Our Team
Each year, our core teaching faculty are joined by renowned adjunct faculty and guest lecturers—leaders in their fields—who deliver a world-class, cutting-edge education.
Leadership
Kim Hekimian, PhD
- Program Director
Kim Hekimian, PhD, is the Director of the MS Program. She teaches public health nutrition, survey research, qualitative methods, and research methods. She also was recently the Associate Director of the Medical Nutrition Program for Health Professionals at the IHN.
![Profile Headshot]( "Kim Hekimian, PhD")
Moneek Madra, PhD
- Associate Director
Moneek Madra, PhD is the Associate Director of the MS Program. As a faculty member in the IHN MS program, Moneek Madra teaches courses on Physiology & Nutrition through the Lifecycle and Research Methods. She is also responsible for the coordination the MS thesis process.
Our Faculty
Bryan J González, PhD
- Adjunct Assistant Professor of Physiology and Cellular Biophysics at the Columbia University Medical Center
Aleya R Khalifa, PhD, MPH
- Lecturer
Dr. Aleya Khalifa (she/her) is a Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Heilbrunn Population and Family Health Department whose work examines how large-scale demographic processes shape health and health systems globally. An epidemiologist and global health practitioner, she applies GPS-based and survey methods to study population mobility – ranging from daily movement to permanent migration – and how it relates to sexual and reproductive health. Her research focuses on vulnerable populations in low-resource settings, particularly those often excluded from traditional health research.
Faris Zuraikat, PhD
- Assistant Professor of Nutritional Medicine (in Medicine and in the Institute of Human Nutrition) at CUMC
