Dr. Rebecca K Fielding-Miller, PHD, MSPH

Dr. Rebecca Fielding-Miller is a social epidemiologist and an Assistant Professor at the University of California, San Diego in the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and faculty in the UCSD Center on Gender Equity and Health. Her research examines structural drivers of HIV, covid-19, and gender based violence in the United States and sub-Saharan Africa. She earned a PhD in Behavioral Sciences and Health Education from Emory University and an MSPH in International Health the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Rebecca served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in South Africa from 2006-2008 and as a Fulbright Scholar in Swaziland in 2013-2014. When not in the office she can usually be found following the commands of her 5-year old daughter, painting, or creating wobbly (re: artisanal) mugs on the pottery wheel.

Sub-specialties:
Covid-19 prevention in schools: Dr. Fielding-Miller developed and led the safer at school early alert (SASEA) project, which used wastewater monitoring to identify COVID-19 cases in socially marginalized K-8 schools across San Diego county. She has expertise in masking, disease spread, the importance of implementing structural interventions (increasing ventilation in school settings, providing easy access to testing, etc...), and the broader social impacts of school closures and covid-19 impact in racial and ethnic minority communities.

HIV and gender-based violence: Dr. Fielding-Miller works with colleagues in the Kingdom of Eswatini and South Africa to develop interventions addressing the intersection of HIV and violence in the region. She has adapted a women's self-defense and sexual assault resistance course for college women in Eswatini, and online sexual violence and harassment programming for college students. She is an acknowledged global expert in the role of transactional sex as a driver of HIV and intimate partner violence. She also has expertise on the role of food insecurity as a risk factor for HIV and violence among women in southern Africa.

Community engagement: Dr. Fielding-Miller's research is grounded in mutually respectful, equitable relationships with communities. She has published research on the sometimes troubling strained relationship between researchers and community based organizations, and on the ethical imperative for scientists to protect their study staff as well as study participants.