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, such as those within the Minority Health International Research Training (MHIRT) Program, 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 cultural health beliefs; infectious and communicable disease; migration and immigration; and environmental health, including the study of the effects of chronic, low-level lead exposure in children, among others.
Faculty in the Border, Community and Global Health Issues research cluster are also members of the following communities of practice: Aging, Community of Engaged Scholars, Global Reach Community, Health-Focused Interprofessional Education, Interdisciplinary Research and Education, Mental and Emotional Well-Being, TTUHS-EL PASO/UTEP Collaborative Research Community, Undergraduate Research, UTEP Community Engagement and Research in COVID-19, and Water Research.
CHS Leaders in Border, Community and Global Health
Dr. Jeannie Concha
Assistant Professor of Public Health
jeannie@utep.edu
Specialization: Cultural health beliefs; community health
Communities of Practice: TTUHSC-EL PASO/UTEP Collaborative Research Community
Dr. Maria Duarte
Professor of Public Health
Chair, Public Health Sciences
moduarte@utep.edu
Specialization: Environmental health
Communities of Practice: TTUHS-EL PASO/UTEP Collaborative Research Community, Undergraduate Research
Dr. Bruce Friedman
Professor of Social Work
bdfriedman@utep.edu
Specialization: Community-based participatory and action research; culture/ethnicity; health disparities; social systems; homelessness; international issues
Dr. Gabriel Ibarra-Mejia
Assistant Professor of Public Health
gabmejia@utep.edu
Specialization: Occupational and environmental health; ergonomics
Communities of Practice: Aging, UTEP Community Engagement and Research in COVID-19
Dr. Hyejin Jung
Associate Professor of Social Work
hjung2@utep.edu
Specialization: Community-based practice
Communities of Practice: Mental and Emotional Well-Being
Dr. Jason Mallonee
Assistant Professor of Social Work
jrmallonee@utep.edu
Specialization: Community behavioral health
Dr. Thenral Mangadu
Associate Professor of Public Health
tmangadu@utep.edu
Specialization: Global health disparities
Dr. Eva Moya
Interim Chair and Associate Professor of Social Work
emmoya@utep.edu
Specialization: Homelessness; community health; engaged scholarship; photovoice methods; health disparities
Communities of Practice: Community of Engaged Scholars, Interdisciplinary Research and Education
Dr. Yok-Fong Paat
Associate Professor of Social Work
ypaat@utep.edu
Specialization: Community health; education; social justice; migration and immigration
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 develping countries; poverty, food assistance and health
Communities of Practice: Community of Engaged Scholars, UTEP Community Engagement and Research in COVID-19
