Border, Community and Global Health Issues
With a strong commitment to fostering social responsibility, the College of Health Sciences encourages faculty and students to engage in research and service activities that incorporate Boyer’s Model of the scholarship of discovery, integration and application, all related to the applied health sciences. By focusing on bridging the gap between the production of new knowledge and its implementation (“know-do gap”), the College has a unique opportunity to focus on solutions-oriented research that will impact the local community and beyond. Capitalizing on the strength of well-established global partnerships will continue to allow the College to expand and strengthen its impact outside of the Paso del Norte region.
Faculty in the College of Health Sciences investigating community and global health issues are contributing to the body of literature within these areas. UTEP’s location on the U.S.-Mexico border provides faculty opportunities to focus on unique health topics that include blingual speech-language pathology; cultural health beliefs; disability inclusion; health disparities by race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity; infectious and communicable disease; migration and immigration; environmental health; LGBT health and transgender care; pre-service study abroad; and substance use.
CHS Leaders in Border, Community and Global Health
Dr. shinwoo choi
Associate Professor of Social Work
schoi5@@utep.edu
Specialization: Disaster preparedness and public health infrastructure; health information access and trust; culturally grounded intervention design
Dr. jeannie concha
Associate Professor of Public Health
jeannie@utep.edu
Specialization: Cultural health beliefs; community health
Dr. Maria Duarte
Professor of Public Health
Chair, Public Health Sciences
moduarte@utep.edu
Specialization: Environmental health
Dr. Gabriel Ibarra-Mejia
Associate Professor of Public Health
Director, Bioergonomics Lab
gabmejia@utep.edu
Specialization: Occupational and environmental health; ergonomics
Dr. Hyejin Jung
Associate Professor of Social Work
hjung2@utep.edu
Specialization: Community-based practice
Dr. oralia loza
Professor of Public Health
oloza@utep.edu
Specialization: Health disparities by race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity; U.S.-Mexico border health; LGBT health; transgender care; sexually transmitted infections (STIs); sexual risk behaviors; substance use
Dr. Jason Mallonee
Clinical Assistant Professor of Social Work
jrmallonee@utep.edu
Specialization: Community behavioral health
Dr. Thenral Mangadu
Professor of Public Health
Peter de Wetter Endowed Professor in Health Sciences
tmangadu@utep.edu
Specialization: Global health disparities
Dr. Eva Moya
Chair and Professor of Social Work
Orville Edward Egbert, M.D. Endowed Professor in Health Sciences
emmoya@utep.edu
Specialization: Homelessness; community health; engaged scholarship; photovoice methods; health disparities
Dr. Yok-Fong Paat
Professor of Social Work
ypaat@utep.edu
Specialization: Community health; education; social justice; migration and immigration
Dr. amelia rau
Clinical Associate Professor of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences
amrau@utep.edu
Specialization: Bilingual speech-language pathology; hearing loss; disability inclusion; pre-service study abroad
Dr. Alfonso Rojas Alvarez
Assistant Professor of Public Health Sciences
Director,
ajrojasalvarez@utep.edu
Specialization: Health disparities; chronic disease (diabetes); aging; public health policy; data science
Dr. Jennifer Salinas
Associate Professor of Social Work
jsalinas7@utep.edu
Specialization: Hispanic health disparities, cancer prevention and obesity among Hispanic populations, representation of U.S.-Mexico border population, healthcare access on the U.S.-Mexico border, adaptation of interventions for the Hispanic population
Dr. Gregory Schober
Assistant Professor of Rehabilitation Sciences
gschober@utep.edu
Specialization: The consequences of health policy for behavior and health; governance and health in developing countries; poverty, food assistance and health
Dr. Emre Umucu
Professor of Public Health, Associate Dean for Research
Director, CHS REACHED
eumucu@utep.edu
Specialization: Self-determined, strengths-based, and socially-just health research, health policy, and administration; disability in the public health system; rural and frontier health policy and administration; community participation outcomes in individuals with chronic conditions and disabilities (including veterans)
