Dr. Azizur Molla is a professor in the Master of Public Health program within the School of Interdisciplinary Health at the College of Health Professions at Grand Valley State University. Dr. Molla received dual PhDs in medical anthropology and Demography from the Pennsylvania State University. He completed his Master of Public Health (MPH) from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. In his PhD thesis, he worked on the effect of water quality on disease. In his MPH thesis, he worked on the sustainability of public health agencies. He has experience in climate change, water and health, community health, environmental health, program evaluation, health education, and health promotion. He has over 20 years of college and university-level experience in teaching and researching health in South Asia and the U.S. Azizur has taught health & culture, population health, environmental health, research methods in anthropology, and summer ethnographic field school. Dr. Molla has worked with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in designing, implementing, and assessing reproductive and public health programs in South Asia. Azizur also coordinated and provided health officials in Bangladesh and Indonesia with training on global health, reproductive health, and healthcare systems.  

Dr. Molla has done extensive ethnographic research on public health issues in his home country of Bangladesh, the U.S., and Haiti. Since 2008, he has been engaged in public health research, education, and community health advocacy in Western Michigan and Grand Rapids. His research interests have focused on areas like 1) climate change and its effect on sea level rise, 2) Public perception of the United States Affordable Care Act, 3) health risks of indoor radon gas in West Michigan, 4) Transdisciplinary Approaches to Sustainable Water Resources and Treatment in Developing Countries, 5) assessment of healthcare for veterans in West Michigan, 6) Sustain Renewable Energy – Knowledge and Perceptions of West Michiganders. His studies and publications focus on diseases caused by water contamination and air pollution, health disparities, public health policy, and the roles of local and international organizations that address public health challenges. He has authored or co-authored books, chapters, and articles based on my research in public health. He is currently working on a textbook, “Climate Change, Drinking Water Security, and Public Health,” which is scheduled to be published by Springer Nature.

Return to faculty for Public Health, M.P.H.