MPH 2009

Karapet Davtyan (AUA MPH 2009), Head of the Monitoring and Evaluation Department, National Tuberculosis Control Office, Ministry of Health

Dr. Karapet Davtyan has been working in the National Tuberculosis Control Office (NTP) of the Ministry of Health of Armenia since 2011 and in January 2012 has been appointed as the Head of the Monitoring and Evaluation Department of NTP. Dr. Davtyan successfully implemented supportive decentralized monitoring and evaluation system for the National Tuberculosis Control Program. He also works as a Clinical Study Manager at Darmantest Laboratories, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration compliant Contract Research Organization, since 2013. Dr. Davtyan graduated from Yerevan State Medical University as a general practitioner in 2007 and in 2008 completed internship program of general medicine. In 2009 he has received his MPH degree form AUA and in 2013 completed the MPH/MBA dual degree program. Dr. Davtyan participated in several international workshops and certificate programs in the field of health care management and development. In his public health career in private and public sectors, he has been actively involved in research studies, particularly focusing on tuberculosis and cardiology.

Arusyak Harutyunyan (AUA MPH 2009), Adjunct Assistant Professor, Senior Research/Project Coordinator, Center for Health Services Research and Development, AUA School of Public Health

Dr. Arusyak Harutyunyan is a Senior Research/Project Coordinator in the CHSR. She has joined the CHSR in May 2008 and has mainly been involved in Tobacco Control projects. Dr. Harutyunyan earned her MD from Yerevan State Medical University in 2007 and Master of Public Health from American University of Armenia in 2009. She has also completed a residency program in Obstetrics and Gynecology (Yerevan State Medical University, 2011) and has been practicing as an Obstetrician/gynecologist. In 2008 she received Vartkess and Rita Balian Merit Award from AUA for achieving outstanding scholastic record and for showing great promise towards a professional career. Dr. Harutyunyan  has led multiple quantitative and qualitative studies. Dr. Harutyunyan was one of the organizers and leaders of the symposium “Implementing Smoke-Free Worksites in Central/Eastern Europe and Central Asia”, as part of the 5th European Conference on Tobacco or Health in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Dr. Harutyunyan has been a Teaching Associate in the Master of Public Health Program (MPH) for the courses General Principles of Public Health Problem Solving and Inferential Biostatistics; she has been a guest lecturer in several MPH courses. Currently, Dr. Harutyunyan is the Coordinator (a volunteer position) of the Coalition for Tobacco Free Armenia, a union of 30 NGOs. In 2012, she was competitively selected to receive a Scholarship and completed the Global Tobacco Control Certificate Program at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She has published in peer-reviewed journals and presented her work in various international scientific conferences. In 2013, Dr. Arusyak Harutyunyan published her MPH Thesis Project “Interbirth interval and history of previous preeclampsia: a case–control study among multiparous women” with her advisors Drs. Haroutune Armenian and Varduhi Petrosyan in the international peer-reviewed journal BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth (http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2393/13/244/abstract).

Lilit Khachatryan (AUA MPH 2009), Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, Global Fund Program Coordination Team, Ministry of Health

Dr. Lilit Khachatryan is the Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist of the Global Fund Program Coordination Team of the Ministry of Health of Armenia since January 2013. In 2012, USAID-funded HS-STAR project contracted Dr. Khachatryan to conduct external evaluation of the continuing medical education training for primary health care professionals from rural Armenia performed by the Fund for Armenian Relief. In 2009-2012, she held the position of Senior Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist at Postgraduate and Continuing Medical Education Department of Yerevan State Medical University. During 2000-2009, Dr. Khachatryan worked in the AUA Center for Health Services Research and Development, World Bank financed Management Contract Company and World Bank Rehabilitation Project grant. Before 2000, Dr. Khachatryan practiced as an endocrinologist in a clinical hospital in Yerevan. Dr. Khachatryan earned her Medical Doctor (MD) degree from Yerevan State Medical University in 1991 and Master of Public Health (MPH) degree from AUA School of Public Health in 2009. She participated in local and international conferences and workshops, contributed to public commissions and committees and has publications in peer-reviewed international journals. In 2011, Dr. Khachatryan published her MPH Thesis Project “Influence of Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 and Prolonged Estrogen Exposure on Risk of Breast Cancer among Women in Armenia” with her advisors Drs. Sarah Kagan and Robert Scharpf in the international peer-reviewed journal Health Care for Women International (http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07399332.2011.569041?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%3dpubmed& ).

Marine Nalbandyan (AUA MPH 2009), Assistant Scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

Dr. Nalbandyan earned her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in Epidemiology from the University at Albany, State University of New York (SUNY) in 2019. She graduated from the Master of Public Health (MPH) program of the American University of Armenia in 2009, and also holds a Medical Degree (MD) from the Yerevan State Medical University after Mkhitar Heratsi. Marine Nalbandyan is a recipient of several merit-based scholarships, including prestigious Calouste Gulbenkian Global Excellence Scholarship, Edmund S. Muskie Graduate Fellowship Program, and Meghrigian Public Health Ophthalmology Fellowship.
Throughout her PhD program at the University at Albany, SUNY, Dr. Nalbandyan worked (part-time) at the New York State (NYS) Office of Mental Health and NYS Department of Health, where she was involved in different research projects. During her work at the Department of Health, Dr. Nalbandyan completed two studies on birth defects — sacral agenesis and infantile cataracts (PhD dissertation), using data from the National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS), the largest population-based case-control study in the United States, examining risk factors for major birth defects. 
In her current position of an Assistant Scientist at the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Dr. Nalbandyan investigates associations between diet/nutrition and age-related eye diseases, including macular degeneration, cataract, and glaucoma. For that purpose, she uses data from the Carotenoids in Age-Related Eye Disease Study (CAREDS), an observational cohort study of older women, recruited from 3 study sites (Wisconsin, Iowa, and Oregon), and followed-up for an average of 15 years in CAREDS2. Dr. Nalbandyan’s research (past and current) is mainly focused on eye diseases, where she successfully applies her knowledge in clinical ophthalmology and public health, to provide additional insights into the epidemiology of eye diseases. 

Kushagra Mahansaria (AUA MPH 2009), Resident of Cardiology, Yerevan State Medical University

Dr. Kushagra Mahansaria upon completion of his MPH degree from AUA School of Public Health in 2009 applied for and received a grant from the Ministry of Tribal Welfare, Government of Jharkhand (India) for the development of Standard Training Guidelines and training of community health workers with the goal of tackling malnutrition and other healthcare related issues causing mortality among children aged under 5 years in rural areas. Serving as a Trustee and Medical Officer for an NGO called RINCHI Trust, he developed training guidelines for doctors and nurses from India’s indigenous systems of medicine to combat shortage of health professionals in rural Jharkhand and achieve MDG-2015 goals set by the World Health Organization. In addition, Dr. Mahansaria worked as an International Consultant for the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Armenia, where he was responsible for writing the Phase 2 proposal for the project “Support to the National Program on the Response to HIV Epidemic in the Republic of Armenia” and formulating its budget. In 2013 Dr. Mahansaria also obtained a MBA degree from AUA. He received Merit Based Scholarships during his studies in the MPH program, and an International Students’ Scholarship during his studies in the MBA program. Dr. Kushagra Mahansaria is currently a resident of Cardiology at the Yerevan State Medical University.

Anush Perikhanyan (AUA MPH 2009), Quality Assurance Manager, DarmanTest Laboratories LLC

Anush Perikhanyan  is  a  Principal Risk based Quality Management Lead at AstraZeneca R&D BioPharmaceuticals. She drives the Risk Based Management process in  oncological  projects to ensure compliance with regulations and to safeguard clinical trial integrity and patient’s safety. Having spent more than 10 years in a clinical research setting, her experience spans the cardiovascular, endocrinology, oncology therapeutic areas across different clinical trial phases. Before joining AstraZeneca, Anush worked in Clinical Research Organizations such as DarmanTest Laboratories and ClinChoice.  From 2010 to 2012  she worked at Nork Marash Medical Center as a Research Fellow.  Under the supervision of Dr. Hrair Hovaguimian and other leading specialists of the clinic she conducted several retrospective studies related to cardiovascular surgery and stenting. She was also governing  the Armenian Chapter of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) from 2011-2018.  Anush Perikhanyan graduated from the AUA MPH program in 2009, and holds a PharmD degree from Yerevan State University.

Diana Petrosyan (AUA MPH 2009), Client Account Manager, I+solutions, the Netherlands

Dr. Diana Petrosyan has been competitively selected for the position of Global Fund Voluntary Pooled Procurement (GF VPP) Client Account Manager in I+solutions – an independent, international, not-for-profit organization located in the Netherlands specializing in pharmaceutical supply chain management for low and middle income countries. They focus on the fight against HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, and on reproductive health activities. Dr. Petrosyan is responsible for oversight and management of GF VPP operations. She will guide the Global Fund Principal Recipients in the following countries: Armenia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Georgia, Ghana, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Laos, Liberia, Macedonia, Malawi, Mongolia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam. Before joining I+solutions Dr. Petrosyan was part of the Global Fund Program Coordination Team of the Ministry of Health of Armenia (June, 2011-May 2014) as a Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist and was promoted to the position of TB Component Coordinator in November, 2012. Previously Dr. Petrosyan worked in the Center for Health Services Research and Development at AUA and was involved in tobacco control projects. Her experience varied from qualitative to quantitative research projects, including a clinical trial to reduce the SHS exposure in homes in Armenia. She was one of the organizers of the first “Tobacco or Health” Conference in Armenia, as well as the symposium “Implementing Smoke-Free Worksites in Central/Eastern Europe and Central Asia”, as part of the 5th European Conference on Tobacco or Health in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. She earned her MD from Yerevan State Medical University in 2006 and Master of Public Health from American University of Armenia in 2009. She completing a residency program in Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Clinical Psychology at the National Institute of Health in 2008 and practiced as a psychiatrist in the Neuropsychiatric hospital in Avan in 2007-2011. In 2010, she was competitively selected to receive a Scholarship to complete the Global Tobacco Control Certificate Program at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She has published her work in peer-reviewed journals and presented in various international scientific conferences. In 2011, Dr. Diana Petrosyan published her MPH Thesis Project “Interaction of Maternal Age and Mode of Delivery in the Development of Postpartum Depression in Yerevan, Armenia” with her advisors Drs. Haroutune Armenian and Kim Hekimian in the international peer-reviewed Journal of Affective Disorders (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165032711004125).

Yelena Petrosyan (AUA MPH 2009), Postdoctoral Fellow at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, the Hospital of Ottawa, Canada

Dr. Yelena Petrosyan holds a PhD in Health Services Research from the University of Toronto, Institute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, Canada. Her doctoral thesis examined the quality of care for older people with multiple conditions including ongoing care, treatment safety, and coordination of care. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, the Hospital of Ottawa, where she is leading a project examining health care costs and long-term health outcomes associated with surgical complications. She also works as a Research Associate at the Bruyère Research Institute, Ottawa, where she is leading a project examining physician care in Nursing Homes and effect on resident outcomes. Before 2012, Dr. Petrosyan practiced as a physiotherapist in a Hospital of Police in Yerevan. Dr. Petrosyan earned her Medical Doctor (MD) degree from Yerevan State Medical University in 1997 and Master of Public Health (MPH) degree from AUA School of Public Health in 2009. Dr. Petrosyan has several peer-reviewed publications and presented her work at various Canadian and international scientific meetings and conferences. In 2011, Dr. Yelena Petrosyan published her MPH Thesis Project “Risk Factors for Development of Angiopathy of Lower Extremities in Type 2 Diabetes Patients: a Case-control Study” with her advisor Dr. Varduhi Petrosyan in the international peer-reviewed journal Middle East Journal of Family Medicine. Her current research interests include health services outcomes research and evaluation, health care quality, quality indicators, primary/specialty care, chronic diseases prevention and management, and multimorbidity.