Global Health Studies faculty in the interdisciplinary program have a wide range of research interests. Examples of current faculty research projects include the following:
Dr. Carly Nichols
Dr. Carly Nichols has recently received funding through the Interdisciplinary, Scalable Solutions for a Sustainable Future Project for research on sustainable food systems and COVID-19, and from the Healthier Workforce Center for a pilot study of women farmers, ag practices, and stress. She is also part of the faculty group which received funding from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in 2020 for their Strategic Initiative Proposal, “Advancing Environmental Justice at Iowa.”
Dr. Waltraud Maierhofer
Dr. Waltraud Maierhofer received a Developmental Studies Hybridoma Bank (DSHB) Faculty Scholar Award in support of her ongoing research and teaching on the representation of disabilities in German writing and film. Her recent work includes an analysis of two German TV series where a woman with a disability is the protagonist: Dr. Klein, about a pediatrician who has dwarfism, and Heiland - We Are Attorney, about an attorney who was born blind.
Publications
Sokhieng Au
Books
- Bodies Beyond Borders: Moving Anatomies 1750-1950 (2017) Co-editor with Kaat Wils and Raf de Bont
- The Politics of Fear: Médecins sans Frontières and the West African Ebola Epidemic (2017) Co-editor with Michiel Hofman
- Mixed Medicines: Health and Culture in French Colonial Cambodia (2011)
Articles
- "Cutting the Flesh: Surgery, Autopsy and Cannibalism in the Belgian Congo" (2017)
- "Standardised Provision of Care for Survivors of Sexual Violence in Conflict and Post-Conflict Areas in the Democratic Republic of Congo. One Size Fits All?" (2014) Co-author with Jerlie Roka Loko et al.
Commentary and popular writing
Katherine Herz
Articles
- "Research in Emerging and Re-emerging Diseases in Central Asia and the Caucasus" (2008)
- "Children's Environmental Health in Central Asia and the Middle East" (2006) Co-author with David O. Carpenter et al.
Waltraud Maierhofer
Books
- Reproductive Rights Issues in Popular Media: International Perspectives (2017) Co-editor with Beth Widmaier Capo
Articles
- "Abortion in Sweden and in Henning Mankell's Before the Frost" (2021)
- "Abortion Democracy: Sarah Diehl's Advocacy Documentary Film for Women's Rights in Poland and South Africa" (2017)
- "Fifty Shades: Ambivalence about Birth Control in an Erotic Bestseller and Its Cultural Implications" (2016)
- "Indian Womb--German Baby: Transnational Gestational Surrogacy in the Film Monsoon Baby" (2014)
Maureen McCue (Co-founder & Emeritus of the Global Health Studies Program)
Carly Nichols
Articles
- "Self-Help Groups as Platforms for Development: The Role of Social Capital" (2021)
- "Spaces for Women: Rethinking Behavior Change Communication in the Context of Women's Groups and Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture" (2021)
- "Geographic Contingency, Affective Facts, and the Politics of Global Nutrition Policy" (2019)
- "Millets, Milk and Maggi: Contested Processes of the Nutrition Transition in Rural India" (2017)
Commentary and popular writing
Community engagement
2021-22
- Christine Brunner Luse conversed with Honors Global Health Studies student, Aseel Nasr, for a podcast reflecting on her COVID-19 experiences while traveling in Libya and Turkey.
- Anne Kiche presented on "Area Refugees and Immigrants in Pursuit of Higher Education," at the March 23, 2022 ICFRC event.
- Waltraud Maierhofer mentored undergraduate research on representations of reproductive care which was awarded a 2022 Dare to Discover banner.
- Kristine Muñoz (GHS-affiliated faculty) received a $150,000 National Endowment for the Humanities grant to develop a website that provides health narrative courses in English and Spanish.
- Blake Rupe and the staff of the University of Iowa's Office of Sustainability and the Environment are named 'People to Watch' in 2022 by the Press Citizen.
2020-2021
- Sokhieng Au organized a CLAS Theme Year Event, "Barriers to Health Equity in Iowa City: Centering Diverse Community Voices."
- Sokhieng Au published a guest editorial in the Iowa City Press-Citizen, "Johnson County Isn't Immune to the World's Racial Health Inequities," (01-29-21).
- Christine Brunner Luse served as the faculty advisor for the U Iowa Doctors without Borders Student Chapter.
- V Fixmer-Oraiz is the CEO of Astig Planning. In 2021, this local planning agency partnered with the University of Iowa to create the Reimagining Campus Safety Action Plan.
- Anne Kiche is the Chair of the African Communities Network of Iowa.
- Jake Kundert served as Program Director for Grow: Johnson County.
- Carly Nichols mentored the summer 2021 GHS SVYM interns as they prepared for their virtual internships.
- Blake Rupe taught GHS:4001 Social Entrepreneurship & Global Health, for which students completed team projects with Community Health Initiative, Haiti.
- Blake Rupe served as the Sustainability Program Manager for the U Iowa Office of Sustainability and the Environment.
Student research
Undergraduate students pursuing a Global Health Studies program have the option to complete an independent project or an honors thesis in Global Health Studies. While students pursuing the Graduate Certificate in Global Health Studies are required to complete a global health project. Following are some examples of student research projects.
Honors theses
2024-2025
Harper Dunne
An Ethnographic Program Evaluation of a Health & Wellbeing Intervention for Latina Immigrants in Iowa City
Jasmine Lee
Understanding the Extent of Knowledge of Dementia, and Caregiving Experiences of Southeast Asian Immigrants in Iowa
2023-2024
Anna Peach
Food Security and Access: Practices and Perspectives of Students at Kirkwood Community College and the University of Iowa
Carolina Johnson
"Patient Claims Pain is 'Severe'": The Invisible Power of Linguistic Bias in Medicine
2022-2023
Eleanor Hildebrandt
An Analysis of the Shifting Tone of the German News Media’s Discussion of Mental Health during COVID-19
Asel Nasr
Postpartum Body Dissatisfaction: Exploring Social Media Usage and Impact on Postpartum Mental Health
2021-2022
Alessandra Dutra
The Experience of Sex Workers in France and Germany from 2000-2020
2020-2021
Madeleine Bradley
A Hidden Epidemic: Uncovering the Risk Factors of Chronic Kidney Disease of Unknown Etiology (CKDu)
Lindsay Cobb
Water Inaccessibility in South Africa: Current Spatial Patterns and Future Impacts of Climate Change
Hallie Lartius
Taxation & Health: A Cross-Country Analysis of Taxes as a Share of GDP and National Health Indicators
Charlotte Lenkaitis
Campus Food Pantries: Exploring Sustainability of Student-Led Pantries and Perceived Administrative Support
2019-2020
Isabelle Breitfelder
Disrupting the Narrative of Global South to Global North Immigration: Media Portrayals and the Immigrant Experience
Emily Brekke
Therapeutic Recreation as an Alternative Mental Health Treatment in Local and Global Corrections
Anna Chestnut
Transinstitutionalization and Iowa’s History of State Confinement
Laura Hult
Understanding Women's Decision-Making Process for Delivery Care in Rural Bangladesh
Meghan Lindell
Moral Politics of PEPFAR: A Ugandan Case Study
Allexis Mahanna
Local and Autonomous Community Migration Responses: Case Study of Barcelona, Spain
Brittany Nguyen
Challenges of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Vietnam
Emma Sillman
Economic Imperialism and Its Role in the Rise and Decline of the Pharmaceutical Industry in Puerto Rico
2018-2019
Lucas Fagre
Healthcare Perceptions among Patients and Physicians in Kyiv, Ukraine
Adriana Herrarte-Wirth
An Investigation on the Transition of Tuberculosis within the Former Soviet Union
Maiti Peters
Abortion and the Repercussions of Unintended Consequences: The Mexico City Policy a Case Study in Tanzania and South Africa
Anna Vos
Behind the Screens: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Prenatal Ultrasound Use in Vietnam and the United States
Student projects
Projects completed for the Global Health Studies Certificate
| Topic | Location | Funding Resources/ Organizational Affiliations |
|---|---|---|
| Pandemic-ology! A 5-Week Course Exploring the Social and Biological Aspects of Pandemics (2021) | Iowa City | Latham Science Engagement Fellowship Program |
| Understanding and Improving the Vaccination Coverage of the Indigenous Kichwa of Napo, Ecuador (2019) | Ecuador | Kenneth J. Cmiel Internship Funding Program |
| The Modernization of Traditional Healing in Chinese Healthcare (2019) | China | UI Study Abroad |
| The Impact of Vocational Training in Seven Under-Resourced Communities in Mysuru, India (2019) | India | GHS Summer Internship Program |
| Using Photovoice to Examine Nutritional Concerns in Refugee Populations in Iowa City (2018) | Iowa City | Merge |
| Assessing Access to Reproductive Care and Contraception among Syrian Refugee Populations in Jordan (2018) | Jordan | Stanley Award |
| Special Olympics, International Health Athletes Special Smiles Screening Data Analysis (2018) | Iowa City & Intl Virtual | AADMD |
| Greywater Community Gardening in Amman, Jordan (2017) | Jordan | UI Study Abroad |
| Socio-economic Status and Health of Latino Migrant Workers in Iowa (2017) | Eastern Iowa | Proteus, Inc. |
| Assessment of Community Health Initiative Gadyen Dlo Program (2013) | Haiti | Community Health Initiative, Haiti |
| Evaluating Biodigestor Technology's Impact on Rural Women and Sustainability in La Florita, Limon, Costa Rica (2012) | Costa Rica | World Food Prize Internship |
Faculty specializing in global health studies
Christine Brunner Luse, MPA, BSN, RN
Katherine Herz, MPH, MA
Anne Kiche, PhD
Waltraud Maierhofer, PhD
