Amita Vyas TabsBio Amita N. Vyas is an Associate Professor and Director of the Maternal and Child Health Program in the Department of Prevention and Community Health, at The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services. At the age of 20, Professor Vyas journeyed to Calcutta to work alongside Mother Teresa in the Missionaries of Charity. In one eye-opening summer, she saw what the social determinants of health and well-being really mean to vulnerable populations, and from that extraordinary experience decided to pursue a career in public health. Today, her work focuses on reproductive health care, adolescent health, and the health and development of immigrant children and adolescents. She is also an expert in multi-level research methods and evaluation. Dr. Vyas continues to hold an adjunct position in the Department of Population and Family Health Sciences at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. She was previously on the research faculty of that institution's Center for Adolescent Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, where she earned its Kann-Trowbridge Award for outstanding research in the area of population and family health. Dr. Vyas's commitment to teaching was recognized recently as she received the Morton A. Bender Teaching Award from the George Washington University. ExpertiseExpertise: Maternal and Child HealthPreventionProgram EvaluationReproductive HealthWomen's HealthEducation: Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences, University of Connecticut, 1994Master of Health Science in Demography, Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health, 1995Doctor of Philosophy in Population Dynamics, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2001 Teaching: PubH 6007: Social and Behavioral Approaches to Public Health, Department of Prevention and Community Health PubH 6553: Adolescent Health, Department of Prevention and Community Health PubH 6555: Reproductive Health, Department of Prevention and Community Health Community Service: Dr. Vyas is the Founder and Chair of the Global India Fund, a donor advised fund aimed at mobilizing resources to improve the health and well-being of people living in India. Professor Vyas served on the board of the South Asian Public Health Association, where she was co-editor of "The Brown Paper: The Health of South Asians in the United States," the first national initiative to evaluate existing knowledge about the health of this population. Dr. Vyas also serves as an advisor to YouthAIDS. Institutes and Centers: · Prevention Research Center · Forum for Collaborative HIV Research · HIV/AIDS Institute ResearchResearch: Pathways to Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention PublicationsPublications: The Health of Asian American Children & Adolescents. Yu, S & Vyas, A. (2008). The Health of Asian American Children & Adolescents. In Health Issues in the Asian American Community. New York University, Center for Study of Asian American Health & Jossey-Bass Publishing Company. Report on selected characteristics for international adolescent reproductive health programs. Vyas A. Report on selected characteristics for international adolescent reproductive health programs. Watertown (MA): Pathfinder International, FOCUS Project; 2001 Jun. Evaluation of the Teen Incentives Project (TIPs): A case-management model and health education model. Vyas A, Zabin LS. Evaluation of the Teen Incentives Project (TIPs): A case-management model and health education model. Baltimore: The Abell Foundation and Aaron and Lillie Straus Foundation; 2001 Mar.
