Melissa Carvalho
Melissa Carvalho, MPH, is a global health researcher from Senegal. In 2016, she received her MPH in Chronic Disease Epidemiology from the Yale School of Public Health. For her master’s thesis, Melissa conducted fieldwork in rural Malawi, exploring factors associated with the acceptability and service utilization of cervical cancer screening. After graduate school, she spent five years working as a Global Surgery Program Manager for the UCSF and UCLA Departments of Surgery. In this capacity, she managed a diverse research portfolio of epidemiological and clinical studies, primarily focused on strengthening surgical systems and characterizing the unmet surgical disease burden in Sub-Saharan Africa. Melissa has helped develop hospital-based injury surveillance systems in Cameroon and Uganda and implement NIH-funded projects building capacity for trauma QI and mHealth follow-up after hospital discharge. Her research interests lie in cancer care equity and optimizing global cancer care delivery systems using implementation science methods and approaches.
Sammer Elsayed
Sammer Elsayed, MPH, is a global specialist in anticorruption and governance in health with seven years’ experience working with institutions including WHO, UNDP and the Global Fund. Sammer is the co-author of several frameworks including the conceptual corruption risk management at the sectoral level, policy-makers guide for accountability in health and the decision-making model for private sector engagement in healthcare. Since 2014, she has worked with 22 Middle Eastern and African countries to build resilient and accountable healthcare institutions through a participatory approach that involved all health actors. Sammer was also part of the team for Cairo University Hospitals that developed the proposal awarded funding of 120 million USD in an agreement with the Saudi Fund for Development. She is interested in studying the impact of corruption on access to essential medicines, including COVID-19 vaccines. Sammer is pharmacist and holds an MPH from the University of Glasgow.
Alexander Marr
Alexander Marr holds an MPH in epidemiology from Tulane University School of Tropical Medicine and a BA in biology from Boston University. In addition, he completed a fellowship with the California Epidemiologic Investigative Service. His background has been primarily in STD and HIV surveillance in sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean, completing over 12 bio-behavioral health surveys from South Africa to Jamaica. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, he has redirected focus to work on creating healthy and safe communities in California. Starting with leading contact tracing teams in San Francisco, he has since served as the founder and technical director for the outbreak management training utilized by the state of California for all 61 local health jurisdictions. He is a proud Returned Peace Corps volunteer from Botswana, 2009-2011.
Ashley Mitchell
Ashley Mitchell, MPH (she/her), is a public health educator, practitioner, and researcher who earned a master’s degree from the University of Minnesota (UMN). Her most recent opportunities involved developing and teaching public health courses at UMN as well as collaborating with displaced and migrant communities to reduce health disparities in Minnesota at WellShare International. Grateful for experiences across academic institutions, government agencies, community health centers, and nonprofits in the United States, Sierra Leone, and Ethiopia, Ashley plans to remain at the intersections of academia, community partnership, and research. She desires to engage in inquiry and praxis that advances health equity and agency—particularly among people with the capacity for pregnancy. Drawing inspiration from intersectional feminism and decolonization, Ashley’s primary research interests include global reproductive health, wellness, and justice.