Topics: Cancer, Otolaryngology, Public Health, Surgery

Countries: Ethiopia, Guatemala, Kenya, U.S.

Ryan H. Belcher, M.D. M.P.H. is originally from Walnut Ridge, AR. He received his undergraduate degree in biology from the University of Arkansas and his medical degree at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, where he was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha honor medical society. He then completed his otolaryngology-head and neck surgery residency at Emory University with global health honors. During his residency, he participated in a year-long Global Health Scholars Program that included spending a month in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, working alongside and teaching their otolaryngology staff and residents. He then completed his pediatric otolaryngology fellowship at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt and subsequently joined the faculty as an assistant professor. Due to his passion for global surgery he obtained a Master's in Public Health from the Vanderbilt School of Medicine with an emphasis in global health graduating in 2021.

Dr. Belcher helped develop and is the Surgical Co-Director of the Vanderbilt Pediatric Thyroid Nodule and Cancer Program as well as a member of the Vanderbilt Cleft and Craniofacial team. His clinical interests are pediatric thyroids, head and neck masses, craniofacial syndromes including cleft lip and palate, velopharyngeal dysfunction and speech outcomes, mandibular distraction, and global health related endeavors. He has published several book chapters and over 40 peer-reviewed journal articles in these clinical areas. His passion for global health has led to performing surgery internationally for cleft lip and palate among other craniofacial syndromes in Ethiopia, Kenya, Cameroon, Philippines, Guatemala and Mexico. In 2021, Dr. Belcher was named by Nashville Business Journal to their annual 40 under 40 for young professionals in Nashville, TN who are making a difference in their business and community. He has served as a Senator for the Vanderbilt University Faculty Senate, representing the Vanderbilt School of Medicine and is a Next Generation Board Member for a local healthcare non-profit, Siloam Health, which provides medical care to the local refugee and uninsured of central Tennessee

Publications Link

Countries: Ghana, Mozambique

Topics: Emergency Medicine, Global Health Systems/Delivery,  Implementation Science, Medical Education, Public Health, Substance Abuse

Anisa Mughal is an assistant professor within the Department of Emergency Medicine and core faculty at the Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health. Dr. Mughal is originally from Salt Lake City, Utah. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh. During medical school, she received grant funding to study trauma patients in Cuenca, Ecuador. She was later selected as a Doris Duke International Clinical Research Fellow to study common mental health disorder prevalence in patients on methadone maintenance therapy who test positive for HIV in Hanoi, Vietnam. During residency at Maricopa, Dr. Mughal became interested in implementation science and worked with the World Health Organization to implement a trauma registry at the provincial hospital in Maputo, Mozambique. She serves as a reviewer for Annals of Emergency Medicine and was selected as a Top Overall Reviewer during her first year of review. Her current research emphasis focuses on non-communicable diseases and burden of health in low and middle income countries.

Publications Link

Topics: Clinical Trials Community Health Mental Health Mobile Health Neurology Sleep Medicine

Country: Nigeria

Pubs Link

My professional activities (clinical, scholarly, and administrative efforts) have centered around the practice and promotion of sleep medicine. I am collaborating with a multi-specialty group in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital in Kano, Nigeria to establish the first sleep medicine program in Nigeria’s largest and second most populous state. In addition to promoting sleep medicine regionally and globally, I maintain a busy clinical practice in sleep medicine and serve as the Medical Director for three sleep labs. I participate in research and teaching activities focused on the emerging field of occupational sleep medicine. This field aims to understand and mitigate the adverse health and safety risks associated with shift work. I served on the U.S. Coast Guard Medical Advisory Committee for a 5-year term. I served as a member of the Public Safety Committee of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine for three years.  I am currently serving on Defense Health Board's Neurological/Behavioral Health Subcommittee and continue to advocate for sleep health and occupational safety.

Topic: Cancer

Country: Ethiopia

Eden Biltibo, MD, MS is a Hematology/Oncology clinical fellow at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She is passionate about developing strategies to bridge health care disparities in Multiple Myeloma care. She particularly focuses on the equitable utilization of immunotherapeutics in Multiple Myeloma and improving racial diversity of clinical trial participants in the same field.

Dr. Biltibo firsthand experienced health care disparities during her time in medical school in Ethiopia, as well her residency at Meharry Medical College. She decided to pursue her fellowship in Hematology/Oncology after realizing the disproportionately widening care gap in this field. Dr. Biltibo completed a Master's in Clinical and Translational Science at the Medical College of Wisconsin. She is a post-doctoral fellow at Vanderbilt Integrated Molecular Oncology Research program. She is a recipient of the 2022 the American Society of Hematology Minority Hematology Award and the Robert A. Winn Diversity in Clinical Trials career development award.

Dr. Biltibo is an astute clinician who is committed to providing unparalleled care. She received recognition from her residency program and the Veterans Affairs Hospital during her residency and chief residency for her excellent clinical service. She has accepted a faculty position at Vanderbilt University Medical Center to continue her clinical and academic endeavors as an Assistant Professor. 

Publications Link

Topics: Genetics, Maternal and Child Health, Obstetrics and Gynecology

Countries: Brazil, Nigeria, Vietnam

Dr. Digna Velez Edwards is a genetic epidemiologist, Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Biomedical Informatics, Director of the Division of Quantitative Sciences in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Director of Women's Health Research Center, Investigator of the Vanderbilt Genetics Institute, and a member of the Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center. She has doctoral training in human genetics and has a master's degree in statistics. She started as faculty in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in 2010, pursuing research focused on understanding the genetic determinants of racial disparities and the role of gene and environment interactions in the risk for complex diseases, with a specific interest in fibroproliferative disorders that include uterine fibroids and keloids and diseases that disproportionately impact women's reproductive health. 

Topics: Anthropology, Community Health, Education and Training (Capacity Building), Global Health Diplomacy, Global Health Policy, Global Health Systems/Delivery, Global Water Supply and Safety, Implementation Science, Infectious Diseases, Neglected Tropical Diseases, Public Health, Refugee and Immigrant Health, Traditional Medicine, Misinformation, Public Health Communication, Risk Communication, Practitioner-patient Communication

Countries: Guatemala

With training in medical and linguistic anthropology, Dr. Harvey’s research and interests focus on expanding scientific partnerships, developing innovative technologies, and building local capacities to collaboratively tackle large-scale global public health and environmental challenges that emerge at the critical intersection of vulnerable populations, health disparities, disease, risk, environmental degradation, water, sanitation, and infrastructure.  The evolution of this trans-disciplinary approach is the product of over a decade of funded collaborative research, capacity-building work, and global engagement on a wide range of topics that include but are not limited to cross-cultural doctor-patient communication, language, and culture in global public health, waterborne diseases, enteric illnesses, disaster prevention, and relief, neighborhood approaches to risk reduction, crisis management, sustainability, resilience, and environmental protection.