Stevan M. Weine, MD
Professor, Department of Psychiatry
Director of Global Medicine & Director of the Center for Global Health
Dr. Weine is Professor of Psychiatry at the UIC College of Medicine, where he also Director of Global Medicine and Director of the Center for Global Health. For 30 years he has been conducting research both with refugees and migrants in the U.S. and in post-conflict countries focused on mental health, health, and violence prevention. His research mission is to develop, implement, and evaluate psychosocial interventions that are feasible, acceptable, and effective with respect to the complex real-life contexts where at-risk populations live. This work has been supported by multiple grants from the NIMH, NICHD, DHS, NIJ, and other state, federal, and private funders, all with collaboration from community partners. This work has resulted in more than 130 publications and three books: When History is a Nightmare: Lives and Memories of Ethnic Cleansing in Bosnia-Herzegovina (Rutgers, 1999), Testimony and Catastrophe: Narrating the Traumas of Political Violence (Northwestern, 2006), and Best Minds: How Allen Ginsberg Made Revolutionary Poetry from Madness (Fordham University Press, 2023). He has been awarded two Career Scientist Awards: “Services Based Research with Refugee Families” from the National Institute of Mental Health and “Labor Migration and Multilevel HIV Prevention” from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Dr. Weine was the 2020 recipient of the Abraham L. Halpern Humanitarian Award of the American Association for Social Psychiatry.
Maarten C. Bosland, DVSc, PhD
Professor, Department of Pathology
Director of Global Pathology, Center for Global Health
Maarten C. Bosland, DVSc. PhD, Professor of Pathology, is engaged in capacity building in teaching, research and clinical care at the Kwame Nkrumah University for Science and Technology and the Komfo Anyoke Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, Ghana. He is fostering partnerships between these institutions and the UIC College of Medicine in areas such as pathology, dentistry, anatomy, primary care, hematology, and mental health. In Nigeria, he is collaborating with several universities to develop research on Nigerian medicinal plants and on prostate cancer; he has studied this malignancy in the US for many years resulting in many publications. In a current pilot project, conceived in collaboration with Northwestern University, the prevalence of prostate cancer in three regions in Nigeria is studied as a first step towards improving prostate cancer care in Nigeria. Capacity building in Nigeria is focused on clinical pathology.
Mary Bunn, PhD
Research Scientist, Department of Psychiatry
Deputy Director of the Global Mental Health Program, Center for Global Health
Mary Bunn, PhD, LCSW is a Research Scientist at the UIC Department of Psychiatry. She is also the Deputy Director of Global Mental Health in the Center for Global Health and provides therapy services to survivors of war and forced migration in her clinic in the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Clinic. Her research program focuses on the long-term and multi-level effects of political violence and forced migration on culturally diverse communities and mental health and psychosocial interventions across diverse contexts Her current research projects in Jordan and Thailand focus on the provision of integrated mental health services for displaced refugees and survivors of human rights violations.
Lelia H. Chaisson, PhD, MSc
Research Assistant Professor, Division of Infectious Disease
Lelia H. Chaisson, PhD, MSc, is a Research Assistant Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases in the UIC College of Medicine. Her research interests center on tuberculosis and HIV, including global epidemiology and control, prevention, and diagnostics. Her current work in Brazil and Uganda focuses on scale-up of tuberculosis preventive therapy for people living with HIV and active case finding for tuberculosis.
Stacey Chamberlain, MD, MPH
Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine
Director of Academic Programs
Dr. Stacey Chamberlain is the Director of Academic Programs in the Center for Global Health. In this role, Dr. Chamberlain oversees the Global Medicine (GMED) Program for UIC medical students and the graduate global health certificate programs. In addition, she is the Director of the Global Emergency Medicine Fellowship Program. Dr. Chamberlain has done clinical, educational, public-health, disaster-response, and emergency medicine development work, including working with several globally-focused NGOs, spanning five continents. In addition to her focus on global health education, her global health work focuses on capacity building in emergency care in Uganda. Dr. Chamberlain is a board certified emergency physician and Associate Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine.
Andrew Dykens, MD, MPH
Associate Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine
Director of Global Health Systems Strengthening, Center for Global Health
Andrew Dykens, MD, MPH is an Associate Professor of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the Director of Health Systems at the UIC Center for Global Health. Andrew chairs the CUGH Capacity Building Subcommittee. He is a NIH Fogarty International Research Scientist Career Development Award (K01) recipient through which he studies the implementation of sustainable cervical cancer screening programs at the regional level in rural Senegal. He actively collaborates with the Senegal National Ministry for Health and Social Action, the Institute of Health and Development at the University Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar, Senegal, the Senegal National Cancer Institute, Peace Corps Senegal, and Rotary. Andrew is a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (Mauritania 1997-99) and a Rotarian at the Rotary Club of Chicago.
Marcia Edison, PhD, MBA
Research Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine
Director of Global Health Evaluation, Center for Global Health
Dr. Edison directs the evaluation effort within the Center for Global Health. She is a Research Assistant Professor in the UIC Department of Emergency Medicine, after spending 20 years in the UIC Department of Medical Education (DME). Dr. Edison has served as a researcher and evaluator on federal grants from the US Department of Education (DOE), the National Library of Medicine, and the Health Resources and Services Administration. Most recently, Dr. Edison has been a member of the UIC Heart Rescue India Project team. She continues to mentor GMED students, and works with other members of the Center for Global Health and Emergency Medicine in grant writing.
Catherine Ford, MD, MPH, FACOG
Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Associate Director of Academic Programs, Center for Global Health
Dr. Ford provides obstetric care for low and moderate risk pregnancies. She also provides gynecologic care including contraception, management of complex gynecological conditions, and surgery for benign gynecology. Dr. Ford has a strong interest in infectious diseases and Global Women’s Health. Following her residency training, Dr. Ford moved to Lusaka, Zambia to complete a two-year fellowship in Global Women’s Health through the University of North Carolina, focusing on the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV and women’s empowerment. During her time in Zambia, she practiced at the University Teaching Hospital with an emphasis on clinical teaching of Zambian post-graduate trainees in Obstetrics and Gynecology. Her clinical, educational and research experiences in Zambia continue to impact her work today, with her current academic focus on resident education and research interests in obstetrics care in both local and global settings.
Gelila Goba. MD, MPH, FACOG
Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Director of the Global Women’s Health Fellowship
Associate Director of Academic Programs, Center for Global Health
Dr. Goba has a major commitment to women’s health, both in Chicago and globally. She is the Director of our UIC Ob/Gyn’s Global Women’s Health Fellowship, and a core faculty member of the University’s Global Medicine (GMED) Program for medical students. Additionally, Dr. Goba established The Mela Project, a four-year OB/GYN Residency Program through Mekelle University in Ethiopia. Supported by the Chicago-based IDP Foundation, The Mela Project provides resident education, mentored research and OB/GYN faculty development in Mekelle. Many UIC faculty donate their time to this Project. The ultimate goal is to establish an “OB/GYN Center of Excellence” at Mekelle University. Under Dr. Goba’s leadership, The Mela Project is expanding regionally and beyond, to include South Sudan, Uganda, and Somaliland.
Abiola Ibraheem, MD
Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine, Department of Medicine
Division of Hematology/Oncology
Abiola F. Ibraheem is an assistant professor of clinical medicine at the Department of Hematology/Oncology. She had her initial medical education in Nigerian and went on to have her internal medicine residency training at Morehouse School of Medicine where she started her career in healthcare disparities. Her research work is focused on improving cancer globally by making innovative cancer treatments available and affordable to cancer patients living in Low Middle Income Countries. She is involved in conducting interventional cancer trials in Nigeria and is the principal investigator in ongoing research aimed at integrating cancer clinical trials within the health systems of Low Middle Income Countries by ensuring the engagement of stakeholders particularly cancer patients.
Olamide Jarrett, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine
Associate Director of Academic Programs
Dr. Olamide Jarrett is an assistant professor of medicine in the department of infectious disease in the UIC College of Medicine. Her research interests are in HIV and other sexually transmitted infections in women in sub-Saharan Africa. In November 2014, Jarrett traveled to Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, to work in the Ebola Isolation Unit in Connaught Hospital. Jarrett, who has family members in Sierra Leone, hopes new treatment and isolation facilities being constructed will help control the Ebola outbreak. The stigma faced by health care workers who treat patients with Ebola in Sierra Leone is real, she says. “Sometimes it’s not enough to talk about how you want to see your country improve or talk about all the ways it can be a stronger nation. Eventually, you have to be illing to be on the ground and help out in a time of crisis.”
Janet Lin, MD, MPH
Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine
Director of Health systems Development
Janet Lin is Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine, College of Medicine and an Affiliate Professor in Community Health Sciences, School of Public Health at the University of Illinois in Chicago (UIC). She is Director of Health Systems Development, at UIC’s Center for Global Health. Her work for the past 17 years has focused on improving health care access and the delivery of care in resource-limited settings within a framework of public health. She has earned certificates in tropical medicine and has consulted on global health issues. Her work has led her to pursue activities in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Current work focuses on HIV, HCV, and diabetes screening in the emergency department and linkage to care in Chicago; community engagement in disaster risk reduction in Haiti and the Caribbean; and emergency care capacity development in Kenya.
Sarah Messmer, MD
Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics
Director of Global Pediatrics, Center for Global Health
Dr. Messmer has worked primarily in Guatemala, where she worked to develop community-based child nutrition and women’s health programs. She continues to work with Wuqu’ Kawoq, an organization in Guatemala dedicated to providing care in indigenous languages, primarily on educational initiatives. She is also interested in LGBTQ health, particularly on the global scale.
Bellur Prabhakar, MSc, PhD
Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immuniology
Associate Dean for Technological Innovation and Training
Director of Innovation, Center for Global Health
Dr. Bellur S. Prabhakar is renowned immunologist in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. He is an integral part of the leadership team that is leading the UIC efforts in HeartRescue India (HRI) project in Bengaluru, India. This project is supported by Medtronic Foundation and involves providing paramedic training and skills development in advanced life support system, improving pre-hospitalization care for STEMI patients as well as community education and training. Additionally, he is involved in the development of a poison control center at Ramaiah Medical College in Bengaluru, India. The intent is to share Standard Operating Procedures with interested entities and implement a “Train the Trainers” program to ensue successful implementation of both programs in other communities.
Damiano Rondelli, MD
Michael Reese Professor of Hematology
Chief, Division of Hematology/Oncology
Director, Blood and Marrow Transplant Program
Dr. Damiano Rondelli completed his training in Hematology at the University of Bologna, Italy, where he started his career. In 2002 he joined the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) where he is currently the Chief of the Division of Hematology/Oncology and Director of the Blood & Marrow Transplant (BMT) Program, the Co-Director of the Urban Global Medicine Program in the Department of Medicine, and the Associate Director for Global Partnerships in the College of Medicine Center for Global Health. His research is in BMT for blood cancers and sickle cell anemia and laboratory models to prevent rejection in incompatible BMT. Over the last 7 years, he has also started a GlobalBMT project to collaborate with low-middle income countries with high need for BMT. His GlobalBMT initiative currently includes partners in Nepal, India, Nigeria, Bolivia, Ukraine and Cuba. He has authored over 140 peer-reviewed articles and multiple book chapters.
Reshma Shah, MD, MPH
Associate Professor, Director of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics
Associate Director of Global Pediatrics, Center for Global Health
Reshma Shah, MD is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and a Fellow in the Institute for Health Research and Policy at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is also the Director of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics in the Department of Pediatrics. As a developmental-behavioral pediatrician, Dr. Shah cares for young children with developmental disabilities, speech and language delays, and learning challenges.
Dr. Shah’s research aims to reduce poverty-related developmental and educational inequities by developing, evaluating and disseminating accessible and sustainable primary care-based strategies that improve early child development both locally and globally. She is the principal investigator of a career development award from the National Institutes of Health and has also received funding from Maternal Child Health Bureau, the Society of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, and UIC Center for Clinical and Translational Science to support her work.
Thomas Sims, MD
Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery
Director of Global Surgery, Center for Global Health
Dr. Thomas Sims joined the University of Illinois at Chicago Department of Surgery as a pediatric surgeon. He is working with the Center for Global Health to develop global surgery within the university by integrating ongoing projects and fostering new programs of collaboration with low- and middle- income countries. He is currently involved in surgical research, care, and training endeavors in Uganda, Honduras, and Ukraine. He also hopes to develop an opportunity to utilize his pediatric surgery training on the Indian subcontinent.
Rhea Begeman, MS, BSN, RN
Director of Administrative Operations, Center for Global Health
Rhea Begeman is the Director of Administrative Operations for the University of Illinois Center for Global Health. She provides overall administrative leadership and oversees operational, financial, regulatory and business activities to position the Center for innovation and growth. She collaborates with all global health faculty to promote the mission, vision and values of the Center. Rhea has a Bachelor Degree in Nursing from Bradley University and Masters Degree in Health Systems Management from Rush University. She is currently a faculty team member on the Heart Rescue India grant funded by the Medtronic Foundation which is a quality improvement project for pre-hospital access and emergency care for ST- segment elevation myocardial infarction in Bangalore India. She has participated on a number of abstracts, publications and presented internationally. Her interests lie in the burden of NCDs, global health education and community health programs.
Linda Humaidan, MPH, PhD
Research Specialist, Center for Global Health
Linda Humaidan, who recently joined the CGH team, has a Master’s in Public Health (MPH) with a focus on health education/promotion and epidemiology. She is obtaining her PhD in Public Health which focuses on Community Health Research. Linda has extensive experience in various issues within the public health field and in working with various minority populations. She has done non-profit research and work with domestic violence victims in the Arab American population, educational work with the African American population in the area of HIV/AIDS, research and coaching work with patients who have high comorbidities in the African-American and Hispanic population, and has a published paper on community health needs for the Arab American population. Her recent work focuses on intimate partner violence and contraceptive practice among the Arab American community. Her comprehensive background led her to UIC where she will be mentoring medical students’ research in the GMED program and become a part of various global health projects within the center.
Jeanne Burian
Program Coordinator, Center for Global Health
Jeanne Burian is the Program Coordinator for the Center for Global Health. She provides overall support to our faculty , as well as coordinating all Center events, on and off campus. She is heavily involved in the GMED Program, working with faculty to manage student files, cocurriculars, travel related assistance for Capstone projects and coordination of the annual application process.