Dr. Diane Hardgrave a medical anthropologist and a professor at the College of Southern Nevada with a wide range of experience. Dr. Hardgrave was named Distinguished Professor of the Year in 2017 and is the recipient of the Nevada State Higher Education 2019 Regent's Teaching Award. 

  • She served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Liberia and later went on to work with Save the Children for over a decade in Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Mali, Egypt, and The Gambia. 
  • Her fieldwork investigates the role of cultural beliefs and behaviors in human health. She has traveled extensively throughout Africa, Europe, and New Zealand as an invited speaker.
  • Most notably, Dr. Hardgrave had the opportunity to address a special assembly at the United Nations where she emphasized the role of culture and need for anthropological methods in emergency assistance relief efforts for displaced refugee populations in East Africa. 
  • Within the United States, she has worked with alternative medical groups to study how non-western health practices are perceived and adopted.
  • Her current work includes content analysis of shamanic healing narratives and indigenous healing systems.