People

Michaela is a PhD candidate in Sociology at McGill University. She joined McGill as an MSc Epidemiology student in Fall 2019. She holds another MSc degree in Comparative Social Policy from The University of Oxford and a Ba (Hons) in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from The University of Manchester. Her research interests include social epidemiology, evaluation of health systems, health inequalities and family health policy.

Dr. Kohzadi earned her doctorate in Human Nutrition, with a specific focus on Maternal and Fetal Health from McGill University, Canada. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Midwifery and her Master of Science in Anatomical Sciences and Embryology in Iran. She is a recipient of Fonds de recherche du Québec–Santé (FRQS scholarship), Margaret McNamara Education Grants (MMEG) and Graduate Excellence Fellowship. Her background as a midwife, combined with substantial research experience in Prenatal Health Science and dedication to addressing the unique healthcare needs of underserved populations equips her with a comprehensive and compassionate understanding of maternal and child health, helping her to assist in the pursuit of improved healthcare outcomes for vulnerable groups.

I am a registered dietitian with formal training in public health. I have spent the past 23+ years working in the public health prevention field, which has included working with a Tribal Nation (Ho-Chunk Nation) and at the state-level with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services’ Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity Program. I have experience in treating overweight and obesity in children and adolescents. Additionally, I have extensive experience in designing, implementing, and evaluating public health interventions to prevent obesity and food insecurity, especially in food systems and nutrition in the early childhood, school, and community settings. These efforts focus on policy, systems, and environmental changes that impact health and well-being.

I also co-founded the healthTIDE Network, which encompasses multi-sectoral partnerships to support healthier communities throughout Wisconsin. This network has over 3,000 partners from around Wisconsin that are working towards policy, systems, and environmental changes to support health and well-being. Most recently, at the School of Human Ecology, I have had several opportunities to work with research faculty, state agencies, and communities on multiple projects that support child health and well-being through systems change.

Dr. Frania Mendoza Lua is a Postdoctoral Trainee in the Health Disparities Research Program at the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Department of Population Health Sciences. Her research examines how exclusionary immigration policy, legal status stratification, and social welfare systems shapes health, wellbeing, and sexual and reproductive health inequities among immigrant families and children of immigrants in the United States.

Prior to academia, Dr. Mendoza Lua worked as a social worker and immigrant rights youth organizer, experiences that continue to inform her community-engaged, policy-relevant scholarship. She holds a PhD from the University of Chicago, an MSW from the University of Michigan, and dual B.A.s in Political Science and Anthropology from UCLA, where she was a Ronald E. McNair Research Scholar.

Dr. Marwa Ramadan holds a PhD in International Health Systems and a Master of Health Sciences in Environmental Health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She completed her MD at Alexandria Faculty of Medicine. Her research is devoted to understanding health disparities, particularly among disadvantaged populations. Her PhD thesis explored healthcare disparities in fragile states. At McGill University, Dr. Ramadan examines the effects of premigration conflict on perinatal outcomes among immigrants in Canada and investigates perinatal depression among the indigenous population. She has also contributed as an Analytics Consultant at the World Bank Group, focusing on Primary Healthcare systems across various countries. In her role at the Centre for Humanitarian Health at Johns Hopkins, she served as epidemiologist and research analyst in several projects. Furthermore, Dr. Ramadan imparts her knowledge as a Senior Lecturer at Alexandria Faculty of Medicine, where she develops and delivers courses in Community Medicine.