Better Together

Dr. Gabriel Culbert is a PhD, RN, and Associate Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Nursing. He joins Better Together to talk about his work in Chicago and Indonesia, where he has done clinical research to address the “perfect storm” of substance use disorder, HIV, and incarceration. He shares his experience exploring the intersection of social factors and medical illness, how we think about the word “vulnerable,” and getting out of your comfort zone.

Psychotherapist Marija Šarić is the Director of the psychosocial support services organization Wings of Hope. She has specialization in trauma psychology and has been working in Bosnian civil society to support vulnerable and war-impacted families since the early 1990s. She joins Better Together to share her experience in providing mental health treatment for those impacted by trauma.

Dr. Sarah Messmer is dual-boarded physician in internal medicine and pediatrics at the University of Illinois at Chicago who works with Physicians for Human Rights providing care for refugee patients and asylum seekers. She joins Better Together to discuss her work with asylum seekers and preparing affadavits, physician advocacy, and the importance of trauma-informed care.

Dr. Naina Bhalla is a dual-boarded internal medicine and pediatrics physician who has been working intermittently for Médecins Sans Frontières, also known as Doctors Without Borders, for more than a decade. She joins Better Together to talk about the rewards and challenges of working in the humanitarian service sector of global health along with strategies for working in resource-limited settings and balancing clinical work in the U.S. and internationally.

Dr. Shela Sridhar is a dual-boarded internal medicine and pediatrics physician at Brigham and Women’s and Boston Children’s Hospitals as well as a Clinical Instructor at Harvard Medical School. She joins "Better Together" to discuss her collaborative global health work in East Africa and her education of trainees using a teaching curriculum she developed called "decolonizing global health for equity." In this episode she stresses the importance of engaging stakeholders, building trust, checking your motivations, and assessing your impact, among other pearls for building a de-colonialist approach to working for global health equity.

Dr. Daniel Hryhorczuk, Professor Emeritus of the UIC School of Public Health and one of the founders of the UIC Center for Global Health, joins “Better Together” to discuss the intersection of his work in toxicology, environmental health, global, and planetary health, including decades of work in Ukraine. He discusses the tragedy of the human and environmental impact of the current war in Ukraine and a message of opportunity for activism in planetary health.

Dr. Gloria Rodriguez Vega, a critical care specialist and Chief of Critical Care at Hospitales HIMA-San Pablo in Puerto Rico, joins “Better Together” to talk about disaster management in global health, in particular regarding the natural disasters that hurricanes present in the Caribbean. She shares her experience while discussing the entire disaster cycle including mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.

Collaborators Dr. Damiano Rondelli (Chief of Hematology/Oncology at UI Health and faculty at the UIC Center for Global Health) and Dr. Bishesh Poudyal (Professor of Hematology/Oncology at the Civil Service Hospital of Kathmandu in Nepal) join “Better Together” to discuss their work in building capacity for treatment of blood cancers. Together they have increased access to life-saving care and done collaborative research, and they discuss issues including program adaptations for local contexts, barriers to building capacity including politics and financing, and the importance of long-term partnerships and resilience. Dr. Rondelli leads the Global BMT (bone marrow transplant) Program which has helped build capacity in BMT not only in Nepal but also in Nigeria, Ukraine, Bolivia, and Uganda.

Dr. Supriya Mehta with the UIC School of Public Health joins “Better Together” to discuss her work as an epidemiologist doing global health research in Kenya focusing on sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and the vaginal microbiome. Dr. Mehta’s research is ultimately aimed at improving sexual and reproductive health in high-risk communities.