One of her responsibilities as director of the Sparkman Center will be engaging the UAB community in global health and development initiatives.

“I think we can make an impact by working collaboratively with people around the globe and utilizing the knowledge, skills and creativity of our faculty, students and staff,” Turan said. “I want to promote the use of innovative and rigorous research and evaluation methodologies to ensure we are selecting and using the strategies that will have the greatest impact on major global health challenges, such as infant and maternal mortality, infectious diseases, violence against women, and the growing burden of chronic diseases.”

Turan’s research has focused on maternal and child health in low-resource settings of both developing and developed countries. She has conducted research around the world, including studies in Kenya, Turkey, Jordan, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Eritrea and the United States.