GCH Faculty

Congratulations to Ihara, Scafide, von Fricken, Weinstein, and Wojtusiak on their promotions and Guccione and Rome on being named Professors Emeriti. The College recognizes teaching excellence, leadership, dedication to research, and commitment to student success

Dr. Michelle S. Williams is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Global and Community Health at George Mason University. Dr. Williams’ research is focused on developing culturally appropriate health behavior interventions for cancer prevention and control that will lead to a reduction in cancer disparities. Since 2009, Dr. Williams has been conducting research in Ghana, West Africa that is focused on cervical cancer prevention.

Dr. Carolyn Drews-Botsch is Professor and Chair of Global and Community Health in the College of Public Health. Her research has focused on the epidemiology of pediatric conditions and the factors, particularly in the perinatal period, that contribute to their etiology.  Specifically, her work seeks to understand these conditions, and carefully apply modern epidemiologic methods to studies of these conditions. Her research program has included work in a variety of related fields including congenital cataracts, fetal growth restriction – particularly in relationship to placental development, intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorders.  

Dr. Griffin is a Professor in the Department of Global & Community Health at George Mason University. His research focuses on health risk behaviors such as substance use and abuse (including prescription drugs and opioids), violence and aggression (including bullying and sexual violence) and related behaviors among children, adolescents, and young adults.

Dr. Roess is a professor of Global Health and Epidemiology at the Department of Global and Community Health. She is an epidemiologist with expertise in infectious diseases epidemiology, multi-disciplinary and multi-species field research and evaluating interventions to reduce the transmission and impact of infectious diseases.

In 2019, Dr. Robert M. Weiler was appointed Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, College of Public Health at George Mason University. Dr. Weiler holds a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in health and safety education from Marshall University, a Master of Public Health, in community health education from the University of Tennessee, and a Doctor of Philosophy in education with a specialization in school health education from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.

Dr. Ali A. Weinstein is a Professor of Global and Community Health (GCH) and a Senior Scholar in the Center for the Advancement of Well-Being. She has extensive experience conducting human biobehavioral experiments in the laboratory and field, conducts survey research, as well as a small research portfolio of qualitative research.

Laura Wheeler Poms is a Professor, Undergraduate Program Director, and Graduate Program Director in Global and Community Health.  She is an occupational health psychologist focusing on how an individual's work environment influences physical and mental health.

Dr. James Metcalf is a professor in the Department of Global and Community Health. Teaching represents 100% of his current assignment, but he maintains research interest in personal health, current environmental conditions (hydrilla overgrowth in the upper tidal Potomac River); and most recently, the analysis of health-related themes in classical literature

Anna Pollack’s research focuses on the relationship between environmental chemical exposures and fertility, pregnancy, and gynecologic health. Critical to understanding these endpoints, she investigates biological mechanisms underlying these processes, such as biomarkers of oxidative stress, inflammation, and endocrine disruption