Our Group

Maria Muñoz is a doctoral student in the School of Behavioral and Political Sciences at Tulane University, focusing on food and nutrition insecurity and health disparities in communities on the frontlines of climate change. She has contributed to projects in politically fragmented islands such as Puerto Rico and St. Martin, as well as in states like Illinois, California, and Louisiana. Maria’s interdisciplinary research explores the structural, systemic, and socio-spatial factors that drive disparities in food access, green infrastructure, flooding, ecological cohabitation, and gentrification, drawing on her expertise in both public health and landscape architecture. By incorporating mixed methods, human-centered design, and systems modeling, Maria works closely with experts and community stakeholders to develop strategies that enhance health outcomes for vulnerable populations. With a bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture from Louisiana State University and a master’s degree in disaster resilience from Tulane University, she is a strong advocate for climate-adaptive solutions that address the intertwined challenges of environmental sustainability and public health, ensuring marginalized communities are better prepared to withstand the growing impacts of climate change.

Kelly Murray (MPH) is a PhD candidate in the Department of International Health and Sustainable Development at Tulane. She combines a scientific background with strong communication skills, developed through more than a decade of experience as a full-time writer with CNN and CNN International in Atlanta and Hong Kong. Kelly holds an MPH with a concentration in Health Promotion and Behavior, as well as undergraduate degrees in Anthropology and Journalism. She continues to freelance as a journalist, writing about a range of complex global issues with clarity, sensitivity, and impact.

Kelly is most passionate about addressing the sociocultural and socioeconomic issues affecting women and girls. As a Dean’s Research Council scholar, she has published on child marriage and reproductive and maternal health outcomes in Liberia and Sierra Leone. She has also conducted data analysis for MOMENTUM, an integrated family planning, nutrition, and reproductive health intervention in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. For her dissertation, Kelly plans to use a multi-method approach to explore the intersection of gender-based violence and climate stressors in the urban slums of Kampala, Uganda.

Driven by a commitment to amplifying the voices of underrepresented communities, Kelly’s work aims to address global public health disparities through innovative, community-centered approaches. Her ability to bridge storytelling with data-driven insights uniquely positions her to advance sustainable health and development initiatives, and to disseminate research findings to diverse audiences.

Preeti Moorthy (B.D.S., MSPH Biostatistics) is a dentist from India with nearly a decade of clinical experience, whose decision to pursue a Master of Public Health in the United States was driven by her passion for research, particularly from an epidemiological perspective. Her focus in Biostatistics provided her with the flexibility to pursue diverse areas of interest, including clinical research, social and behavioral studies, and environmental epidemiology. This adaptability allows Preeti to explore how these fields intersect and influence each other, forming an interconnected cycle of impact.

Erin Franklin (MPH) is a Program Manager and Evaluation Coordinator at Tulane University, collaborating on significant research projects within the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. Notably, she was part of the evaluation team for the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance’s (BHA) COVID-19 Response, a project aimed at assessing and documenting the performance of BHA’s COVID-19 Supplemental response portfolio. This multi-country evaluation enhanced understanding and improved future humanitarian responses to pandemics.