She earned her PhD from the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. Her research explores the incontestable link between a family’s wealth holdings and the well-being of its members. Dr. Kagotho’s research, which primarily takes place in sub-Saharan Africa, has focused on the impact of chronic illness on wealth creation and wealth preservation, and on the intersection of HIV and AIDS and the intergenerational transmission of human capital. Currently Dr. Kagotho is examining best practices in working with low-income HIV impacted households in their attempts to navigate the socio-cultural and legal constraints to family economic security.