Faculty & Staff
Technical Faculty
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Janet M. Johnston, PhD, MPH, MS |
Janet Johnston, PhD
Dr. Janet Johnston, Associate Professor of Epidemiology, has been appointed as interim director for the Institute of Circumpolar Health Studies (ICHS). Dr. Johnston received her PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Pittsburgh in 1998. She has served as the biostatistician for ICHS since 2011, taking time off in 2016 for a stint with the Anchorage Department of Health and Human Services. Her current areas of research focus are Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) prevention and health care utilization in homeless populations. Prior to joining UAA, Dr. Johnston served as Health Research Director and Senior Epidemiologist for the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and Co-Principal Investigator for the Coordinating Center for the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation. She also plays violin with the Anchorage Civic Orchestra and in her spare time enjoys running, reading and watching her sons’ sports activities.
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Ryan Ray, MPA, MBB |
Ryan Ray, MPA, MBB
Mr. Ray serves as a Health Policy Fellow within the Institute for Circumpolar Health Studies and provides a relational and strategic bridge between ICHS, State Government Entities, and other Non-Government Organizations. Prior to his employment with ICHS, Mr. Ray spent over ten years serving in both the Executive and Legislative Branches of the Alaska State Government. His service with the State includes facilitating the executive level strategic plan to retain and enhance Alaska’s multi-billion dollar military industry as a part of the Alaska Military Force Advocacy and Structure Team. He is also the Founder of the highly successful outpatient addiction treatment center, Set Free Alaska. Mr. Ray received a Master in Public Administration from the University of Southern California and a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt from Villanova University. Mr. Ray has been recognized by the Alaska Journal of Commerce as a 2011 “Top Forty under 40” award recipient and was named by Governor Sean Parnell as one of “The Great Alaskans of 2012”. When not in the office, he enjoys outdoor adventure sports, rugby, and traveling.
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Micah Hahn, PhD, MPH |
Micah Hahn, PhD, MPH
Dr. Hahn is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Health within the Institute for Circumpolar Health Studies. Her work focuses on understanding the health impacts of climate change and working with communities to develop strategies for adaptation. Although she is open to projects and collaborations that broadly address environmental health topics, her priority research areas are ecological questions at the center of OneHealth, strategies to improve food security and local food production, and the health co-benefits of climate mitigation. Dr. Hahn is committed to interdisciplinarity, collaboration, and community engagement. She utilizes a variety of methods in her work including geospatial analysis, remote sensing, human surveys, and ecological sampling. Prior to joining UAA, she was an epidemiologist at the Centers for the Disease Control and Prevention Climate and Health Program and the Division of Vector-borne Diseases where she developed ecological models related to West Nile virus and Lyme disease. Outside of the research world, she enjoys outdoor adventures of all kinds, growing and foraging whatever is possible in Alaskan soil, and slinging salmon while developing her commercial salmon business.
Research Staff
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Rebecca Van Wyck |
Rebecca Van Wyck
Rebecca has more than 10 years of experience in the environmental sciences, including work at the US Geological Survey Water Resources Division, and a private environmental consulting firm. She most enjoys working with data sets and interpreting the story within the numbers. Her investigations include the subjects of river flow, water quality, meteorology, and air quality, but now she is excited to have the opportunity at ICHS to match observations within our physical environment with social, economic, and health implications. Rebecca earned her BS in environmental science from Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. When not exploring data, she enjoys exploring Alaska by boat, plane, bike, and ski, and conversing in rusty Spanish or beginner Russian.
ICHS Strategic Advisory Group of Experts
Download a list of current SAGE members (PDF)