Country: Armenia
Current position:
Director - National Institute of Health of Armenia
Alexander Bazarchyan, PhD
Education and Experience:
Dr. Alexander Bazarchyan is a public health professional with over two decades of experience in the field. He has been serving as the Director of the National Institute of Health of Armenia since 2014, where he has made contributions towards the advancement of public health in Armenia. Prior to his current role, he served as the Deputy Director of NIH and as the Head of the Public Health Department of the Ministry of Health.
In addition, he managed a number of global initiatives including the G2G USAID project, UNAIDS, and many others.
He has served as a research coordinator for numerous nationwide surveys, including the first Tobacco, Alcohol, and Drug survey, the JLN and SDI survey, the Global Youth Tobacco Survey, the Global Health Professionals Students Survey in Armenia (GHPSS), the Tobacco Prevalence Survey in Armenia, the Demographic and Health survey, STEPs, and many others. He has more than 100 publications.
Dr. Bazarchyan has been actively involved in tobacco control initiatives in Armenia, he is the Coordinator of the National Tobacco Control Program. He participated in the elaboration of the Tobacco Control Law which was adopted in 2020. He has received The World Health Organization’s award for recognition of outstanding contribution to tobacco control (WHO Director General’s award) in 2004.
Dr. Bazarchyan received his medical degree from Yerevan State Medical Institute in 1991, he also completed his residency at the Department of Internal Medicine of NIH in 1993 and at the Department of Epidemiology in 1998. He received his PhD in 2003.
Dr. Bazarchyan's expertise and impact in the field of public health have established him as a prominent figure both locally and internationally.
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Country: USA
Current position:
Attending Psychiatrist, Primary Care Mental Health, University of Vermont Medical Center
Assistant Professor, Director of Global Mental Health Program
Robert Larner College of Medicine at UVM
Krista Buckley, MD
Education and Experience:
Originally from Atlanta, GA she studied Biology and Spanish at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland for undergraduate. After college she took post-bac classes in Atlanta and then moved to NYC and worked in an architecture office. She liked how both architecture and medicine dwell at the intersection of art and science. She ultimately chose medicine over architecture, and after the application process took off on a 6-month around the world trip to South America, Africa, India, Australia and New Zealand. She was able to volunteer in a clinic in Peru and in a slum in Kenya. Dr. Buckley is a specialist in psychiatry with a particular interest in primary care integration and global health. She received her MD at the Robert Larner College of Medicine at UVM and completed her residency at University of Vermont Medical Center. She is got to participate in the Nuvance Global Health program during her residency, learning in Uganda, and is looking forward to continuing to strengthen and expand the education and involvement of the psychiatry residency program in global health.
Country: Dominican Republic
Current position:
Vice-Chancellor for Internationalization and Community Engagement
UNIVERSIDAD IBEROAMERICANA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Loraine Amell Bogaert, PhD
Education and Experience:
Dr. Amell is an UNIBE psychology graduate. She has completed graduate work at McGill University and the University of Alcalá de Henares in Spain where she obtained both a masters degree in higher education management and a Ph.D. in educational planning and innovation.
Her work has focused on creating UNIBE´s ambitious internationalization program which includes study abroad and research as well as managing UNIBE´s local partners which include the private sector, NGOs, and grassroots organization.
Country: United Sates, Puerto Rico
Current position:
Associate professor of Medicine at the University of PR School of Medicine.
Jesus Casal, MD
Education and Experience:
A pulmonary and Critical Care specialist, Chief of the MICU at the VACHCS, Director of the Sleep Medicine at the Auxilio Mutuo Hospital involved and recognized in the medical education of medical students, Internal medicine Residents, and Pulmonary and Critical Care Residents in PR.
Country: Zimbabawe
Current position:
Senior Lecturer in the Department of Health Professions Education, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Zimbabwe; Facilitator/Tutor, online MSc Medical Education for Healthcare Professionals, iheed-The University of Warwick, Ireland.
Shalote Chipamaunga, PhD, MEd, BEd, DNE, SCM, RNM
Education and Experience:
Dr Shalote Chipamaunga is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Health Professions Education, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Zimbabwe. Prior to this, she held a similar position at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa where she obtained her PhD in Medical Education. For the past 15 years, Shalote has combined her background in nursing, midwifery and adult education to monitor and improve the quality of teaching and learning in medical and health professions education. In her quest for the scholarship of teaching and learning, at both the University of the Witwatersrand and the University of Zimbabwe, Shalote has been instrumental in the conceptualisation and introduction of new diploma, bachelor’s and master’s degree programs to mitigate the complex social reality that challenges the discipline. Through academic programming, she has a keen interest in addressing issues of disparity between health professions education in the Global North and Global South. Shalote has served on several curriculum development and review committees. She facilitated the integration and implementation of inter-professional education modules in undergraduate health professions education programs. In addition to academia, Shalote has several years of work experience with international non-governmental organizations in senior managerial, technical advisory and consultancy roles in reproductive health programs in eastern and southern Africa. She has expertise in qualitative research and keen interest in integrative and student learning encompassing the broad curricula matters that impact on learning. Shalote has published in peer-reviewed journals, and she is a peer reviewer of some reputable academic journals.
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Country: United Sates
Jett Choquette, MD, UVMLCOM Class of 2023
Education and Experience:
Jett Choquette graduated from the Larner College of Medicine (LCOM) in May 2023 and is pursuing internal medicine residency at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA. During her studies at LCOM, she was active in the Nuvance/UVM Global Health Program including serving as a student liaison to the Dominican Community Center, a nonprofit that serves the Latinx communities in Danbury, CT. She also developed several sessions to integrate concepts of global health into the LCOM longitudinal curriculum. During Jett’s last year at LCOM, she completed an 8-week rotation in Puerto Rico as part of the CDC Epidemiology Elective Program where she studied arboviral infections. Jett completed her undergraduate education at American University in Washington, DC where she majored in public relations and Spanish. Following graduation, she worked in health communications in Washington, DC for several years, developing campaigns and education materials for the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Jett then shifted gears by joining the Peace Corps as a community health volunteer. During her two years in the Peace Corps, she lived in Paraguay and taught health to grades 8 through 12. Between serving in the Peace Corps and starting medical school, Jett worked and volunteered as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) in Vermont and completed her postbaccalaureate, pre-medical studies at the University of Vermont.
Country: United States
Current position:
Dean of the Colleges of Nursing, Dr. Susan L. Davis, RN., & Richard J. Henley College of Nursing, St. Vincent’s College Nursing Program
Karen M. Daley
Education and Experience:
Dr. Daley joined this college in July of 2021 as an experienced educator and administrator with over 40 years of experience as a nurse, faculty and leader. Prior joining SHU, she was a Dean of a College of Health Professions that included nursing programs for 10 years. Prior to this, she served as master’s degree coordinator for the nursing department at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury for 10 years. A graduate of Villanova University, and Rutgers University with a PhD in Nursing, Dean Daley began her nursing career in Philadelphia and a neuro-trauma nurse. While moving around the country for her husband's work, she worked at University of Pennsylvania Hospital, University of Michigan Medical Center and Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She transitioned to teaching after the birth of her two daughters, starting teaching in an LPN program and over the years teaching in every level. She has developed and founded several nursing and non-nursing programs, worked extensively with faculty to develop and mentor them in academia and research while being extensively federally funded for innovative curricular innovations in nursing. Her passion is helping nursing students achieve their dream of becoming a nurse. She is honored to be in this role shepherding undergraduate, masters and doctoral students in her colleges here at Sacred Heart University.
Country: Vietnam
Current position:
Faculty at Department of Internal Medicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh city (UMP)
Khoa Duy Duong, MD, MPH
Education and Experience:
Dr. Khoa Duy Duong received his MD from UMP and his MPH from Université Paris-Sud. He also works for UMP’s Medical Education Center and teaches Interprofessional Education. As a medical educator, he is passionate about sharing knowledge, skills, professionalism, mindful and compassionate care. He also works with other youth empowerment organisations to promote integrity to Vietnamese young people.
Country: India
Current position:
Director, School of Epidemiology and Public Health and Professor of Community Medicine at Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences (DMIMS) (DU)
Abhay Gaidhane, MD, MBBS
Education and Experience:
Dr. Abhay Gaidhane completed his MBBS in 1996 and MD in Preventive and Social Medicine in 2002. He is currently the Chair of Bioethics Unit at DMIMS, under International Network of UNESCO Chair of Bioethics (Haifa) at DMIMS; member of the Institutional Ethics Committee and Convener of the Research Mentorship program in the University and member of Academic Council and Board of Study-Modern Medicine. Abhay received seven grant awards for research projects from Grand Challenges Canada, Ministry of Health, and Family Welfare, NACO, USAID. He is the Member of the Saving Brains Learning Platform of Grand Challenges Canada; Member of South Asia Infant Feeding Research Network. Abhay had extensive experience in research designing, policy and stakeholder analysis, rapid assessment of Health Programs, curriculum development, training in public health and education for healthcare providers and technology in public health. He was the organising secretary for the International Conference – Transforming Lives and Healthcare through Technology in January 2017; Co-chair for the ETHOS- National Bioethics Conference for students in July 2019 and IAPSM National Leadership Conclave in March 2020. Abhay has organised nearly 250 trainings for faculty, doctoral scholars, students and NGOs, with wide ranging topics including research methodology, data analysis, Quality assurance, HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Leadership and management, monitoring and evaluation.
Country: United States
Current position:
Professor of Pediatrics at UVMLCOM, Director of the Pediatric New American Program and Pediatric Global Health
Andrea E. Green, MD, FAAP
Education and Experience:
Dr Andrea Green’s clinical duties and scholarship are in providing care to children in immigrant families. Areas of academic focus include refugee mental health screening and multigenerational trauma, social determinants of health especially food insecurity and non-traditional US diets, health literacy, care coordination and advocacy. She has authored peer reviewed primary research, commentary and policy and spoken regionally and nationally on pediatric immigrant health. She is the Chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Community Pediatrics.
Country: United States
Current position:
Assistant Vice President of Nursing Education HealthQuest
Deborah Hewitt MS, MBA, NEBC
Education and Experience:
Deborah Hewitt works as an Assistant Vice President Nursing Professional Development at Nuvance Health. She holds Bachelor's of Science degree - Nursing University of Phoenix and Master - Business Administration University of Phoenix as well as a Master's degree - Nursing Yale University.
Country: United States
Current position:
Dr. Khoshnood is an Associate Professor and Faculty Director for Humanitarian Research Lab (https://medicine.yale.edu/lab/khoshnood/) at the Yale School of Public Health.
Kaveh Khoshnood, PhD, MPH
Education and Experience:
Dr. Khoshnood is trained as an infectious disease epidemiologist and has more than three decades of global health research experience. Dr. Khoshnood's research interests include: 1) epidemiology and prevention of HIV/AIDS, 2) research ethics and 3) humanitarian health. Dr. Khoshnood teaches a new course on health in humanitarian crises for public health graduate students.
Country: Uganda
Current position:
Senior Lecturer at the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health at the Makerere University, College of Health Sciences
Sabrina Bakeera-Kitaka, MD
Education and Experience:
Dr. Sabrina Bakeera-Kitaka completed her MBChB in1995; Masters of Paediatrics and Child Health in July 2002 both at Makerere University. She was a Gilead Fellow, and then Research Scholar at the Infectious Diseases Institute from 2003-2011 where she undertook a Fellowship in Paediatric Infectious Diseases and did research on HIV-infected adolescents. She has a Ph.D. from the School of Medical Sciences,University of Antwerp, Belgium. She is involved in conducting basic research in various Paediatrics Infectious Diseases and offers clinical care to HIV infected children and adolescents most of whom are perinatally infected. She directs the Adolescent Health training program at the Makerere University College of Health Sciences and is the Founder President of the Society of Adolescent Health in Uganda (www.sahu.ug).
Country: United States
Current position:
Chief Development Officer, Nuvance Health
Grace Linhard
Education and Experience:
Grace Linhard is the Chief Development Officer at Nuvance Health. She joined the Network in 2004 as Vice President of Development at Danbury Hospital and later took the role as Chief Development Officer, Western Connecticut Health Network. Grace has extensive experience in the field of health care fundraising, having served as the Chief Development Officer at Waterbury Hospital for six years prior to joining Danbury Hospital. She has also held development positions at The Governor's Prevention Partnership in Hartford and at United Way in Waterbury, Danbury, and Washington, DC.
Grace Linhard earned their BA in Communication from Stonehill College.
Country: United States
Current position:
Robert A. Pierattini Green and Gold Professor, UVM Larner College of Medicine
Director of Psychotherapy Training, UVMMC Psychiatry Residency Program
Director, Adult Psychiatry Resident Clinic
Attending Psychiatrist, Seneca Center
Judith L. Lewis, MD
Education and Experience:
Lewis joined the UVM faculty in 2003. Her leadership roles have included service as director of the Psychiatry Residency Training Program for 13 years following which she became the director of psychotherapy training in 2022. Psychiatry residents have recognized her extensive experience teaching psychotherapy with two Excellence in Academic Teaching awards. In addition, she was named Teacher of the Year for Graduate Medical Education in 2016 and received the Educational Scholarship Award from the Larner College of Medicine Teaching Academy in 2018 in recognition of her work in the area of student mistreatment. She was named an inaugural Distinguished Educator – the highest category of membership – in the Teaching Academy in 2014. Lewis is also a past recipient of a Frymoyer Scholarship, which supported her project to develop web-based education modules in psychiatry for medical and nursing students.
Dr. Judith Lewis is a highly respected researcher, clinician, teacher, and scholar. She has dedicated her career to improving the lives of patients and families who face complex and challenging journeys. Through her research, teaching, and leadership she will ensure that we constantly improve our ability to care for patients here in Vermont and around the world.”
A second-generation UVM clinician, Lewis received her medical degree from UVM’s College of Medicine in 1989, following which she completed a residency in psychiatry at Columbia-Presbyterian in New York City. She then trained for five years at the Columbia University Training Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research while working as an instructor and then assistant professor at Columbia before returning to UVM.
Country: Zimbabwe
Current position:
Dean, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Zimbabwe
Fiona Makoni, MuDr, MPH, PGD
Education and Experience:
Fiona Makoni is a Senior Lecturer and former Chairperson of the Department of Oral Health. She is the Executive Dean in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. She studied for her first degree in Dentistry in Czechoslovakia, graduating with distinctions. She obtained her Master’s degree in Public Health at Emory University in the United States as a Fellow of the WK Kellogg Foundation, majoring in International Health and Epidemiology. She obtained a postgraduate diploma in Research Ethics from the University of Cape Town in South Africa. In 2012, she was the inaugural recipient of the Tony Volpe Award by the Global Dental Child Network in the United Kingdom. She is dedicated to professional excellence in clinical practice and professional service. She has worked as the Director of Government Dental Services in the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare. She is past President of the Zimbabwe Dental Association and first woman to hold that position in the association and has chaired Practice Management and the Peer Review committees. She has served on the Medical and Dental Practitioners Council of Zimbabwe in the past and in the current council. She also served on the first council of the Women’s University in Africa. She is a member of the Joint Research and Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals. She also serves her community through various Boards and Committees as well as counselling. She joined the University of Zimbabwe in 1999 and was involved in the establishment of the Bachelor of Dental Surgery training programme. Her main areas of research have been in dental caries epidemiology and she was involved in studies in the Atraumatic Restorative Treatment technique as a treatment modality for dental caries, leading to the adoption of the technique by WHO. She also has keen interest and experience in clinical and research ethics as well as medical education that she is currently pursuing at master’s degree level.
Country: United States
Current position:
Associate Professor in Emergency Medicine and the Associate Program Director for the Nuvance/Larner College of Medicine Global Health Program
Mariah McNamara, MD
Education and Experience:
Dr. Mariah McNamara completed her MPH and global health fellowship after her residency training and returned to Vermont in 2012. She served as the interim Assistant Dean for Students at the UVM Larner College of Medicine for the past two years and enjoys supporting and advising students as they develop their professional identities. She serves at the Medical Director of the Emergency Department, and Associate Chief Medical Officer for Medical Staff Services at the University of Vermont Medical Center which is a Level 1 Trauma Center and training center for our numerous residency training programs.
Country: Botswana
Current position:
Senior Lecturer and Assistant Program Director at the University of Botswana, Department of Psychiatry.
Keneilwe Molebatsi
Education and Experience:
Dr Keneilwe Molebatsi graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery degree from University of KwaZulu Natal (UKZN) in South Africa and holds a Master of Medicine in Psychiatry from University of Nairobi in Kenya. Dr Molebatsi completed a professional development course in Global Mental Health with the University of Washington in 2021. She is currently pursuing PhD in Psychiatry at UKZN focusing on trauma in patients with severe mental illness.
Country: Botswana
Current position:
Pediatric nurse practitioner, Timberlane Pediatrics
Clinical instructor in the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, UVMLCOM
Rebecca Nagle, DNP, PNP, RN
Education and Experience:
Rebecca Nagle is a pediatric nurse practitioner and a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Nursing & Health Sciences. Rebecca completed her M.S. at UCSF in 1999 and her DNP at the University of Vermont in 2021. Rebecca has worked in pediatrics first as an RN and then as a PNP since graduating from UVM in 1991. She became certified by the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners in 2012 and works with breastfeeding mothers in her pediatric practice. Rebecca completed a faculty fellowship at the University of Arizona in Integrative Nursing in 2015. She utilizes integrative health approaches with her patients and incorporates integrative health into her teaching.
Country: Uganda
Current position:
Associate Professor and Chair for the Department of Psychiatry
Senior Lecturer at the College of Health Sciences, Makerere University.
Noeline Nakasujja
Education and Experience:
She received her Bachelor’s in Medicine/Surgery and her Masters’ degrees in Psychiatry from Makerere University Medical School. She completed her PhD studies and received a joint degree from Makerere University and Karolinska Institute, Sweden.
She has served on a number of associations including the International Psycho-geriatrics Associations, the World Psychiatric Association, Association of Uganda Women Doctors, The Network: Towards Unity for Health (TUFH) among others.
Her work has focused on neurocognitive assessments across the life span as well as other areas in the field of psychiatry. She is currently a Principal Investigator on a study evaluating the stress and caregiver burden of individuals looking after patients with Alzheimer’s disease in the community.
Country: Zimbabwe
Current position:
Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Zimbabwe
Chiratidzo E Ndhlovu, M Med Sci (Clin Epi), FRCP
Education and Experience:
Science as well as Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine. As a medical educator and clinician involved in Nephrology and HIV Medicine, she has vast experience in internal medicine, renal care, and looking after HIV patients in a resource-limited setting.
She is a Principal Investigator in various HIV related research activities, in particular studying outcomes in cryptococcal meningitis and HIV, and adherence to antiretroviral therapy in adolescents. She is the current Chairperson of the National Medicines and Therapeutics Policy Advisory Committee (NMTPAC) which advises the Secretary of Health & Child Welfare on all issues pertaining to pharmaceutical use including coordinating the review of the Zimbabwe Essential Medicines List as well as monitoring rational use of medicines in the country. She is Principal Investigator for the AMBITION Study in Harare, Zimbabwe.
Jason Nova
Education and Experience:
Jason Nova was born and raised in the Bronx, New York by Dominican parents who immigrated in the late 80s to the United States. With experience in higher education; student affairs, crisis management/harm reduction, and non-profit management. He currently works as an account manager at Marketing Dimensions, Inc. and political organizer.
He is a proud member of Phi Iota Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and the Dominican Community Center located here in Danbury.
Country: United States/Dominican Republic
Country: United States/Dominican Republic
Current position:
Advisor for the Dominican Community Center and member of the Board of Directors of Housatonic Habitat for Humanity, Danbury, CT
Elvis Novas
Education and Experience:
He was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The proud son of Manuel Novas and Mercedes Campos, who instilled in him that one must act with respect and dignity, always with the mission of shaking hands with others.
Elvis had the dream of being a professional baseball player, but unable to achieve it, he used his baseball skills to get a sports scholarship at the Universidad Dominicana O&M in the Dominican Republic, studying Computer Science and obtaining a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science in 1991, while working as a Computer Programmer for the main telephone company in the Dominican Republic (CODETEL), now known as CLARO.
In 1992 he emigrated to the United States. Between 1992 and 2005 he lived in New Jersey and New York, devoting time to his profession and to socio-political and sports work. He was instrumental in the creation of the Altamira Softball League in the Bronx, New York.
In 2005, Elvis and his family moved to the City of Danbury. Since then, he has been involved in community and organizing work. He is co-founder of the Dominican Club of Connecticut, later converted into the Dominican Community Center, a non-profit community organization.
He was executive secretary of the Latinos Softball League in Danbury, CT. In 2015, he assumed the presidency of the Dominican Club of Connecticut. In December 2021, his term as president of the Dominican Community Center ends. During his tenure, the organization expanded and established itself as a true representative of the best values of the community.
He has received recognition from the Association of Sports Writers of Santiago, D.R.; ADONAY Little League Baseball, Puerto Plata, D.R.; Remix Women Softball Team, New York, etc. In October 2018, his contributions to civic life in Danbury were recognized by the United States House of Representatives when he received the Latino Leaders in Connecticut Award.
He is currently a member of the board for Brian Cody's Brothers & Sisters Foundation, Housatonic Habitat for Humanity and Men Against Domestic and Sexual Violence at the CENTER FOR EMPOWERMENT AND EDUCATION; he also serves as an advisor for the Dominican Community Center.
Since his arrival in the United States, Elvis has been working on the development of computerized systems and information technology. For over twenty-two years he has worked as a Software Engineer for Dotdash Meredith (formerly Meredith Corp and Time Inc.).
Elvis is a proud father of four children (Mariel, Lisbeth, Elvis Ariel, and Aaliyah) and the husband of Zoraida Cabrera.
Current position:
President of the Pan-American Federation of Associations of Medical Schools (PAFAMS)
Country: Dominican Republic
Marcos A. Núñez C, MD
Education and Experience:
Dr. Marcos Núñez Cuervo is a Hand surgeon with training in microsurgery; professor in the School of Medicine and Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at Universidad Iberoamericana (UNIBE) in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (DR). Dr Nuñez has held previous leadership positions in the DR and the Americas region serving as the Caribbean representative (2016-2022) of the Pan American Federations of Associations of Medical Schools (PAFAMS). Dr. Marcos Núñez Cuervo is the past president (2004-2006) of the Dominican College of Surgeons, past president (2009-2011) of the Dominican Association of Medical Colleges (ADOFEM), past vice-president (2016-2018) and president (2018-2022) of the Dominican Academy of Medicine, and co-founder of the Dominican Society in Hand Surgery. Fellow of the International College of Surgeon and the American Burn Association. Active Member of the Dominican Academy of Medicine and a new Member of the Dominican Academy of Sciences. President of the Pan American Federation of Associations of Medical Schools (PAFAMS) 2022-2025.
Current position:
Chairman, Department of Medicine
Vice President of Medical Affairs Nuvance Health
Country: United States
Aparna Oltikar, MD
Education and Experience:
Dr. Oltikar's medical specialization is Internal Medicine with more than 28 years of experience. She graduated from Js Weill Medical College, Cornell University in 1995.
Current position:
Associate Dean of Global Health and Director of Research and Development at Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences (DMIMS) (DU), Sawangi Meghe, Wardha, India
Country: India
Syed Zahiruddin Quazi, MD, PhD
Education and Experience:
Dr Quazi is the Director, Directorate of Research & Professor of Community Medicine at the DMIMS. Dr Quazi has been the main driving force behind clinical research and innovation across all the affiliate institutions of DMIMS. He has vast experience in Social Science, public health intervention, and Maternal and Child Health. He has expertise in conducting scoping reviews, desk reviews, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses and is a Cochrane author. Prof. Quazi has expertise in Clinical Translation Research and Complex Public Health Interventions and has been working on several multi-disciplinary and multi-institution R&D projects supported by Grand Challenge Canada, the WHO, AusAID, ICMR, DST, PHRI (SERB), DRDO, and ICSSR. He has expertise in biomedical engineering with a significant inclination to Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine. He was invited as an esteemed speaker at International/National conferences organised by CSIR-Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute, Kolkata; MAHE, Manipal and IISc Bengaluru. He is an active member of the Society for Biomaterials & Artificial Organs (India). He possesses deep disciplinary knowledge and expertise within the translational science spectrum. Under his guidance and supervision, DMIMS is recognised by the ICMR as a part of the Indian Clinical Trial and Education Network (INTENT). At DMIMS, he mentors a multidisciplinary team of expert surgeons/clinicians and biomedical scientists to identify the unmet clinical needs and the best possible way to address those issues.
Current position:
Adjunct Professor at J. Craig Venter Institute Ridgefield, Connecticut, United States
Country: United States
Rudy L. Ruggles
Education and Experience:
Harvard College, Bachelor’s Degree in Physics, plus graduate studies
Harvard Business School MBA – R&D Strategy, and International Economics
1960s
Senior Associate Physicist, IBM Research Lab., Condensed Matter Physics
High speed switching transistor development; designed and fabricated fastest device in the world at that time, 5 nanoseconds; also, x-ray and spectrographic analyses of crystallographic defects in Si; Awarded two patents.
Strategic Planner, IBM Corporate Headquarters, Armonk, NY
Corporate responsibility for strategic planning oversight and assessment of IBM’s research and development divisions
Key responsibilities for design and implementation of IBM’s corporate planning process and the plans themselves.
Chairman, IBM Long Range Strategic Planning Committee
Corporate liaison with research institutes and “think tanks” world-wide
1970s
At Hudson Institute: A “Think Tank” that conducted a wide variety of classified studies for the DoD and other agencies involved with national security - including nuclear warfare strategy; CBR (chemical, biological and radiological) warfare; asymmetrical and unconventional warfare; terrorism; and counterinsurgency.
Headquartered, Croton on Hudson, NY; other offices in Washington (DC), Paris, Tokyo, and Montreal.
Was initially a Visiting Fellow, while on semi-sabbatical from IBM Headquarters
Joined as Senior Member, Professional Staff – Specializing in future applications of computers and communications in various national security environments. Had contract with DARPA to develop certain capabilities of the DARPA-net, the precursor of the INTERNET; plus other projects.
Promoted to Director of Research
Elected President and served for five years, including role as Chief Security Officer, and devoted appreciable time to proposal writing and review as well as research and field work.
Foreign assignments included Iran, Algeria and Australia
1980s and beyond
After resigning from the Hudson Institute, spent the rest of career in intelligence and national security affairs in the U.S. and abroad, including many months per year in People’s Republic of China for 15 years, from 1982 to 1997, as well as other overseas locations.
Currently
Chairman, Research Advisory Council, Danbury Hospital Biomedical Research Institute
Formerly served over 12 years on Danbury Hospital’s Board of Directors and Medical Affairs Committee
Adjunct Scientist, JCVI Genomic Medicine Department
Publications, Lectures, and Professional Memberships
Non-classified publications include articles in I.E.E.E. Electron Devices Journal; NY Times featured Op-ed Article; Harvard Business Review; Columbia Journal of World Business.
Numerous classified lectures on subjects including nuclear proliferation, strategic non-fuel raw materials’ geo-political vulnerabilities (to Joint Chiefs of Staff, DoD), plus other venues including the U.S. Army War College, the Naval War College, and Strategic Air Command (SAC) headquarters, Offutt Airforce Base, Omaha. Also lectured at Harvard on Defense Planning, Procurement and PPBS.
Member, Ends of the Earth (honorary organization of Sr. military & intelligence officers); American Physicists Society; Elected a Fellow, The Explorers Club (1980); Harvard Faculty Club; Board of Advisors, Organization for Tropical Studies (Headquarters, Duke University, with research stations in Costa Rica, Brazil, South Africa); Former Trustee and Member of Program Committee, H. F. Guggenheim Foundation (funds studies of dominance, aggression and violence); etc.
Expeditions to North Geographic & Magnetic Poles; Descended 8,500’ to mid-Atlantic Ridge off Azores in Russian MIR-2 manned deep submersible to study biodiversity of hydrothermal vent fields; retraced Shackleton nd Franklin expeditions in Antarctic and Arctic; etc.
Served in U.S. Army, Combat Engineers
National security and intelligence services for over 35 years
Current position:
The Nuvance Health/ University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine Global Health Program Director
Country: United States
Majid Sadigh, MD
Education and Experience:
An infectious-disease specialist and internationally recognized global health expert, Dr. Majid Sadigh is Director of the Global Health Program at The University of Vermont and Western Connecticut Health Network. In 2016, he was honored as the inaugural Christopher J. Trefz Family Endowed Chair in Global Health at Western Connecticut Health Network.
Current position:
Writer, Editor, and Researcher at the Nuvance Health/University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine Global Health Program
Country: United States
Mitra Sadigh
Education and Experience:
With two bachelor’s degrees in music and philosophy from the University of Hartford and a post-baccalaureate in pre-medical studies from UVM, Mitra Sadigh is a dedicated human and planetary rights activist with a passion for creative storytelling as a means of advocacy and connection. She has published on a wide array of topics including patient advocacy, health equity, social and cultural determinants of health, medical education, and rural healthcare access. She is editor of the Global Health Diaries blog and the program’s eMagazine, as well as other texts such as annual reports and special investigative pieces. Mitra also writes grants for the Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Music Orchestra and teaches yoga and piano. She began medical school in the fall of 2020.
Current position:
The Nuvance Health Global Health Program Associate Director at Norwalk Hospital
Country: United States
Robyn Scatena, MD
Education and Experience:
Dr. Scatena is a specialist in pulmonary and critical care medicine with particular interest in sepsis and lung cancer. She received her MD at the University of California, Davis and trained in internal medicine and pulmonary and critical care medicine at Yale University. She is the ICU Director at Norwalk Hospital and leads a multi-hospital sepsis improvement program and a Norwalk Hospital Women in Medicine Group. She has developed strong relationships with global colleagues, in particular within the departments of pulmonary and critical care at Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City,
Current position:
Associate Director Global Health Program at the Nuvance Health/UVLCOM, Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at UVMLCOM
Country: United States
Stephen Scholand, MD
Education and Experience:
Dr. Stephen Scholand is a Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine in Infectious Diseases at the University of Arizona, where he works closely with residents and fellows in training as a bedside clinician. He is also an Associate Professor of Medicine at the Frank H Netter School of Medicine, Quinnipiac University, Connecticut. There, he serves as course director of the Hospitalist Medicine elective at Midstate Medical Center in Meriden, CT. Pre pandemic, he served in a close supportive role for students involved in our overseas and domestic clinical rotation sites. His experience focused mainly on Southeast Asia, including Thailand and Vietnam. “Post” pandemic, he is looking forward to more clinical interaction and instruction at the bedside in many of our overseas sites. He has been active in the field of global health for more than 20 years, beginning as a physician in training in urban Manila, Philippines. He is a rabies sub- specialist and has been active in the field for many years.
Country: Botswana
Current position:
Associate Professor of Family Medicine, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of Botswana, Botswana, Africa
Vincent Setlhare, MD, MBA
Education and Experience:
Professor Vincent Setlhare, (MD, MBA, MFamMed (Masters degree in Family Medicine), FGHL (Fellow of GH Leadership), a final year PhD student, is head of the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health at the University of Botswana. He is a family physician who teaches family medicine and research to undergraduate and postgraduate students. His main area of research is primary healthcare, particularly doctor-patient interactions/relationships and how they impact care.
Dr. Setlhare is a member of the World Spine Care Executive Committee and is the Botswana PI of the Global Spine Care Initiative Project. He is chairman of the African Consortium for Excellence in Family Medicine, an organization of faculty from five African universities in southern Africa.
He has previously helped review the WHO Package of Interventions for Rehabilitation of People with Low-Back Pain. Dr. Setlhare is a member of Primafamed, Wonca (Africa), ISQua, and the Botswana Association of Family Physicians.
Mary Shah, MLS, AHIP
Education and Experience:
Mary Shah teaches classes on Cultural Competency, Health Literacy, Searching the Literature, and Evidence-Based Practice and directs the Archives and Oral History Project. Shah also gave Grand Rounds for the Department of Medicine on Cultural Competency and Clinical Communication. She is on the steering committee of the Global Health Program and the new Linde Health Educators without Borders Program. Ms. Shah is a senior member of the Academy of Health Information Professionals.
Country: United States
Current position:
Medical Librarian and Archivist at Norwalk Hospital
Monica Sousa
Education and Experience:
Dr. Monica Sousa is a Nursing Professor at Western Connecticut State University, teaching in both the undergraduate and graduate programs. She has been an educator for more than 13 years. She obtained her Doctorate in Nursing Education from Western CT State University. Her clinical background is in cardiology and med-surg. She has also held positions as a Risk Manager, Patient Advocate, Clinical Nurse Specialist a Cardiovascular Service Line for both inpatient and outpatient areas.
Country: United States
Current position:
Nursing Professor at Western Connecticut State University
Country: Vietnam
Current position:
Vice Dean of Faculty of Medicine
University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City (UMP), Vietnam
Email: trancongthang@ump.edu.vn
Tran Cong Thang, M.D., Ph.D.
Education and Experience:
Dr. Thang was born in 1972 in Vietnam. He obtained his M.D. degree in 1995 from University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City (UMP), and underwent neurology residency trainingfrom 1996 to 1999 at Cho Ray hospital. He has worked at UMP as a lecturer since 2000. In 2010, Dr Thang graduated with doctorates of neurology from UMP.
Dr. Thang is now Vice Dean of Faculty of Medicine and Vice Head of Neurology Department at UMP. He is responsible for oversight of Undergraduate Medical Education, particularly in curriculum and program design. He serves as the Curriculum Leader of Year 5 and the Head of Neuroscience Module for Year 3 medical students for UMP's 6-year undergraduate program. Furthermore, Dr. Thang has led the Curriculum Reform Project for 25 residency training programs, as part of UMP's Graduate Medical Education section.
Dr. Thang is an expert in the field of dementia. He is currently the Vice Chairman of Vietnam'sAssociation of Alzheimer disease and other Neurocognitive Disorders (VnADA). His activities have been focused on enhancing knowledge of dementia among medical doctors, people with dementia and their relatives. Dr. Thang has more than 20 publications related to dementia, with 3 among them in international journals.
Dr. Thang is the Head of Memory and Dementia Unit at University Medical Center, the affiliated hospital of UMP, and is the Senior Consultant of several Dementia Units throughout Vietnam. He has built and organized a teaching-in-clinic model for medical students at Memory and Dementia Units, so that every student could have a chance to meet and understand people with dementia.
“Devoted to patients and medical students throughout their journey” is Dr. Thang's professional motto.
Country: United States
Current position:
Director of International Emergency Medicine UVMLCOM, Department of Emergency Medicine’s Network Director of Health Equity, Director of DEI, Member of the Faculty and Residency Selection committees, Chair of the New American Indigenous Migrant Health (NAIMH) Task Force
Katie Wells, MD, MPH
Education and Experience:
An assistant professor of emergency medicine, Wells was recruited to join the UVM faculty in 2018 as the first director of international emergency medicine. She also serves as the Department of Emergency Medicine’s network director of health equity, director of DEI, a member of the faculty and residency selection committees, and chair of the New American Indigenous Migrant Health (NAIMH) Task Force. A co-faculty advisor to the Social Justice Coalition (SJC) medical student leadership group, Wells co-led the implementation of the social determinants of health curriculum in the required fourth-year medical student emergency medicine rotation and pioneered the development of the health equity curriculum for the Department of Emergency Medicine.
Wells has served as an independent consultant to the United Nation World Health Organization Programme on Emergency, Trauma, and Acute Care in Geneva, Switzerland in 2019, a visiting consultant in emergency medicine for Makerere University/Mulago Hospital in Kampala, Uganda, and Mbarara University of Science and Technology in Mbarara, Uganda. In addition, she has been a visiting consultant on emergency care system development for the Ugandan Ministry of Health and is currently building a multilateral health equity-focused partnership with Stellenbosch University and the University of Cape Town, in Cape Town, South Africa.
After receiving her B.S. in Biology and Psychology from the University of Georgia, Wells earned an M.D. at Mercer University School of Medicine in Macon, GA. She completed four years as a general surgery resident at The Ohio State University Medical Center and then concurrently completed a global health research fellowship at the University of Utah Center for Global Surgery building trauma care systems in Mongolia and earned an M.P.H. degree from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health with a focus in refugee health and large-scale disaster response. Wells then completed an emergency medicine residency – including a year as Chief Resident – at the University of Utah before joining UVM.
Country: United States
Current position:
Director of the newly founded Patricia A. Tietjen, MD Teaching Academy
Beth West
Education and Experience:
Beth West joined Nuvance Health in June 2021 as Director of the newly founded Patricia A. Tietjen, MD Teaching Academy. Beth completed her undergraduate education at Fordham University at the Rose Hill Campus in Bronx, New York, majoring in political science and minoring in History and Peace & Justice Studies. She received her M.A. in international education from the SIT Graduate Institute (formerly School for International Training) in Brattleboro, VT. Currently, Beth is a doctoral student, pursuing an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership at the University of Bridgeport. Prior to joining Nuvance Health, Beth served in the CDC Foundation’s COVID-19 Crisis Corps as a bilingual intercultural Health Educator working with communities in Hartford, CT. She also brings to her new role leading the Teaching Academy at Nuvance Health diverse experience in non-profit humanitarian aid program management, solidarity based-community development projects, intercultural teaching and learning, and creative partnerships linking volunteerism and international education within Latin and South America and the United States.
Catherine Winkler, PhD, APRN-BC
Education and Experience:
An advanced nurse practitioner in primary care who has taught health care policy at the graduate level at Fairfield University and has volunteered with Hearts Around the World; is the Co-director of the new Global Health Nursing Division. Dr. Winkler received her Ph.D. from Yale University, MPH, from New York Medical College and BSN from the University of Connecticut. She has researched the topic of arrhythmias and has published in the fields of cardiology and healthcare policy.
Country: United States
Current position:
Co-Director of the Nuvance Health Global Health Nursing Division
Country: United States
Current position:
The Nuvance Health/ University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine Global Health Program Associate Director
Bulat Ziganshin, MD, PhD
Education and Experience:
Dr. Bulat Ziganshin is an Associate Research Scientist at the Department of Surgery, Section of Cardiac Surgery, Yale University School of Medicine, and is the Research Director of the Aortic Institute of Yale-New Haven Hospital. Dr. Ziganshin received his Medical Degree (MD) from Kazan State Medical University (KSMU, Kazan, Russia) in 2007; in 2008 he completed internship in General Surgery, followed by a clinical residency program in Cardiovascular Surgery completed in 2010, both at the KSMU. In 2017 Dr. Ziganshin was awarded a PhD degree in Pharmacology from KSMU. In 2017 Dr. Ziganshin enrolled in a PhD program in Genetics and Development at Columbia University (New York). Since 2012 Dr. Ziganshin is serving as an Associate Editor of the AORTA Journal. Dr. Ziganshin has a long-lasting interest in Global Health. From 2006 until 2015 he has been employed as the Senior Officer for International Medical Exchange programs at the GH Center of KSMU. In 2010 in collaboration with the GH Office of Yale University he established a 6-week long GH Exchange Program for Russian medical students, residents, and physicians to train in Uganda at Makerere University. More recently, Dr. Ziganshin participated in the establishment of a bilateral GH Exchange Program between KSMU and the University of Vermont/Nuvance Health. Since 2016 Dr. Ziganshin has served as the Director for the GH Elective Program for the American University of the Caribbean and Ross University School of Medicine, as part of the Nuvance Health Global Health Program.