Nino Paichadze

Dr. Paichadze has twenty years of academic and professional experience encompassing medicine, business and public health with a particular focus on research and training for better prevention of and response to chronic conditions and injuries. Her research spans three main domains: non-communicable diseases (NCDs), their risk factors and commercial determinants of health (CDoH); trauma and injury prevention; and research and training capacity development in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Her work has also focused on the use of mobile technologies to support effective gathering, sharing and timely access to data. Her research has included estimating the burden of road traffic injuries and related disabilities; identifying effective road safety interventions and their impact; defining the prevalence and characteristics of traumatic brain injuries; and assessing the enabling environment for road safety NGOs using a mixed methods approach. Since 2018, she has worked to develop theories, frameworks, and research priorities for the study of CDoH and their ethical and social implications; study industry tactics and their influence on health; and define approaches for measuring the consumption of commercially produced foods, beverages, alcohol and tobacco. She was PI of two pilot projects, one in Zambia where SMS technology was used to gather data on the consumption of commercially produced foods and beverages among young Zambians; and the second in Mali, where the prevalence and patterns of consumption of commercially produced products were assessed with emphasis on vulnerable populations.

Another major area of her work includes research capacity development in LMICs. Currently, she is PI of the FIC/NIH-funded training and capacity development programs on trauma and injuries in Zambia and Pakistan; and on NCD risk factors in Mali, Zambia and Armenia. She is also a Co-Investigator on training and capacity development programs on research ethics in Mali, Pakistan and Zimbabwe. She has supported master’s- and doctoral-level training programs and the implementation of new courses at collaborating institutions; led multiple in-country workshops; and mentored several generations of Ugandan, Pakistani, Afghani, Malian, Zambian and Armenian trainees.

Presently, she leads two pilot projects: one aims to develop a framework to enable successful collaboration between university and industry by adhering to ethical principles, safeguarding research integrity, and preserving public trust; another strives to address extreme heat in Bamako, Mali, by utilizing local, indigenous knowledge to co-design sustainable, community-led cooling strategies. She also co-leads cross-disciplinary research with Professor Carrillo from GW Law School that aims to identify, analyze, and understand the firearm industry’s role in fueling global gun violence from the viewpoints of law and public health.

Dr. Paichadze directs the Center on Commercial Determinants of Health at the GWSPH and has collaborated with the World Health Organization to define a research agenda on CDoH and to develop a decision-making tool to support Member States on private sector engagement for the prevention and control of NCDs.

She teaches undergraduate- and graduate-level courses and directs the graduate Applied Practice Experience (practicum) in the Department of Global Health.