Global Faculty Affiliates

Dr. Daniel L. Chao is currently Senior Director and Clinical Leader of Translational Medicine/ Early Clinical Development for Retinal Diseases at Janssen R&D/Johnson and Johnson, and a Volunteer Assistant Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at UCSF. He graduated from Standford University Medical School with an MD and a PhD in Neuroscience, completed his residency in opthalmology at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami, and a fellowship in vitreoretinal surgery at UCSF. He also has 7 years of experience on opthalmology residency/ retinal fellowship selection committee. At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, he is appointed at the level of Assistant Professor.

Dr. Kristin Diem Anh Nguyen is currently an Assistant Clinical Professor in psychiatry at UCSF, and an attending in inpatient psychiatry at ZSFG hospital. She graduated from Mayo Clinic School of Medicine and completed her residency at UCSF, with 1-year experience as a chief resident. She furthered her training as a global mental health fellow through UCSF HEAL program. In the last 5 years, she expanded her professional expertise in psychiatry through teaching and mentoring. At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, she is appointed at the level of Assistant Professor.

Toni Biskup, MD, MPH, FACP, FAAP originally worked in linguistics and education before changing career paths to medicine. She is boarded in internal medicine and pediatrics and completed an international emergency medicine fellowship. She has been practicing hospitalist medicine for about 10 years as a med-peds hospitalist at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. From 2013-2015 she was co-director of the Laude fellowship in pediatric critical care and emergency medicine at Hospital de los Valles and Universidad San Francisco de Quito, in Cumbayá, Ecuador. From 2021-2022 she was the pediatrics residency program director at VinUniversity in Hanoi. She has faculty appointments at the University of Washington School of Medicine teaching clinical faculty and at the University of Anchorage, Alaska School of Medicine teaching medical students. She has taught and practiced in over a dozen countries including work in disaster response, refugee health, and medical education with physicians, nurses, psychosocial support teams, and community health workers. She has a special interest in refugee health, addressing health inequities, and medical education in low-resource settings. She enjoys spending time outside in nature and spending time with friends playing board games. At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, she is appointed at the level of Assistant Professor.

Dr. Nhung Nguyen is currently an Assistant Professor at School of Medicine, UCSF. She obtained her PharmD and PhD degrees from Hanoi University of Pharmacy and University of Texas Health Science Centre. She has 15 years of teaching experience in epidemiology, pharmacy policy, research methods, and biostatistics, both in Vietnam and the US. She is also working as a principal investigator in a tobacco-related disease funded research program till 2025. At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, she is appointed at the level of Assistant Professor.

Dr. Aaron L. Berkowitz is currently a Professor of Clinical Neurology at UCSF. He graduated from Johns Hopkins University and completed his residency in Brigham and Women’s Hospital/ Massachusetts General Hospital. He has 9 years of experience as a neurohospitalist, general neurologist, as well as serving on various education-related committees and teaching positions at Brigham and Women’s hospital/ Harvard Medical School. At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, he is appointed at the level of Professor.

Dr. Ian S. Soriano is currently Director of Robotic Surgery and Associate Professor of Surgery at UCSF. He graduated from University of Philippines College of Medicine and trained in general surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital and Albert Einstein Medical Center. He has been a practicing minimally invasive & bariatric surgeon for 15 years, with 11 years experience performing robotic surgery. He has also been an active member in numerous American Surgery societies for 15 years. He is also an active visiting faculty in multiple Philippine medical schools. At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, he is appointed at the level of Associate Professor.

Dr. Neora Pick is a Clinical Professor at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada. She has been working as an Infectious Diseases Physician at Oak Tree Clinic, BC Women’s Hospital & Health Center for 18 years, 11 of which she spent as the clinic’s Medical Director. Dr. Pick obtained her MD, IM and ID specialist degrees from Ben Gurion University of the Negev. In 2002, she moved to Canada, worked in the BCCDC for 2 years, completed additional boards in Canada, and worked since 2004 as an IM and ID specialist in Vancouver, British Columbia. Dr. Pick is also a researcher and educator, and has over 100 peer reviewed publications. She has 34 years of professional experience. At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, she is appointed at the level of Professor.

Dr. Veronica B. Searles Quick is a board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist, and the Director of Crisis Psychiatry at Ohana Center for Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health. She completed her medical and graduate training at the University of Colorado, and completed her psychiatry residency and child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences|Weill Institute for Neurosciences. She has been practicing psychiatry in multiple clinical settings for over five years and has expanded her professional expertise with over six years of teaching in medical settings. At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, she is appointed at the level of Clinical Lecturer.

Professor Keith W. Kelley is currently a Professor Emeritus of Immunophysiology within the Department of Animal Sciences at the University of Illinois, where he earned both his M.S. and Ph.D. His pioneering research has significantly advanced the understanding of how the immune system interacts with the brain. For 15 years, he was the second Editor-in-Chief of the peer-reviewed journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. Over his 40-year academic career, he has mentored over 50 Research Assistant Professors/Post-Doctoral/Doctoral/MD/PhD/MS students, published nearly 400 scientific articles, amounting to over 45,000 citations to his discoveries, and presented over 400 lectures world-wide. At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, he is appointed at the level of Professor.

Dr. Karen S. Reed currently serves as the Interim Associate Dean for Academic Affairs — Undergraduate Education, Director of the Office of Professional Nursing Development, and is a Clinical Associate Professor at College of Nursing, University of Florida. She has earned a M.S. in Nursing – Adult Health Degree and Doctor of Health Sciences, with national certifications in the USA as a Clinical Nurse Leader, Nurse Educator, and Rehabilitation Registered Nurse. Dr. Reed has 45 years of experience working as a Registered Nurse. In addition to experience as a hospital-based nurse educator,  she has experience as a legal nurse consultant, academic nursing professor, and director of an NGO. At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, she is appointed at the level of Associate Professor.

Dr. Theresa Harvey is currently a Senior Lecturer at the Brisbane campus of Australian Catholic University. She brings a wealth of experience across various clinical areas, having worked for several years as a practicing midwife and as a Clinical Midwifery Facilitator/Educator. Dr. Harvey earned her M.S. in Nursing with a focus on Women’s Health from Flinders University of South Australia and completed her Ph.D. at Central Queensland University. At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, she is appointed at the level of Senior Lecturer.

Since 2020, Dr. Ayako Kohno has been working as the Project specific Assistant Professor at School of Public Health, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, where she obtained her Ph.D. of Medicine. She has been the lecturer for the course “Introduction to Qualitative Research Method” at Kyoto University of Public Health for post-graduate students. Her research interest include adolescence health, elderly care, and migrant health. At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, she is appointed at the level of Assistant Professor.

Dr. Dung Thi Le is currently an urgent care doctor at Sutter Medical Foundation: Sutter Medical Group. Dr. Le has over 20 years of experience in medical practice. She obtained her MD at Ross University School of Medicine, and later her Residency at Albert Einstein College of Medicine: Family Medicine in 2004. At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, she is appointed at the level of Lecturer.

Recognized globally as a leader in Orthopedic Sports Medicine, Professor YUNG Shu-Hang Patrick is the current Chairman of the Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Assistant Dean (Alumni Affairs), Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, focused on Orthopedics sport medicine and arthroscopy surgery. He serves as the leader of a lot of international & local centers of sports medicine & health science, including being the Past President of the Asian Federation of Sports Medicine (AFSM), Past President of the Hong Kong Association of Sports Medicine & Sports Science (HKASMSS), also as the Past President of the Hong Kong College of Orthopedic Surgeons. He is also the Director of the Hong Kong Centre of Sports Medicine and Sports Science, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Sports Medicine and Health Sciences Centre, and the Centre of Neuromusculoskeletal Restorative Medicine (CNRM) of InnoHK cluster research centers. At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, he is appointed at the level of Professor.

Dr. Fabian Lim is the Director of Academic Affairs at Centre for Professional and Continuing Education, Nanyang Technology University, Senior Lecturer at Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, and Programme Director for the Graduate Diploma in Sports Medicine at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He holds a Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology from the University of Queensland and an MBA in International Marketing from the University of Surrey. Dr. Lim is a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and the Founding President of the Asian College of Exercise and Sports Science. At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, he is appointed at the level of Professor.

Professor Young Hoo Kwon currently serves as Professor and Director of Biomechanics and Motor Behavior Laboratory, School of Health Promotion & Kinesiology, Texas Woman’s University. He completed his Bachelor in Astronomy at Seoul National University in 1984, and his Ph.D. in Exercise & Sport Science at the Pennsylvania State University in 1993. In addition, he was also the President of International Society of Biomechanics in Sports, as well as the members of Board Directors for multiple Society of Sport Biomechanics. At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, he is appointed at the level of Professor.

Dr. Dusanee Suwankhong is a medical anthropologist in the health of children, women, older person. She is interested in public health issues relating to motherhood, HIV/AIDS and mental health. She has published many papers in these areas. Her recent work focuses more on muay Thai fighters and well-being. Dusanee’s work has been undertaken using the qualitative approach. Currently, she is an assistant professor at Thaksin University, Thailand. At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, she is appointed at the level of Assistant Professor.

Dr. Bhavna Seth is a Pulmonary and Critical Care physician with a strong interest in acute care systems, implementation science, international health, interstitial lung diseases, and oxygen systems. She completed her fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Johns Hopkins University in 2023 and holds a Master’s in Clinical Investigation from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (2020). Dr. Seth also completed a fellowship in Global Health at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in 2019 and her Internal Medicine residency at Boston Medical Center (2018). She earned her MBBS from Lady Hardinge Medical College in 2014. Dr. Seth is board-certified in Internal Medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine. At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, she is appointed at the level of Lecturer.

Prof. Eric L. Krakauer is a physician and global health expert specializing in palliative care. He holds an MD and PhD from Yale University and completed fellowships in internal medicine and medical ethics at Harvard. He directs the Global Palliative Care Program at Massachusetts General Hospital and has worked for 17 years in low- and middle-income countries to integrate palliative care into public health systems. He is also a Visiting Professor in Vietnam and has held roles with the WHO and the Lancet Commission on Global Access to Palliative Care. He has published widely on palliative care and its global implementation. At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, he is appointed at the level of Associate Professor.

Assist. Prof. Tri Te Do is a cardiologist specializing in advanced heart failure, heart transplant, and interventional cardiology. She completed her fellowship at California Pacific Medical Center/UCSF and is currently a fellow in Interventional Cardiology at Medical City Fort Worth (HCA). Prof. Do holds board certifications in Cardiology, Nuclear Cardiology, and Internal Medicine. She has extensive clinical experience at institutions such as Dignity Health and UT Health San Antonio and is actively involved in medical education and research. Prof. Do has contributed to key publications in The Journal of the American College of Cardiology and serves as a question editor for the NBME. At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, she is appointed at the level of Assistant Professor.

Prof. Harm Peters, MHPE, is a leading expert in medical education and a Professor at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany. He has over two decades of experience in teaching and curriculum development and currently serves as Director of the Dieter Scheffner Center for Medical Education and Educational Research, which focuses on faculty development and educational research. Dr. Peters is also the President of the Association of Medical Schools in Europe (AMSE) and a member of the Executive Council of the World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) . He has been instrumental in training hundreds of faculty members annually in innovative teaching methods, including PBL, case-based clinical reasoning,  bedside teaching and workplace-based assessment using Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs). At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, he is appointed at the level of Professor.

Dr. Susan De La Paz is a Professor of Special Education at the University of Maryland’s College of Education, specializing in literacy outcomes for students with learning disabilities. She is a 2022 Vietnam Fulbright Scholar, focusing on improving literacy for students with learning disabilities. Dr. De La Paz has received multiple honors, including the 2024 Distinguished Researcher Award from the American Educational Research Association (AERA). She has served in leadership roles, including as Area Director and Director of Graduate Studies in Special Education. Dr. De La Paz is a published author and principal investigator on several research projects, including a Fulbright-sponsored project in Vietnam. Her work has significantly advanced the fields of writing instruction and special education. At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, she is appointed at the level of Professor.

Prof. Michael A. Patton is a renowned clinical geneticist with extensive experience in medical genetics and research. He trained at the Universities of Edinburgh and Cambridge and later established the South West Thames Regional Genetics Service. Prof. Patton has held honorary professorships at the University of Exeter, University College London, and Green Templeton College, Oxford, and has been a visiting professor at institutions in Singapore and Malaysia. His research focuses on malformation syndromes and gene mapping, with over 200 peer-reviewed publications and the identification of 10 genes. Prof. Patton is also the Medical Director and a founder of the Newlife Foundation for Disabled Children, which supports medical research and provides disability equipment to children across the UK. At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, he is appointed at the level of Professor.

Prof. Hamid Nasri is a leading internist and nephrologist at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. He completed his nephrology fellowship at Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Tehran, Iran, and further specialized in nephropathology at Université Paris 5 René Descartes, France. Recognized as one of the world’s top scientists by Stanford University, Prof. Nasri has contributed significantly to research on renal diseases, particularly in relation to metabolic disorders and kidney complications. He has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals and has been involved in groundbreaking studies on the renal effects of diseases such as hydatidiform mole and COVID-19 in diabetic patients. Prof. Nasri is also a prominent figure in nephrology research with numerous publications and grants to his name. At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, he is appointed at the level of Professor.

Dr. Alon Unger is a hospitalist and clinical educator at UCSF Health, where he provides inpatient care in internal medicine and pediatrics, supervising medical students, residents, and fellows. Dr. Unger is deeply committed to clinical education and quality improvement, including leading global health initiatives and improving healthcare practices. Prior to UCSF, he worked as a medical advisor for HIV clinics and an MDR-TB program in Myanmar, and has worked in Haiti, Brazil, Thailand, and South Africa among other places. Dr. Unger was part of emergency care efforts for the Navajo Nation during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, he is appointed at the level of Associate Professor.

Dr. John Patrick T. Co is Vice President of Graduate Medical Education at Mass General Brigham and Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. A board-certified pediatrician, he has led initiatives in medical education, quality and safety, and health equity at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Co is involved in national GME roles and serves as Principal Investigator on several funded projects, including an AMA grant on competency-based residency advancement. He earned his BA from Cornell University, MD from Stanford, MPH from Harvard, and MBA from MIT Sloan. At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, he is appointed at the level of Associate Professor.

Professor Richard Maude is a leading expert in tropical medicine, specializing in spatiotemporal epidemiology, GIS mapping, and disease surveillance. He heads the Epidemiology Department at the Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit in Bangkok and serves as Assistant Director of Graduate Studies at the University of Oxford. His research focuses on communicable diseases such as malaria, dengue, and novel pathogens in the Asia-Pacific region. Professor Maude also leads the Health GeoLab Hub and is involved in numerous international committees and expert groups dedicated to disease elimination and global health. He has published extensively and is a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, Royal College of Physicians, and the Royal Society for Public Health. At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, he is appointed at the level of Professor.

Dr. Rapeephan Rattanawongnara Maude is a board-certified specialist in internal medicine and infectious diseases. She completed her M.D. with honors from Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, and further specialized through fellowships in Infectious Disease at Tufts Medical Center, USA. Dr. Maude holds multiple certifications, including from the American Board of Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, as well as the Thai Board of Internal Medicine and Subboard of Infectious Disease. Her clinical interests include tropical medicine, international health, HIV/STIs, and tuberculosis. At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, she is appointed at the level of Lecturer.

Dr. Colin Bradley is a leading expert in general practice and primary care with over 30 years of research and teaching experience. He holds an M.D. from Trinity College Dublin and is a Fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioners (FRCGP). Dr. Bradley has served as Professor and Foundation Chair of the Department of General Practice at University College Cork (1997–2022) and has authored over 200 publications, including research on prescribing practices, chronic disease management, and mental health. His h-index is 49, and his research covers both qualitative and quantitative methods. Dr. Bradley has supervised over 20 PhD students and is actively involved in postgraduate education. At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, he is appointed at the level of Professor.

Southern California psychiatrist and author Charles Nguyen, M.D., known as the “shrink yourself thin” doctor because of his unique take on the bond between the human psyche and weight loss, has helped hundreds lose weight and keep it off for the first time in their lives. Nguyen modeled his forthcoming book The Thinsulin® Program: The Breakthrough Solution to Help You Lose Weight and Stay Thin on his game-changing, comprehensive weight-loss program that addresses the biological, psychological, and social issues involved in weight loss, or the “biopsychosocial” weight loss approach. At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, he is appointed at the level of Professor.

• An expert in clinical psychopharmacology including psychotropic side effects (movement disorder, metabolic syndrome, sexual dysfunction, sudden unexplained death, drug-drug interactions), adherence, patient satisfaction, and drug delivery systems.
• An international researcher involved in more than 50 clinical trials in the areas of psychedelics, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety disorders, smoking cessation, and sexual dysfunction. He has designed and run, as principal investigator, international clinical trials as well as conducting rater training and developing patient satisfaction and functioning rating scales.
• An author of over 250 articles and abstracts in peer reviewed medical journals, book chapters, and scientific symposia; he has published several Cochrane Reviews and contributed to international guidelines. He is a reviewer for psychiatric journals and teaches students in healthcare disciplines from around the world. He has given more than 600 presentations as a visiting professor and/or invited contributor at major psychiatric congresses and universities as well as media interviews in English and French.

At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, he is appointed at the level of Professor.

Dr. Wei-Teng Yang, MD, MPH, FASAM, FACP is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. He is currently the Director of Infectious Diseases – Addiction Medicine Integration in the Division of Infectious Diseases. His professional interest is in the science-humanity interplay in infectious diseases and addiction. Since his fellowship training in infectious diseases and addiction medicine, he has been working to integrate the two specialties to address substance-use-related infectious disease syndemics. He focuses on harm reduction, patient advocacy, and multidisciplinary care.

Dr. Yang finished medical school in Taiwan and worked with the Taiwanese CDC TB team before pursuing a MPH from Johns Hopkins University, where he consolidated his interests in infectious diseases and health disparity. He finished internal medicine residency in the Yale New Haven Health System, infectious diseases fellowship in University of Washington, and addiction medicine fellowship in Oregon Health & Science University.

Through the Global Faculty Affiliates Program, Dr. Yang is interested in learning the current landscape of substance use disorder treatment and the overlapping infectious disease epidemics such as HIV, viral hepatitis, tuberculosis, and sexually transmitted infections. He looks forward to collaborating with trainees and faculty members on educational and research projects.

At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, he is appointed at the level of Assistant Professor.

---

Ram C. Bajpai

Lecturer

Dr. Ram Bajpai is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in biostatistics at the School of Medicine, Keele University, UK. He leads work focused on evidence synthesis, prognostic modelling, survival analysis, big data analytics, statistical modelling, and the responsible application of machine learning in healthcare research. His overarching aim is to improve the reliability, transparency, and clinical usefulness of quantitative evidence. Before joining Keele University, he held key research and faculty positions at Nanyang Technological University (Singapore) and the Army College of Medical Sciences (India). He has secured significant research funding from various funding bodies, with totalling over approx. £1.5 million. As a Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy, Dr. Bajpai teaches medical statistics and epidemiology across undergraduate and postgraduate programmes at Keele and supervises MPH, MSc, and doctoral students. He is committed to mentoring early-career researchers and fostering strong statistical thinking in clinical research training.

Dr. Bajpai has authored over 125 peer-reviewed publications in leading medical journals such as The Lancet, and BMJ. He is actively involved in scholarly publishing and professional service. He serves as Associate Editor for QJM: An International Journal of Medicine, BMC Public Health, and as a Statistical Editor for Cochrane Breast Cancer Group. He is a Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society, and a member of several international research and methodological networks, including the Cochrane Methods Group and the Versus Arthritis College of Experts.

At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, he is appointed at the level of Lecturer.

---

Thong Pham

Lecturer

Pham Van Thong is a conservation scientist and practitioner dedicated to advancing wildlife research and biodiversity protection in Vietnam and beyond. He holds an MSc in Tropical Forestry from the Vietnam National University of Forestry and the University of Göttingen (Germany), and is currently a PhD candidate at Western Sydney University focusing on turtle ecology and applied conservation science.

Thong serves as Deputy Director of the Center for Technology and Nature Conservation (CTNC), a grassroots civil society organization in Vietnam that delivers evidence-based wildlife research and community-led conservation. He has authored over 40 international peer-reviewed publications in leading journals, contributing to conservation knowledge and practical management.

Beyond academia, Thong integrates social research and impact evaluation to measure the effectiveness of conservation actions. He leads programs applying SMART to strengthen patrol planning, law enforcement, and threat reduction, supporting the protection of more than 130,000 hectares of biodiverse tropical forest in central Vietnam. His outreach initiatives have engaged thousands of people to promote wildlife protection and foster positive attitude change, while also nurturing young people’s connection to nature.

Thong has led conservation efforts for iconic Vietnamese species including the Southern Vietnamese box turtle, Southern yellow-cheeked gibbon, Black-shanked douc, Red-shanked douc, and the Vietnamese pond turtle, with plans to expand into marine and marine mammal research and conservation.

At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, he is appointed at the level of Lecturer.

---

Janet H. Davis

Associate Professor

Dr. Davis received her BSN from Georgetown University, her MSN from Boston

University, her MBA from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and her PhD from Loyola University Chicago. She has held nursing faculty and academic leadership positions throughout the Chicagoland area. She has over 50 publications and has been awarded over 20 grants.

Currently she is an Associate Professor at Purdue University Northwest. She has given invited papers across the United States, in Australia, Brazil, Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, India, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, Scotland, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. She has been a Certified Nurse Educator through the National League for Nursing since 2018. In 1991 she received the University of Illinois at Chicago Award for Excellence in Teaching and has received the A.J. DelVecchio Endowment Fund Founders’ Award for Nursing Excellence twice. She is a Higher Learning Commission Program to Evaluate and Advance Quality Consultant Evaluator. In 2020 she was appointed to the American Nurses Association Illinois Expert Panel on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisory group. She is a peer reviewer for three prestigious nursing journals. In 2024-2025 she was selected for a Fulbright US. Faculty Scholar award, hosted by the Faculty of Nursing University of Colombo.

At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, she is appointed at the level of Associate Professor.

---

Julie Smith

Associate Professor

Dr Smith is an Honorary Associate Professor at the Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University, and an Associate Professor at the Health Research Institute, University of Canberra, Australia. She is also a Visiting Associate Professor at the College of Health Sciences, VinUniversity, where she currently supports a research team on the project Quantifying Global Environmental Impacts of Cesarean Sections Mediated by Infant Feeding Practices, funded by the Smart Green Transformation Center (GREEN‑X).
Her recent ARC Future Fellowship examined the economic and environmental dimensions of breastfeeding and markets in mothers’ milk. She led the development of the Mothers’ Milk Tool and the Green Feeding Tool. Dr Smith has published over 65 peer‑reviewed articles, including in The Lancet and the Bulletin of the World Health Organization, and is an Associate Editor of the International Breastfeeding Journal.
Dr Smith has advised the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General and the World Health Organization (WHO) on the economics of breastfeeding and has led evidence reviews for WHO and the Australian Department of Health. She has also worked with international civil society organisations, including IBFAN and WABA. Previously, she served as a senior economist in Australian and New Zealand government departments, including Treasury, Finance, and Environment.

At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, she is appointed at the level of Associate Professor.

---

Sudharani Banappagoudar 

Assistant Professor

Dr. Sudharani B. Banappagoudar is a distinguished academician, researcher, and nursing leader with over two decades of expertise in Obstetrics and Gynecology (OBG) Nursing. Currently an Assistant Professor at the College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Faisal University, she has built a formidable reputation for bridging the gap between clinical excellence and academic administration. Her diverse educational background—comprising a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Nursing alongside an MBA in HR and Marketing—enables her to lead with both medical precision and strategic vision.

Throughout her career, Dr. Banappagoudar has held senior leadership roles, including Professor and Director IQAC at ITM University and Academic Head at Rama University. A staunch advocate for educational standards, she serves as an expert for the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), focusing on Quality Assurance and Outcome-Based Education.

Her research portfolio is expansive, tackling critical issues in maternal and child health. From optimizing labor outcomes and episiotomy healing to improving menstrual hygiene and adolescent health education, her work is widely published in international journals. Dr. Banappagoudar remains a dedicated mentor, committed to empowering the next generation of healthcare professionals through evidence-based practice and the integration of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into the global nursing curriculum.

At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, she is appointed at the level of Assistant Professor.

---

Tuan Anh Nguyen

Professor

Professor Tuan Anh Nguyen is a leading public health researcher advancing equity in ageing and brain health across Australia and the Asia-Pacific. Since 2016, he has led a landmark multinational collaboration addressing dementia in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), developing culturally grounded, regionally tailored interventions to reduce inequities in dementia prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care – particularly for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities.

A recipient of the NHMRC-ARC Dementia Research Development Fellowship and an Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health at the Global Brain Health Institute, he is internationally recognised for leadership in brain health equity. He is Principal Investigator of major NHMRC-, MRFF-, e-ASIA-, NIH- and NAFOSTED-funded projects, including development and implementation of an AI-powered Virtual Assistant to support carers of people living with dementia across the Asia-Pacific.

Professor Nguyen serves as Programs Chair (Health Policy PIA) of International Society to Advance Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment and has contributed to national and regional dementia strategies, including Vietnam’s National Dementia Plan. He has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications and policy briefs, presented at more than 70 conferences, and secured over $22 million in competitive funding, consistently bridging research, policy, and practice to advance inclusive, person-centred care.

At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, he is appointed at the level of Research Professor.

---

Andres Colubri

Assistant Professor

Dr. Andrés Colubri is an assistant professor in the Department of Genomics and Computational Biology at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School. He holds a Ph.D. in Mathematics from the Universidad Nacional del Sur in Argentina, a Burroughs Wellcome postdoctoral fellowship in computational biology at the University of Chicago, and an M.F.A. from the Design Media Arts Department at the University of California, Los Angeles. Andrés’ hybrid career has traversed science, art, and technology through multiple transdisciplinary collaborations. His lab now brings together computational scientists, software engineers, and visual designers to develop new methods and tools for infectious disease research (https://co-labo.org/). One of lab’s main projects consists in advancing the use of app-based epidemic games (“epigames”) for experimental epidemiology and mathematical modeling. Epigames allow researchers to collect real-world data on how human behavior influences infectious disease transmission across various socio-cultural contexts and transmission modes, and to construct more advanced models for predicting disease spread in human populations. At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, he is appointed at the level of Assistant Professor.

---

Lars Allan Larsen

Professor

Dr. Lars Allan Larsen is a Professor of Developmental Genetics at the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. His research focuses on the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying human embryonic development and birth defects. By integrating human genetic data with functional model systems, his group has identified several novel genes and mechanisms in this field. Dr. Larsen has more than 20 years of teaching and research experience, has participated in several large international research consortia, and has extensive experience in supervising and mentoring postdoctoral researchers, PhD students, and master’s students. At the Global Faculty Affiliates – CHS, Dr. Larsen is appointed at the level of Professor. At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, he is appointed at the level of Professor.

---

Claudia Kam Yuk Lai

Professor

Prof. Claudia Lai, Honorary Professor, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, has studied and practiced nursing in Hong Kong, Canada, and England, and worked briefly as a volunteer nurse in India. She has also worked full-time at the University of Tokyo (Spring 2017, Project Professor), Yamaguchi National University (Jun 2022-Aug 2023, Professor-Special Mission), and a volunteer lecturer at the Life University, Cambodia (2019-2021). Focusing on interventional and implementation research, the care of people with dementia frail older adults are her two main research programs. She was an elected Board Member of the Alzheimer’s Disease International (2009-2011). A member of Sigma Theta Tau International (Sigma) since 1994, she was elected Sigma’s first Asia Regional Coordinator for two terms (2011-2015), and inducted into the International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame in 2018. She was on the Board of the National Hartford Center of Gerontological Nursing Excellence (NHCGNE) from 2018-2020, and awarded as a Distinguished Educator in Gerontological Nursing by the NHCGNE in 2021. Presently, she is a Board Director of Sigma’s Pi-Iota Chapter-at-large in Hong Kong SAR; and an Associate Editor of ‘Research in Nursing and Health.’ She has 250 publications, and is among the world’s top 2% cited scientist in nursing (single recent year impact). She is also named in the database of top-cited scientists in career-long impact. At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, she is appointed at the level of Professor.

---

Michele Upvall

Professor

Dr. Michele Upvall serves as a Professor of Nursing at Barry University in Miami, Florida. She holds a PhD in Nursing from the University of Utah, and she is also a Certified Nurse Educator, and Family Nurse Practitioner. Dr. Upvall has extensive experience in the practice of global health and is co-editor of the book, Global Health Nursing: Building and Sustaining Partnerships. Her global experience spans the countries of Bhutan, Cambodia, Eswatini, Lebanon, Pakistan, Tanzania, and Vietnam. She also completed a Fulbright Specialist scholarship at Khon Kaen University in Thailand and most recently, in Blagoevgrad University in Bulgaria. Dr. Upvall developed and coordinated the first local Bachelor’s degree program for Navajo and Hopi American Indian students in Ganado, Arizona. She then traveled to the Aga Khan University School of Nursing in Karachi, Pakistan where she was the Director of the BSN and RN to BSN programs. While in Pakistan, she facilitated the development of the first Masters of Nursing program in the country. Currently, she is a Project Director for Health Volunteers Overseas and Chair of the Nursing Education Steering Committee. She is also a member of the American Academy of Nursing and the New York Academy of Medicine. At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, she is appointed at the level of Professor.

---

Tracey McConnell

Lecturer

Dr Tracey McConnell is a Lecturer in Chronic Illness and Palliative Care in the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen’s University Belfast. She is also an Honorary Marie Curie Senior Research Fellow. She has been using realist approaches and mixed method research for over 10 years across mental health, palliative care and music therapy research. She currently leads a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) funded multi-site UK wide realist evaluation on how to embed, scale and sustain integration of palliative care into heart failure management. Tracey has supervised MSc and PhD students using a realist approach to make sense of complex health and social care interventions for which understanding context and human agency are vital. At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, she is appointed at the level of Lecturer.

---

Olinda Santin

Professor

Prof. Olinda Santin is a professor of Health and Social Care in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Queen’s University Belfast, UK. Prof Santin obtained a BSc Psychology, MSc Health Psychology and PhD in Epidemiology and Public Health. As a academic her teaching focuses in the area of psychology and public health.

Her research centres on psychosocial oncology and supportive care for cancer patients and their families. Since 2018, she has been leading a programme of research to support families affected by cancer in Vietnam, alongside international projects co-designing digital resources and interventions for informal caregivers. At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, she is appointed at the level of Professor.

---

Thuy Phuong Nguyen

Senior Lecturer

Dr. Thuy Phuong Nguyen is a senior epidemiologist at the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS) and an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney, Children’s Hospital Westmead Clinical School, Australia. At NCIRS, she supports national vaccine safety programs through data analysis, reporting, and research to inform immunisation policy, strengthen surveillance systems, and enhance vaccine confidence.

She has over 15 years of experience across infectious disease surveillance, vaccine safety, and health services research, spanning both Vietnam and Australia, and including consultancy work with the World Health Organization and other international public health partners. Her work focuses on translational research that informs policy and strengthens healthcare systems.

Her expertise includes applied epidemiology, biostatistics, mixed methods research, health surveillance, and the monitoring and evaluation of health programs.

She holds a Master of Public Health from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and a PhD in Medical Studies from the University of Tasmania, Australia.

At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, she is appointed at the level of Senior Lecturer.

---

Eric Finkelstein, PhD, MHA

Professor

Dr. Finkelstein is Professor of Economics at the Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore and the Executive Director of the Lien Centre for Palliative Care. His research focuses on the economic causes and consequences of health behaviors. A major focus are studies to better understand the complicated decisions that revolve around end-of-life care. He has published over 300 manuscripts and 2 books in these areas. Based on google scholar, he has an h-index of 83 and his publications have been cited over 125,000 times, including in the landmark Supreme Court decision upholding the U.S. Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare). He was included in the list of the World’s Most Highly Cited Researchers in 2015, 2016 and 2017 by Thomson Reuters and Clarivate Analytics and among the Top 2% of scientists worldwide in a study by Stanford University in 2021 and 2025.

At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, he is appointed at the level of Professor.

---

Biljana Horn

Professor

Biljana Novakovic Horn, MD, MPH is an Emeritus Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Florida and an internationally recognized pediatric hematologist‑oncologist and transplantation physician‑scientist. Over more than three decades, she has held academic leadership roles at the University of California San Francisco and the University of Florida, directing pediatric bone marrow transplant and cellular therapy programs while mentoring fellows, residents, and junior faculty in clinical research and patient‑centered care.

Dr. Horn’s academic work focuses on hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, rare pediatric diseases, cellular therapies, and pharmacology‑guided clinical trial design. She has served as principal investigator and collaborator on multicenter clinical trials and has authored more than 100 peer‑reviewed publications in transplantation, oncology, neuro‑oncology, and immune disorders.

Throughout her career she has been committed to academic mentorship, guiding trainees and early‑career investigators in research methodology, clinical trial development, and scientific communication. She has also contributed to international professional societies and collaborative research networks in pediatric hematology and transplantation.

As an affiliate faculty member, Dr. Horn aims to support development of academic medicine programs, mentor young physicians and scientists, and foster international collaborations that improve care for children with complex hematologic oncologic and immune diseases. At the Global Faculty Affiliates Program of College of Health Sciences, she is appointed at the level of Professor.