Dr. Lusajo Kajula joins Gillings School as the first Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence, bringing expertise in global health and adolescent health behavior.
This fall, Lusajo Kajula, PhD, Tanzanian international scholar in health behavior and psychology for adolescents and families, has joined the Gillings School as the school’s first Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence.
In her role, Kajula will use her experiences in global health to educate students on an “ecological model,” which helps public health experts make sense of the social, political and individual factors that influence health behaviors. She will also continue her work in adolescent and reproductive health while collaborating with the Durham County Health Department on ways to engage local communities in public health programs and outreach.
“Moving public health to global health means understanding that we are all the same,” Kajula said. “The goal, whether through teaching or community engagement, is to help people think globally. You don’t always have to start something afresh if somebody else has done it already – you can adapt it to fit your needs.”
Her work at Carolina is also the extension of a decades-long partnership and friendship with Suzanne Maman, PhD, professor of health behavior and associate dean for global health at the Gillings School. The two first began working together on HIV prevention research in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in 1999. Their collaborations have produced funded research and intervention programs on global health topics that include treatment and prevention of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, intimate partner violence prevention, and adolescent reproductive health – all centralized around regions in Eastern Africa.
“I am thrilled that my friend and colleague, Dr. Lusajo Kajula, is with us on faculty at Gillings for this academic year,” Maman said. “She brings a tremendous amount of experience conducting impactful global mental health research and practice to our school. I am looking forward to the many ways that she will enrich our training, research and practice while she is with us this year and beyond.”
Read full article at go.unc.edu/kajula-think-globally
