New faculty spotlight: Regina Robbins, Ph.D.

Regina Robbins, Ph.D., is a new faculty member at UNMC.

• Name: Regina Emily Robbins, Ph.D.
• Hometown: Fallbrook, Calif.
• Title and department at UNMC: Assistant professor, UNMC College of Public Health, Department of Health Promotion

Research/professional interests:

• Native American health and wellness;
• Health care workforce disparities;
• Medical humanities;
• Mindfulness;
• Spiritual wellness; and
• Student health.

How I fell in love with public health:

I have always loved the adventure of living and appreciated the art and science of healing. In my life, that love developed through relationships with the Creator, with myself, my family and my community through gardening, dancing, running, hiking, eating, praying, playing, participating in ceremony and teaching and learning through language, art, science and stories. I didn’t recognize this as public health until I met fellow gardeners at City Sprouts who happened to be faculty from UNMC’s College of Public Health. They introduced me to the field of preventive and societal medicine and I have been enamored ever since.

Previous positions:

• Assistant professor, Native American Studies, Department of Sociology & Anthropology, University of Nebraska at Omaha
• Assistant professor and P’oe Pathways American Indian Education Training Program co-director, College of Education, Northern New Mexico College, Espanola, N.M.
• Adjunct faculty, Indigenous Liberal Studies, Institute of American Indian Arts, Santa Fe, N.M.
• Program evaluator, Interdisciplinary Center for Program Evaluation, Munroe-Meyer Institute, UNMC
• Faculty associate, Languages & Literatures, School of International Letters and Cultures, Arizona State University, Tempe, Ariz.

Degrees:

• Ph.D., preventive and societal medicine, UNMC, 2014
• Graduate certificate, maternal and child health epidemiology, University of Arizona, 2014
• M.A., Christian spirituality, Creighton University, 2010
• M.A., Spanish language and culture, Arizona State University, 2006
• B.S., psychology, Arizona State University, 1998

Memberships:

• American Public Health Association
• Center for Great Plains Studies Board of Governors
• American Indian Science and Engineering Society
• Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science
• Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center associate member
• UNO Medical Humanities affiliate faculty member
• UNO Office of Latin/Latino American Studies affiliate faculty member

Three things people may not know about me:

• My best pal and hiking partner is a 14-year-old, three-legged boxer/lab mix.
• I’m a proud member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.
• I’m bilingual (Hablo Castellano).