Eligibility

All graduate and professional students at UAB may apply to become a Sparkman Fellow. Undergraduates with junior or senior standing may also apply to become a Sparkman Fellow.

You do not have to be studying a specific area or in a specific degree program to apply for the program.

The Sparkman Fellows program runs along with the academic year -- new Fellows are accepted in the spring to be matched with Scholar mentors and attend orientation over the summer, and then meet with their mentor across Fall and Spring semesters. If you are graduating in the Fall semester, you can still apply to be a Fellow; however, we will prioritize accepting students who can participate in the full-year of the program.

Expectations

• Meet with your Scholar mentor at least once per month across Fall and Spring semesters (8 meetings minimum over the academic year).
• Attend 3 sessions with the Sparkman Center team and the entire Fellows cohort: (1) Orientation, typically in May or June; (2) Fellows kick-off meeting, typically in August; (3) Wrap-up meting, typically in late April or early May.
• Engage with the rest of your cohort in the Sparkman Fellows Canvas course, and submit assignments to Sparkman Center (program goals, mid-point assessment, and final presentation) on time.
• Communicate with your Mentor in a timely manner in order to schedule meetings and follow-up on any projects or tasks
  
• Balance your global health interests & goals for mentorship with flexibility and openness to ideas for collaboration with your mentor
  

How to Apply

Applications for the 2023-2024 academic year are now open. Submissions will be accepted until April 1, 2023 at 11:59 PM CST. 

If you have questions, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Sparkman Scholars are part of a recognized network of UAB faculty working in the areas of global health and development. This network aims to facilitate developing new collaborations with colleagues across campus, as well as making linkages with students interested in global health and development. Sparkman Fellows are highly motivated and engaged students seeking to enhance their understanding of global health. Fellows are paired with a faculty member in the Sparkman Scholars program for mentorship over the course of one academic year.

Here we want to highlight some of the projects Scholar-Fellow pairs have worked on over the years. Swipe through the slideshow below for examples of current and recent Scholar/Fellow mentor pairs:

We are excited to announce our 2022 cohort of Sparkman Fellows! This group of students was selected from a vast and competitve pool of applicants, and represents four different colleges across campus. We are looking forward to see how their knowledge and experience expands, while working alongside their Scholar Mentor, over the course of the next academic year! 

Alex Brossman
School of Public Health
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Matthew Gribble

Alex Brossman is an MPH student in Environmental & Occupational Health. He currently serves as an Environmental Health Practitioner at a local health department. He is interested in water security projects including ground water, surface water, and storm water management. He hopes to continue his work in the regulation of Environmental Health Policy or doing additional global health projects involving water security or toxicology.

Sandra Chrapah
School of Health Professions, Admisnistration, Health Services
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Janet Turan

Sandra Chrapah is currently a doctoral student in the School of Health Professions, Department of Administration, Health Services with a concentration in Health Services Research. Sandra is passionate about the well-being of children and actively works with organizations in Ghana to support the maternal and child health population. She established a children’s foundation,YenMa Foundation, to promote the wellbeing of mothers and children, and hopes to develop partnerships around the world to support and serve the global maternal and child health population. 

Jonathan Diaz
School of Public Health
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Meredith Gartin

Jonathan is currently a Senior in the UAB School of Public Health with a Concentration in Global Health Sciences. His experience working at UAB Hospital as a Patient Care Tech in a COVID- 19 unit sparked his interest in pandemic preparedness /disaster relief. He wants to attend graduate school for Physician Associate Studies to help improve the quality of care for minority populations and refugees in the south by understanding their social determinants of health and respective health policy. 

Megan Dore
School of Public Health
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Bhekumusa Lukhele

Megan Dore is a graduate student pursuing a MPH in Population health, with a certificate in Global Health. For the past 13 years, after graduating with her BS in Nursing, she has worked as an emergency room nurse in the US, Africa, and Antarctica. Her interest in global health includes working with culturally diverse populations, WASH, and sustainable global development health programs.

Kayla Frey
Heersink School of Medicine; School of Public Health
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Sadeep Shrestha

Kayla Frey is a third-year medical student obtaining her Doctor of Medicine (MD) and Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH) dual degrees. Kayla has lived in four countries, is a Fulbright Program alumni, and currently serves as Associate Research Coordinator for the Association of Women Surgeons National Medical Student Committee. She is passionate about research, having completed a T35 grant evaluating noninvasive test ability to predict liver viability for transplant, served as Equal Access Birmingham Clinic Research Officer where she designed a project which evaluated patient accessibility to in person versus telehealth care, and has just completed her CCTS TL1 research year evaluating for health disparities in surgical outcomes of head and neck cancer patients. In the future, Kayla intends to pursue a career in academic surgery with a strong emphasis on global disparities and health equity advocacy.

Emily Gunawan
School of Public Health
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Wally Carlo

Emily Gunawan is currently pursuing an MSPH with a concentration in Applied Epidemiology. Her global health experiences include working as a medical doctor in rural villages in Indonesia as well as exploring healthcare systems in several other countries in Asia. She aspires to engage in global health research which focuses on improving neonatal and childhood outcomes while maximizing available resources.

Adrian Harsono
School of Public Health
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Alan Tita

Adrian Harsono is a graduate student pursuing MSPH with a concentration in Epidemiology. His interest in global health grew after encountering health disparities through his work as a medical doctor in Indonesia and his experiences in Portugal, Japan, The Philippines, and Singapore. In the future, he hopes to continue his training as an OB/GYN and form multinational collaborations to tackle global health challenges surrounding women’s reproductive health in both clinical practice and research.

Raiful Hasan
College of Arts & Sciences
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Ragib Hasan

Raiful Hasan is pursuing a Ph.D. in computer science. His interests lie broadly at the intersection of mobile and wearable computing, human-computer interaction, the Internet of Things, and the smart city, with a focus on pedestrian safety in the smart city, specifically distracted pedestrians' safety, which is an emerging public health challenge. He is currently working to develop a holistic multi-modal safety system for pedestrians using urban sensing.

Sebastian Henostroza
School of Public Health
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Amanda Willig

Sebastian Henostroza is an ABM student pursuing a BS in Immunology and a MPH with Epidemiology concentration. In regards to global health, he is particularly interested in studying the impact many communicable diseases have on developing communities, and the efficacy of various preventative measures on reducing their burden. He participated in a Sparkman Global Health Internship summer 2022 in Istanbul, Turkey, looking at stigma as it relates to refugee health outcomes.

Elliott Herron
Heersink School of Medicine
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Nabiha Yusuf

Ellie Herron is a MD candidate at UAB Heersink School of Medicine. She completed her BS in Anthropology with a minor in Biology at Sewanee: The University of the South, where she became enthralled with the ways in which cultural nuances are integrated into body management customs during her hospital internships in Ghana, Greece, and rural Tennessee. Her interests include advocacy for cultural humility practices in the field of healthcare, the effects of globalization on chronic illnesses, infectious disease, and pediatric immunology.

Suhas Kellampalli
College of Arts & Sciences; School of Public Health
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Tina Kempin Reuter

Suhas is an accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s of Public Health Student from Hyderabad, India. Being an individual with a communication disability, he is passionate about reducing health disparities experienced by people with disabilities from low-income and resource-poor backgrounds and advocating for their independence. Suhas has previously interned for the Institute of Human Rights at UAB where he wrote blog articles focused on international disability rights issues, and he has also been involved in the disability community in Birmingham and currently works at Disability Rights and Resources.

Lauren Mullis
School of Public Health
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Paul Erwin

Lauren is currently pursuing her MPH in Epidemiology at the UAB School of Public Health. She received her Bachelor's in Biology and Master's in Biomedical Sciences from NC Central University prior to attending UAB. Lauren is interested in infectious diseases and health equity throughout South America as well as refugee and immigrant health throughout the world.

Oludesola Ogunesan
School of Public Health
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Jeffrey Wickliffe

Oludesola is a Doctoral Student in the School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health Science with a concentration in Environment Epidemiology. Her work experience as a Nurse in Nigeria nurtured her research interest and desire in global health and influenced her focus on environmental exposures to pollutants, especially in developing countries, maternal and child health and neurodevelopmental health outcomes in children due to environmental factors and health disparities (neighbourhood and physical environment). She is interested in learning from scholars, improving her knowledge about other factors (social, political, and economic factors) that influence global health problems, and learning the analytical and practical skills necessary to achieve sustainable development in our environment and world.

Sandra Olisakwe
School of Public Health
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Phillip Musa

Sandra Chibuzor Olisakwe is currently an MSPH student with a concentration in Applied Epidemiology and a focus on infectious disease or hospital epidemiology research. Her global health experience ranges from having an undergrad research experiences working with her supervisor on parasitic infectious diseases affecting children living in orphanages across the south-eastern part of Nigeria to working with the World Health Organization for mass drug administrations on schistosomiasis and helminthiasis prevention on the south-western part of Nigeria, Lagos state to be precise which is one of the major cities in Nigeria. She is very much interested in gearing her global health research towards the Neglected Tropical Diseases (Schistosomiasis, Lymphatic Filariasis and Trachoma), and would like to learn as much as she can from the professors here at UAB in order to be able to join and conquer the fight against NTDs in the African Continent. She is open to collaboration from researchers across the world on this feat and dreams of working full time with the WHO as a full time global health epidemiologist. 

Ritti Sangadji
School of Public Health
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Coleen Fisher

Ritti is currently an international MPH student from Indonesia concentrating on Health Behavior. Her biggest interest in global health interest is community engagement in order to create better health quality, especially for those with low socioeconomic status and to increase access to healthy resources, such as food and drugs. Within this fellowship, Ritti wants to learn from her mentor about how they engage the population and deliver material, so she can become a better health educator once she returns to her country.

Allison Spensley
School of Public Health
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Carolyn Bolton Moore

Allison Spensley is a doctoral student in the SOPH, Department of Health Policy and Organization.  Her main areas of interest include public health leadership; maternal and child health; health/social services policy, planning, and advocacy; and HIV care, treatment and prevention.  Ms. Spensley has lived and worked in Zambia, Peru, Nicaragua, and Malawi, with work experience in over 18 countries focusing primarily in east and southern Africa over the past 20 years.  Ms. Spensley has worked with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), UNICEF, Family Health International, Center for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia, and served as a Peace Corps Volunteer.  Ms. Spensley has a Master’s degree of Public Health from UAB and a Master’s degree of Social Work from UA.

Rebecca Stone
School of Public Health
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Lily Gutnik

Rebecca is currently a graduate student pursing an MPH with a concentration in population health and a graduate certificate in global health.  She became fascinated with different cultures during a trip to India.  Rebecca aspires to combine her education background, current public health experience, and passion for equity to advance global health initiatives resulting in sustainable impact. Her interests include implementation science, maternal and child health, healthcare innovation, and program planning.

Jane Vines
School of Public Health
Scholar Mentor:Dr. Katia Bruxvoort

Jane Vines is currently in the Master of Public Health (MPH) program with a concentration in Population Health and certificate in Global Health. Her main areas of interest include immigrant, asylum seeker, and refugee health including climate change refugees, resource utilization and infrastructure building in low-to middle income countries, and neglected tropical diseases. Upon graduation, she would like to pursue a position with a local or global NGO or the CDC.

Megan Wadsworth
School of Public Health
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Anna Helova

Megan is an MPH Epidemiology student pursuing the Global Health certificate. She is most interested in studying maternal and child health as it pertains to refugee women and children around the world. She has volunteered with World Relief in Memphis, Tennessee, helping refugee and asylum-seeking women access healthcare and navigate the US healthcare system. She is eager to continue this work on a larger, more global scale once she has completed her studies. Her dream is to eventually support this population by working on projects for the UN or the WHO.

We are proud to announce the 2021 Sparkman Fellows! We have selected 13 outstanding applicants spanning 5 different schools within UAB. We look forward to having them expand their Global Health knowledge and grow as future practitioners over the course of this school year!

Anita Aboagye, MSW
School of Education, Community Health & Human Services
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Carolyn Bolton Moore

Anita Aboagye is a Doctoral Student in the School of Education, Department of Community Health & Human Services with a concentration in Health Education and Health Promotion. She is an international student from Ghana, and has worked as a Social worker both in Ghana and in the U.S. Her experience with the healthcare system in Ghana nurtured her desire in global health. Anita’s research interest focuses on addressing the social determinants of healthcare access and utilization in sub-Saharan Africa. She hopes to engage in research that explores and outlines the inadequacies, inefficiencies, and gaps in health systems with the aim of informing policy making; a step towards addressing the disparities in health. She also aspires to work for the World Health Organization to eliminate the social determinants of health especially in low-income countries.

Divya Annamalai
College of Arts & Sciences; School of Public Health
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Monsoor Saleh

Divya is pursuing a BS in Neuroscience as well as the graduate certificate in Global Health. She's been active in many global health related activities on campus such as being President of Friends of MSF, the Global Health Case Competition, and taking part in the Sparkman internship with Aga Khan University in Kenya for Summer 2021. Her global health interests are focused on researching and reducing stigma surrounding health issues such as breast cancer and HIV/AIDS in resource constrained populations

Tanvi Bhadkamkar
School of Engineering
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Achala Gunasekara-Rockwell

Tanvi is a fourth year undergraduate student studying Biomedical Engineering. She has participated in the Global Health Case Competition and is an activist for cardiovascular healthcare in rural and minority communities through the AHA. Tanvi is interested in the opioid epidemic and analyzing sustainable drug reduction strategies. She aspires to practice medicine and change the stigma surrounding care for substance abusers

Ami Dave
School of Public Health
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Michael Vinikoor

Ami Dave is a part of the Accelerated Bachelor's/Master's Program pursuing her undergraduate degree in Public Health with a concentration in Global Health studies as well as her Master's in Public Health with a concentration in Healthcare Organization and Policy. Her experience includes working to decrease stigma surrounding HIV through increased education of the condition as well as sexual health practices. She hopes to one day study the impact of infectious diseases on marginalized communities and how best to utilize policy and programs in promotion of equitable access to healthcare.

Jennifer Deutsch
School of Public Health
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Ada Markaki

Jennifer is currently a graduate student pursuing an MPH in Population Health with a Certificate in Global Health. She graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Anthropology and returned to her studies to become a registered nurse after living and traveling overseas for several years. She has worked as a Critical Care nurse for the last 13 years. Jennifer is interested in chronic disease management, health systems and policies, and immigrant/migrant/refugee health

Haley Evans
School of Public Health
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Stacy Moak

Haley Evans is currently an MPH student with a concentration in health behavior and a graduate certificate in global health. Haley has previously worked in Rwanda during her undergraduate career with the University of Central Arkansas. During summer 2021, Haley had the opportunity to intern with the Sunrise Center in Uganda in the field of maternal and child health. She plan to attend physician's assistant school and go into the field of obstetrics and women's health both in the United States and abroad.

Soumya Khanna
College of Arts & Sciences; School of Public Health
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Sadeep Shrestha

Soumya is pursuing an undergraduate neuroscience degree alongside a Fast-Track Masters of Public Health with a concentration in health behavior. She has participated in global health case competitions and has devoted time as a tutor to enhance English fluency for refugees in the Middle East. Her global health interests include improving the quality of life for migrants along with researching the intersections between neuroscience and public health. In the future, Soumya aspires to create a platform in which she can yield direct influence on upstream and downstream aspects of health issues as a public health practitioner and physician

Kerry McCulloch
School of Public Health
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Paul Erwin

Kerry is a graduate student pursing an MPH in Epidemiology and the Graduate Certificate in Global Health. Her interest in global health started while she was living in Mexico and teaching a mindfulness practice at a K-12 bilingual school. She is interested in health issues that affect migrant and refugee populations.

Vani Mittall
School of Public Health; College of Arts & Sciences
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Simon Manga

Vani is an undergraduate student double majoring in Public Health and Biology. Her interests include mental health awareness and stigma, especially among minority populations, health disparities and equity, and the overall intersection of social justice and global health. Vani has been involved with the Friends of MSF student chapter and the Sparkman Global Health Case Competition at UAB for the last two years. In the future, Vani plans to work in clinical practice, using skills like cultural competency that stem from a strong global health foundation.

Kevin Owuor
School of Public Health
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Janet Turan

Kevin Owuor is a doctoral student in Biostatistics. He is an international student from Kenya. He has ten years of experience as a Biostatistician in a number of HIV/AIDS care and treatment projects, and Maternal and Child Health implementation science research studies in Kenya. He is interested in learning from the mentors and also contributing his biostatistical skills to global health initiatives related to HIV/AIDS, Maternal and Child Health, and Cervical Cancer among others.

Sachi Patel
College of Arts & Sciences; School of Public Health
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Henna Budhwani

Sachi Patel is an undergraduate student majoring in Neuroscience along with pursuing a Master's in Public Health with a concentration in epidemiology through the Accelerated Bachelor's/Master's Program. Some of her interests in global health include addressing health care disparities and stigma in developing countries and preventing infectious diseases such as HIV that are a result of these disparities. Sachi hopes to go on to medical school to become a Physician where she will use her education and experiences to reduce health disparities and improve access to care.

Sikandar Raza
School of Medicine
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Tina Reuter

Sikandar is a rising fourth-year medical student from Birmingham, AL. He is currently planning to pursue an academic career in surgery that will emphasize global surgical outcomes and healthcare disparities research. His interests in improving health access stem from his upbringing in Pakistan and his work with the underserved population in Birmingham. Sikandar has led student groups at the medical school to provide educational opportunities for students about social determinants of health and racial disparities in both the local community and global setting.

Edgar Soto
School of Medicine; School of Public Health
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Jeff Wickliffe

Edgar Soto is an MD/MSPH student at UAB. He is originally from Angao, Michoacan Mexico but grew up in Houston TX. He graduated from Trinity College in 2015 and previously worked as a 7th grade math teacher and a higher education consultant. He is interested in developing tangible policies and programs that improve healthcare outcomes in the Global South.

We are proud to announce the 2020 Sparkman Fellows! We have selected 17 outstanding applicants spanning 4 different schools within UAB. We look forward to having them expand their Global Health knowledge and grow as future practitioners over the course of this school year!

Hassan AbuNurah, MS
School of Health Professions
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Eric Ford

Hassan is currently a PhD candidate in the Rehabilitation Science program. He received his B.S. in Respiratory Therapy from Saudi Arabia and his M.S. in Health Sciences from Georgia State University. His research interests focus on critical care rehabilitation in and is currently investigating the impact of mechanical ventilation on respiratory muscles mechanics. He is also interested in advancing the globalization of respiratory care profession and critical care rehabilitation thorough international education

Hassanatu Blake, MBA, MPH
School of Public Health
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Jodie Dionne-Odom

Hassanatu is a Doctoral student in the SOPH, Department of Health Behavior with a concentration in Health Education and Promotion. She is a global health professional with 15 years working with international, national, and non-profit organizations in health program/project management, capacity building and systems strengthening, and HIV. Hassanatu’s experience as a EdTech entrepreneur working on online programming in Southern and West Africa, the Caribbean, and the US and the recent COVID-19 pandemic have influenced her research focus to include Telehealth and HIV.

Teresa Boitano, MD
School of Medicine
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Jayme Locke

Teresa is currently a gynecologic oncology fellow in the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at UAB. Her experience includes working with women in Uganda decreasing mother-to-child transmission of HIV, fighting against human trafficking, and using advocacy to help increase women’s access to healthcare. She is currently studying cervical cancer prevention and treatment in Ethiopia along with helping develop access to gynecologic oncology education and training.

Hannah Comstock
School of Public Health
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Tina Kempin-Reuter

Hannah is an undergraduate student majoring in Public Health with a concentration in Global Health and minoring in International Studies. Her experiences include interning with the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition in Kingston, Jamaica, participating in the UAB Global Case Competition and studying public health in Khon Kaen. Thailand. Her interests include reducing stigma in vulnerable populations, refugee and migrant health and disaster relief.

Norah Madden-Lunsford
School of Public Health
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Chris Kyle

Norah is in the process of getting her BS in Public Health and her MPH with a concentration in health behaviors. Her experience includes working with a rescue center and rural health clinic in Kenya as well as with primary and secondary schools in Kenya and in Jefferson County, Alabama. Coming from a family of artists, writers, and educators she is interested in the role that the arts and education play in public health and hopes to incorporate those interests with her future work in public health.

Anveetha Matta
College of Arts & Sciences; School of Public Health
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Wally Carlo

Anveetha is in the Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s program, concurrently pursuing an undergraduate degree in neuroscience and a Master’s in Public Health with a concentration in health behavior. She has previously competed in global health conferences and will be working with the UAB Center for the Study of Community Health to promote healthy practices in the city of Birmingham. In regards to global health, Anveetha plans to work on health interventions as a researcher and physician in the fields of children with disabilities and maternal and child health in the hopes of reducing disparities found in the healthcare system.

Tim McWilliams
School of Medicine; School of Public Health
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Martin Rodriguez

Tim is a rising second year M.D./MPH dual degree student from Huntsville, Alabama. Tim is interested in health behavior and how the medical and public health fields can best be blended together to improve health of the community.

Madhuri Molleti
School of Public Health
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Lisa Sharlach

Madhuri is currently an undergraduate student working toward obtaining her Bachelor of Science in Public Health. Madhuri's global health interests include addressing healthcare disparities and access to quality education in developing countries. In the future, Madhuri would like to become a physician and work on public health issues both domestically and internationally.

Jessica Morgan, MPH
School of Public Health
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Grace Jepkemboi

Jessica received her MPH with a concentration in Health Behavior, in addition to a graduate certificate in Global Health, from UAB. She is currently a doctoral student in the Health Education and Health Promotion program in the School of Public Health. Her research interests focus on the prevention of infectious diseases in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa, such as HIV and HIV related comorbidities; global health disparities due to food insecurity and environmental injustice; and stigma. She plans to pursue a career in research to develop innovative interventions addressing infectious diseases prevention among marginalized women and among the homeless population.

Brianna Patterson, MPH
College of Arts & Sciences; School of Public Health
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Ria Hearld

Brianna is currently a Ph.D. student in Medical Sociology, along with graduate certificates in Global Health and Leadership & Professional Development. Brianna’s interest in global health stems from her service both in the US Marine Corps and as a firefighter/paramedic in the community. She hopes to use her education and experiences to work with marginalized gender-nonconforming communities to reduce health disparities, improve access to care, and advocate for equal rights.

Mary Anne Powell
College of Arts & Sciences; School of Public Health
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Paul Erwin

Mary Anne Powell is an undergraduate senior double majoring in Public Health and Foreign Languages with a concentration in Spanish. Her global health interest is the prevention of noncommunicable diseases like diabetes through social policy making that facilitates healthy behaviors. Mary Anne is especially interested in the effect these efforts can have in Latin American countries and among Latinx immigrants in the United States. She hopes to complete a PhD and conduct research on the intersection between policy and the social determinants of health

Sunya Reddy
School of Public Health
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Lynn Matthews

Sunya is a rising senior and public health major from Alpharetta, Georgia. She is inspired by the intersection of global health and medicine, and she aims to one day address health concerns on both a population level and an individual level. Her global health experience is concentrated in Northern Ireland, where she has researched the effects of ethnonationalist conflict and conflict resolution on women’s health. Sunya hopes to continue investigating the impact of cultural awareness and conflict mediation on health outcomes, and, in the future, she aspires to further examine the interactions between mental health and health behaviors

Emma Kate Sellers
College of Arts & Sciences; School of Public Health
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Meredith Gartin

Emma Kate is a student in the Accelerated Bachelor’s to Master’s program pursuing a BS in public health, a Spanish for Specific Purposes Certificate, and an MPH focused on Health Care Organization and Policy. Emma Kate’s passion for global health stems from working with immigrant communities, and her interests include health disparities and stigma facing the LGBTQ, indigenous, and other marginalized communities around the globe. She aspires to understand how health disparities in their native countries could affect immigrants in the United States.

Khawla 'Shefa' Suhaila, MPH
School of Medicine
Scholar Mentor: Dr. James Johnston

Shefa is a current medical student. Her global health interest is in comprehensive health care access in rural and low-income areas through health education and preventive medicine. Topics of interest include neglected tropical diseases, surgery, and nutrition. Her goal is to work through non-profit organizations like Doctors Without Borders and NGOs to help improve health care infrastructure through community run clinics, local personnel training, and appropriate technologies.

Angelina Aduke Toluhi, MPH
School of Public Health
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Janet Turan

Aduke is a Doctoral student in the SOPH, Department of Health Care Organization and Policy with a concentration in Maternal and Child Health. She is an international student from Nigeria, and a 2020-21 AAUW International Fellow. She is a medical doctor with over 16 years’ experience in different areas of public health including maternal & child health and nutrition, HIV, infectious diseases like Polio and health systems strengthening. Aduke’s work experience in Africa has influenced her research interests that will continue to focus on maternal & child health and HIV.

Pandora White, PhD
School of Public Health
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Sadeep Shrestha

Pandora White received her PhD in biochemistry from The University of Alabama in 2019, MS in chemistry from The University of Alabama, and BS in chemistry from Alcorn State University. She is currently an MPH student in epidemiology at The University of Alabama at Birmingham and is pursuing a graduate certificate in global health. She has research interests in infectious diseases, cancer and translational medicine. She has conducted research projects in Poland, Peru, Taiwan, and India.

Mari Yukawa
School of Public Health
Scholar Mentor: Dr. Ada Markaki

Mari is currently a graduate student pursuing an MPH in Health Behavior along with the Certificate in Global Health. She is interested in the intersection of health disparities among minority and immigrant populations. She aspires to improve the quality of life of underserved populations by increasing access to high quality healthcare services. She feels the Sparkman Fellows Program will contribute to her future goals in global health and development by giving her experience in the field.

The 2019 class of Sparkman Fellows included 15 students spanning 4 different schools within UAB. Read more about them below. Return to the main Fellows page here. 

Abdullah Alanzi
School of Health Professions

Abdullah is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Rehabilitation Science program at the UAB School of Health Professions. His current studies examine the relationship between asthma and substance use (e.g. tobacco cigarettes, e-cigarettes, cannabis) among adolescents. He is passionate about tobacco control and smoking prevention in the Middle East and North Africa. His future global health goals are to prevent substance abuse and promote well-being in the Arab league countries.

Mohammed Alqahtani
School of Health Professions

Mohammed is a second year Ph.D. student in the Department of Rehabilitation Science at UAB. He is interested in doing research relevant to global health studies and more specifically on tobacco smoking, pulmonary rehabilitation, and chronic lung diseases among adult populations. He also holds a teaching position at King Saud University for Health Science in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Camryn Durham
School of Public Health

Camryn is currently a graduate student pursuing an MPH in Health Behavior along with the Certificate in Global Health. Camryn’s interest in global health stems from her love for travel and understanding other cultures, as well as time spent studying and working in a small South African community. She hopes to use her education and experiences to work with local communities in order to implement sustainable solutions to clean water issues as well as sexual and reproductive health problems in Sub-Saharan Africa

Haley Greene
School of Public Health

Haley received a B.S. in Community and Public Health with a minor in Global Studies from Middle Tennessee State University. She is currently a graduate student working on her Masters of Public Health with a concentration in epidemiology in addition to the graduate certificate in Global Health. Her research interests focus on the epidemiology of infectious disease in Sub-Saharan Africa, such as HIV-associated Tuberculosis and hemorrhagic fevers. She aspires to improve infectious disease reporting and control efforts in developing countries.

Amy Jasani
College of Arts & Sciences; School of Public Health

Amy is pursuing an undergraduate neuroscience major and Fast-Track Masters of Public Health with a concentration in health behavior. She has participated and competed frequently in global health conferences while working with public health organizations on promoting physical activity/nutrition in youth and mental health resources. In global health, Amy plans to one day work on health interventions as a physician and researcher potentially in the fields of infectious diseases, physical health, or children with disabilities.

Pauline Kavita
School of Public Health

Pauline is a graduate student in the MPH program with a focus on Environmental Health. Pauline is an international student from Kenya where she worked in non-profit organizations focused on women, children, and youth along with community education. Her career interests lie in environmental and occupational health & justice as well as toxicology due to her experience in Kenya’s horticultural industry, and she plans to pursue a PhD in toxicology and environmental medicine. She is also interested in reduction of HIV in infants and women in Kenya through education as well as including men who have been widely left out by the system.

Tayyaba Khan
College of Arts & Sciences

Tayyaba is an undergraduate student majoring in International Health and Human Rights. She is interested in the intersection of health disparities with human rights, particularly in stigmatized issues within developing countries and among marginalized communities. She aspires to work for the UN regarding global health policy and human rights advocacy.

Liza Kimbo
School of Public Health

Liza Kimbo is a Doctoral student in the SOPH, Department of Health Care Organization and Policy with a concentration in Maternal and Child Health. She is an international student from Kenya, and has worked for over 20 years in primary care and reproductive health policy. Liza’s work experience in Africa has influenced her research interests that will now focus on adolescent sexual reproductive health and HIV.

Grace Kwak
College of Arts & Sciecnces; School of Public Health

Grace is a current undergraduate double majoring in Public Health and Medical Sociology. She is interested in studying maternal mortality in South Sudan and working through the South Sudan Health Care Organization. Her career interests include becoming a global health interventionist and hope to reduce maternal mortality in low to middle income countries and working with refugees.

Shervonne Poleon
School of Optometry

Shervonne Poleon is a doctoral student in the School of Optometry studying Vision Science. Her current research focuses on elucidating socio-behavioral barriers to glaucoma management and developing strategies for improving adherence to prescribed therapy. She aims to expand this research into other chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease—particularly in developing countries and low-resource environments.

Madeline Pratt
School of Public Health

Madeline Pratt is a current undergraduate senior studying Public Health with a concentration in Global Health. She plans to pursue an MPH in Maternal and Child Health and work in developing nations on reproductive health issues, especially maternal mortality. Eventually, she plans to work on a global scale combating the stigma and disparities that surround women’s health issues

Morgan Rozek
School of Public Health

Morgan Rozek is an undergraduate student pursuing a bachelor’s degree in public health with a concentration in global health studies. Her experience includes working with primary and secondary schools in Ghana and Kenya as well as with children’s homes, rescue centers, and rural health clinics. Her interests include the burden of infectious diseases among children in sub-Saharan Africa, universal access to education, and global child welfare.

Leahgrace Simons
School of Public Health

Leahgrace Simons is currently a graduate student in the Department of Epidemiology in the School of Public Health. She is interested in the intersection of identity and the social determinants of health with healthcare utilization and injury. She is also interested in the use of technology to serve rural areas as well as gene-environment interaction as a risk factor for cancer and other chronic diseases. She aspires to improve the quality of life and aging process for marginalized populations both domestically and internationally.

Joshua Tobias
College of Arts & Sciences; School of Public Health

Joshua Tobias is an MPH/PhD Health Behavior and Medical Sociology graduate student with degrees from Saint Louis University and the University of Guam. His research broadly examines health care utilization & disparities through the intersection of medical sociology, urban sociology, public health, and demography. He hopes to use his advanced training to improve health care utilization and outcomes among immigrant and underrepresented minority groups in the United States.

Madelyn Wild
School of Public Health

Madelyn Wild is currently a second-year undergraduate public health major. My interests include maternal and child health, reproductive health, community health, and international emergency medical relief. My global health experiences includes serving as the event chair for the Global Health Interest Group, participating in the Sparkman Center’s Global Case Competition and I will intern in Panama City, Panama this summer with a focus in maternal and child health. In the future I hope to work to reduce the disparities in medical care for expecting mothers and infants across the globe.

The 2018 class of Sparkman Fellows included 16 students spanning 6 different schools within UAB. Read more about them below. Return to the main Fellows page here. 

Kane Agan
School of Public Health

Kane is an undergraduate student pursuing a bachelor’s degree in public health. His interests include the effects of environment, agency and social norms on health in the global perspective as well as the capacity of cultural factors, such as art and collective memory, to effect health. His research is in peace system attributes and is held in the Department of Anthropology.

Jami Anderson
School of Health Professions

Jami is a rising second year PhD student and Blazer Graduate Research Fellow in the Department of Health Services Administration. She has graduate degrees in International Health and Biomedical Sciences with a post-graduate certificate in Global Mental Health in post-conflict areas. Jami’s research and travel experiences have inspired her to pursue globally-based efforts to transform health care through evidence-based practice. She aspires to improve maternal and child health, HIV/AIDS, and mental health in low-income countries.

Bright Chang
School of Dentisty

Bright is currently a third year DMD candidate at the UAB School of Dentistry and hopes to pursue a career in Prosthodontics after graduation in 2019. His passion for helping the community has led him to serve on the Junior Board for the Cahaba Valley Health Care. His future goals are to promote global oral health, sharing guidelines and recommendations for using dental materials, giving hope back to the community by recreating masticatory function and smiles, and becoming a photographer to capture peoples’ special moments. He also hopes to inspire future generation of world leaders in healthcare.

Kennan Gawlowicz
School of Public Health

Kennan is currently an undergraduate global studies student in the School of Public Health (SOPH). Her experience in global health includes interning with Shoreland, Inc., participating in the Peace and Justice Studies Association Conference at UAB and participating in the Sparkman Center’s 2018 UAB Global Health Case Competition. Her career interests include emergency services, disaster relief, health care systems and policy and law. Mrs. Gawlowicz feels the Sparkman Fellows Program will contribute to her future goals in global health and development by giving her experience in the field.

Rozhan Ghanbari
School of Public Health

When Rozhan Ghanbari was five years old, she moved from the Middle East to the United States. Throughout the years she developed a perspective that formed from two completely different cultures — Iranian and American. Ms. Ghanbari wanted to gain an even broader perspective and that is why she worked with different organizations such as the Food Bank, YMCA, an HIV access support network and a local Free Clinic. She started working on a positive deviant study with a professor here at UAB. The research focuses on HIV in African Americans in the Birmingham community. Additionally, Ms. Ghanbari is hoping to volunteer abroad this upcoming summer. Her career interests includes biostatistics, global health and epidemiology.

Laura Gilmour
School of Business

Laura Gilmour is a graduate student in the UAB Collat School of Business. Her experience in global health includes various humanitarian projects in developing countries. She assisted with a pediatric clinic at an orphanage outside of Johannesburg, South Africa and at several pediatric clinics within three South Sudanese refugee camps in Uganda. While in Uganda, she screened for PTSD and depression among adults in the camps. Her long-term career goal includes global health humanitarian work, specifically by helping to reduce childhood mortality, and working with refugee populations.

Wenyun Jiang
School of Public Health

Wenyun Jiang is currently a Fast Track Master of Public Health student. Her career interests include global health ethics, specifically the ethics of infectious diseases. Ms. Jiang is also interested in reducing the stigma of HIV/AIDS, mental illness or other related diseases. Ms. Jiang seeks to understand the social, political and behavioral aspects of health and desires to bridge the gap between sciences and humanities, generating a multidisiciplinary perspective to solve the questions of global health.

Macarena Martinez
School of Public Health

Macarena Martinez is an international student from Santiago, Chile with 7 years of experience in the Chilean public health system as a clinical midwife. Her career specialty includes infant and maternal mortality interventions and women's health rights. Ms. Martinez has worked with immigrants from Peru, Haiti, Venezuela and Colombia on the secondary and tertiary level of care. Ms. Martinez desires to establish a relationship between the Sparkman Center for Global Health and Chile for future researchers. Her long-term career goal is to improve the health outcomes of immigrant women and children in Chile.

Megan Richard
School of Public Health

Megan Richard is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in public health. Ms. Richard's experience in global health includes serving as the president of the Global Health Interest Group (GHIG) in the School of Public Health, partnering with Dr. Debby Bowers (MedHope Africa) to make reusable menstrual pads for South Sudanese refugees in Uganda, and addressing female genital mutilation (FGM) and early forced marriage (EFM) in the Masaai tribe in Kenya. Her interests within global health include the environment (specifically sustainability and energy) and/or girls' education. It is Ms. Richard's desire to further her research and fieldwork within the global health spectrum through the Sparkman Fellows Program.

Lyndsey Robinson
School of Nursing

Lyndsey Robinson is a graduate student in the UAB School of Nursing. Ms. Robinson is majoring in the Family Nurse Practitioner program, with the long-term career goal of working as a Family Nurse Practitioner and health educator in countries like Haiti and Nepal. Ms. Robinson's passion is in Maternal-Fetal medicine (reduction in MMR/IMR) and childhood disease prevention through nutrition and vaccination.

Shekwonya Evelyn Samuel
School of Public Health

Shekwonya is currently a graduate student in the Department of Epidemiology in the School of Public Health. While completing her undergraduate studies at Nasarawa State University, Ms. Samuel was exposed to patterns of diseases such as malaria, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), tuberculosis and hepatitis through the module “Principles of Epidemiology and Public Health.” Ms. Samuel’s experience in epidemiology, interning with the 347 Nigerian Airforce Hospital Laboratory and being a citizen of Nigeria (where these diseases are prevalent) have fueled her interest in being able to use her gained knowledge to reduce infection rates and improve health care for those already infected in underdeveloped and developing countries.

Shreya Saxena
School of Public Health

Shreya is currently pursuing a MPH degree in Health Behavior and also preparing for her medical boards and licensing exams. Since completing medical school, she has been actively involved in working with various non-profit and government organizations. She has been a part of various medical teams in different parts of SE-Asia. She has also served with the government of Delhi as a medical doctor (Junior Consultant) for more than 1.5 years. Her keen interests lie in mental health, substance abuse, and various other health disparity-related outcomes. She loves her clinical experience and feels that it has helped her serve rural and underserved populations, which are in greatest need of medical help and aid.

Jennifer Schusterman
School of Public Health

Jennifer Schusterman is a graduate student in UAB School of Public Health, with a concentration in maternal and child health. Her interest in global health began while researching women’s health in North Africa, specifically the practice of female genital mutilation. She has become more vested in learning about health disparities in women and how to advocate for women’s health while respecting cultural beliefs.

Wynton Sims
College of Arts & Sciences; School of Public Health

Wynton Sims is an undergraduate student, majoring in chemistry and he is a Fast Track MPH student, with a concentration in health behavior.Mr. Sims global health experience includes volunteering in a rural clinic in Guatemala. The experience opened his eyes to the disparities that exist in clinical care and availability of medical supplies to developing countries. Mr. Sims is career interest includes chronic disease disparities within developing countries, specifically how heart disease prevalence differs between urban and rural Guatemalan communities.

Catherine Toms
School of Public Health

Dr. Catherine Toms is a graduate student in the School of Public Health. She is majoring in maternal and child health policy and leadership. Dr. Toms studied medicine in Munich, Germany and practiced medicine in Norway. She also completed her medical clerkship in Uster, Switzerland, and Cork, Ireland. Dr. Toms would like to use her skills to improve health outcomes in maternal and child health in developing countries. She is currently working on a behavioral intervention in Birmingham to reduce maternal infection and the resulting vertical transmission of CMV to unborn babies.

Bijal Vashi
School of Public Health; School of Health Professions

Bijal is currently finishing her B.S. in Public Health, and is now working towards her M.S. in Biomedical and Health Sciences. She aspires to improve community health through both public health and medicinal practices. Her interest lies in communicable disease, such as HIV/AIDS and diarrheal diseases. Bijal currently works on projects in the Department of Surgery regarding gastrointestinal diseases.

The 2017 class of Sparkman Fellows included 15 students spanning 5 different schools within UAB. Read more about them below. Return to the main Fellows page here.

Joshua Arrage
School of Health Professions; Collat School of Business

Josh is a currently pursuing an MSHA and MBA as well as the Global Health Certificate. Josh strives to make a difference in the lives of others. This coupled with his personal healthcare experiences, created his desire to work in healthcare. More specifically, Josh has an interest in exploring the world of international healthcare management and leadership; working to improve delivery systems, population health, and care coordination. He has spent time in China working for a non-profit organization focusing on Leprosy care.

Niranjan Biligowda
School of Public Health

Niranjan is a dentist from India pursuing a Master's of Public Health in Epidemiology. He is interested in studying the changing trends of chronic diseases worldwide and increasing preventative measures for sexually transmitted diseases, specifically HIV and AIDS. Niranjan currently works on projects in the Department of Biomaterials at the UAB School of Dentistry regarding research of new products which are more compatible for oral health.

Tolu Dosunmu
School of Public Health

Tolu is an MPH student in Health Behavior. His interest lies in organizing community health outreaches, education, and campaigns on simple disease prevention techniques like proper hand washing, use of condoms, and breast feeding techniques in rural Western Africa communities. He hopes to create behavioral interventions to tackle the challenges faced in many rural West African communities.

Jay Dasigi
Heersink School of Medicine

Jay grew up in Atlanta, GA, and attended the University of Georgia where he developed an interest in emerging global diseases while pursuing a B.S. in Microbiology and a B.A. in Economics. He is currently enrolled in the MD program at the UAB Heersink School of Medicine and intends to conduct a scholarly research project in infectious diseases. He also plans on pursuing further studies in public health and epidemiology in the future.

Trinh Huynh
School of Public Health

Trinh is an MPH Student in Maternal and Child Health Policy and Leadership. She earned her B.S. and M.S. in Biotechnology from the International University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Her interest in Maternal and Child Health has grown since she started to work for Trinh Foundation Australia, a non-profit organization providing support for children with Autism and other disabilities in Vietnam. After graduating from MPH program, she hope to continue working with children with Autism and practicing to improve women and child health in global scenario.

Sherna Jackson
School of Public Health; Collat School of Business

Sherna is a dual degree MPH in Epidemiology/MBA student. Sherna earned a bachelor's degree in Health Education from the University of Florida. Her desire is to work with marginalized communities and creating interventions to improve their health outcomes.

Sarah Jackson
Heersink School of Medicine

Sarah is currently a third year medical student at UAB. She grew up in Birmingham, Alabama and completed her MPH in international health and development from Tulane University. She previously worked for the Maasai American Organization in Kenya as a graduate student, and served in the Peace Corps in Guinea, West Africa, where she managed an acute malnutrition project for the United Nations World Food Program. Her interests include maternal and child health, tropical medicine and refugee issues.

Khushbu Khatri
School of Public Health; Collat School of Business

Khushbu is pursuing a MPH degree in the Health Care Organization and Policy Department as well as a MBA at the Collat School of Business. She aspires to improve the quality of life of underserved populations by increasing access to high quality healthcare services through systems reform.

Sandhya Krishna
College of Arts & Sciences; School of Public Health

Sandhya is a rising senior at UAB majoring in biology and on the 5 year Public Health Masters program. Her interest in menstrual hygiene management began with her involvement in Period, a new campus organization, and continues to mold her focus around global health. Her passion for animals has drawn her towards wildlife conservation and bridging the gap between health maintenance of human and wildlife populations.

Chang Liu
School of Public Health

Chang is currently an MPH student in the Department of Health Care Organizatin and Policy. He is from Beijing, China. His interests lie in health care management, health economic, finance in health care field and policy analysis. With the international experience, he desires to improve the efficiency of local hospitals in rural places and promote local health care regulations in developing countries.

Matthew Moore
School of Public Health

Matthew is currently pursuing a Master of Public Health in Maternal and Child Health. During his undergraduate years pursuing degree in nutrition, Matthew traveled to several countries in Asia and Central America, including Thailand, India, and Belize. His experiences abroad led him to realize the importance of nutrition and wellness in Maternal and Child Health, especially during the first 1,000 days. He hopes to move abroad after graduation to pursue these interests, learning from and impacting the lives of communities in other nations.

Samuel Moss
School of Public Health

Samuel is an undergraduate student pursuing his B.S. in Public Health, with a concentration in global health. His passion lies in improving the health status of minority and immigrant populations as well as easing the burden of health disparities in low-income populations. His past research includes work with maternal and neonatal health outcomes relating to sepsis in India as well as the health of American Muslim women.

Steve Nappoe
School of Public Health

Stevie is an MPH student in Health Care Organization and Policy and Fulbright Scholar from Indonesia. He was working as a research assistant in developing quality health care for maternal and child health in the rural area in his country. His research interests include maternal and child health, health care reform, quality of health care, health system and management, health policy, and health disparities.

Judson Russell
School of Public Health

Judson is currently working on an MPH at the School of Public Health, as well as a Graduate Certificate in Global Health Studies with UAB's Sparkman Center for Global Health. Judson’s prior research experiences include access to care, health care infrastructure, and chronic disease epidemiology in rural Alabama. Building on prior service work in rural Central America, Judson hopes to provide sustainable, innovative solutions to underserved populations experiencing health disparities both domestic and abroad.

Nicholas Sherwood
College of Arts & Sciences

Nick is earning his MA in the Anthropology of Peace and Human Rights while serving as a graduate assistant at UAB’s Institute for Human Rights. He has undergraduate degrees in Psychology & Political Science from Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia. His primary research interests are assessing trauma & resilience in post-conflict societies and synthesizing Sterling & Eyer’s concept of Allostasis with cultural trauma theory. He is currently researching the biopsychosocial antecedents and outcomes of traumatized Israelis and Palestinians. Nick is also a consultant to RooChute, a global mental health initiative focused on US music festivals, including Bonnaroo, Coachella, and Lollapalooza.