Mary Fechner is a Proposal Development Specialist in the UMass Office of Research Development, under the VC for Research and Engagement. In that role, she consults with faculty in STEM and social and behavioral science disciplines, advising them on the development of research proposals to federal agencies (e.g., NIH, NSF). She also designs and delivers faculty workshops on themes relevant to proposal development. She supports interdisciplinary research (IDR) projects and the development of best practices for same, particularly with respect to the integration of social science with STEM and life science disciplines.
She holds a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology, with emphases in medical anthropology and the ethnography of communication. Her research has been funded by NIH and the Social Science Research Council. She has studied the role of culture on heart disease, depression, and their comorbidity, in conditions of social upheaval (e.g., the collapse of socialism in Eastern Europe and German reunification). Through her research, she seeks to better understand the impact of culture in shaping health and (chronic) illness outcomes, particularly heart disease and its precursors.