The Summer Institute in Global Health is led by senior faculty from Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Ferkauf School of Psychology of Yeshiva University, as well as BITS-Pilani.
Sonia Suchday
Dr. Sonia Suchday is the Associate Director of the Center for Public Health Sciences at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She directs Global Health activities at the Center and has created multiple educational and research partnerships in diverse countries such as India and Israel. She also directs the Clinical Psychology (Health Emphasis) Ph.D. program at the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology/Yeshiva University.
Her research for the past 10 years has been on biopsychosocial perspectives on health, global and interdisciplinary. From her early perspectives on cardiovascular reactivity to stress she has explored a variety of individual influences on health, e.g., anger, forgiveness, rumination, and spirituality and contextual influences on health, e.g., socioeconomic status, acculturation, immigration, and globalization. Outcomes in her research have spanned various markers of cardiovascular risk including cardiovascular reactivity, metabolic syndrome, and health habits.
Adebola Adedimeji
Adebola Adedimeji has a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria and a Masters in Public Health (Developing Countries) degree from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom. He joined the Center for Public Health Sciences faculty as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Population Health at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and in the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology. Before joining the Center, he held positions as Lecturer in Global Health and Director of the MSc in Global Health at Trinity College University of Dublin, Ireland and as Takemi Fellow in the Department of Population and Global Health, Harvard School of Public Health.
Research
Dr. Adedimeji has over 18 years of research experience in social and behavioral aspects of health among vulnerable population groups, especially migrants, women and young people in low income countries. As part of his current research activities, he is leading a research team to explore and develop holistic interventions for addressing health and development in slum communities across 5 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and part of a multidisciplinary group addressing cancer issues in Nigeria. His other interests are in operations research, project design and implementation and program evaluation.
Center for Public Health Sciences Teaching Activities
- Study Design for Applied Public Health Research (PUB 7110)
- Field Methods for Applied Public Health Research (PUB 7120)
- Globalization and Health (PUB 7000)
Suman Kapur
Dr. Suman Kapur joined BITS-Pilani as Professor in the Center for Biotechnology, Biological Sciences Group. She received her Ph.D. in Medical Biochemistry from AIIMS, New Delhi and has orchestrated many student exchange programs and fellowships as the Chief of Community Welfare and International Relations. She has been instrumental in conducting several new courses, and has developed a curriculum for a new Master of Public Health, incorporating learning through field visits and interdisciplinary learning. Her research interests lie in identifying biomarkers for unraveling the genetic basis of human psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia, depression and addiction. She has published more than 80 research articles in international journals and delivered 150 talks and presentations for invited lectures. She has taken charge as Dean, Research and Consultancy at the Hyderabad campus of BITS.