Kathleen Axelrod, Program Analyst
Kathleen is a Program Analyst at the Duke Global Health Innovation Center (GHIC) and Innovations in Healthcare (IiH). She splits her time between supporting her diverseinnovator portfolio and working on a variety of research projects including ones on Achieving Universal Health Coverage and Improving Regional Health Data Sharing that both occur in the East and West Africa context.
Before joining Innovations in Healthcare, she received her BAs in Global Health and Public Policy from Duke University.
Lisa Bourget, Senior Director, Strategy, Management, and Partnerships
Lisa brings years of experience in the start-up, growth, and profitable leadership of dynamic enterprises within the pharmaceutical, biotech, and health care industries. Prior to joining Duke, Lisa was Senior Manager of Portfolio Analysis for Talecris Biotherapeutics, where she was responsible for defining research and development strategies by evaluating business cases for several new product and lifecycle management opportunities. She has collaborated on several start-up companies in senior housing, and health and wellness, and co-founded Clinexus, a start-up clinical research company. Her experience also includes senior roles in health care investing and divestiture, consulting for Accenture, and managing physician practices.
Lisa graduated from Tufts University with a degree in Economics and Pre-Medical Studies and earned her MBA from Duke’s Fuqua Business School.
Nicole Davis, Program Analyst
As a program analyst at the Duke Global Health Innovation Center and Innovations in Healthcare, Nicole works with the Research team on projects related to health financing, regional data sharing, and reverse innovation. She is also interested in healthcare delivery system innovation and behavioral health.
Nicole earned Bachelor of Arts degrees in Anthropology and Peace, War and Defense from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Timothy Fields, Operations Coordinator
Timothy supports the Innovations in Healthcare and Duke Global Health Innovation Center teams as Operations Coordinator. Prior to Innovations in Healthcare, Timothy worked at Duke University’s Physician Assistant Program. Timothy has worked for Duke since 2013.
Timothy is currently enrolled in classes to obtain his degree in Advertising and Graphic Design.
Christa Twyford Gibson, Assistant Director, Programs
In her role within the Duke Global Health Innovation Center and Innovations in Healthcare, Christa leads a team in the development, design, and delivery of programs focused on linking policy with innovation to solve global health challenges. At Duke, Christa has developed and managed a wide range of programs under the Senior Vice President for Public Affairs and Government Relations, the Vice President for Durham and Regional Affairs, and within the School of Medicine. Internationally, Christa has worked in Bulgaria, as a United States Peace Corps Volunteer; in Central Asia, as a senior advisor for a regional-health-systems strengthening project; and in Latin America, as a global health consultant.
Christa is conversant in Russian, German, and Spanish and has basic French, Bulgarian, and Tajik language skills. She earned a Master of Public Policy from Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy and a Bachelor of Arts in German Language and Literature from the University of South Carolina.
Jonathan Gonzalez-Smith, Manager, Research
Jonathan is a member of Duke-Margolis’ Global team, which collaborates closely with Innovation in Healthcare and Duke Global Health Innovation Center, researching international models of accountable care, health financing, global health innovation, and payment and delivery reform. Primary and secondary research and statistical analysis are the focus of much of his work.
Jonathan holds a Master’s in Public Affairs from the University of Texas and BA in Philosophy and International Relations from Northwestern University.
Juliana Hagembe, Program Associate, Africa
Juliana is a global health specialist passionate about the use of innovative, evidence-based methods to improve health care. At Innovations in Healthcare and the Duke Global Health Innovation Center, she cultivates key relationships to enhance broader health care ecosystem development in Africa, while managing programmatic activities that provide in depth and specialized support to the Innovations in Healthcare office and the Social Entrepreneurship Accelerator at Duke (SEAD) program in Nairobi.
Prior to joining Duke, Juliana worked for Clinton Health Access Initiative in Kenya; Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Foundation, and the Institute of Human Virology, both in the USA. She has a wealth of experience in providing technical and analytical support to both the public and the private sector to scale up the adoption of new diagnostic technologies/treatments to improve health care outcomes in developing countries.
In addition to having a Master’s degree in Public Health from the University of Hong Kong, she has a Masters and Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry, both from Northern Michigan University. While in Hong Kong, she served as a Rotary Goodwill Ambassador.
Jessica Harris, Senior Associate, Programs and Communications Specialist
Jessica is a Senior Associate at the Duke Global Health Innovation Center and Innovations in Healthcare where she helps manage various programs and initiatives. She is also responsible for Communications, managing all web, print, and digital communications. She has over 15 years of experience executing various programs and events. Jessica is excited to continue her career with the passionate and dynamic team at both the Duke GHIC and IiH.
Jessica speaks German and Spanish and has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Elina Urli Hodges, Assistant Director, Programs
Elina brings a comprehensive skillset in partnership development, program management, and business development to her role at the Duke Global Health Innovation Center. Prior to joining Duke in September 2016, she worked for more than a decade with U.S. government institutions (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Department of Defense), multinational corporations, and health systems on non-communicable disease (NCD) prevention, population health, and global workplace health promotion projects. She most recently served as the Senior Manager of National Partnerships for a nonprofit organization where she cultivated strategic relationships with corporations, associations, and regional partners. She began her career in health care working in the national advocacy office of the American Heart Association in Washington, DC.
With parents in the U.S. Foreign Service, Elina spent her childhood living abroad in six countries including South Africa, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Romania, and Barbados. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Foreign Affairs and French from the University of Virginia and a Master’s degree with a concentration in Health Policy and Management from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health.
Arthur Huang, Senior Manager, Programs
Arthur is a Senior Manager at the Duke Global Health Innovation Center and Innovations in Healthcare. He is responsible for the development, planning, and delivery of a broad spectrum of the global programs. The program topics include health program assessment and strengthening for hospitals and other health organizations, and customized executive leadership and management training for health professionals around the world. Arthur has been leading the organization’s efforts in the partnership development, and design and implementation of programs across China, where he has established and managed the relationships with many senior government officials, hospital executives, corporate management team, and academic institution leaders. In his previous role as a consultant at Duke Health, Arthur managed a portfolio of global business leads and successfully converted several business opportunities into completed projects.
Arthur is fluent in Mandarin. He received his Bachelor’s in Accounting from National Chengchi University in Taiwan and a Master of Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Kenan Flagler Business School.
Anna Koltchagova, Assistant Director, Operations and Finance
Anna is the Assistant Director, Operations & Finance for the Innovations in Healthcare and the Duke Global Health Innovation Center. Anna provides overall administrative management and coordination of various business-related functions, including financial management, operations and human resources for both organizations. Prior to joining the team at Duke, Anna served as the Director of Operations for NC Sustainable Energy Association (NCSEA). Anna oversaw NCSEA’s accounting, financial planning and analysis, project management, fundraising, and human resources. Previously, Anna worked at NC Biotechnology Center and UNC Kenan Flagler Business School, Center for Sustainable Enterprise.
Anna earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Technical University, Sofia, Bulgaria and an MBA from Meredith College.
Caitlin Murphy, Associate, Research
Caitlin is part of the research team at Innovations in Healthcare and the Duke Global Health Innovation Center, where she contributes to the creation of knowledge and learning agendas, the development of knowledge products, and to evaluation efforts for the Pfizer Foundation Global Health Innovation Grants (GHIG) program. Her past experience includes interning for the World Health Organization’s Global Cooperation on Assistive Technology, volunteering as the Monitoring and Evaluation Lead for Cameroon Catalyst, and working as a Research Assistant and Teaching Assistant for Queen’s University.
Caitlin received both her BAH in Global Development Studies and her Master of Public Health from Queen’s University, Canada.
Eunice Mutindi, Program Associate, Africa
In her role as a program Associate for Africa, Eunice supports innovators in Africa to achieve scale by connecting them to key stakeholders such as peer innovators, partners and funders. Prior to joining Innovations in Healthcare and the Duke Global Health Innovation Center, Eunice worked as a fund lead for an early stage fund in Kenya that invests in innovative early stage startups in the technology sector. She was responsible for the recruitment of investee companies into the fund, startup coaching as well as fundraising for the fund. Eunice has over 5 years’ experience working with startups using technology in different sectors such as health, agriculture, logistics among others.
Eunice is a graduate of United States International University-Africa with a degree in International Business Administration with a concentration in Management.
Patricia Odero, Regional Director, Africa
As Regional Director, Patricia leads multiple initiatives across Sub-Saharan Africa for Innovations in Healthcare and the Duke Global Health Innovation Center, including SEAD East Africa. In this role she is building partnerships in East Africa with funders, universities, corporations and SEAD innovators in an effort to strengthen the local ecosystem for innovation. Patricia is an accomplished health professional and has experience working with a wide range of stakeholders across Kenya. Prior to joining Innovations in Healthcare, Patricia worked with Futures Group, a global health consulting company. Patricia’s previous work experience spans the breadth of the health care value chain and she has experience in health systems strengthening, health insurance and clinical practice in the private and public sectors.
Patricia has Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degrees from the University of Nairobi and an Executive MBA from Strathmore University.
Stephen Orange, Financial Analyst II
Stephen is the Duke Global Health Innovation Center’s and Innovations in Healthcare’s Financial Analyst. He manages a portfolio of complex grants and contracts for the organization. Stephen previously worked at Duke in the Office of Sponsored Programs as a Research Administration Manager. He oversaw the management and timely closeout of multiple sponsored projects, per university and sponsor requirements. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our team.
Stephen received his Bachelor’s Degree in Finance from Georgia State University.
Jose Magana Paredes, Senior Manager, Engagement
Jose plays a key role for Innovations in Healthcare and the Duke Global Health Innovation Center by driving engagement across an ever-growing global network of innovators, funders, corporate partners, academic institutions, NGOs and governmental agencies. Prior to joining the team, Jose was with Stanford Health Care’s Capital and Business Planning Group, helping to evaluate and drive growth for the Palo Alto, CA based health care delivery system. His professional background includes various financial and analytical roles supporting mature healthcare and non-healthcare organizations. Jose also comes to Innovations in Healthcare with an entrepreneurial background as he has worked with investors and various entrepreneurs on opportunity evaluation, raising capital, business planning, and financial operations.
Jose has a BA in Economics from UCLA, a Professional Certificate in Finance from UC Berkeley, and two Masters Degrees from Duke University, a Master’s in Business Administration and a Master’s in Environmental Management.
Sowmya Rajan, Manager, Research
Sowmya is a sociologist and social demographer with experience in the monitoring and evaluation of health programs in low and middle income countries, with a major focus on reproductive health and family planning programs. Within the Duke Global Health Innovation Center and Innovations in Healthcare, she manages a portfolio of innovations-focused grants to improve health systems and access to healthcare, as well as conducts evaluation research to build the evidence base to inform decisions for healthcare programs and policies. She has expertise in global reproductive, maternal and child health, social scientific and evaluation research, and fertility and family planning, and has published in journals such as Demography, Population and Development Review, and Population Research and Policy Review.
Prior to joining the Duke Global Health Innovation Center and Innovations in Healthcare , Sowmya was a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Carolina Population Center (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill). She has a Master’s in Public Policy from the Sanford School of Public Policy, and a PhD in Sociology with specializations in Medical Sociology and Population Studies, from Duke University.
Malcom Riley, Senior Manager, Business Development and Communications
Malcom builds strategic partnerships with Investors, Corporations, Foundations, and NGOs to generate the resources and funding needed to provide even more valuable support to IiH’s network of innovators and more research opportunities for the GHIC. Prior to this role, Malcom served as Sector Director for Technology at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business where he cultivated corporate relationships, supported global strategy and growth initiatives, and helped MBA students achieve their career goals.
Outside of Duke, Malcom served as a consultant to technology companies and international development organizations, building strategic corporate partnerships and developing strategies to launch new products and services in variety of countries including Ghana, Indonesia, Zambia, and the US.
Malcom earned a Bachelor’s degree in Speech Communication and Master’s degree in Human Service Administration from Bradley University in Peoria, IL. He also earned an M.B.A. from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.
Andrea Taylor, Senior Manager, Research
Andrea manages the research and knowledge development agenda and directs student programs for Innovations in Healthcare and the Duke Global Health Innovation Center, including internships and fellowships. Prior to joining Innovations in Healthcare, Andrea managed research on health and economic innovations both for the federal government and for UNC Chapel Hill. Her background is in health and social policy, program evaluation, and global mental health.
Andrea has a master’s degree in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago.
Andrea Thoumi, Assistant Director, Research
Andrea is a Research Director at Duke-Margolis focusing on health financing, comparative health systems analysis, and global health. She is responsible for directing a portfolio of projects related to evidence-based healthcare delivery and payment reform and policy analysis in global settings. The work ranges from adapting international experiences with payment and care delivery reforms to the US context to identifying health financing solutions for low- and middle-income countries. Andrea collaborates with Duke global health leadership to develop partnerships and country-level engagements that facilitate health policy, regulation and financing reforms.
Prior to Duke, Andrea was a Research Associate at the Brookings Institution, where she led research on international accountable care and alternative physician payment models for oncology and diabetes. Previously, she consulted for the World Bank and the Pan American Health Organization on health equity and financial protection. Additionally, she worked as a consultant at Pricewaterhouse Coopers, conducting monitoring and evaluation for Global Fund-supported HIV/AIDS programs in Argentina and Belize. She has published research and policy analysis focused on payment and delivery reform, accountable care, diabetes and oncology. She has a secondary appointment at the Duke Global Health Innovation Center as Assistant Director, Research.
Andrea holds an MPP from the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University, where she focused on international economics, and an MSc in Health Policy, Planning and Financing from the London School of Economics and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Andrea also holds a BA in Community Health and in International Relations from Tufts University.
Krishna Udayakumar, Director
Dr. Krishna Udayakumar is the founding Director of the Duke Global Health Innovation Center, focused on generating deeper evidence and support for the study, scaling, and adaptation of health innovations and policy reforms globally. He is also Executive Director of Innovations in Healthcare, a non-profit co-founded by Duke, McKinsey & Company, and the World Economic Forum, leading the organization’s work to curate and scale the impact of transformative health solutions globally.
At Duke University, Dr. Udayakumar holds the rank of Associate Professor of Global Health and Medicine, and is Associate Professor at Duke-NUS Medical School Singapore. His work has been published in leading academic journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine, Health Affairs, and Academic Medicine.
Born in Bangalore, India, Dr. Udayakumar spent his childhood in Virginia, and is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Virginia, with a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies with distinction. He received both an MD and an MBA (with a concentration in Health Sector Management) from Duke University, where he was a Fuqua Scholar. Dr. Udayakumar completed his residency training in internal medicine at Duke and served as Assistant Chief Resident at the Durham VA Medical Center before joining the faculty of Duke University.