Arnab Mukherjea, DrPH(c), MPH - Student Representative

Arnab Mukherjea, DrPH(c), MPH received his DrPH at the School of Public Health at the University of California (UC) at Berkeley. Mr. Mukherjea is also a graduate of the School of Public Health at UC Berkeley, with an MPH (Health and Social Behavior). He received his BA at UC Berkeley in Molecular and Cell Biology. He currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Executive Board of Directors of the South Asian Public Health Association (SAPHA) and the voluntary organizational head of their San Francisco affiliate. SAPHA is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to improving the health and well-being of South Asians nationally and globally through increased research, culturally-competent and community-based outreach, education, and intervention, as well as advocacy. He is also the Program Director of Health Career Connection, a national organization committed to increasing underrepresented minorities in the health professions by providing practical exposure and career preparation through internships and workshops.

Besides his commitment to the South Asian community in health and education, he is also a staunch advocate of cultural competency and diversity in health care education, practice, and delivery. His primary interests include looking at how cultural behaviors, values, and stigma play a direct role in disparate health outcomes. His research includes analyzing South Asian specific tobacco patterns and the risk imparted to South Asian subgroups for various health conditions, such as cardiovascular disease and oral cancer. He is also involved in the presentation and publication of various reports of importance for the South Asian community, including the reporting of the top causes of mortality of Asian Indians in California and the influence of South Asian culture, a qualitative analysis of contextual focus groups about attitudes of risk factors for cardiovascular disease, and caregiver attitudes about South Asian hospital-discharged patients in Northern California. Arnab has served as an expert representative consultant for South Asian communities at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the California Health Interview Survey and the California Department of Health Services, as well as many community-based organizations (Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations, Asian Pacific Islander American Health Forum, Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment and Leadership, California Youth Advocacy Network, and Asian American Network for Cancer Awareness, Research, and Training) and has lectured at a variety of academic institutions (University of Southern California, Columbia University, University of Medicine and Dentistry at New Jersey, UCLA, and UC Berkeley) regarding critical issues in public health facing South Asian populations and other communities of color.

He began his doctoral degree training in Public Health in Fall of 2005 at UC Berkeley with an emphasis on creating and implementing a locally driven, sustainable, and comprehensive community-based organization which will provide support and empower South Asians to take ownership of their own health prospects in a culturally-competent fashion, to ultimately enable the reduction and elimination of South Asian health disparities.

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