Introduction
Before her appointment at University of Bath, she was an Associate Professor at the University of York’s Department of Social Policy and Social Work, an Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois in Urbana Champaign and a Postdoctorate Research Associate at the Washington University in St. Louis Medical School-Siteman Cancer Center. She earned her Ph.D. and masters in social work (Boston College), and an M.P.A. as well as an M.A. from Columbia University and St. John’s University, respectively.
A native of Kosovo, Venera Bekteshi acquired extensive experience in health and mental health research over 9 years by practicing in non-profit and government sectors, among others, as an associate researcher at the United Nations’ Human Development Reports Office and as Deputy Director of the Albanian American Women’s Organization. Most of her research focuses on the health and mental needs of immigrants, the homeless and of adolescents, and on breast cancer prevention research. Yet, she also examines sex trafficking in such Eastern European countries as Albania, Kosovo, Romania, and Macedonia. Grounded in theory, her research addresses this significant issue by employing various methodological techniques, depending on data availability.
For her academic contributions and her involvement in community service and development, Professor Bekteshi received several prestigious awards and fellowships, among which the First Award for Community Building and Leadership by the International Leadership Class at the University of Oklahoma and the Mayor’s Recognition for Community Service, New York. Additionally, she won several competitive research grants from the National Institute of Health, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (co-authored) and a number of NGOs in New York such as the Van Ameringen Foundation and the New York Foundation. Currently, Professor Bektheshi has several ongoing projects on topics such as discrimination and Polish immigrants (with Dr. Monika Stodolska), the emotional barriers and access to mammography among Latina immigrants, and the integration challenges they face in the United States and United Kingdom
Expert
Migration, gender equality, health inequality
Fields of expertise: Education, Gender equality, Health and wellbeing, Migration, Reduction of inequalities / equity / poverty eradication, Science policy, technology and innovation policy, Social policy