Dr. Faina Linkov is the Department Chair and Associate Professor, Health Administration and Public Health, Rangos School of Health Sciences, Duquesne University.  She was formerly an Associate Professor of Ob/Gyn and Epidemiology in the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, Magee-Womens Research Institute.

Dr. Linkov received her BS (magna cum laude), MPH, and PhD from the University of Pittsburgh.  She also completed her post-doctoral training at Pitt in the School of Rehabilitation Science.

Dr. Linkov is a multidisciplinary researcher with research interests in molecular epidemiology, cancer, prevention, health systems research, global health, scientific communications, and research productivity. In the area of molecular epidemiology, her work focused on the use of biological tumor markers to detect malignancies at early stages and on the link between obesity, biobehavioral factors, and cancer. Dr. Linkov’s longitudinal investigations have made significant contributions to the emerging view that intentional weight loss may play a significant role in the prevention of malignancies and normalization of aging associated biomarkers, especially through inflammatory pathways.

Dr. Linkov has been also focusing on the development of improved patient-centered approaches for translating scientific knowledge about disease prevention into clinical practice. With the support of Beckwith Foundation, she developed several projects focusing on health services research, which involved patient stakeholders. These efforts resulted in several important publications in the area of hysterectomy pathways and the impact of healthcare algorithms on the quality of care.

Dr. Linkov’s interest in science education lead her to be one of the core developers of the Supercourse of Science project at the Library of Alexandria in Egypt. This effort focused on expanding teaching efforts in the developing countries in four key areas, including Global Health, Agriculture, Environmental Science, and Engineering. Because of her concern about low scientific productivity in the developing world, she became the founding editor in chief of the Central Asian Journal of Global Health (cajgh.pitt.edu), the journal envisioned to provide publishing opportunities to scientists in the developing world.

Dr. Linkov is a member of the American Association for Advancement in Science, American Association for Cancer Research, and Delta Omega, Public Health Honor Society.  From 2017-2018, she participated in the Mid-Career Faculty Leadership Academy, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.  In 2012, she received the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute Scholar Award for meritorious biobehavioral research.  She is currently the Associate Editor of Cancer Causes and Control and serves on the editorial board of the Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases (SOARD), the official journal of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS).

View a list of Dr. Linkov’s publications here.

View Dr. Linkov’s Duquesne University profile here.