Alexandra “AJ” Mata, MD

Dr. AJ Mata’s interest in global health and equity began while obtaining her undergraduate degree in Anthropology and Biology at The Ohio State University. This led her to put her plans for medical school on hold to join the United States Peace Corps, where she served in Antaretra, Madagascar as a Community Health Volunteer. She then transitioned to a position in Madagascar’s capital, Antananarivo, as the Malaria Technical Officer for USAID|Deliver Project through the U.S. Peace Corps Response program. There, she worked on the supply chain management of antimalarial commodities, including a national long-lasting insecticide-treated net (LLIN) distribution campaign. 

After 3.5 years in Madagascar, she returned stateside and completed a dual MD/MPH program at the University of Miami, during which she focused her attention on serving some of the diverse communities of south Florida. OBGYN Residency at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) brought her the first opportunity to work clinically in Kenya while she completed a 1-month elective at Kijabe Mission Hospital. She then moved abroad again for a fellowship in Global Women’s Health and Equity at the University of Toronto. She spent the first year in Toronto, where she provided care for Ontario’s diverse populations, with services primarily focused on First Nation, refugee, immigrant, and persons who use substances. Her second year brought her back to Kenya, where she served as the AMPATH (Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare) Reproductive Health Team Lead at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH). Now that she has returned to VUMC as Global Women’s Health Faculty, she plans to continue partnerships with Kijabe Mission Hospital and MTRH with a focus on medical education and capacity building for minimal access surgery.