Biography
Carmella B. Kahn, DrPH, MPH, (Diné/Navajo) is an Assistant Professor at the College of Population Health at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, NM, and is originally from Mariano Lake, NM. Dr. Kahn completed her Doctor of Public Health degree at the University of Arizona Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health in August 2018. Her research interests include American Indian resilience, diabetes prevention, youth substance abuse prevention, AI food systems, and developing student pipeline programs. For over 14 years, she has worked on community based participatory research projects with urban and rural American Indian communities. She was the principal investigator of a gardening project for urban AI youth, a research assistant for AI youth and family wellness programs in Tucson, AZ, and a research assistant for an elders’ resilience project in collaboration with the Tucson Indian Center. During the last seven years, she was an instructor for the Diné College Summer Research Enhancement Program and has served as co-director for the program for the past four years. She was an Instructor and Assistant Professor at Diné College for four years and was the co-Principal Investigator of the 2020 Navajo Native American Research Centers for Health (NARCH) grant, a collaborative partnership between Diné College and Northern Arizona University. Her previous work includes the NARCH project, Diné Teachings and Public Health Students Informing Peers and Relatives about Vaccine Education (RAVE), funded by the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Kahn has taught courses in the areas of introduction to public health, health services and policy, mental health promotion, and maternal and child health.
Key Publications
- Tutt, M., Begay, C., George, S., Dickerson, C., Kahn, C., Bauer, M., & Teufel-Shone, N. (2022). Diné Teachings and Public Health Students Informing Peers and Relatives about Vaccine Education (RAVE): Providing Diné (Navajo) centered COVID-19 education materials using student health messengers. Frontiers in Public Health, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.1046634
- Dreifuss, H., Belin, K. L., Wilson, J., George, S., Waters, A., Kahn, C. B., Bauer, M. C., & Teufel-Shone, N. (2022). Engaging Native American high school students in public health career preparation through the Indigenous Summer Enhancement Program. Frontiers in Public Health, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.789994
- Kahn, C. B., Dreifuss, H., Teufel-Shone, N., Tutt, M., McCue, K., Wilson, J., Waters, A., Belin, K. L., Bauer, M. (2021). Adapting summer education programs for Navajo students: Resilient teamwork. Frontiers in Sociology, 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2021.617994
- Kahn, C. B., Reinschmidt, K., Teufel-Shone, N. I., Ore, C. E., Henson, M., & Attakai, A. (2016). American Indian Elders’ resilience: Sources of strength for building a healthy future for youth. American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research, 23(3), 117-133. doi: 10.5820/aian.2303.2016.117
- Whitewater, S., Reinschmidt, K. M., Kahn, C, Attakai, A., & Teufel-Shone, N. I. (2016). Flexible roles for American Indian elders in community-based participatory research. Preventing Chronic Disease, 13. doi: 10.5888/pcd13.150575
- Reinschmidt, K., Attakai, A., Kahn, C. B., Whitewater, S., & Teufel-Shone, N. I. (2016). Shaping a stories of resilience model from urban American Indian elders’ narratives of historical trauma and resilience. American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research, 23(3), 117-133. doi: 10.5820/aian.2304.2016.63