COLUMBIA
UNIVERSITY
HEILBRUNN CENTER - MAILMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
(TEXT ONLY VERSION)
TEAM BIOS
• Martha De la Fuente, MD, MPH
• Sourou Gbangbade, MD, MPH, PhD
• Barbara Elise Kwast, MTD, McommH, PhD
• Lucille Pilling de Lucena, RN, MPH
• Dileep V. Mavalankar, MD, DrPH
Patricia E. Bailey, PhD
MCH/FP Evaluation Specialist, Family Health InternationalDr. Bailey has worked at FHI in a research capacity for 19 years. She received her doctorate in Maternal and Child Health in 1991 for her work on the relationship between young maternal age and infant mortality and child morbidity. Much of her work has focused on programmatic evaluation in the areas of maternal health, adolescents and HIV prevention. She is experienced in both quantitative and qualitative research methods, having provided technical assistance on study design, sampling, questionnaire development, data management systems and analysis, using both complex statistical techniques and text analysis.
Between 1993-98, she participated in the Women's Studies Project (WSP) where she collaborated on a manual for reproductive health providers in Bolivia to incorporate a gender perspective into services. Also for the WSP, she set up a prospective study of adolescents in Brazil to determine the impact of abortion or motherhood on educational status, self-esteem, and family relationships.
For the last eight years, she has focused on programs to reduce maternal mortality, working in Guatemala and Honduras with MotherCare and the Maternal and Neonatal Project and working more recently in Mozambique, Nicaragua and Peru on the Averting Maternal Deaths and Disability Program (AMDD) at Columbia University. The AMDD Program addresses the improvement of the delivery of emergency obstetric care (EmOC) by focusing on 1) the clinical management of major obstetric complications according to evidence-based protocols and standards, 2) health facility management (supervision, team-building, MIS systems, supply and drug logistics, quality improvement process, etc.) and 3) human rights. She collaborated on a manual to improve EmOC through criterion-based audit designed to audit clinical treatment of complications, management issues and human rights in a clinical setting. She has also played a strong role in the use of the United Nations process indicators as a tool for monitoring availability, utilization and quality of EmOC.
She is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese.
Judith A. Fortney, PhD.
Corporate Director for Scientific Affairs/Epidemiologist, Family Health InternationalJudith Fortney, PhD, is a recognized leader in the field of maternal health who has served as advisor and consultant to the World Health Organization, the World Bank, the United Nations Population Fund, the Asian Development Bank and the United Kingdom's Department for International Development. She has worked mainly in Asia and Africa. Dr. Fortney has published more than 90 scientific papers on reproductive health and is a fellow of the American College of Epidemiologists. She is on the faculties of the University of North Carolina and Columbia University.
Lynn P. Freedman, JD, MPH
Associate Professor, Clinical Public Health and Director, Law and Policy Project, Columbia UniversityMs. Freedman is a senior advisor on human rights with AMDD. After receiving her JD from Harvard School of Law, she worked as an attorney at Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler in New York. She then received an MPH from Columbia School of Public Health in 1990. From 1990 to 1996 she worked as an Assistant Professor of Clinical Public Health and director of the Reproductive Rights Project in the Development Law and Policy Program at the Center for Population and Family Health at the Columbia School of Public Health. In 1997 she was appointed Associate Professor of Clinical Public Health and Director of the Law and Policy Project. She has published articles and given many conference papers and presentations on human rights and women's health, reproductive rights, population policy, health activism, and maternal mortality.
Martha De la Fuente, MD, MPH
Associate Research Scientist, AMDD ProgramDr. De la Fuente is an Associate Research Scientist with AMDD with experience in epidemiology, health planning and prevention. After receiving her MD from Cordoba University, Argentina, Dr. De la Fuente worked there as a physician and specialist in respiratory care from 1968 to 1976. She also took special courses on tuberculosis and epidemiology. In 1978 she received a MPH from the Mexican School of Public Health, State University, Mexico City. From 1976 to 1981 she worked in Mexico as the Chief Officer of Epidemiology for the Secretariat of Health and Social Assistance (SSA) for Sinaloa State. From 1979 to 1982 she was the Community Clinical Coordinator and from 1980 to 1987 Professor of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine at the Medicine School of the University of Sinaloa State. She also developed and produced a weekly radio phone-in program on sexual education, founded a women's group that brought together grassroots, academic, and union women. In 1988 she joined the Coordination Office of Women's Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR) in Amsterdam and in 1994 became its Coordinator. In 1999 she was a Visiting Scholar in Hampshire College in Amherst, MA. She has written and presented papers as a medical doctor. She has written and organized national, regional and international conferences on women's and reproductive rights.
In 1982, Dr. Gbangbade received his MD from Universite Nationale du Benin in Cotonou, Benin. He became district medical officer of the District Health Center of Houeyogbe in 1983 and later of the District Hospital of Savalou in 1985. He provided clinical care to patients, and at the same time administrated the district health centers and the peripheral health centers. In 1986, Dr. Gbangbade assumed the role of deputy director for the Pohou Primary Health Care Project, Benin. In 1989, he received his MPH from John Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health. Subsequently, Dr. Gbangbade became the deputy director of the Regional Center for Development and Health (CREDESA) in Benin, where he conducted health system research and was responsible for the overall planning and management of the institution. In 2000, Dr. Gbangbade received his PhD from Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health. His dissertation focused on the quality of emergency obstetric care at the referral hospital level in Benin. He developed a model for assessing the quality of EmOC at the referral hospital. He also developed standards of EmOC and conducted needs assessment of quality of EmOC at the referral hospital level in Benin. Over the years, Dr. Gbangbade has served as consultant to numerous organizations, including JHPIEGO, MACRO International Inc., USAID Benin, John Snow Inc., IPPF, and UNICEF.
Zafar Ullah Gill, MBBS, MPH
Associate Research Scientist, AMDD ProgramDr. Gill has more than 30 years of experience in conceptualizing, managing, and leading health and population programs, including the management of hospitals. He received a MBBS from Nishter Medical College in Multan, Pakistan (1971) and a MPH from both Columbia University (1978) and San Diego State University (1984). In 1978 Dr. Gill started the Rural Health Care Project, the first Primary Health Care program in Pakistan, which also included environmental sanitation and eye-screening/surgical camps. He served as its director until 1991. From 1985 to 1991 he was the medical superintendent of the Memorial Christian Hospital in Sialkot,Pakistan. From 1987 to 1991 he served as the director of Surgical Contraception Services for three hospitals in Pakistan. In 1990 he worked as a WHO Medical Officer for the Government of Bangladesh. From 1992 to 1993 he was director of the Memorial Christian Hospital in Sialkot. From 1993 to 1999 he served as a Reproductive Health Adviser for the UNFPA to the Government of Bangladesh. Dr. Gill assisted the Directorate of Family Planning, Ministry of Health of the Government of Bangladesh in the establishment of reproductive health, STD/HIV/AIDS, and comprehensive essential obstetric care services at Maternal and Child Welfare Centers throughout Bangladesh.
Nadia Hijab
Author and development consultantNadia Hijab serves as consultant on documentation and communication to the AMDD Program. She is author of two books - Womanpower: The Arab Debate on Women at Work (Cambridge University Press, 1988), and Citizens Apart (co-author; I.B. Tauris, 1990) - and of several essays, articles, and lectures.
She served at the United Nations Development Programme in New York from 1989 to 2000, first as regional programme officer in the Arab States Bureau; then as senior human development officer at the UNDP Policy Bureau, where she offered technical assistance to UNDP offices in all world regions; and finally as a member of the organization's change management team. She helped the organization prepare for and follow up to 1993 World Conference on Human Rights, drafting the first organizational strategy on human rights.
Prior to joining the UN, Ms. Hijab was a writer and journalist based in London. She was editor-in-chief of The Middle East magazine, and was a frequent commentator on the British Broadcasting Corporation and other radio and television stations. Overall, Ms. Hijab's 20-year career in the media covered many forms of print and audio-visual communication.
Since leaving the UN, Ms. Hijab has undertaken short-term consultancy assignments for the World Bank, UNICEF, UNFPA, UNDP, in addition to Columbia University. Her areas of expertise include human development, communication, gender, and human rights.
Grace Dangothe Kodindo, MD
Chief of Obstetrics-Gynecology Unit, General Reference Hospital, N'Djamena, Tchad)Dr. Kodindo received her Medical Doctorate from the University of Montreal, Canada in 1976. From 1981 to 1986 she worked for government hospitals in Tchad, providing medical and EmOC services and trained nurses and mid-wives. In 1990, she received a Master of Obstetric and Gynecology from the University of Khartoum, Sudan. Since 1990 Dr. Kodindo has served as Chief of Obstetrics-Gynecology Unit at the General Reference Hospital, N'Djamena, Tchad, where she designed and implemented a prenatal and postnatal care system and provided emergency obstetric care. Dr. Kodindo is a recipient of the Distinguished Community Service Award in Emergency Obstetrics Care from the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics in 2000. She is a founding member of Chad-PMM and ASTBEF, a family planning association.
Barbara Elise Kwast, MTD, McommH, PhD
International Consultant, Maternal Health and Safe Motherhood (The Netherlands)Dr. Kwast serves as a Senior Advisor to the AMDD program. She received a General Nursing Diploma in the Netherlands in 1960, a Midwife Tutors Diploma (MTD) in 1968, and a Certificate in Family Planning Nursing in 1976. She worked as a nurse and surgical technician in the Netherlands and San Francisco, as a Midwife tutor for the DTH (Department of International Technical Co-operation, The Netherlands) in Malawi and Nigeria, and as a lecturer in Tropical Medicine in Amsterdam. In 1980 she received the degree of Master of Community Health (McommH) from Liverpool University. From 1981 to 1986 she held the position of Lecturer in Community Obstetrics at the DGIS (Directorate General of International Technical Co-operation, The Netherlands) and the University of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and worked in refugee/relief camps for the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission during the famine crisis. She received a PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Wales in 1985. From 1986 until 1991 she worked as a scientist for the Family Health Maternal and Child Health/Family Planning division of the WHO in Geneva. From 1992 to 1995 Dr. Kwast served as a Women's Health Advisor to the MotherCare project of John Snow, Inc. Since 1995 she has been an International Consultant for Maternal Health and Safe Motherhood located in The Netherlands. Dr. Kwast has also served as a consultant for numerous institutions in Africa, South America, and South Southeast Asia.
Lucille Pilling de Lucena, RN, MPH
Program ManagerMs. de Lucena joins the AMDD team with extensive experience in management of international health organizations and programs, especially those involving women's health issues. She received her BS in Nursing from the University of Pennsylvania and her MPH from the Columbia University. Currently, Ms. de Lucena is pursuing an EdD at Columbia University Teacher's College, Division of Organization and Leadership. She has over 20 years of international experience, including 14 years of living and working in Latin America and Africa. In 1989 she served as Project Manager for John Short Associates in Zimbabwe, initiating and managing the TIPPS project to advocate for the coverage of contraceptive services by insurance companies. In 1990, Ms. de Lucena joined PATH as Program Manager in Zimbabwe. During her tenure she developed new business and managed field-based initiatives in maternal and child health, immunizations, safe motherhood, and STI's/HIV. She managed a $10.3 million health support project for USAID/Costa Rica and numerous short-term assignments in primary health care in Ghana, Kenya and Bolivia. She also served as a medical officer for the Peace Corps. Prior to joining AMDD, she worked as a consultant to the United Nations Population Fund for three years and from 1997 to 2001she was Director of Operations of International Programs at Planned Parenthood Federation of America; she served as Vice President of the Division for one year.
Deborah Maine, DrPH
Professor of Clinical Public Health, Columbia University and
Director, Averting Maternal Death and Disability (AMDD) ProgramDr. Maine is an expert in women's health and reproductive health in developing countries with special emphasis on maternal mortality. She received a MPH in Epidemiology from the School of Public Health, Columbia University in 1982. From 1983 to 1987 she worked as a Senior Staff Associate for the Center for Population an Family Health at the School of Public Health, Columbia University. From 1988 to 1996 she was director of the Prevention of Maternal Mortality (PMM) Program at the Center for Population and Family Health and an Associate Research Scientist (through 1994) at the School of Public Health, Columbia University. From 1997 to 1999 Dr. Maine was a research scientist at the Center for Population and Family Health. In 1998 she received a DrPH in Epidemiology from the School of Public Health, Columbia University. In 1999 she was appointed Professor of Clinical Public Health and director of the Averting Maternal Death and Disability (AMDD) Program. She has published many articles and reports on human rights, maternal mortality, obstetrics and health care in the developing world, and human rights. She is a consultant to UNICEF, the United Nations Development Programme, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Fund for Population Activities, and the World Bank.
Dileep V. Mavalankar, MD, DrPH
Associate Professor, Public Systems Group of the Indian Institute of Management (Ahmedabad, India)Dr. Mavalankar is a senior consultant with AMDD. In 1981 Dr. Mavalankar received an MBBS from Gujarat University in Ahmedabad, India and in 1983 a MPH from the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. In 1987 he received his MD in Preventative and Social Medicine from Gujarat University. From 1986 to 1989 he was a
Lecturer and from 1989 to 1990 an Assistant Professor in the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine in N.H.L. Municipal Medical College in Ahmedabad, and he was also head of the Rural Health Training Centre at Sabermati. In 1990 he received his DrPH from Johns Hopkins School in the department of Population Dynamics. From 1990 to 1991 he was a visiting fellow at the Division of Epidemiology, Statistics and Prevention Research at the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, MD. From 1991-2000 he has been Assistant Professor and since 2001 he has been Associate Professor at the Public Systems Group of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Ahmedabad. He has also been chairperson of the same department from 1997-2001.Dr. Mavalankar has authored over twenty publications on epidemics, family planning/ welfare, quality of care, maternal and child health, policy, and public health. He has also advised numerous organizations and governments, including the MotherCare Project (USA), the WHO ( Geneva, Philippines & China), the International Council on Management of Population Programmes (Malaysia), the CEDPA and UNICEF (New Delhi), the governments of Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh (India), the Indian Institute of Health Management Research (Jaipur), National Institute of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, the DANIDA & UNDP/World Bank (India), and the Aga Khan Foundation. He also has worked with several NGOs in India.
Allan Rosenfield, MD
Dean, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia UniversityAllan Rosenfield currently is Dean, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, DeLamar Professor of Public Health and professor of obstetrics and gynecology. He came to Columbia in 1975 as founding director of the Center for Population and Family Health and director of ambulatory care for the Department of Ob/Gyn. He also served for two years as Chair of the Department of Ob/Gyn. Earlier in his career, following training in ob/gyn at Harvard's Brigham and Women's Hospital, he worked first in Nigeria as an obstetrician and then in Thailand as Population Council Representative and advisor to the Ministry of Public Health for family planning and maternal/child health. He earned his B.A. at Harvard and his M.D. at Columbia.
Dr. Rosenfield is a diplomate of the American Board of Ob/Gyn, a fellow of the American College of Ob/Gyn and an elected member of the Institute of Medicine. He is a member of many scientific and professional organizations and serves on the boards and/or committees of a number of international, national, state and local health?related organizations. He is a member of the boards of the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Packard Foundation and serves on advisory committees to other national foundations, including the Dyson Foundation and the Open Society Institute (Soros). He has served, in the past, as president of the New York Obstetrical Society, president of the Association of Schools of Public Health, chair of the Executive Board of APHA, chair of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee of WHO's Human Reproduction Programme, and chair of the Boards of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the Alan Guttmacher Institute and EngenderHealth.
Jason B. Smith, PhD, MPH
Senior Research Associate, Behavioral and Acceptability ResearchDr. Smith is a senior advisor to the AMDD Program. He is a behavioral
scientist with two decades of experience in reproductive health research and programs. Dr. Smith joined FHI in 1981, after receiving his MPH in Health Education from the University of North Carolina. From 1981 to 1985 he worked in the maternal health area primarily as a research analyst and administrator. In 1985 Dr. Smith joined the Center for Development and Population Activities. During his tenure at CEDPA, he conducted a national primary health and population training program in Nigeria designed to trengthen state level Ministries of Education. He also served as staff Evaluation Specialist for CEDPA's US-based management training programs. After completing coursework for his doctorate in Health Behavior, Dr. Smith rejoined FHI in 1990 as a Research Associate in the Office of the President. During this time, he served as key personnel for a Ford Foundation comparative study of maternal morbidity and a USAID outcome evaluation of the health impacts of TBA training. After receiving his PhD in 1996, Dr. Smith served as Senior Research Associate in the Contraceptive Use and Acceptability group at FHI. During this time he contributed to studies of barrier contraception in South Africa, Zambia, and the United States. In addition to his work with the AMDD program, Dr. Smith is currently in FHI's Health Services Research group serving as principal investigator on an NICHD-funded study of dual method use decision-making in Texas and provides research technical assistance to a study of female condom use among sex workers in Bangladesh. Dr. Smith has authored over forty publications on reproductive health topics, including maternal mortality and morbidity, child health, family planning, contraceptive technology, and STDs/AIDS. He holds adjunct appointments as Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Public Health and as Senior Lecturer at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. He has served as a consultant to a number of public health agencies, including the National Academy of Sciences/Office of International Affairs, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development/Center for Population Research, and Camp, Dresser, and McKee International, Inc. Dr. Smith has research field experience in many developing country contexts, including Bangladesh, Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Nigeria, Viet Nam and Zaire.
Irina Yacobson, MD
Assistant Medical Director, Family Health InternationalDr. Yacobson is the Technical Assistant and Monitor for the AMDD project in Tajikistan. After receiving her MD from Medical College in Russia, Dr. Yacobson worked as a Cardiologist at the Institute of Circulation Pathology at the Academy of Medical Sciences in Novosibirsk, Russia. Dr. Yacobson then became a Physician of Internal Medicine at the Institute of Clinical and Experimental Medicine also at the Academy of Medical Sciences in Russia. From 1991-1994, Dr. Yacobson performed clinical research at Wake Internal Medicine Consultants, Inc., where she performed endoscopic evaluation and clinical assessment of patients participating in clinical trials. In 1994, Dr. Yacobson joined Family Health International as a Clinical Training Associate where she developed training curricula for health care providers, conducted training for family planning providers in various countries in clinical procedures and counseling, and also evaluated training programs. Since 1997, Dr. Yacobson has been the Assistant Medical Director at Family Health International. In this leadership role, Dr. Yacobson develops educational materials and training curricula for health care professionals on various reproductive health topics. She also plans, conducts and evaluates workshops and training activities in reproductive health and provides technical assistance for the development of family planning service delivery standards and practice guidelines. At Family Health International, Dr. Yacobson provides technical assistance in developing clinical studies protocols and study specific procedures while also training clinical staff in study specific procedures prior to the initiation of a study.