Marissa L. Nichols

Education
BA in History and Spanish, Bridgewater State University, 2014
MA in History, UNC-Charlotte, 2016
MA in History, Emory University, 2019
Research Interests
Modern Mexico
History of Public Health
Nursing History
Ethnohistory
Gender Studies
History of Public Health
Nursing History
Ethnohistory
Gender Studies
Dissertation Title
"Indigenous Nurses in the Countryside: Vaccination Programs in Oaxaca, Mexico, 1942-1973"
Faculty Advisors
Yanna Yannakakis
Jeffrey Lesser
Kylie Smith
Biography
Marissa Nichols is a PhD candidate studying the history of public health and nursing in modern Mexico. Set in twentieth-century Oaxaca, her dissertation examines the role of visiting nurses and indigenous promotores de salud in the expansion of state-led rural health programs. She analyzes how health workers negotiated with local inhabitants, municipal authorities, and higher-up health officials to examine their role in reshaping community-state relations. Her dissertation research has been generously supported by a Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship (U.S. Department of Education), H-31 Pre-Doctoral Grant (American Association for the History of Nursing), Professional Development Support Funds (Emory University), and George P. Cuttino Scholarships (Emory University).