Faculty research

See what our global health faculty are doing (this page) Feature on Faculty Research An interactive map developed by the Office of Global Health shows where faculty are working around the world. The School of Public Health Faculty Research Database includes additional information on all SPH faculty and their research interests. A new OGH program -- Global Health Faculty Research Partnership Grants -- is supported by the NIH-funded UNC Partnership in Global Health, and provides funding for faculty to develop new research collaborations. For information on select international research interests of all UNC faculty, visit the Center for Global Initiatives' Faculty Expertise Database. SPH Global Health Faculty Research Grants and Activities (selected projects) Biostatistics Environmental Sciences & Engineering Epidemiology Health Behavior & Health Education Health Policy & Administration Maternal & Child Health    Nutrition     Public Health Leadership Program Note: This is not a complete listing Back to top   Biostatistics Faculty: Shrikant Bangdiwala:  Dr. Bangdiwala serves as co-chair of the Global Health Advisory Committee of the SPH Office of Global Health. Dr. Bangdiwal received funding from the UNC Partnership in Global Health, a Fogarty-funded initiative in the Office of Global Health to fund a proposal to establish a new research collaboration with colleagues in Brazil. Project Title: A Trial for Improving Perinatal Care in Latin America Project Period: August 2001 - April 2006 Funding Agency: National Institute of Child Health Abstract: The specific aim of this project is to perform in Argentina and Uruguary a randomized controlled trial of a behavioral intervention that will increase the use of two evidence-based birth practices, the selective use of episiotomies and active management of the third stage of labor.  Project Title: CDC Prevention Research Centers Program: Competing Special Interest Projects-UNC-Malawi-Congo Funding Agency: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Abstract: The major goals of this study are as follows: Project 1 - Assess morbidity and mortality in a retrospective and prospective cohort of both HIV positive and HIV negative pregnant women in Malawi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Project 2 - Randomize the HIV positive women enrolled into 3 intervention programs: combivir/nelfinavir to the mothers, nevirapine to the babies for 6 months, or standard of care. Project 3 - Randomize breast-feeding women into either a nutritional supplement or no nutritional supplement program. Project 4 - Develop acceptable and nutritionally adequate weaning diets for early weaning of breast-fed infants of HIV infected mothers. Finally, a statistical and data center will be established in Lilongwe, Malawi. Richard Bilsborrow:  Dr. Bilsborrow has received funding from the UNC Partnership in Global Health, a Fogarty-funded initiative in the Office of Global Health to fund a proposal to study health as a dimension of vulnerability of low-income households in Iquitos, Peru. Project Title: CPC Ecuador projects (NASA-2): Modeling the Scale Dependent Drivers of LCLU Dynamics in Northeastern Ecuador: Simulating Patterns of Landscape Change and Assessing their Cause and Consequence through Multi-Level Models and Cellular Automata Co-Investigator: Stephen Walsh (Geography) Project Period: March 2003 - April 2006 Total Award: $700,000 Funding Agency: NASA Abstract: As a continuation of the NASA-1 project, this project attempts to further delve into the factors related to changing land cover and land use (LCLU) in the northern Oriente of Ecuador. Exciting new methods are tested that provide greater insight into the various LCLU dynamics in the Amazonian region. Using longitudinal household survey data collected in 1990 and 1999, a 2000 community survey, a multi-resolution remote sensing time-series, GIS coverages of resource potentials and endowments, and field verification and geodetic control data, we analyze the determinants of changes in LCLU at the plot, sector, and regional levels, and for annual and decadal periods. For more information, go to the CPC Ecuador Projects. Project Title: Feedbacks Among Patterns and Processes of Land Use and Land Cover Dynamics in the Northern Ecuadorian Amazon Co-Investigator: Stephen Walsh (Geography) Project Period: September 2004 - February 2008 Funding Agency: National Science Foundation Abstract: The central objectives of this research project are to examine the effects of household structure and power relations on both the determinants of gendered migration, and on destination labor marker outcomes. Project Title: Urbanizing the Ecuadorian Frontier: Links between Rural and Urban Places in the Northern Oriente Project Period: July 2004 - June 2005 Funding Agency: Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Lisa Lavange Dr. Lavange is the Director of the Collaborative Studies Coordinating Center. Project Title: The Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL). Funding Agency: National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute Abstract: A multi-center epidemiologic study in Hispanic/Latino populations to determine the role of acculturation in the prevalence and development of disease, and to identify risk factors playing a protective or harmful role in Hispanics/Latinos. Chirayath Suchindran:  Project Title: Behavioral Dynamics of HIV/AIDS in Uttar Pradesh, India Funding Agency: National Institute of Child Health Abstract: This project uses qualitative and probability survey methods to document sexual behavior and AIDS awareness in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India.  Project Title: Monitoring and Evaluation to Assess and Use Results: Administrative Core Co-Investigator: Richard Bilsborrow Funding Agency: US AID Abstract: This project aims to improve monitoring and evaluation of population and health programs, including family planning, maternal and child health and HIV/AIDS/STI in developing countries.  Project Title: Training In Population Statistics Funding Agency: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Abstract: The Department of Biostatistics Population Statistics (Demography) training program is designed to provide pre and post doctoral research training in the application of statistical theory and methods in the population field. The goal is to train biostatisticians to conduct state of the art biostatistical research relevant to important population problems including health of human population and to provide high level consulting for others in the population field. Michael Hudgens:  Project Title: Statistical Methods in HIV Vaccine Efficacy Trials Project Period: April 2004 - April 2005 Funding Agency: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Abstract: The overall objectives of this research are to develop methods (1) for estimating vaccine and antiviral efficacy and effectiveness in the field and (2) for characterizing complex and long-term properties of vaccination in individuals and populations. Jianwen Cai Back to top Environmental Sciences & Engineering Faculty: Richard (Pete) Andrews Harvey Jeffries Richard Kamens He has implemented, along with Dr. Pojanie of KMUTT (King Mongkut’s Univeristy of Technology) and Dr. Suwasa of CMU (Chiang Mia University) an undergraduate/graduate student exchange/research program in Thailand and currently serves as the UNC field site coordinator.  UNC students spend 6+ months in Thailand taking classes and working onr research projects. Their thai counterparts spend a semester at UNC in our graduate program.   The 2004 group investigated the feasibility of bio-diesel as and energy source in South East Asia. The energy life cycle analysis approach demonstrated that unlike ethanol, biodiesel production in energy favorable, and that 7 percent of the land mass in Thailand could completely proved Bangkok with all of its petroleum diesel needs. Don Lauria Dr. Lauria serves as the faculty advisor for the Daniel A. Okun Chapter of Engineers Without Borders-USA at UNC-Chapel Hill. Dr. Lauria serves on the Global Health Advisory Committee of the SPH Office of Global Health. Jacqueline MacDonald Dr. MacDonald is interested in research on topics at the interface between environmental science and public policy. Her work focuses on the mathematical quantification of the probability of harm occurring due to environmental contamination and on quantitative comparisons of policy options for environmental risk reduction. Mark Sobsey Dr. Sobsey has been named a Kenan Professor at UNC-Chapel Hill's School of Public Health, an endowed faculty position awarded to outstanding scholars and teachers. Carolina Global Water Partnership to develop plan to get clean water in poor homes in developing countries. Title: Biosand Filter Health Impact Study in the Dominican Republic Abstract: An emerging point-of-use water filtration technology is the biosand filter (BSF), a household-scale, intermittently operated slow sand filter that does not require sand replacement but instead uses in-situ sand cleaning. The long-term goal of the proposed research is to characterize the performance of the filter in the field, and assess its ability to reduce diarrheal diseases and improve the microbial quality of water. The study will be conducted in a village near the city of Bonao in the Dominican Republic     Title: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet Funding Agency: Environmental Protection Agency Jason West Dr. West is interested broadly in the problems of air pollution and climate change, with the goal of exploring the relationships between these problems and the relevance of these relationships for environmental science and policy. Stephen Whalen Dale Whittington Title: Additional Studies of Household Demand for New Vaccines for Typhoid and Cholera in Diseases of the Impoverished Countries Project Period: February 1, 2004-January 31, 2006 Funding Agency: International Vaccine Institute Back to top Epidemiology Faculty: Frieda Behets Project Title: Strengthening Bioethics Capacity and Justice in Health Project Period: September 2004 - May 2008 Funding Agency: Fogarty International Center Abstract: To build bioethical training and research capacity at the Kinshasa School of Public Health (KSPH), Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) through expansion of its partnerships with the University of North Carolina (UNC), and the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium (UCL).  Project Title: UNC Technical Assistance Project in Support of the Global AIDS Program Project Period: September 2003 - March 2008 Total Award: $1.3 million Funding Agency: Centers for Disease Control Abstract: To provide technical assistance (TA) in support of the CDC Global AIDS Program in research, prevention and control of HIV, STI, TB, and other infectious diseases in low-income countries (Democratic Republic of Congo and Haiti). Mike Cohen Dr. Cohen is the director of the new UNC Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases. Dr. Cohen directs the work of the UNC Project in Lilongwe(Malawi). Dr. Cohen is the Director of the UNC Center for Infectious Diseases. Pia MacDonald Dr. MacDonald serves on the Global Health Advisory Committee of the SPH Office of Global Health. Dr. MacDonald is the director of the NC Center for Public Health Preparedness Steve Meshnick:  Feature on Dr. Meshnick's work in Malawi Project Title: Malaria and HIV in Pregnant Women in Malawi Project Period: March 15, 2001-February 28, 2006 Funding Agency:NIH/NIAID Abstract: The current proposal aims to test the following hypotheses: 1. Maternal malaria increases mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV in nevirapine-treated women and children; malaria may have this effect by increasing maternal viral load, placental monocytes, and placental concentrations of TNF-a and CCR5; and 2. HIV-1 infections inhibit the development of pregnancy-specific antimalarial immunity and exacerbates maternal malaria.  Project Title:Malaria and HIV in Pregnant Women in Malawi (extension of the study above) Project Period: May 1, 2002-April 30, 2005 Funding Agency: FIC/FIRCA Abstract: This proposal extends an existing NIH study by characterizing the observed monocytic infiltrate in the placenta of pregnant women in Malawi and assessing the potential contribution of these cells to maternal HIV-1 viral load and thus to mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV-1.  Project Title: Strengthing Malaria Prevention and Control in Malawi Project Period: October 2003 - September 2005 Funding Agency: Association of Schools of Public Health, Inc. Abstract: The goal of this project is to understand the molecular basis of antimalarial resistance in Thailand.  Project Title: Infectious Disease Epidemiology Training for Malawians Project Period: September 2003 - March 2008 Funding Agency: NIH Fogarty International Center Abstract: This is a grant to provide advanced training in infectious disease epidemiology for Malawians both at the University of Malawi and University of North Carolina Schools of Public Health. Project Title: Antimalarial Resistance in Thailand Funding Agency: NIH/NIAID Abstract:The goal of this project is to understand the molecular basis of antimalarial resistance in Thailand. Bill Miller Title: A Global Program to Prevent Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV Abstract: To develop and implement a home visitation protocol involving two teams of a pediatrician and a psycholist based at the City AIDS Center in St. Petersburgh, USSR.   Audrey Pettifor Dr. Pettifor is an epidemiologist who has conducted HIV prevention research in South Africa for over 10 years; her research focuses on HIV prevention among young people, particularly young women, in South Africa and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Other research interests include HIV prevention interventions for young couples; Positive Prevention; and Acute HIV Infection and sexual behavior. Title: A Community Evaluation of Impact and Cost-Effectiveness of the loveLife Intervention on HIV, STI and reported risk behaviors among South African youth Abstract: In 2002 we completed the baseline survey of a quasi-experimental study in 33 communities in South Africa. In this proposal we are seeking funds to conduct the follow-up round of this study. We propose to conduct this study in later in 2006. In summary, the study is a community based quasi-experimental study.   Title: STDs, hormonal contraception and HIV risk among young women in South Africa Abstract: This study proposes to investigate the contribution of STIs to the rapid increase in HIV acquisition among young women and to explore the role of hormonal contraception in modifying this relationship and in increasing young women's risk of STIs using two large studies among young women in South Africa.  Title: An intervention for individuals with Acute HIV Infection in South Africa Abstract: At a widely used clinic in Johannesburg, South Africa, we will identify HIV risk behaviors, describe sexual and social networks, and implement both a medical and behavioral intervention to reduce HIV transmission among acutely HIV infected persons. Victor Schoenbach Philip Setel The May 2008 issue of Endeavors magazine features new stories about research and creativity at Carolina. Dr. Philip Setel describes "verbal autopsy" as a way to correct the "scandal of invisibility" regarding death records in the developing world. Read Endeavors online. Jennifer Smith Title: Effect of Male Circumcision on Penile HPV Infection Abstract: This proposed study of penile HPV infection is nested within an ongoing parent RCT to assess the effect of male circumcision in reducing HIV incidence in 18-24 year-old men in Kisumu that began in February 2002. This HPV project proposes to determine the type-specific HPV DNA prevalence in penile exfoliated cell samples currently being collected as part of the ongoing RCT of male circumcision.  Title: Investigation of the Natural History of Human Papillomavirus DNA and Cervical Neoplasia in a Cohort of Sex Workers in Kenya Abstract: This project aims to conduct statistical analyses on collected data on a cohort study of commercial sex workers in Nairobi, Kenya to better understand the natural history of HPV infection, the central etiological agent for cervical carcinogenesis. Specific aims are to identify factors that increase the likelihood that a woman may acquire a persistent HPV infection or cervical neoplasia.  James Thomas Annelies Van Rie Project Title: Neurodevelopment and HIV/AIDS Project Period: September 2003 - August 2005 Funding Agency: National Institute of Mental Health-NIH Abstract: To allow the research team to complete the 6 month assessment in all 170 children enrolled and will allow an additional assessment 12 months post baseline assessment.  Project Title: Social Stigma Of The New TB Project Period: June 2003 - May 2006 Funding Agency: Fogarty International Center Abstract: In this research project, a multidisciplinary team with clinical and operational research experience in the fields of behavioral science, epidemiology, sociology, ethnography, anthropology, infectious diseases and ethics propose to develop and validate a TB stigma scale for population-based assessment of TB stigma in the most southern part of Thailand, an area with a dual HIV/AIDS and TB epidemic. Andre Villaveces Feature on Dr. Villaveces's work in Colombia Sharon Weir Dr. Weir serves on the Global Health Advisory Committee of the SPH Office of Global Health. Steven Wing Back to top Health Behavior & Education Faculty: Eugenia Eng Geni Eng focuses on the integration of community development and health education interventions in the rural United States and developing countries. Her current research projects apply community-based research principles to the design and evaluation of lay health advisor interventions and look at the influence of sociocultural factors on STDs and early detection of breast cancer. Suzanne Maman  Dr. Maman serves on the Global Health Advisory Committee of the SPH Office of Global Health. Title: The intersections of HIV and violence among youth in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Abstract: Based upon previous research in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, we found that young HIV-positive women were significantly more likely than young HIV-negative women to report violence in their current sexual relationships. Due to the design of our earlier study we have not been able to determine whether the elevated rates of violence reported by HIV-infected women can be explained by high pre-existing levels of violence in these relationships or by violent experiences of women post-diagnosis and disclosure of HIV serostatus to sexual partners. In the proposed study we aim to tease apart the complex relationships between HIV and violence amoung young couples through in-depth interviews with 60 HIV-infected women and the male partners of 20 of these women.  Title: Efficacy of HIV Posttest Support for ANC in South Africa Abstract: This is a randomized controlled trial to examine the efficacy of an integrated model of HIV post-test support for women attending the King Edward VIII Hospital (KEH) antenatal care (ANC) clinic in Durban, South Africa. Arjumand A. Siddiqi Studies social epidemiology; socioeconomic disparities in population health and child development; geopolitical (i.e. place) variations in health and development; policy influences on health and development; methodological approaches in epidemiology. Allan Steckler Dr. Steckler is interested in the evaluation of school and community health promotion programs, especially through the use of qualitative research methods. Health Policy & Administration Faculty: Deborah Bender Dr. Bender taught a UNC undergraduate honors study abroad program in Cape Town, South Africa during fall 2007. She and her students wrote a blog about their experiences. Dr. Bender has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar Award. She will travel to China for the fall 2008 semester, teaching courses in public health policy at Sichuan University in Chengdu. Andrea Biddle Dr. Biddle teaches a course on health economic evaluation as part of the Malawi-Carolina Summer Institute, a summer program funded by Fogarty and the GSK Foundation. She received funding from the UNC Partnership in Global Health, a Fogarty-funded initiative in the Office of Global Health to fund a proposal to help colleagues in Malawi plan, develop and find funding for a post-graduate training program in Malawi that would develop in-country capacity to conduct economic evaluation and to provide real-times analyses to the Ministry. Marissa Domino (Feature on Dr. Domino's work in China). As part of the current effort to promote collaboration between UNC-Chapel Hill, Peking University, and other major universities in China, Dr. Domino traveled to Beijing and Chengdu, China in July 2007 to meet with researchers to establish a collaborative arrangement to conduct mental health services research in China. The trip was funded by the SPH Office of Global Health Fogarty-funded UNC Framework Program in Global Health. Bruce Fried Dr. Fried serves as co-chair of the Global Health Advisory Committee of the SPH Office of Global Health. Dean Harris Dr. Harris serves on the Global Health Advisory Committee of the SPH Office of Global Health. Sagar Jain (Emeritus) Arnold Kaluzny (Emeritus) Sheila Leatherman Ms. Leatherman is the first Gillings Visiting Professor.' Listen to Ms. Leaterman's talk on microcredit and global health. Peggy Leatt (Department Chair) Kristen Hassmiller John Paul George Pink Thomas Ricketts Harsha Thirumurthy Dr. Thirumurthy received funding from the UNC Partnership in Global Health, a Fogarty-funded initiative in the Office of Global Health to fund a proposal to estimate the demand for male circumcision in western Kenya. The Department of Health Policy and Management publishes World Health and Population, an interdisciplinary journal devoted to policy and management issues in health and population fields in developing countries. Back to top Maternal and Child Health Faculty: Gustavo Angeles Dr. Angeles is the deputy director of MEASURE Evaluation, a USAID-funded project that provides technical assistance to health ministers, district caregivers and local trainees to successfully manage data for better informed program planning and policy-making. MEASURE's overall objective is to improve the collection, analysis, and presentation of data to promote better use of data in planning, policy-making, managing, monitoring, and evaluating population, health, and nutrition programs. Project Period: October 2003 - September 2008 Trude Bennett Dr. Bennett received funding from the UNC Partnership in Global Health, a Fogarty-funded initiative in the Office of Global Health to fund a proposal to support travel to Vietnam in Spring 2008 to further an existing collaboration and support grant writing activities for the identification, monitoring, and prevention of birth defects in Vietnam. An additional award in Summer 2008 expands on this collaboration and will implement a research study: Methods, Strategies and Ethics of Prenatal Genetic Screening in Vietnam. Shelah S. Bloom Project Title: Behavioral Dynamics of HIV/AIDS in Uttar, Pradesh, India Project Period: June 1, 2001 - May 31, 2004 Total Award: $502,542 Funding Agency: NICHD Abstract: Study to describe the AIDS epidemic in North India and identify areas of possible intervention. The sexual behavior patterns of men engaging in both high risk behavior and those who have regular relationships is being investigated in depth, through qualitative research. A survey of 3,000 couples investigates the knowledge and behavior of married men and women, with focus on the effects of gender-related factors. Sian Curtis Dr. Curtis is the director of MEASURE Evaluation, a USAID-funded project that provides technical assistance to health ministers, district caregivers and local trainees to successfully manage data for better informed program planning and policy-making. MEASURE's overall objective is to improve the collection, analysis, and presentation of data to promote better use of data in planning, policy-making, managing, monitoring, and evaluating population, health, and nutrition programs. Project Period: October 2003 - September 2008 Carolyn Tucker Halpern Project Title: Using the World Wide Web to Survey and Inform Urban adolescents in Kenya and Brazil Project Period: April 2002 - March 2004 Total Award: $750,000 Funding Agency: Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Abstract: This is a school-based, collaborative research-practice project that will: assess and compare the reproductive health needs of adolescents in Kenya, Brazil, and the United States; determine the feasibility of using the World Wide Web (WWW) to conduct longitudinal surveys of adolescents in these locations; and determine the effectiveness of the WWW in informing adolescents about health issues. Vijaya Hogan Dr. Hogan received funding from the UNC Partnership in Global Health, a Fogarty-funded initiative in the Office of Global Health to fund a proposal to develop a collaborative relationship between UNC, Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana in Brazil and the CDC around the issue of health disparities in Brazil. Jonathan Kotch Dr. Kotch received funding from the UNC Partnership in Global Health, a Fogarty-funded initiative in the Office of Global Health to fund a proposal to to look at lead concentration in children under 5, pregnant women and nursing mothers in small-scale industrial villages in Vietnam. Miriam Labbok Center for Infant and Young Child Feeding and Care Herbert B. Peterson (Department Chair) Tamar Ringel-Kulka Kavita Ongechi Ilene Speizer Dr. Speizer serves on the Global Health Advisory Committee of the SPH Office of Global Health.  Andrea Weathers Project Title: The Migrant Child Health Research Project Dr. Weathers' current research activities include examination of health services use among the children of migratory agricultural workers in the These analyses are applying the behavioral model of health services use to inform understanding of the correlates of health services use among the children of migrant farm workers. The Migrant Child Health Research Project, the result of Dr. Weathers' doctoral dissertation work, introduced an innovative methodology to randomly sample a mobile population of farm workers with children. Back to top Nutrition Faculty: Linda Adair Project Title: Effect of Health on education & work in Filipino youth Project Period: May 2001 - April 2006 Total Award: $1,209,961 Funding Agency: NIH Fogarty International Center Abstract: This research examines how health and nutrition (as well as other social and demographic factors) affect educational attainment, work patterns and wages of young adults in Cebu, Philippines.  Project Title: Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey Abstract: Conducted by a team of researchers from the United States and the Philippines, the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey is part of an ongoing study of a cohort of Filipino women who gave birth between May 1, 1983 and April 30, 1984. The CLHNS was originally conceptualized as a study of infant feeding patterns, particularly the overall sequencing of feeding events (i.e., of both milk and non-milk items), the various factors affecting feeding decisions at each point in time, and how different feeding patterns affect the infant, mother, and household. Alice Ammerman Dr. Ammerman received funding from the UNC Partnership in Global Health, a Fogarty-funded initiative in the Office of Global Health to fund a proposal establish a new research collaboration with Chinese scientists to assist one another in developing effective tools and policies to control obesity. Melinda Beck Conducts research on the relationship between host nutrition and immune function and response to infectious disease. Dr. Beck’s laboratory research suggests that host nutritional status is a driving force for the emergence of infectious diseases. Margaret "Peggy" Bentley Project Title: UNC Framework Program in Global Health Funding Agency: Fogarty International Center (NIH) Abstract: A three-year grant to expand global health curriculum and research opportunities campuswide and engage faculty and students in an interdisciplinary study of global health issues. Project Title: UNC Malawi Maternal Mortality and Weaning Project Project Period: September 2001 - September 2003 Funding Agency: CDC Abstract: The major goals of this study are as follows: Project 1- Assess morbidity and mortality in a retrospective and prospective cohort of both HIV positive and HIV negative pregnant women in Malawi. Project 2- Randomize the HIV positive women enrolled in Malawi into 3 intervention programs: combivir/nelfinavir to the mothers, nevirapine to the babies for 6 months, or standard of care. Project 3- Randomize breast-feeding women into either a nutritional supplement or no nutritional supplement program. Project 4- Develop acceptable and nutritionally adequate weaning diets for early weaning of breast-fed infants of HIV infected mothers using formative research techniques and a pilot study program.  Project Title: NIMH Collaborative Trial for HIV/STD Prevention Project Period: September 2004 - August 2005 Funding Agency: NIH Abstract: This is a multi-site HIV prevention study that will assess the efficacy of community peer opinion leaders on reducing sexually transmitted diseases and HIV rates among slum communities in Chennai, India. It includes formative and ethnographic research for developing the intervention, a randomized trial, and behavioral intervention to reduce STD and HIV prevalence among low-income men and women. Anthony Hackney Dr. Hackney received funding from the UNC Partnership in Global Health, a Fogarty-funded initiative in the Office of Global Health to fund a proposal to research the prevalence of overweight or obese Polish youth in the Krakow area. Ka He Dr. He received funding from the UNC Partnership in Global Health, a Fogarty-funded initiative in the Office of Global Health to fund a proposal to establish research relationships with colleagues in the Institute of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Mihai Niculescu Barry Popkin Dr. Popkin serves on the Global Health Advisory Committee of the SPH Office of Global Health. Project Title: Interdisciplinary Obesity Center Abstract: We hypothesize that obesity must be addressed within a complex, individualized system of proximate and distal biological and environmental factors using an intensive interdisciplinary approach. To be effective, such an approach requires coalescing scientists and practitioners who specialize in obesity from a broad range of perspectives and providing them with a fertile environment and infrastructure to synergize their expertise with that of investigators from other key disciplines. The long-term goal of this interdisciplinary strategy is to define effective interventions for prevention and treatment of obesity.  Project Title: Child Health Effects of Rapid Socio-demographic Change - a Three-country Longitudinal Study Project Period: May 1, 2001-April 30, 2005 Funding Agency: NICHD/NIH Total Award: $1,551,427 Abstract: This long-term project is utilizing the China, Russia and Cebu cohort studies. The study is attempting to understand the key shifts in diet and activity/inactivity, then model how contextual factors and other dimensions of social change affect them, and finally understand how these dynamic changes affect child obesity. This is a long-term effort begun in 2000 that will last for 5-10 years.  Project Title: Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS) Project Period: May 1, 2001-April 30, 2005 Total Award: $2,542,810 from USAID; $1,582,108 from NIH Funding Agency: World Bank, USAID, Carolina Population Center, Russian Federation Abstract: The RLMS is a household-based survey designed to measure the effects of Russian reforms on the economic well-being of households and individuals. In particular, determining the impact of reforms on household consumption and individual health is essential, as most of the subsidies provided to protect food production and health care have been or will be reduced, eliminated, or at least dramatically changed.   Project Title: China Health and Nutrition Survey Project Period: August 15, 1994-May 31, 2008 Total Award:$3,079,552 Funding Agency: NICHD/NIH Abstract: This survey was designed to examine the effects of health, nutrition, and family planning policies and programs implemented by national and local governments and to see how the social and economic transformation of Chinese society is affecting the health and nutritional status of its population. Project Title: Studies on the Nutrition Transition in Brazil Abstract: Carlos Montiero and his team at the University of São Paulo Center for Epidemiological Studies in Health and Nutrition have completed a set of studies with Barry Popkin and others in the group on dietary and obesity trends in Brazil and also program and policy issues. Jessie Satia Jessie Satia received funding from the Fogarty-funded UNC Partnership in Global Health to hold a proposal development meeting for a population-based case-control study of diet and prostate cancer in Ghana, Africa. Anna Maria Siega-Riz Dr. Siega-Riz’s research interests include maternal nutritional status and its relationship with birth outcomes, gestational weight gain and obesity development, diet methodology, reproductive epidemiology, child and adolescent dietary behaviors, and trends in dietary intakes among minority populations. Steve Zeisel Dr. Zeisel is Director of the UNC School of Public Healths Nutrition Research Institute at the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis, NC. Dr. Zeisel's research combines studies of molecular mechanisms for how nutrients function with human studies on nutrient requirements and effects. Back to top Public Health Leadership Program  Bill Sollecito After working for ten years in public health and health services research, Dr. Sollecito worked in the contract research industry at Quintiles Transnational Corporation from 1982-1996. As President of Quintiles Americas, he was responsible for all clinical operations in Canada and South America, as well as the United States David Steffen Mr. Steffen serves on the Global Health Advisory Committee of the SPH Office of Global Health.

Last updated July 16, 2008