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For Mohammed Jibriel, an assistant professor in Lehigh’s Department of Community and Global Health, global health is a lived experience. As a Lehigh University/United Nations (LU/UN) Faculty Fellow, he is using his work to connect research, teaching, and United Nations engagement in ways that bring real-world health inequities into focus.

Jibriel’s project centers on global health equity and aligns with the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including good health and well-being, gender equality, and reduced inequalities.

His research examines how religion, gender, and social determinants shape health outcomes across marginalized populations, with a focus on communities affected by conflict, displacement, and systemic discrimination.

“Through the Lehigh University/United Nations Partnership, my work primarily focuses on the public health consequences of the ongoing war in Sudan, including health system collapse, mass displacement, gender-based violence, and widening health inequities,” Jibriel said.

Connecting to the U.N.

The LU/UN Faculty Fellows Program supports faculty in integrating U.N. access into their academic work. Through the fellowship, faculty engage with UN agencies and global forums, then translate those experiences into research, classroom learning, and student opportunities.

The program is designed to expand Lehigh’s presence in global policy spaces while creating pathways for students to engage directly with international institutions.

His work is closely tied to his background as a Sudanese scholar. He was born and raised in Saudi Arabia and brings both personal and academic perspectives to a crisis that continues to receive limited global attention.

“My Faculty Fellows project grew from both my research interests and my personal connection to Sudan,” Jibriel said. “Sudan is currently experiencing one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises, yet it often receives limited international attention.”

Personal and Global

Through the fellowship, Jibriel is advancing policy-focused research on Sudan’s ongoing conflict. He is engaging directly with U.N. agencies and humanitarian organizations to better understand how conflict, displacement, and climate pressures intersect to shape health outcomes.

“My goal has been to help ensure that the experiences of Sudanese communities are represented in global policy discussions, particularly those focused on health, humanitarian response, and gender equity,” he said.

A central component of his work is integrating these global issues into the classroom. Jibriel teaches courses such as Introduction to LGBTQ+ Health and Global Perspectives on Health, where he plans to incorporate U.N. data, case studies, and policy discussions into student learning.

“The most meaningful part of this work has been the opportunity to connect academic research with global policy,” Jibriel said. “Too often, the realities experienced by communities affected by conflict or displacement remain distant from international decision-making spaces.”

Collaboration Across Borders

His work extends to the international stage through a proposed session at the Commission on the Status of Women, a major U.N. forum focused on gender equity. The session brings together perspectives from multiple regions to examine how climate change, conflict, and health disparities intersect.

“What inspired me to co-propose this session at the Commission on the Status of Women was the recognition that climate change, conflict, and health inequities are deeply interconnected,” Jibriel said. “This session brings together voices from different regions to highlight how climate pressures expose deeper legal and social inequities affecting women and girls.”

Jibriel is co-proposing the session with Dhruv Seshadri, an assistant professor of bioengineering, whose work focuses on global health innovation. Their collaboration reflects the interdisciplinary approach required to address complex health challenges.

“Co-proposing this session for the Commission on the Status of Women was driven by a simple but urgent realization: meaningful innovation in women’s health cannot happen in isolation,” Seshadri said. “It must be co-created with the very communities it aims to serve.”

For Jibriel, the fellowship strengthens a broader commitment to connecting research with impact. His work brings global health into policy spaces, into the classroom, and into the hands of students preparing to engage with the world beyond Lehigh.