05/14/2026
“Across my time at KU, I was fortunate to learn from incredible mentors, colleagues, friends, and communities who helped shape who I am today and taught me how to engage communities in improving health at a systems level.” ❤️💙
Meet Ruaa Hassaballa, a Ph.D graduate in Behavioral Psychology with a focus on community health and development in the KU Department of Applied Behavioral Science. Ruaa follows the path of her sister, Dr. Ithar Hassaballa, who graduated from the same program in 2017 with her Ph.D. 💙❤️.
Their journey from Sudan to the United States began in 1999, carrying with them their family’s hopes, resilience, and belief in education and community. Today, they are leaders in community health and systems transformation creating more people-centered care locally, nationally, and globally. They were inspired by their father Dr. Hassaballa O. Hassaballa who graduated with his Ph.D in Cultural Anthropology at the University of Washington in 1986.
Congratulations, Ruaa! 🎓