People
Kristine Muñoz, Ph.D.
Title/Position
Director, Global Health Studies
Professor, Spanish & Portuguese
Professor, Communication Studies
Dr. Muñoz’s global health interests include exploration of health, wellness, and illness from a perspective of language and culture. Her published research has included ethnography of speaking based on fieldwork in Colombia, England, Spain, and Finland. She teaches courses on cultural storytelling, health narratives, culture, language and health, and Medellín.
Lindsay Vella, M.F.A.
Title/Position
Administrator, Division of Interdisciplinary Programs
Lindsay Vella is the Departmental Administrator for the Division of Interdisciplinary Studies, the Magid Center for Writing, Classics, and African American Studies. She has an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Iowa.
Alejandra Biangmano, M.P.H.
Title/Position
Adjunct Instructor, Global Health Studies
Program Coordinator, Division of Child and Community Health
Alejandra Biangmano's global health interests focus on maternal and child health initiatives, rural health, the impacts of migration on health, and the relationship between social determinants of health and health disparities.
Christine Brunner Luse, M.P.A., B.S.N., R.N.
Title/Position
Adjunct Instructor, Global Health Studies
Christine Brunner Luse's global health interests include the intersection of politics and health on a micro and macro level, technology and innovation, "storytelling" as a method of promoting global health goals, and "new world-global health." With roots in nursing, she has also worked as a management consultant and public health professional. She teaches courses on global health promotion, technology to improve global health, and working in global health.
Margaret (Maggie) Carrel, Ph.D.
Title/Position
Associate Professor, Geographical & Sustainability Sciences
Dr. Carrel’s global health interests include the geography of infectious disease, landscape genetics and disease ecology. In her past and ongoing research, she has explored geographic patterns of health and disease using GIS and spatial statistical techniques. She has applied landscape genetics methods to projects in Vietnam, China, the Congo, and rural Iowa. She teaches courses on the geography of health, geography of Asia, GIS applications, and global geographies of food.
Mariola Espinosa, Ph.D.
Title/Position
Associate Professor, History
Dr. Espinosa’s global health interests include the history of medicine and public health in the Caribbean and Latin America, as well as the histories of empire and disease, race and medicine, and transnational medical practices. Her past and ongoing research focuses on epidemics and empire. She teaches courses on Cuba, disease and health in Latin America, and global histories of science, race, and medicine.
Megan Fear
Title/Position
Graduate Teaching Assistant
Megan Fear is a first-year graduate student studying Speech Pathology. During her undergraduate studies in Speech and Hearing Sciences, she was a Research Assistant in the MAC Lab, and she wrote an honors thesis on the efficacy of Ecological Momentary Assessments for hard of hearing adolescents. Megan works as an after-school tutor in her free time to help students with core subjects and the ACT. Megan will be a Teaching Assistant for GHS: 2000 in Fall 2024.
V Fixmer-Oraiz, M.S.
Title/Position
Adjunct Instructor, Global Health Studies
V Fixmer-Oraiz's global health interests include the political and social implications of public health measures. They are currently the CEO & Founder of Astig Planning, an environmental and community planning firm committed to racial justice and social equity. They have lived and worked in the U.S. and the Philippines and are part of the Philippine diaspora. V Fixmer-Oraiz teaches global health promotion classes.
Meredith Mahy Gall, M.S.
Title/Position
Senior Academic Advisor
Meredith Mahy Gall is the academic advisor for global health studies and the Division of World Literatures, Languages, and Cultures (including all world languages, international studies, linguistics, and translation). Meredith enjoys assisting students in determining, pursuing and achieving their educational, professional, and life goals. She loves helping students connect with cross-cultural experiences.
James Giblin, Ph.D.
Title/Position
Professor, History
Dr. Giblin’s global health interests include the history of health and healing in Africa. His published research has explored connections between environmental and political change in Tanzania and East Africa. He teaches courses on the social history of Africa, the history of human rights, and uses of oral history.
Katherine Herz, M.P.H., M.A.
Title/Position
Adjunct Instructor, Global Health Studies
Katie Herz's global health interests focus on the history of medicine and public health in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. She has worked and lived in Russia and Kazakhstan and traveled extensively in Central Asia and the former Soviet Union. She has worked at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the online journal, Environmental Health. Katie Herz teaches courses on maternal and child health, and health policy.
Anne Kiche, Ph.D.
Title/Position
Visiting Assistant Professor, Global Health Studies
Dr. Kiche's global health interests include education and global health, and the connection between migration, diversity, and pandemics on both the physical and mental health of populations. Life experiences from living in Kenya and the US have invaluably informed her teaching and research in global health. She has held various leadership roles in the African immigrant and refugee communities in Linn and Johnson counties of Iowa and is committed to the promotion of their health. She teaches courses on US immigrant and refugee health, pandemics and mental health, and mental health in diverse societies.
Bridget Lavish, M.P.H., Ph.D.
Title/Position
Assistant Professor of Instruction
Dr. Lavish's global health interests center on the impact of exceptional (divorce, COVID-19) and routine (domestic labor) events on women's health. She is a feminist qualitative researcher who uses both conventional and creative methods in her teaching and research. Dr. Lavish teaches courses on global health issues in domestic labor, global health promotion, and introduction to global health studies.
Waltraud Maierhofer, Ph.D.
Title/Position
Professor, Global Health Studies
Professor, German
Dr. Maierhofer's global health interests include the representations of health and Human Rights issues (contraception, abortion, disabilities). She is the recipient of numerous fellowships and grants for her research and her work in the public humanities. She teaches courses on disabilities in global writing/film, and contraception across time and cultures.
Tracy Meginnis, M.F.A.
Title/Position
Administrative Services Coordinator, Division of Interdisciplinary Programs
Tracy Meginnis is the Administrative Services Coordinator for the Division of Interdisciplinary Programs. Tracy received an M.F.A. in Fiction from New Mexico State University and has a background as an editor, writing instructor, English Language Arts test developer, and research project manager.
Austin (Zhuo) Tang, M.A.
Title/Position
Graduate Teaching Assistant
Austin is completing a Ph.D. in Geography at the University of Iowa. His research interests include medical/health geography, spatial epidemiology, and human-disease interactions.