medical Student “Pocket” Guide to Community-Based Resources. [Conference Presentation: Accepted]. NEGEA 2020, Burlington, VT.
• Noguchi J, Merritt R, & Rougas S (2020). Integrating Service-Learning into a Clinical Skills Curriculum. [Conference Presentation: Accepted]. NEGEA 2020 Annual Meeting, Burlington, VT.
• Noguchi J. (2020). Teaching Medical Students the Social Determinants of Health through Service-Learning. [Conference Presentation: Accepted]. 2020 SGIM Annual Meeting, Birmingham, AL.

Hiwote Solomon

• Marting Luther King, Jr. Fellowship (2018-2019)
  • Awarded by Boston University:
    http://www.bu.edu/bufellow/martin-luther-king-jr-fellowship-winner-profiles/
• Summer in the Field Fellowship (2019)
  • Practicum Site: Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
  • Awarded by Boston University Global Development Policy Center:
    http://www.bu.edu/gdp/profile/hiwote-solomon/

Irini Albanti, DrPH, MA

I am the Executive Director at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, a university-wide academic and research center at Harvard University that brings an interdisciplinary approach to promoting understanding of humanitarian crisis as a unique contributor to global health problems and to developing evidence-based approaches to humanitarian assistance.  Prior to accepting this position in May 2020, I served as the Director at the Global Health Initiative (GHI) at the Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center.  While there I coordinated international efforts and managed more than 10 global health programs in Central and South America, the Middle-East, the Caucasus Region, South-East Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa.  I began my career in healthcare as the Administrator at the Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) at NYU Langone Health in 2004, where I was exposed to international health planning for HIV clinics in Kenya. I then became the Deputy Director at a 150-bed general hospital in Greece and later served as the Project Director at the International Assistance Department at Euromedica, where I was responsible for the evacuation of war patients from Libya and delivery of systems-strengthening technical assistance to hospitals after conflict.

My other credentials and honors include Lean/Six Sigma Green Belt certification (2017), the Women Leaders in Global Health Fellowship Award from Stanford University (2017), and selection for the Emerging Leaders Program at UMass (2018).  In addition to my Doctorate of Public Health from Boston University, I have a Master of Public Health (Columbia University), a Master of Arts in Communication (University of Miami), and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (American College of Thessaloniki, Greece).

Debbie Price DrPH, CNM, MPH

I set out to pursue doctoral studies in order to expand my knowledge and improve my skills in my chosen fields of nurse-midwifery and public health. I’ve been a registered nurse since 1983 and a certified nurse-midwife since 1993. I also hold an MPH degree. Before joining the DrPH program at SPH, I spent eleven years working overseas, mostly in central Africa and central Asia. Since 1998, I’ve worked with Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

SPH’s program was an ideal choice for me because it allowed me to combine advanced study in public health with a focus on maternal and child health. The School’s DrPH degree program fit my goals perfectly, as it is a practice-oriented program that covers policy development, program management, and professional leadership.

It is my hope to use the skills I gained in this program to expand my impact on reproductive health services at the field level, through a deeper involvement with policy development, production of guidelines, and training protocols. My future work will place special emphasis on operational research activities and publication of the lessons learned in maternal and child health care in emergency settings. This will certainly include continued involvement with MSF and perhaps also with an agency that has an MCH-specific focus, such as the Department of Global Outreach of the American College of Nurse-Midwives.

Following graduation, I accepted the position of Reproductive Health Advisor and Coordinator of Medical Specialists for Médecins Sans Frontières in Amsterdam.

Allison L. Higgins, DrPH, MEd

I received a bachelor’s degree in business management from Providence College and a master’s degree in health promotion and behavior from the University of Georgia. I am currently the manager of Wellness Programs for Raytheon Company, which is an industry leader in defense and government electronics that employs 80,000 people worldwide. As part of my work, I provide direction and support for wellness programs and resources, including wellness-program planning, delivery, and evaluation; fitness program oversight; and vendor management for outsourced activities, which includes programs in health risk assessment, cardiovascular risk reduction, and preventive health risk intervention. Prior to Raytheon, my recent work experience included serving as project director for the University of Georgia Workplace Health Group, as the Wellness Works coordinator for St. Mary’s Healthcare Systems, and as a health fitness specialist for Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems.

I decided to pursue a DrPH degree to better develop my skills in program design, management, and particularly evaluation. I hope to use the skills I acquired at SPH to continue my work in employee health and productivity, as well as to bridge the gap that exists between public and private organizations’ initiatives in managing chronic disease risk factors. I chose to study at SPH because its philosophy and vision was broad enough to include employers as effective partners for public health in moving toward achieving the Healthy People 2010 goals in chronic disease and lifestyle risk factors. As a professional, I chose SPH because I was able to pursue the degree on a part-time basis while I continued to work.

Nathan M. Nickerson, DrPH, RN, MSN

Prior to starting the DrPH program, and while concentrating in international health at SPH, I was the director of public health for the City of Portland, Maine. I have been a nurse practitioner for many years, working primarily with underserved populations in Boston and Maine. As part of that work, I developed and managed health care services for homeless and low-income, uninsured people. I have also developed substance abuse services, mental health services, needle exchange, and HIV-treatment programs that focused on reaching people who use injection drugs. I have BS degrees from Tufts University and the University of Southern Maine, as well as a master’s degree in nursing from Simmons College. I have served on many public health committees, including the Presidential Advisory Committee on HIV/AIDS. Currently, I am the executive director of Konbit Sante, a small organization based in Maine that is working to help improve the capacity of the public health system in the Northern Department of Haiti.

I decided to pursue a DrPH degree because I wanted to make a career change and apply the experience that I have gained working in public health in this country to other resource-poor settings. I realized that, in order to be most effective, it takes much more than good intentions. I saw the DrPH degree program as an opportunity to do some concentrated and rigorous study of how to develop, manage, and evaluate public health interventions in the settings I am interested in. It gave me a chance to both understand some of the best practices in these areas, as well as how to evaluate the evidence of their effectiveness. I chose the DrPH program at SPH because of the emphasis it places on applied public health practice, rather than academic research. I am not certain where this will take me, but I plan to continue to work in Haiti for the indefinite future. My hope is to witness the day when the health indicators actually start to improve there, and I would like to play some small role in that change.

• Paul Ashigbie, Manager, Global Health Programs at Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Cambridge, MA
• Craig Andrade, Director, Bureau of Family Health & Nutrition, Massachusetts DPH
• Tamara Calise, Director, JSI Healthy Communities, John Snow Inc., Boston, MA
• Brittany Chen, Director, Policy and Practice, Health Resources in Action, San Francisco, CA
• Corinna Culler, Director of School-Based Programs, BU School of Dental Medicine
• Amanda Dennis, Executive Director at The Society of Family Planning, Denver, CO
• Sara Donahue, Director of Clinical Analytics, Boston Children's Hospital Integrated Care Organization
• Gampo Dorji, Technical Officer, Noncommunicable Disease Management,WHO, New Delhi, India
• Rebecca Drewette-Card, President, Public Health Partners, Topsham, ME
• Karen Errichetti, Director of Health Research and Evaluation, Health Resources in Action, Boston, MA
• Cherrie Evans, Director, Helping Mothers Survive, JHPIEGO, Baltimore, MD
• Elaine Fitzgerald Lewis, Senior Project Director, Education Development Center, Waltham, MA
• Jordana Frost, Director, MCH and Government Affairs, March of Dimes Connecticut & Rhode Island
• Susan Garfield, Principal, EY, Wayland, MA
• Lauren Wier Guilhardi, Director, Health Services at CVS Health
• Duc Ha, Secretary to Minister of Health, Ministry of Health, Vietnam
• Ramón Hernandez, Associate Director for the Center for Community Health, University of California, San Diego, CA
• Kristin Johnson, Global Director for Monitoring, Evaluation, and Research, Last Mile Health, Boston, MA
• Caroline Karutu, Chief of Party, Regional Health Integration to Enhance Services in Eastern Uganda at IntraHealth
• Danielle Lawrence, President, L & G Research & Evaluation, New York, NY
• Jennifer Mattera, Executive Director, Center for Outcomes Research & Evaluation & Lecturer, Yale University, New Haven, CT
• Marion McNabb, Co-Founder & CEO, Cannabis Community Care and Research Network, Boston, MA
• Rachel Mitrovich, Director, Global Vaccines Public Policy Development, Merck, Boston, MA
• Arundati Muralidharan, Manager for Policy, WaterAid India, New Delhi, India
• Reshma Naik, Sr. Policy Analyst, Population Reference Bureau, Washington, D.C.
• Nathan Nickerson, Executive Director, Konbit Sante, Cap Haitian, Haiti and Portland, ME
• Umakant Panwar, Secretary to State Government (IAS) at State Government of Uttarakhand, India
• Samatha Panati Riley, Senior Analyst, National Institute for Children’s Health Quality, Boston, MA
• Evelyn Sakeah, Deputy Chief Research Officer, Navrongo Health Research Centre, Ghana
• Roberta Singal, Project Director, Ariande Labs, Boston, MA
• Michele Sinunu-Menzies, Assistant Director of Academic and Strategic Initiatives, Harvard H. T. Chan School of Public Health
• Jennifer Turgiss, Vice President, Behavioral Science & Analytics, Johnson & Johnson Health & Wellness Solutions, New York, NY
• Stacey Zawacki, Director & Clinical Assistant Professor, BU Sargent Choice Nutrition Center