Month: January 2020

Heidi Beidinger serves as the Director of the Master of Science in Global Health program and Assistant Professor of the Practice in the Department of Biology. She earned a Master of Public Health from the University of Illinois­-Chicago and a PhD in Educational Leadership and Organizational Analysis from Western Michigan University.

Heidi undertook various leadership roles with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for 13 years. She developed an expertise in STDs/HIV, correctional healthcare, and surveillance and monitoring programs focused on improving screening and treatment programs in Chicago correctional facilities and hospitals. Heidi also worked as a consultant in K-12 education for nearly 10 years.

At Notre Dame, she focuses her research on developing partnerships with communities in rural Vellore, India and St. Joseph County, Indiana to assess and evaluate HIV care services, maternal and child health issues, and diabetes chronic management programs. She also partners with the Near Northwest Neighborhood of South Bend, Indiana to address and conduct research on the community’s lead poisoning issue.

Ellen Pil is a junior political science and Arts and Letters pre-health major who is passionate about public policy, global health, and emergency medicine, along with research, service, and Gothic literature.

During the summer of 2019, Ellen worked on policy advocacy to benefit federally qualified healthcare clinics in the Chicago metropolitan area. She has also worked in rural South Africa to educate local healthcare workers about malaria, identify public health concerns, and design intervention strategies. She has previously conducted research on overlapping ideological influences in Gothic literature. She traveled to Munich, Germany with two of her classmates to pursue this project during the spring of 2018. This research was presented at three conferences, most recently at the ACC Meeting of the Minds in Louisville, KY in April 2019. Ellen’s work has been funded by grants from the First Year of Studies, Glynn Family Honors Program, Notre Dame Scholars’ Program, Hesburgh-Yusko Scholars Program, Notre Dame International, and the Flatley Center for Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement.

Ellen is currently studying Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) with Professor Tamara Kay. Project ECHO is a collaborative model that links community healthcare providers with medical experts, thereby enabling vulnerable patients with complex and/or chronic conditions to receive care in their home communities. Ellen focuses on the global spread of the ECHO model and the factors contributing to its diffusion. She primarily works on interview transcript analysis using qualitative data coding software.

Through her research, teaching, and service work, Jane Lee, the daughter of immigrant parents, focuses on helping underserved immigrant groups who lack access to health care.

After graduating from Notre Dame, Lee earned a Master of Social Work degree from Columbia University in 2011. During her studies, she started her work with immigrant and refugee populations and saw their health needs firsthand. While working toward her Ph.D. at New York University, Lee learned she would need open-heart surgery to replace a valve. The experience further strengthened her resolve to make sure everyone receives access to critical health services. After earning her Ph.D. in 2017, she became an assistant professor at the University of Washington’s School of Social Work.

Lee’s publications in scholarly journals have attracted media coverage, and she continues to pursue innovative research and volunteer work that helps improve health outcomes for immigrant communities.

Lee, who lives with her husband, Robert, and dog, Rosie, in Seattle, was recognized as one of Notre Dame’s inaugural Domer Dozen honorees in 2019. The Domer Dozen honors young alumni who continue to make a difference in the areas of faith, service, learning, or work, serving as inspiring role models to a rising generation of soon-to-be Notre Dame graduates.