About
Lisbeth Swain, PhD, has been passionate about teaching and research throughout her career. Dr. Swain began as a research assistant at the Smithsonian Institution in San Blas, Panamá, her hometown, living among the Indigenous Guna people. This experience shaped her long-standing interest in Indigenous communities, languages, and the connections among culture, health science, and climate change. Her current scholarship includes Spanish health professions education and interpreting, community-based learning, translating biological research, computer-assisted language education, and language learner performance in hybrid settings. Her current interest focuses particularly on climate change’s impacts the Guna people communities, including sea-level rise, forced relocation, and the loss of traditional lands, and how these changes are affecting the health and displacement of Guna communities.
Lisbeth also develops curricula on Spanish health and medical communication, preparing students for bilingual cultural competency, health literacy, and communication skills in healthcare settings. Her work also aims to improve communication between English-writing scientists in the Caribbean and Spanish-speaking communities while fostering collaboration, student engagement, experiential learning, and scholarly publication.