Zahra Goliaei

Dr. Goliaei is the MPH Program Director, a public health researcher, and associate professor whose work focuses on improving access to care, health literacy, and health outcomes among vulnerable populations, particularly in reproductive health and empowering immigrant and refugee women. A former physician who moved to the US, Dr. Goliaei brings a deep understanding of the cultural, linguistic, social, and structural factors that shape the health and healthcare experiences of immigrant and forced migrant communities. As a teacher and leader, Dr. Goliaei has years of mentorship experience across diverse academic institutions, working with students from undergraduate to doctoral levels in Public Health, health science, nursing, and osteopathic medicine programs, motivating them to engage in critical learning, discuss social determinants of health, participate in community-engaged research, and become change makers. Her research examines reproductive decision-making, autonomy, preventive health practices, and patient-provider communication. As a co-founder and co-investigator of the Refugee Reproductive Health Network (ReproNet), Dr. Goliaei has collaborated with community members, researchers, healthcare providers, and community-based organizations to develop culturally and linguistically tailored health literacy programs and workshops, expand multilingual reproductive health resources, and disseminate research findings to academic and community audiences. 

• Immigrant and refugee health
• Qualitative research
• Community-based participatory work
• Teaching and mentorship
• Health literacy program development

• Women's empowerment
• Refugees and migrants' health
• Reproductive health literacy
• Reproductive autonomy
• Intimate partner violence 

• Program Director, MPH program, USF (2026-current)
• Co-investigator and Core Executive Team, Refugee Reproductive Health Network (ReproNet), 2019-current 

• University of California, Merced, PhD in Public Health, 2022
• University of San Francisco, MPH, 2015
• Tehran University of Medical Sciences, MD, 2003

• Assistant Professor, MPH Program, Touro University of California, 2021-2026
• Dual Degree Chair (DO-MPH Program), Touro University of California, 2023-2026
• Adjunct Faculty, School of Nursing, USF, 2020-2026
• Adjunct Instructor, California State University, 2021-2026 

• UC Merced, Graduate Dean’s Dissertation Fellowship (2022)
• Emerging Scholars in Family Planning (2020)
• SEED Grant, Blum Center (2017)
   

• Tseng, K. W., Mohabbat, H., Adachi, A., Calaguas, A., Kaur, A., Salem, N., & Goliaei, Z. (2025). Reproductive Health Literacy and Knowledge Among Female Refugees: A Scoping Review of Measurement Methodologies and Effect on Health Behavior. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 22(7), 1121.
• Rauf, M., Goliaei, Z., Machta, L. et al. Reproductive health literacy scale: a tool to measure the effectiveness of health literacy training. Reprod Health 22, 12 (2025).
• Goliaei, Z., Chaban, Z., Amrei, S. A. M., Pashmineh Azar, Y., Afzal, L., Hakim, R., Al-Ani, H. A., Koga, P. M., & Guggenbickler, A. M. (2023). Post-Resettlement Intimate Partner Domestic Violence in Afghan and Arab Refugees: A Scoping Review. Social Sciences, 12(12), 651.
• Goliaei, Z., Gonzalez, M., Diaz Rios, K., Pokhrel, M., & Burke, N. J. (2023). Post-Resettlement Food Insecurity: Afghan Refugees and Challenges of the New Environment. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(10), 5846.
• Thiel de Bocanegra, H., Goliaei, Z., Khan, N. et al. Refugee Women’s Receptiveness for Virtual Engagement on Reproductive Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Int.J. Behav. Med. 30, 366–375 (2023).