![\"\"](\"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Dorian-Mundy-STORY.jpg\")
<\/a>Mundy<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cWe were doing a great job of calling out what was wrong and making sure women have access to prenatal care,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I felt like I needed to do research and focus more on the political and structural factors that prevent people from getting the healthcare they need in the first place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mundy returned to UToledo in 2019 to pursue her doctorate in public health with a key interest in improving infant and maternal health, particularly among racial minorities.<\/p>\n
Last year, she was selected as an American Public Health Association Maternal and Child Health Section Student Fellow, a prestigious program that provides mentorship and development for future leaders in the maternal and child health space.<\/p>\n
Dr. Erica Czaja, an assistant professor in the UToledo College of Health and Human Services, said Mundy\u2019s unwavering commitment to eliminating injustices in maternal and infant health is always readily apparent.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer dissertation research is centered on the lived experiences of Black women and illuminating the effects of American racism in its many forms on the health of Black mothers and babies,\u201d said Czaja, one of Mundy\u2019s mentors. \u201cDorian aims to contribute to the growing scientific evidence base on these factors in order to ensure they are appropriately addressed through changes in policy and practice.\u201d<\/p>\n
As one of 12 section fellows, Mundy had the opportunity to attend the APHA national conference in Denver last fall, where she was able to network with leading researchers and advocates in maternal and child health.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a great surprise, and I was very happy to be selected for the fellowship,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m hoping the exposure in the program and the opportunities I\u2019ll get to have conversations with other maternal and child health leaders will help me figure out the dynamics of the field and where I fit, whether it be in academia, nonprofits or government agencies.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mundy came to UToledo as an undergraduate on the strength and reputation of its pharmacy program and the competitive financial aid package the University offered her.<\/p>\n
She soon realized pharmacy school wasn\u2019t right for her and began to explore UToledo\u2019s other health-related programs. After a brief stint as a nursing student, she found her fit in public health.<\/p>\n
Mundy went on to earn a bachelor\u2019s in public health and then immediately enrolled in the University\u2019s Master\u2019s in Public Health Program, which she completed in 2015.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe University has been very supportive. That\u2019s one of the reasons I felt comfortable coming back,\u201d she said. \u201cI left a full-time job that I was very happy with. I was making a great salary for the field, but I wasn\u2019t fulfilled.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of Mundy\u2019s key areas of interest is the racial disparity in infant and maternal mortality.<\/p>\n
Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show Black babies are nearly twice as likely as white babies to die before their first birthday, and Black mothers are more than twice as likely to die of maternal causes than white mothers \u2014 a gap that widened significantly in 2020.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to do research that influences policy decisions and speaks more to structural barriers that shape our society and the way that our country actually contributes to health inequity,\u201d Mundy said. \u201cNot so much what women themselves can do to protect their pregnancy.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A two-time graduate of UToledo, Dorian Mundy was selected as an American Public Health Association Maternal and Child Health Section Student Fellow last year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":849,"featured_media":71989,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50,61,1,71,7],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71987"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/849"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71987"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71987\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71990,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71987\/revisions\/71990"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a>