The College of Public Health has welcomed nine new faculty this fall. Join us as we get to know Andrew Kiselica, Magnolia Hernandez, Renato Ferreira Leitao Azevedo, Jacob Harth, Chao Huang, Cynthia Carmean, Liyuan Wang, Eunhae Shin and George Mois! Next up in our series is George Mois, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Health Promotion & Behavior and the Institute of Gerontology.

• Can you tell us about your background?
  • My research is a collection of focus areas that utilizes an interdisciplinary approach to investigate and address challenges experienced throughout the aging process. My goals are to identify, advance, and contribute to the development of technologies that can promote social connectivity, healthy aging, well-being, social justice, and equity for adults across the aging process.

• What brought you to UGA and the College of Public Health?
  • I was drawn to UGA’s College of Public Health because of its commitment to innovation and enhancing the health of all. Seeing the wonderful work being conducted in the College of Public Health and across the UGA campus provided insights into potential collaborative opportunities and a support structure for expanding my program of research.

• What excites you or motivates you about being in the classroom and your research?
  • What motivates me the most about being in the classroom and my program of research is training and educating the next generation of public health professionals and researchers.

• How have you partnered with communities to improve health? Is there service or outreach work you’d like to do in Athens or Georgia?
  • Some of the ways I have partnered with communities to improve health includes but is not limited to:
    • Worked with health departments, local hospitals, and community-based organizations to facilitate the development of a community-wide strategic plan focused on various areas of health and wellness.
    • Lead committees that worked on improving and meeting the diverse health-related needs of the community.
    • Collaborated with community-based organizations to enhance access to health-related interventions.
    • Engaged in community informed research to support development of programs and services.
  • Next steps – My goal is to continue partnering with both the local and rural communities across the state to enhance access to resources and programs that can enhance healthy aging and support aging in place.

• What are you looking forward to this Fall semester?
  • Exploring the vast collaborative opportunities UGA has to offer

• A few fun rapid-fire questions:
  • Go-to road trip snack? Apples
  • Coffee or tea order? Triple shot of espresso over ice
  • One TV show or podcast you can’t stop talking about? Anything related to cooking!