

Health Studies Welcomes New Faculty Member
Dr. Nigel James earned a dual title PhD in Health Policy and Administration and Demography from The Penn State University and an MPH from Thammesat University (Thailand). He previously worked for the UN Joint Program on HIV/AIDS, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the Department of Health in Zimbabwe. He will be teaching HS 101 Global Health in the fall and a new course HS 341 Comparative Health Systems in the spring. His research utilizes econometric and spatial analytical models to evaluate and address global health issues.Accomplishments
Kathryn Jacobsen, William E. Cooper Distinguished University Chair and professor of health studies was promoted to Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Principal Collaborator at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. The position is the highest tier within the GBD Collaborator Network.
Courtney Blondino, assistant professor of health studies, published "Latent Structure of Past 12-Month Tobacco Use in Wave 6 of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health: Examining for Differential Substructure by Generational Status" in Substance Use and Misuse with students, Fernanda Moya Quezada, ’26, and Caitlyn Hall, ’26.
Kathryn Jacobsen, William E. Cooper Distinguished University Chair and professor of health studies published “Global, regional, and national age-sex-specific burden of diarrhoeal diseases, their risk factors, and aetiologies, 1990–2021, for 204 countries and territories: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021” in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.
Rick Mayes, professor of health policy, presented “Social and Environmental Drivers of Health” for Shenandoah University’s Physician Assistant Program.
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Contact Us
Mailing address:
Department of Health Studies
Richmond Hall, Suite G21
114 UR Drive
Richmond, VA 23173
Phone: (804) 662-3034
Department Chair: Dr. Rick Mayes
Academic Administrative Coordinator: Stephanie Fillman