Gillian Ice

Gillian Ice, Ph.D., M.P.H., Interim Associate Provost for Global Affairs, is a professor in the Department of Social Medicine and African Studies. She has served previously as Director of Global Health for College of Health Sciences and Professions and the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Ice’s research explores aging with a focus on grandparent caregiving in sub-Saharan Africa. She teaches research methods and evidence-based medicine, epidemiology, geriatrics, cultural competence and global health.

Dr. Ice’s research focuses on the relationship between environment, stress and wellbeing of older adults. Her early work examined biomarkers of stress. She conducted a ten-year longitudinal study, examining the impact of caregiving on Kenyan grandparents. Currently, she is examining the role of grandmothers in preserving cooking traditions and the impact family nutrition in Ghana and Rwanda. She edited (with Gary James) “Measuring Stress in Humans: A Practical Guide for the Field.” She is author (with Darna Dufour and Nancy Stevens) of “Disasters in Field Research”.

As the director of Global Health for the Heritage College from 2002 to 2012, she directed study abroad programs for medical students. In 2013, she founded the Global Health Initiative (GHI), a collaboration between the Heritage College and the College of Health Sciences and Professions. GHI offers study abroad programs that promote an understanding of global health issues, increase multicultural awareness and involve students, faculty and staff in research, education and outreach activities abroad and in immigrant communities in the U.S. Dr. Ice worked with GHI faculty and staff to develop courses, undergraduate and graduate certificate program and a master's of global health. She works with colleagues on health systems strengthening projects in sub-Saharan Africa, including curriculum development in Botswana and research training programs in Botswana, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Egypt and Ghana. 

Ice served as special assistant to the president for public health operations. In this role, she managed COVID prevention, case management, contact tracing and policy for the university, in collaboration with the Athens City County Health Department. She is CO-PI on grants to study COVID levels in wastewater and evaluate the public health response to COVID in Ohio. She also is directing on several initiatives to improve student mental health.