Maya Magarati, Ph.D. is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Dr. Magarati is a core faculty in
Seven Directions, A Center for Indigenous Public Health, a part of the
Center for the Study of Health and Risk Behaviors in the Department. She incorporates Indigenous, landscape-based, culture-centered epistemologies in substance use, mental health, STI/HIV and environmental health research and evaluation. In addition, she investigates the science of community-engagement in health research. Dr. Magarati spent the past 11 years with the
Indigenous Wellness Research Institute building partnerships with Tribal Colleges and Universities and research collaboration with multidisciplinary, cross-institutional global teams investigating health disparities in American Indian and Alaska Native populations, immigrant, refugee and rural populations in the U.S., and among Indigenous communities experiencing environmental health issues due to water insecurity in Nepal. Dr. Magarati is a current Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Interdisciplinary Research Leaders fellow. She received her Bachelor in Nutrition & Dietetics in Australia, an M.A. in Sociology under the Fulbright program, and then a Ph.D. in Sociology from UW. She is indigenous Magar from Nepal’s Himalayas.