Our research team
Dr Hilary King ( Principal Investigator )
Seng Aung Sein Myint ( Graduate Research Assistant )
Seng Aung Sein Myint was born in Kachin State in northern Burma/Myanmar. He received an undergraduate degree from the University of Medicine in Myanmar, and a Master’s in Public Health (MPH) from Mahidol University, Thailand. After graduation, Seng Aung worked with community organizations, health institutions, non-profits and U.N. agencies in Myanmar, focusing on maternal and child health, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and prevention of gender-based violence and sexual exploitation. Earlier in his career, Seng Aung has worked with different NGOs, providing health-related humanitarian assistance in conflict affected areas on the Burma/Myanmar border. During his MDP studies, Seng Aung wants to learn how to mainstream gender justice and sexual and reproductive rights into the design and implementation of development programs. Seng Aung enjoys practicing yoga, watching movies, and reading books.
Tsedenya Bizani (Graduate Research Assistant)
Tsedenya was born in Ethiopia and immigrated to the United States at a young age. She majored in International Studies and Political Science with a minor in Middle East Studies at the University of Kansas. She then worked at the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, first as an Outreach Intern, then as a Muslim Youth Leadership Symposium Fellow and, finally, as Operations Manager. Throughout her time at CAIR-Chicago, Tsedenya was exposed to legal, social, and political activism, community engagement, and media relations work. She then moved back to Ethiopia and was employed at a private investment law firm, which introduced her to the Ethiopian legal system and had her engage with key organizations, private companies, and government entities within the investment and legal sectors. Having returned to Ethiopia after so many years abroad, Tsedenya felt the stark reality of youth unemployment and became increasingly aware of development’s many complexities. Within the MDP program, Tsedenya hopes to actively immerse herself in the program’s holistic, integrated problem-solving methods that address poverty throughout the Sub-Saharan region and other developing countries. In her spare time, Tsedenya can be found reading, attempting to cook, volunteering, traveling, and spending time with family and friends.
Samhita Kumar (Graduate Research Assistant)
Samhita Kumar, MPH, is a doctoral student in the Global Health & Development PhD program in the Hubert Department of Global Health. Her research interests are in global mental health, integration of mental health with current and emerging health priorities, health systems strengthening, and health priority-setting and financing. She aims to examine how mental health can be integrated with global health and development interventions using implementation science and mixed methods approaches. Kumar holds a MPH in Epidemiology and Global Health from Columbia University.
Isabel Staton
Isabel Staton was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and moved around until her family settled in Atlanta, Georgia, when she was seven. She is a third year at Emory University majoring in anthropology with a concentration in power, identity, and social justice. She is also minoring in sustainability. She is interested in sustainable food systems and agriculture. Through this interest, she began working on farms in the summer of 2021. Now she works as a farm hand at Snapfinger Farm in Stockbridge, GA. She loves cooking, taking long walks along the train tracks, and reading in her free time.