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Our Team

Leadership

Katherine Clegg Smith, PhD

Director, Center for Qualitative Studies in Health and Medicine
Vice Dean for Faculty
Professor, Department of Health, Behavior and Society

Katherine Clegg Smith is a Professor in Health, Behavior, and Society and also serves as the Vice Dean for Faculty at the Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Dr. Smith is a sociologist with research interests around the social determinants of health and the application of qualitative methods to address important public health questions. Her particular areas of expertise are the communication of health information and the lived experience of health conditions. She also has a general interest in identity and its relationship to health.  Much of her research is organized around individual and collective understanding of health issues and experiences. She was an author of the NIH Best Practices in Mixed Methods Research for the Health Sciences.

Dr. Smith has several current research projects that are focused on understanding and disseminating people's experiences of significant health conditions. She also leads the TPackSS study, a global surveillance system of tobacco packaging. She is also a member of the Health Experiences Research Network Steering Committee. 

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Shannon Frattaroli, PhD

Co-Director, Center for Qualitative Studies in Health and Medicine
Professor, Department of Health Policy & Management

Dr. Frattaroli's research interests include understanding the role of policy in improving the health of populations, with particular attention to the implementation of public health policies and the role of advocacy and communities in the policy process. Current projects include: addressing the opioid epidemic through innovative injury prevention approaches, understanding residential sprinkler policies as a strategy for preventing house fire death and injury, and maximizing the revolution in auto safety currently underway with the advances in automation and safe systems design. Dr. Fattaroli is also very involved with research and practice efforts to implement firearm dispossession provisions of domestic violence restraining orders and the new extreme risk protection order laws in several states across the country. Dr. Frattaroli's work involves the use of qualitative methods.

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Caitlin E. Kennedy, PhD

Co-Director, Center for Qualitative Studies in Health and Medicine
Program Director, Social and Behavioral Interventions
Professor, Department of International Health

Caitlin Kennedy conducts qualitative research in collaboration with the Rakai Health Sciences Program in southcentral Uganda. For over a decade, she has collaborated on studies focused on a range of social and behavioral factors related to HIV, STIs, and other topics related to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) in this setting. Current projects include the LONGVIEW study on the impact of COVID on HIV services and the ART diversion study examining HIV medication sharing among people living with HIV. 

Susan M. Hannum

Susan Hannum, PhD

Center Coordinator, Center for Qualitative Studies in Health and Medicine
Associate Research Professor, Department of Health, Behavior and Society

Dr. Hannum is an interdisciplinary gerontologist whose broad research agenda focuses on chronic illness among aging populations. Dr. Hannum's primary interests surround socio-cultural aspects of cancer and cancer survivorship; she is additionally interested in chronic illness management, care implementation, and patient outcomes. Dr. Hannum is deeply committed to research that will inform and influence the future of care for those with cancer and other chronic conditions, while increasing quality of life and reducing the burden of illness among aging populations.

Affiliated Faculty

Associate

Will Beckham, PhD '13, MPH, MA, researches treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS, with a focus on LGBTQ health, particularly that of transgender and gender diverse people.

Danielle German
Associate Professor
Health, Behavior and Society

Danielle German, PhD '09, MPH, conducts research to understand and address the social context of health behavior and well-being among marginalized populations.

Meghan Moran
Associate Professor
Health, Behavior and Society

Meghan Moran, PhD, MA, studies how communications from advertising to misinformation shape public health issues such as vaccine promotion, cancer screening, and tobacco control.

Jill Owczarzak
Associate Professor
Health, Behavior and Society

Jill Owczarzak, PhD, MA, is a medical anthropologist who explores how cultural, social, and political forces shape health disparities.

Daniela Rodriguez
Associate Scientist
International Health

Daniela C. Rodríguez, DrPH, MPH, studies how politics, public health, and evidence intersect in policies that impact vulnerable communities around the world.

Susan Sherman
Professor
Health, Behavior and Society

Susan Sherman, PhD '00, MPH, brings harm reduction evidence to inform drug policy and programming in order to reduce overdose deaths and other harms to people who use drugs.

Pamela Surkan
Professor
International Health

Pamela Surkan, PhD, ScD, is a social epidemiologist working on maternal & child mental health, child development, & the evaluation of programs to reduce health disparities.

Tahilin Karver
Assistant Research Professor
Health, Behavior and Society

Tahilin Sanchez Karver, PhD ‘21, MPH, employs social and behavioral theory and mixed-methods to research stigma, HIV prevention and treatment, and sexual and reproductive health to inform equitable, community-driven interventions.

Christina Yuan
Associate Research Professor
Health Policy and Management

Christina Yuan, MPH, PhD, is a health care management researcher who uses mixed methods to study the dissemination and implementation of evidence-based practices to improve care delivery and quality.

Fernanda Alonso Aranda
Associate

Fernanda Alonso, PhD ‘22, LL.M, uses legal and qualitative research methods to analyze and improve public health policies and interventions, particularly in the areas of drug policy and NCDs.

Headshot of Laura Beres
Associate Research Professor
International Health

Laura Beres, PhD ’19, MPH, uses implementation science and participatory approaches to optimize engagement in HIV prevention, care, and treatment services globally.

Senior Research Associate
International Health

Erica N. Rosser, MHS ’08, evaluates global health programs and conducts research to inform equitable solutions that improve population health and wellbeing.

Peter Winch
Professor
International Health

Peter J. Winch, MD, MPH ’88, develops and evaluates interventions to promote health behaviors for water, sanitation, infectious diseases, and environmental sustainability.

Associate

Molly Lasater, PhD ’18, MPH ’14, researches mental health, conflict, and climate change to promote the health of marginalized populations in low-resource settings.

Ligia Paina
Assistant Professor
International Health

Ligia Paina, PhD ’14, MHS ’08, studies how to improve health systems policies and programs so they provide equitable, quality care and are responsive to poor and marginalized communities.

Assistant Scientist
Health, Behavior and Society

Tuo-Yen Tseng, PhD '22, MA, conducts research to inform policies and interventions that drive social and behavior change, promoting health equity in diverse populations and settings.

Ping (Teresa) Yeh
Senior Research Associate
International Health

Ping Teresa Yeh, MSPH ’16, uses qualitative and quantitative methods to evaluate strategies to improve the health of people living in resource-limited settings.

Haneefa Saleem
Associate Professor
International Health

Haneefa Tasleem Saleem, PhD ’14, MPH, ’09, conducts research to inform and evaluate approaches aimed at improving HIV prevention and treatment and other health outcomes for people who use drugs globally.

Associate Professor
International Health

Victoria M. O’Keefe, PhD, MS, works to achieve strengths-based and culturally informed suicide prevention, mental health promotion, and wellness among Indigenous communities.

CQSHM Mailing List

Please contact Susan Hannum, the CQSHM center coordinator, to be added to the list.