Marybeth Mitcham, PhD, MPH

Dr. MB (Marybeth) Mitcham is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Global and Community Health and the Director of the Online MPH Program in the College of Public Health. 

She is a social and behavioral scientist and educator with extensive experience in non-profit, community, and educational settings, focusing on translational public health research and on developing and implementing interventions to promote wellness and reduce the burden of preventable health conditions among diverse community groups through a trauma-informed, social justice framework. Her research and work focus on the interplay between humans and their environment, leveraging education to improve community health outcomes, and exploring intergenerational and interdisciplinary approaches to foster personal connectedness through storytelling and open conversations. 

Her primary research foci are resilience-focused holistic wellness initiatives, with an emphasis on rural, older, and American Indian populations, and the use of a Lifestyle Medicine (Food as Medicine) approach, using mixed-methods and qualitative designs that emphasize community-based participatory research

Research

Research Interests

• Nutrition and wellness translational research and education
• Food as Medicine
• Rural health
• Elder cognitive health
• Narrative change

Select Publications

• Mitcham,M. They’re Not Gonna Do the Same Thing Their Mom Did: Exploring the Role of Intergenerational Influences on IPV Trauma and the Power of Change. Behavioral Sciences. Resilience and Youth Development Special Issue. 2026
• Mitcham, M. Indigenous Elders as Natural Wellness Knowledge-Keepers and Sharers: Exploring Their Impact in the Adirondack and Appalachian Mountains. In: Indigenous Sovereignty in Environmental Research: Decolonizing Ethics and Methodologies. Tempe, AZ. University of Arizona Press; 2026.
• Mitcham, M. Enhancing Disaster Resilience and Health Maintenance for Rural Elders with Disabilities. Disabilities and Disasters. NY, NY. Palgrave Macmillan; 2026.
• Mitcham, M. I Never Knew: Stories of Resilience Discovered During Dementia. Gender of Secrecy. London, England. Routledge; 2026.
• Mitcham, M. Hawthorn. In: Wallace, TC, ed. Health Professional's Guide to Dietary Supplements. NY, NY: Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics; 2023.
• Mitcham, M. Horehound. In: Wallace, TC, ed. Health Professional's Guide to Dietary Supplements. NY, NY: Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics; 2023.
• Charoenmuang M, Helmholdt A, Mitcham M. Food systems for thought and change. https://4-h.org/about/4-h-at-home/food-systems/. 2021
• Mitcham, M. Sea Salt as a Food Preservative. In: Saini, R, ed. Science of Sea Salt. 2022.
• Mitcham, M., Wolfe, W, Tidball, M, Bowe, J, Tidball, K. 4-H Outdoor Cooking. Cornell University Cooperative Extension; 2020.

Awards

Rural Champion of the Year, Adirondack Rural Health Network, 2025

Online Teacher of Distinction Award, George Mason University, 2025

Climate and Health Hub Peer Learning Circle (Fellow), Climate Advocacy Lab,

Culture of Health Leadership Institute for Racial Healing Fellowship (Cohort 3), Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, National Collaborative for Health Equity, 2024

Early Career Mentorship Fellowship (Cohort 2), American Society of Nutrition (ASN), 2024

Promoting Indigenous Research Leadership, Center for American Indian and Rural Health Equity, 2024

Write to Change the World Scholarship, The Op-Ed Project, 2024

Online Teaching Excellence Award (Nomination), George Mason University, 2023

Affiliations 

Research and Policy (RaP) Fellowship, Co-lead, 2025-present

Healthy Eating Research Early Stage Investigator Work Group (HER ESI WG), Fifth cohort, 2025-2026

USDA Nutrition Evidence Systematic Review for the 2025 DGAs; Food Pattern Modeling Reports; Reviewer, 2024

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Warren County (CCE Warren), Board of Directors, Treasurer, 2024-present

National Rural Health Association (NRHA), Member, 2024-present

NYS Food as Medicine (FAM) Coalition Research and Evaluation (R+E); Subcommittee Chair; Steering Committee Member, 2023-present

Virginia Climate Center Affiliated Faculty Member, 2023-present

Advances in Nutrition; Reviewer, 2021-present

American Journal of Public Health; Reviewer, 2021-present

APHA; Reviewer, 2021-present

American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM), Member, 2022-present

American Society for Nutrition (ASN), Member, conference abstract reviewer, 2016-present

American Public Health Association (APHA), Member, conference abstract reviewer, 2022-present

Degrees

• PhD, Curriculum and Instruction, Liberty University
• MPH, Nutrition, Liberty University
• BS, Biology, SUNY Empire State College
• AAS, Human Development, SUNY Empire State College
• AAS, Science, Mathematics, and Technology, SUNY Empire State College