More than 10 PhD and MPH students who entered Department of Global Health graduate programs in 2020 were awarded a variety of Research Assistantships and Fellowships. Meet the current UW Department of Global Health batch of RAs and Fellows, learn about their backgrounds and get their first-hand perspectives of life as global health graduate student in 2020-21.

Also, read about some of DGH's previous RAs and Fellows here: 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19 and 2019/20.

Ermyas Birru
1st year PhD student, Implementation Science, Department of Global Health 
UW Graduate School Top Scholar

Ermyas has worked extensively with Partners in Health (PIH) and aims learn conceptual and methodological frameworks to examine, critique, modify, and develop effective models of health service delivery. Read more

Orlando Cervantes
1st year Pathobiology PhD student, Department of Global Health 
UW Fellowship for Academic Excellence

Orlando is driven to confront questions in host-pathogen interactions and vector biology within the larger umbrella of tropical medicine and seeks out labs that focus on pathogens of global health significance. Read more. 

Caroline Duncombe
1st year Pathobiology PhD student, Department of Global Health 
Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Foundation Fellowship

For Caroline, infectious disease research should not be implemented in isolation; instead, the science should be contextualized along the interdisciplinary continuum of global health. Read more.

Bianca Graves
1st year MPH student, Department of Global Health 
DGH Endowed Research Assistantship for Global Health Excellence, Equity and Impact

Bianca's research interests include contraception deserts, Black maternal health, reproductive health, and HIV/AIDS. She likes to observe public health patterns and trends through a spatial lens because space and place matter. Read more.

Noel Kalanga
1st year PhD student, Implementation Science, Department of Global Health 
UW Provost PhD Fellowship

Noel's research interest is addressing bottlenecks to primary health care delivery in limited resource settings, particularly focusing on HIV/ NCD integration. Read more

Olivia Kern
1st year Pathobiology PhD student, Department of Global Health 
Kenny Endowed Fellowship

Olivia's interest in the Pathobiology program stems from the program's training in infectious disease biology and global health principles. Her long-standing interest in global health research derives from fieldwork experience in West Africa and her work in international vaccinology in France. Read more. 

Hedieh Mehrtash
1st year PhD student, Implementation Science, Department of Global Health 
UW Graduate School Top Scholar  

Hedieh seeks to generate evidence around improving users' expectations of healthcare quality and testing interventions to improve users' experiences within global health systems. Read more

Emily Nguyen
1st year MPH student, Department of Global Health 
DGH Endowed Fellowship for Global Health Excellence, Equity and Impact

Emily hopes to focus her work on sustainable community development and further study the impacts of climate change on pre-existing health inequities. Read more.

Alexandra Price
1st year MPH student, Department of Global Health 
DGH Endowed Research Assistantship for Global Health Excellence, Equity and Impact

Alexandra hopes to improve mental health and psychological service capacity for indigenous populations, refugees, and immigrants both domestically and internationally  Read more

Jarred Rimbly
1st year MPH student, Department of Global Health 
DGH Endowed Fellowship for Global Health Excellence, Equity and Impact

Jarred aims to understand health through multiple cultural and contextual lenses, and is learning from classmates from all over the world, who each bring a wealth and diversity of experiences.  Read more

Liv Smith
1st year Pathobiology PhD student, Department of Global Health 
UW Graduate School Top Scholar; and UW Fellowship for Academic Excellence 

Liv's research focus is in parasitology and host interactions, and she is interested in understanding how bench science  becomes actionable treatments for people. Read more

Irene Cruz Talavera
1st year Pathobiology PhD student, Department of Global Health 
Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Foundation Fellowship

Irene's research interest is in reproductive immunology, vaccine development, and global health. Read more. 

Frieda Mboshono Theofelus
1st year MPH student, Department of Global Health 
DGH Endowed Fellowship for Global Health Excellence, Equity and Impact

Frieda is interested in applying evidence-based strategies in designing medical surveys and evaluating the impact of social policy in the areas of health, crime and victimization, social welfare and family leave in Namibia.  Read more

Grace Umutesi
1st year PhD student, Implementation Science, Department of Global Health 
UW Graduate School Top Scholar

Grace's research interests include health systems strengthening in the infectious diseases and safe surgery areas, particularly ways through which resources are leveraged to build resilient health systems. Read more