CHHS Faculty

Michael S. Bloom, PhD, associate professor in George Mason’s College of Health and Human Services, was recently appointed to the Editorial Board of Fertility and Sterility.

Dr. Michelle D. Hand is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Work. Her research focuses on empowerment building approaches to address sexual violence and trauma among at-risk non-dominant populations, including in later life. Thus, she studies causes and impacts of violence and trauma as well as arts- and horticulture-based interventions (e.g., community gardens, farms and murals) to support healing, informed by extensive interdisciplinary research and clinical experience.

Bethany Cieslowski is the Simulation Coordinator for the George Mason University School of Nursing. She earned her BSN from the University of Virginia, MA from Columbia University’s Department of Biomedical (Nursing) Informatics and DNP at the Duke University School of Nursing. 

Rima Nakkash is a Professor in the Global and Community Health Department. Nakkash is a leading international scholar in tobacco control research in prevention and policy evaluation.

Drawing on 20 years of practice as a nurse-midwife, Dr. Karen Trister Grace’s research interests are in reproductive coercion, intimate partner violence (IPV), pregnancy intention and health disparities. Dr. Grace recently conducted research addressing solutions to housing instability for IPV survivors, as well as a mixed methods study exploring reproductive coercion in Latina women. She has an interest in birth outcomes related to IPV and reproductive coercion, and the intersection with unintended pregnancy. Dr. Grace is the lead editor of the 3rd edition of the “Prenatal & Postnatal Care: A Person-Centered Approach” textbook.

Congratulations to the 2021 College of Health and Human Services Faculty and Staff award winners.

Drs. Germaine Buck Louis, Lynn Gerber, Andrew Guccione, Jack Hadley, Rosemary Higgins, and Kathryn Jacobsen were recognized in a recently released list of the top 2% of the most-cited scientists in various disciplines.

Dr. Bloom is a Professor in the Department of Global and Community Health at George Mason University. Bloom’s research focuses on the intersection of environmental pollutants and human health in the U.S. and abroad.

Helen Chin is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Global and Community Health. Her research interests are centered around investigating factors that adversely affect the reproductive health of women and girls, as well as their offspring. Her current focus is studying how endocrine disrupting exposures affect ovarian development and function. 

Dr. Michelle S. Williams is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Global and Community Health at George Mason University. Dr. Williams’ research is focused on developing culturally appropriate health behavior interventions for cancer prevention and control that will lead to a reduction in cancer disparities. Since 2009, Dr. Williams has been conducting research in Ghana, West Africa that is focused on cervical cancer prevention.