Meet the Impact Scholars

HaEun Lee

HaEun Lee joined our inaugural cohort of Impact Scholars after completing her PhD at the University of Michigan School of Nursing, where her research focused on the efficacy of microfinancing programs in enabling access to healthcare services for pregnant women. As an Impact Scholar, Lee is engaged in efforts with rural communities in Uganda to improve governance and accountability for healthcare services and to better understand how microfinance participation influences women's household decision making, empowerment, and health. Her interdisciplinary mentorship team includes experts in health economics (Elisa Maffioli, School of Public Health), women’s and neonatal child health (Cheryl Moyer, Michigan Medicine), and health system strengthening related to midwifery and women’s health (Jody Lori, School of Nursing).

“Being an Impact Scholar with the Center allows me to dream about creative interventions and have the support to turn those possibilities into realities that improve the health of communities.”
 —HaEun Lee, PhD

Uttam Sharma

"This program is an unusual opportunity to learn from other scholars’ expertise and experience not only in methodological matters but in figuring out how to better support the translation of research findings into policy and practice."

Read more about Sharma in Investing in People through Health and Education.

Uttam Sharma, Impact Scholar, Center for Global Health Equity, University of Michigan and Nepal

Sharma at the North Campus Research Complex meeting with Center staff and student research interns for a global health equity training session.

Heather Tucker

"It can be challenging to navigate the pressure to publish when, as a feminist academic, I prefer to produce research that is useful not only in academia but for communities and policymaking. The Impact Scholars program allows me to focus on impact as my objective, which may include research publications but isn't necessarily dependent on them."

Read more about Tucker in Bridging the Gap between Evidence and Policy.

Heather Tucker with Anita Mbanda and Rebecca Odhiambo, Western Kenya LBQT Feminist Forum and University of Michigan

Heather Tucker (left) with Western Kenya LBQT Feminist Forum staff Anita Mbanda and Rebecca Odhiambo.

Past Impact Scholars

Leon Espira

“My time with the Center has turned everything on its head, helping me understand more fully how my research can change human lives.”
 —Leon Espira, PhD

Read more about Espira in Learning the Many Languages of Global Public Health.

Following his Impact Scholar appointment, Espira went on to join Gradient Environmental and Risk Sciences Consulting firm in Seattle, Washington.

Abraham Espira Leon Espira in Kakamega Kenya

Espira (right) in Kakamega, Kenya, with his father, Dr. Abraham Espira, founder and director of Kakamega's Nala Community Hospital, a key provider of obstetric and gynecological services in Kakamega County.

Ryan Rego

As an Impact Scholar, Rego worked with colleagues to study the impact of data science on health equity and to better understand drivers of vaccine hesitancy globally, with a focus on displaced populations in Bangladesh and Kenya. His mentorship team included experts in data science solutions in low-resource settings (Akbar Waljee, Michigan Medicine), health disparities in vaccine preventable diseases (Matthew Boulton, School of Public Health), health behavior (Amina Abubakar, Aga Khan University), and health emergencies (Sirajul Islam, International Center for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh).

“What makes this program truly unique is how it encourages us to conduct research that pursues impact and to focus on independent scholarship rather than following traditional approaches to research and scholarly publishing.”
 —Ryan Rego, PhD

Following his Impact Scholar appointment, Rego went on to join Social Impact as a research manager, supporting global development organizations and programs to be more effective at improving people’s lives.