The Community & Global Public Health research stream explores a variety of factors that affect human physical and mental health. Our research stream collects and analyzes human subjects research data, especially questionnaires, to gain insight into behavior and health. We aim to connect the dots between environmental determinants, individual actions and health outcomes. This stream also provides plenty of opportunities to pose and answer new research questions related to aspects of physical and mental health, coming at important problems from a variety of different angles.
Community & Global Public Health is cross-disciplinary in nature
Public Health
Socioeconomic Status
Political Environment
Psychology
Behavior
Biology
Physical Environment
A key component of the FRI program in Public Health is that students learn to work in teams. Team research empowers a group of individuals to tackle complex problems from different angles. Individuals grow to become their team's experts on specific facets of the interdisciplinary research problem, potentially addressing environmental, political, economic, social, psychological, behavioral and biological aspects of the team research problem. Thus, the Public Health stream provides a great opportunity for students interested in health sciences, psychology, sociology, economics, environmental studies, political science, math and many other fields.
Community & Global Public Health Research Educator
Dr. Shane McCarty is the Research Educator for the Community & Global Public Health research stream. As a research scientist, he blends psychology and community health to examine conceptions of social issues, prosocial motivation, and strategies for health promotion and prevention. His work as a practitioner is rooted in Critical Participatory Action Research, guiding student-led and community-driven initiatives for mental health and violence prevention. He has developed and delivered team-based programs that increase resilience among youth after a school shooting, enhance school climate for school administrators and educators, improve school disciplinary practices for school-based law enforcement, and build interprofessional competencies among healthcare professionals. In his role as a Research Educator, he empowers students to take a population health perspective, examining the sociostructural determinants of health. As a mentor, Dr. McCarty has inspired and guided high school and undergraduate students who are passionate about becoming the next generation of public health scientists and leaders.