Kristin

Mmari

,

DrPH

With a degree in medical anthropology and a doctorate in international health, Dr. Mmari has been extensively trained in cross-cultural research, qualitative methods and analysis, and program evaluation. Throughout her career, Dr. Mmari's has focused her work on vulnerable adolescent populations, both domestically and internationally. Specifically her research in adolescent health has proceeded along two often-overlapping fronts: assessing contextual factors that influence adolescent health and evaluating adolescent health interventions. In each of these lines of inquiries, Dr. Mmari uses a mixed methods approach that combines innovative technology and methods (i.e., Photovoice methodology and community mapping) to help understand the factors that influence adolescent health outcomes and programs. Currently, Dr. Mmari is the lead qualitative investigator on the Global Early Adolescent Study (GEAS), which is a 15-country study aimed at exploring how the acquisition of gender norms and gender socialization shapes very early adolescent relationships and health behaviors. Dr. Mmari was also the lead qualitative investigator on the WAVE study, which was one of the first global studies on adolescents living in disadvantaged urban environments to examine how health and the factors that influence adolescent health compare across different urban environments. Dr. Mmari has also provided technical assistance to numerous domestic and international organizations over the past two decades on adolescent monitoring and evaluation projects, including UNAIDS, UNICEF, WHO, and Pathfinder International, as well as the Center for Adolescent Health at Johns Hopkins and Parents Place of Maryland.