Michaela (Misha) Brtnikova was born in Brno, Czech Republic and received her Ph.D. in Kinanthropology in January 2009 at the Charles University in Prague. In her dissertation, she conducted research on improving active lifestyles of teenage girls. After coming to Denver, Misha continued in her education and finished her Master’s in Public Health in December 2014. Currently, Misha manages one of the seven NHLBI-funded programs called Disparities Elimination through Coordinated Interventions to Prevent and Control Heart and Lung Disease Risk (DECIPHeR). In Colorado, the program is focused on Reducing Asthma Attacks in Disadvantaged School Children with Asthma. As an instructor, Misha teaches at the School of Medicine mostly survey research methods and implementation.