Faculty

Marie-Claude Couture, associate professor, health professions department chair, and epidemiologist, has more than fifteen years of experience leading public health studies in national and international settings, including Haiti, Cambodia, Ghana, Thailand, and the Ivory Coast. She built a solid academic background in epidemiology and public health with research interests in substance use, infectious diseases, vaccination, victimization and violence, and social determinants of health in diverse...

As a health demographer, Dr. Chyu studies how social factors and chronic stressors are embodied physiologically and shape women’s health over the life course. Her research examines the dynamic interplay of biological and social processes to better understand how chronic stress impacts health and aging trajectories. She is also interested in the effects of positive and adverse childhood experiences on physical and mental health later in life.

Dr. Callahan is a Professor at the University of San Francisco, with a joint appointment from the USF School of Management and the USF School of Nursing and Health Professions.

Callahan is Co-Director of the USF Master of Public Health Program in Sacramento and the Director of the Health Services Administration concentration in the Master of Public Administration in the School of Management. His health and human services consulting contracts have been in the states of California, Washington...

Dory Magasis Escobar, PhD has worked in community organizing, coalition building, and grassroots leadership development for decades in Northern California and Central America.  She was Director of Healthy Communities and Community Building at a regional health system for 13 years; where she also oversaw the organization’s Community Benefit planning and reporting. Prior to that time, Dory worked for 11 years in Central America in community mental health, community-based rehabilitation, community...

Alice Fiddian-Green (she, her, hers) is an Assistant Professor of Public Health in the School of Nursing and Health Professions. Alice is a community-engaged researcher that uses public health storytelling methods (digital storytelling, 'zines, and photovoice) to research the social and structural determinants of substance use and treatment. Her current focus is on opioid use and treatment among pregnant people and adolescents. Her goal is to use storytelling methods to counter harmful...

Courtney Keeler is a health economist. She has been teaching at USF's Master in Public Health programs since August 2011. Her research surrounds topics related to adolescent health, mental health, and smoking prevention and control. In her teaching, she works to meet students where they are in hope of creating a classroom climate where individuals feel well-equipped to tackle the subject matter covered in the course.

Dr. Kelly L’Engle, associate professor and director of the MPH-Behavioral Health concentration, is a social and behavioral health scientist with 25 years experience in research and program development in the health sector.

She joined the faculty of the Population Health Sciences Department in the School of Nursing and Health Professions at the University of San Francisco in August 2015. She has served as department chair and program director and teaches classes in program planning and...

As a tenured Professor, Dr. Nosek teaches the maternity and epidemiology courses for the MSN program, and health behavior theory and communication, maternal child health elective, and applied practice experience courses for the MPH program. Previously, she has taught cultural & linguistic preparation for healthcare, nursing research, introduction to public health, and immersion courses to Colombia and Cuba.

Her research involves both quantitative and qualitative methodologies spanning broadly...

Dr. Vian is a public health scholar and academic leader whose work is guided by the belief that all people have the right to access quality health care without having to experience financial hardship. She is dedicated to practice-based teaching and the development of emerging public health leaders eager to work with communities to address the underlying social determinants of health. Through her research and scholarly work, she has furthered efforts to control corruption in the health sector...

Monica De La Cruz, MPH is an adjunct faculty in the Master's in Public Health program. Also currently a PhD student at the UC Berkeley School of Social Welfare, Monica received a master’s in public health from the University of San Francisco. After receiving her MPH, Monica worked at the Stanford School of Medicine in partnership with pediatricians, pediatric residents, medical students, and other medical providers examining the impact of local interventions on addressing basic needs insecurity...

Emebet Aklilu ‘19 is an alum of USF and a Southern California native. She has worked in higher education and now works at Stanford Health Care. As a student at USF, she researched the use of Restorative Justice in care settings and co-facilitated a Race and Policing seminar in partnership with the University's Progressive Policing Community Advisory Board.

Emebet joined as adjunct faculty in 2021, teaching graduate MPH students in their ILEX course, and will be teaching this Spring. Emebet is...

Adjunct Professor Lisa Catanzaro is a public health researcher with expertise in the planning of innovative initiatives supported with technology. Her focus is in the areas of health policy, prevention, and population health informatics, and her scholarship focuses on environmental, lifestyle, and psychosocial health determinants that influence the rising levels of non-communicable disease. In 2012, Lisa was the recipient of grant funding from the US Department of Health and Human Services for...

Dr. Zahra Goliaei earned her medical doctorate in Iran and, after moving to the United States, earned her Master of Public Health (MPH) degree here at the University of San Francisco as one of the beginning cohorts. After finishing her doctoral degree, she is currently focusing her research work on refugee health, especially women's reproductive health literacy and autonomy.

Adjunct Professor Trina Gonzalez is vice president for policy at the California Hospital Association, where she is responsible for managed care and reimbursement, telehealth, community benefits, and other issues for the association. Prior to her current position, she was director of community integration at UC Davis Health, where she was responsible for developing and implementing strategies that ensure the continuity of care for families and individuals with Medi-Cal and for underserved...

Dr. Lee-Nah Hsu, upon returning to the United States in 2016, is an adjunct faculty at the School’s Public Health Program. Prior to joining the University, she worked with the United Nations on developing health and social policies and programs in Africa, Asia, Americas and Europe. She combines her global health, legal and epidemiology expertise to promote transdisciplinary solutions in addressing the challenges of planetary health. In addition to doctoral degrees in Juris Prudence, and in...

Dr. William Hua is an adjunct professor and teaches for the MPH and PsyD programs; his courses include a focus on integrated behavioral health, integrated care, and psychotherapy. He is a clinical health psychologist with the San Francisco VA health care system and has a strong emphasis on work with diverse and stigmatized populations and is dedicated to providing culturally humble care and treatment.

Dr. Hua received his PhD in Clinical Health Psychology & Behavioral Medicine at the...

Michael P. Huynh, MPH is a PhD candidate in Public Health at UC Irvine. His research interests broadly encompass social determinants of mental and physical health conditions among ethnic and immigrant groups. Specifically, he aims to study interpersonal relationships as a determinant of health using methods and theories grounded in social epidemiology and social psychology. In his doctoral research, he is examining the implications of friend support on the mental health of Asian American...

Wyatt Lim-Tepper is the President and Founder of A Curiae, a 501c3 non-profit organization based in San Francisco. He has extensive experience working with the reentry population, collaborative courts, and program implementation, having overseen the Reentry Court and the Conviction Alternatives Program in the Northern District of California. He has presented for various courts, national conferences, and judicial events. Wyatt has a passion for working at the intersection of criminal justice...

Wendy has over 20 years of healthcare experience, with strategic and operational consulting, performance improvement, and project leadership expertise across the provider industry.

Dr. McDermott is an Assistant Professor in the Population Health Sciences Department. She received a BA in Religious Studies from Virginia Commonwealth University, an MA in Health Policy and Bioethics from George Washington University and a PhD in Health Services Research from University of Washington. Dr. McDermott also completed postdoctoral training in Integrative Medicine Research at the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, University of California, San Francisco. Dr. McDermott has worked...