The Department of Global Health invites you to a special lecture featuring Dr. Kata Chillag. Kata Chillag has a Ph.D. in medical anthropology from the University of Pittsburgh, and postdoctoral training in applied epidemiology and public health as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). During her time at CDC, she worked on public health programs and research including polio eradication in Bangladesh, biomedical HIV research in the United States and Sub-Saharan Africa, and in the Emergency Operations Center during the H1N1 influenza pandemic. Dr. Chillag also worked in the Office of Global Affairs, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, focusing on HIV/AIDS. In 2013, she began working on the staff as a senior policy analyst and then as associate director of the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues under President Barack Obama. In 2019, Dr. Chillag finally successfully combined her love of disaster movies and public health by developing and teaching a class on public health and film.
This presentation focuses on recently-initiated research focusing on the impact of immigration policy and climate on international medical graduates (IMGs) working in underserved areas in the United States. It highlights ethical and other challenges that arise from physician shortage and IMGs’ role in building health care delivery infrastructure, particularly in contexts of economic, social, and environmental vulnerability. Funded by the Greenwall Foundation, the research centers on West Virginia, among the poorest and most underserved states, which relies on IMGs to meet its healthcare needs.