Meet Our Health Equity Scholars
These students are eager to examine and dismantle racist and discriminatory health and wellness structures. Impatient to make a difference in their communities, they are developing equitable public health interventions that will help people thrive both across the United States and around the world.
Vanessa Boadi, MHSA
Vanessa is a DrPH candidate with a focus on Health Equity and Social Justice and her research seeks to evaluate and improve representation in patient recruitment in clinical trials.
Breanna Calhoun, MS
A PhD candidate in the Department of Population and Family Reproductive Health, Breanna's research is focused on understanding and addressing U.S. disparities in maternal health.
Rashida Callender, MPH
Rashida is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering with a focus on <to come>.
Mia Campbell, MHS
A doctoral candidate in the Department of Mental Health, Mia's research prioritizes health equity in adolescent mental health and prevention.
Aja Clarke, MPH
Aja is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Population and Family Reproductive Health and she is pursuing research in adolescent health, sexual and reproductive health and menstruation.
Ameilia Cobb, MPH
A DrPH candidate, Ameilia is focused on health equity and social justice as it intersects with black birth equity and maternal mental health and disparities.
Sierra Grey-Coker
Sierra is a PhD candidate in biostatistics and plans to use statistical methodology to influence positive public health outcomes to reduce health disparities.
Indya Hairston, MPH
A DrPH candidate with a focus on health equity and social justice, Indya's community-based research intersects with issues of sexual and reproductive health, as well as maternal health among Black women.
Oscar Lopez, MPH
A doctoral candidate in environmental health and engineering, Oscar is a doctoral candidate whose research focuses on environmental justice, built environmental factors, mental health, and contaminant exposures among disadvantaged populations.
Kenneth Massey, MS, MPH, MLS
A Health Equity and Social Justice DrPH candidate, Kenneth's research analyzes the social determinants of health that increase the incidence and prevalence of communicable and non-communicable disease in minority populations.
Kiara Mayhand, MPH
Kiara is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Health, Behavior and Science and her work investigates the utilization of artificial intelligence and machine learning in healthcare, particularly for predictive modeling and clinical decision-making.
Maria Moncayo, MPH
A DrPH candidate in Health Equity and Social Justice, Maria's research investigates the social determinants of health and their impact on refugee and other vulnerable populations' health.
Kyle Moon
A doctoral candidate in the Department of Mental Health, Kyle's research evaluates overdose prevention and harm reduction as well as looks at social epidemiology.
Tahmina Parvin, MSc
Tahmina is a DrPH candidate with a focus on health equity and social justice, and her work focuses on child health, nutrition, and infection diseases.
Paulo Pontemayor, MPH
Paulo is a DrPH candidate in the Department of Health Policy and Management and his research looks at health care financing and federal health policy.
Michael Ramirez, MPH
Michael is a PhD candidate in the Department of Mental Health whose work looks at harm reduction, the impacts of trauma, opioid use disorder, dual treatment for comorbidities, and socioeconomics as a risk factor.
Barbara Wong, MPH
A DrPH candidate in Health Equity and Social Justice, Barbara's research evaluates community health and partnerships, the decolonization of public health, the impact of social determinants of health, and maternal, newborn and child health.