HBS Doctoral Students — Last Names A-M
Learn about our doctoral students' interests, research, and more. Last names A-M.
Ananya Bhaktaram
About
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Year entered: 2023
Previous degrees: Master of Health Science in Social Factors in Health (Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health); Bachelor of Arts in Community Health (University of Oklahoma); Bachelor of Arts in Letters (University of Oklahoma)
Research and Scholarship
Research and practice interests: Socio-spatial relationships; social networks; agency; geographic information systems (GIS); social norms; neighborhoods; climate change; child health
Selected publications:
- Perceived Barriers to Climate Change Activism Behaviors in the United States Among Individuals Highly Concerned about Climate Change
- Creation, dissemination, and evaluation of videos to promote COVID-19 vaccination in India: A research protocol
- Correction: Social network analysis of COVID-19 vaccine YouTube videos in Odisha, India: mapping the channel network and analyzing comment sentiment
- Promoting Vaccination in India through Videos: The Role of Humor, Collectivistic Appeal and Gender
Courses taught:
- Intro to Public Health
- Program Planning for Health Behavior Change
- Seminar for MPH Concentration in Social Behavioral Sciences
Contact
Email: abhakta2@jhu.edu
Advisor: Carl Latkin, PhD
Google Scholar profile | LinkedIn profile
Suzanne J. Block
About
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Year entered: 2022
Previous degrees: Master of Public Health (Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health); Bachelor of Science (Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing); Bachelor of Arts (University of Pittsburgh)
Research and Scholarship
Research and practice interests: Sexual and reproductive health; hepatitis B and liver cancer; global health; participatory communication; mixed methods; arts-based methods
Selected publications:
- What Determines Vaccine Hesitancy: Recommendations from Childhood Vaccine Hesitancy to Address COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy
- Menstrual management among adolescent girls in Uttar Pradesh, India: An examination of interpersonal and mediated communication as delivery mechanisms for practical guidance
Courses taught:
- Introduction to Persuasive Communications: Theories and Practice
Contact
Email: sblock8@jhmi.edu
Advisor: Jill Owczarzak, PhD
Zachary Catanzarite
About
Pronouns: He/him/his; they/them/theirs
Year entered: 2016
Previous degrees: Master of Arts in Psychology (New York University); Master of Arts in Sociology (University of Florida); Bachelor of Science (University of Florida)
Research and Scholarship
Research and practice interests: Interests incorporate psychology, sociology, economics and public health; global health, health disparities, injury and violence prevention, and public mental health; intersection of socioeconomic inequality, social support, and mental health; how race, gender, men and masculinities, and political economy shape suicide, violence, and oppression; advanced methods and analyses
Dissertation proposal title: Suicide ideation in a community sample of Blacks in Baltimore, MD
Selected publications:
- Correlates of Patterns of Health Values of African Americans Living With HIV/AIDS: Implications for Advance Care Planning and HIV Palliative Care
- Support Network Factors Associated With Naming a Health Care Decision-Maker and Talking About Advance Care Planning Among People Living With HIV
- Quality of Life Among Caregivers of a Vulnerable Population Living with HIV: Caregiving and Relationship Factors
- Gendered Paths to Asset Accumulation? Markets, Savings, and Credit in Developing Countries
- Do men and women estimate property values differently?
Courses taught:
- Health and Homelessness
- Psychosocial Factors in Health and Illness
Contact
Email: zcatanz1@jhu.edu
Advisor: Carl Latkin, PhD
Catherine Clair
About
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Year entered: 2020
Previous degrees: Master of Health Science (Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health); Bachelor of Arts in Medical Anthropology and Music Performance (Case Western Reserve University)
Research and Scholarship
Research and practice interests: Aging; older adults; caregiving; social networks; care networks; social-medical networks
Dissertation proposal title: The Social-Medical Network: Using a Network Approach to Explore the Integration of Informal and Formal Care Networks of Older Adults
Selected publications:
- Refining a Taxonomy of Goals for Older Adults With Functional Limitations and Their Caregivers to Inform Care Planning
- Standardised approach to measuring goal-based outcomes among older disabled adults: results from a multisite pilot
- “You think you got it down and then the moment comes”: The certainty of uncertainty in end-of-life decision making
- Patient and provider perspectives on using goal attainment scaling in care planning for older adults with complex needs
- “Researcher” bias: How our assumptions on technology affect research of older adults
Courses taught:
- Introduction to Social and Behavioral Determinants of Health
- Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods
- Introduction to Qualitative Data Analysis for Public Health
Contact
Email: cclair1@jhu.edu
Advisor: Karin Tobin, PhD
Google Scholar profile | LinkedIn profile
Meredith Denney
About
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Year entered: 2023
Previous degrees: Master of Public Health in Epidemiology (Vanderbilt University School of Medicine); Bachelor of Arts in Psychology (University of Tennessee, Knoxville)
Research and Scholarship
Research and practice interests: Harm reduction; intimate partner violence; substance use; LGBTQ+ health; trauma-informed care; mixed methods
Selected publications:
- Violence, Discrimination, Psychological Distress, and HIV Vulnerability Among Men Who Have Sex With Men in Memphis, Tennessee
- Emotion Dysregulation Explains the Association Between Borderline Personality Traits and Cyber Dating Abuse Perpetration among College Students
Contact
Email: mdenney1@jh.edu
Advisor: Danielle German, PhD
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Carolyn Ellison
About
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Year entered: 2019
Previous degrees: Master of Public Policy (University of Maryland, College Park); Bachelor of Arts in Economics (University of Maryland, College Park)
Research and Scholarship
Research and practice interests: Public assistance experience and outcomes; health and social policy and implementation; welfare and poverty stigma; qualitative methods
Dissertation proposal title: Exploring Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Participation Stigma in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Selected publications:
Courses taught:
- Under Pressure: Health, Wealth & Poverty
- Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods
- Using Software in Qualitative Research and Analysis
- Statistical Methods in Public Health I
- Statistical Methods in Public Health II
Contact
Email: celliso5@jh.edu
Advisor: Katherine Clegg Smith, PhD
Shannon Fuller
About
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Year entered: 2021
Previous degrees: Master of Science in Global Health (University of California, San Francisco); Bachelor of Science in Biology (Rhodes College)
Research and Scholarship
Research and practice interests: Multi-level interventions; implementation science and evaluation research; peer support; community health; access to and engagement in care; patient-provider communication; stigma reduction; law and policy; local and global health
Selected publications:
- Voices, Images, and Experiences of Community Health Workers: Advancing Antiracist Policy and Practice
- Key Elements and Mechanisms of a Peer-Support Intervention to Reduce Loneliness and Isolation among Low-Income Older Adults: A Qualitative Implementation Science Study
- Medical-Legal Partnerships to Support Continuity of Care for Immigrants Impacted by HIV: Lessons Learned from California
- A peer intervention reduces loneliness and improves social well-being in low-income older adults: A mixed-methods study
- Dissemination and Implementation of a Community Health Worker Intervention for Disparities in Palliative Care (DeCIDE PC): a study protocol for a hybrid type 1 randomized controlled trial
Courses taught:
- Applications of Innovative Methods in Local and Global Health Equity Research
- Psychosocial Factors in Health and Illness
- Introduction to Methods for Health Services Research and Evaluation
- Using Software in Qualitative Research and Analysis
Contact
Email: sfulle14@jhu.edu
Advisor: Jill Owczarzak, PhD
Google Scholar profile | LinkedIn profile
Bailey Holmes Spencer
About
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Year entered: 2022
Previous degrees: Bachelor of Arts in Sociology (Spelman College); Master of Public Health in Population and Family Health (Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health); Epidemiology of Chronic Diseases Certification (Columbia University Mailman School of Public health)
Research and Scholarship
Research and practice interests: Improving minority health and advancing innovative interventions to counter HIV/AIDS disparities sustainably; social media's impact on health education and behavior; digital interventions and health communication; suicidality among Black and Latinx youth and young adults affected by HIV
Selected publications:
Contact
Email: bholme19@jhu.edu
Advisor: Michelle Kaufman, PhD
Amelia Jamison
About
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Year entered: 2020
Previous degrees: Master of Public Health in Social Epidemiology (University of Maryland, College Park); Master of Applied Anthropology (University of Maryland, College Park); Bachelor of Arts in History and Anthropology (Pennsylvania State University, University Park)
Research and Scholarship
Research and practice interests: Infodemics/misinformation/rumor; health Communication; health equity
Selected publications:
- The efficacy of Facebook’s vaccine misinformation policies and architecture during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Fighting the infodemic: the 4 i Framework for Advancing Communication and Trust
- LetsTalkShots: personalized vaccine risk communication
- Promoting Vaccination in India through Videos: The Role of Humor, Collectivistic Appeal and Gender
Courses taught:
- Fundamentals of Health, Behavior and Society
- Introduction to Persuasive Communication
- The Practice of Public Health Through Vaccine Case Studies
- Introduction to Health Policy
- Truth, Evidence, and Influence: Case Studies in Public Health
Contact
Email: ajamiso5@jhmi.edu
Advisor: Rajiv Rimal, PhD | Meghan Moran, PhD
Google Scholar profile
Bee-Ah Kang
About
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Year entered: 2021
Previous degrees: Master of Science in Public Health (Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health), Master of Arts in Communication (Seoul National University), Bachelor of Arts in Communication (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
Research and Scholarship
Research and practice interests: Social determinants of health; global health; social norms; gender norms; women's health; program evaluation; maternal and child health; mixed methods; multilevel approaches to health behavior change; health communication; mHealth/eHealth
Selected publications:
- The role of self-efficacy and risk perception in the willingness to respond to weather disasters among emergency medicine health care workers in Pakistan
- Improving bystander self-efficacy to prevent violence against women through interpersonal communication using mobile phone entertainment education: Randomized controlled trial
- Perceived sources of occupational burn-out and embitterment among front-line health workers for COVID-19 control in Gyeonggi province, South Korea: a qualitative study
- Mobile phone access, willingness, and usage for HIV-related services among young adults living in informal urban settlements in Kenya: A cross-sectional analysis
- Enhancing a willingness to respond to disasters and public health emergencies among health care workers, using mhealth intervention: A multidisciplinary approach
Courses Taught
- Fundamentals of Health, Behavior and Society
- Qualitative Data Analysis
- Qualitative Research Theory and Methods
Contact
Email: beeah.kang@jhu.edu
Advisor: Rajiv Rimal, PhD
Google Scholar profile | LinkedIn profile
Katrina Kennedy
About
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Year entered: 2022
Previous degrees: Master of Public Health (University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health); Bachelor of Science in Public Health (University of California, San Diego)
Research and Scholarship
Research and practice interests: Transgender and gender expansive health equity; LGBTQ+ health; violence prevention; trauma; substance use; social and economic policy; structural violence/vulnerability; space and spatial analysis; structural and social determinants of health
Selected publications:
- Protective Environments, Health, and Substance Use Among Transgender and Gender Expansive Youth
- Associations between school absence and school violence by sexual identity
Contact
Email: kkenne34@jh.edu
Advisor: Danielle German, PhD
Google Scholar profile
E. Kisanga
About
Pronouns: They/them/theirs
Year entered: 2021
Previous degrees: Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry (Yale University)
Research and Scholarship
Research and practice interests: Structural determinants of health; intersectionality; transgender healthcare; reproductive justice; mixed methods
Contact
Email: ekisang1@jhmi.edu
Advisors: Katherine Clegg Smith, PhD
Briana Kramer
About
Year entered: 2023
Contact
Email: bkrame11@jhu.edu
Kristy Marynak
About
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Year entered: 2019
Previous degrees: Master of Public Policy (Duke University); Bachelor of Arts in Political Science (Davidson College)
Research and Scholarship
Research and practice interests: Youth tobacco prevention and tobacco industry monitoring
Selected publications:
- State and Territorial Laws Prohibiting Sales of Tobacco Products to Persons Aged <21 Years — United States
- Use and reasons for use of electronic vapour products shaped like USB flash drives among a national sample of adults
- E-cigarette advertising expenditures in the United States, 2014-2018
- Self-reported exposure to, perceptions about, and attitudes about public marijuana smoking among US adults, 2018
- Age of tobacco use initiation and association with current use and nicotine dependence among US middle and high school students, 2014-2016
Contact
Email: kmaryna1@jhu.edu
Advisor: Meghan Bridgid Moran, PhD
Kiara Mayhand
About
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Year entered: 2021
Previous degrees: Master of Public Health in Epidemiology and Health Analytics (The College of New Jersey), Bachelor of Science (The College of New Jersey)
Research and Scholarship
Research and practice interests: Racial health disparities; structural inequities; artificial intelligence/machine learning
Selected publications:
Contact
Email: kmayhan1@jhu.edu
Advisors: Lisa Cooper, MD; Janice Bowie, PhD
Obie McNair
About
Pronouns: He/him/his
Year entered: 2019
Previous degrees: Master of Public Health (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill); Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications, emphasis in Public Relations (Tougaloo College)
Research and Scholarship
Research and practice interests: Black men's health and health disparities; cardiovascular disease risk among Black sexual minority men; HIV/STIs among members of the LGBTQ+ community
Dissertation proposal title: Associations between Cardiovascular Disease Risk and Interpersonal, Psychological, and Environmental Factors among Black Sexual Minority Men
Courses taught:
- Critcal Issues in Health Disparities
Contact
Email: omcnair1@jh.edu
Advisor: Roland J. Thorpe Jr., PhD
Ashley Meehan
About
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Year entered: 2022
Previous degrees: Master of Public Health in Global Health (Emory University Rollins School of Public Health); Certificate in Religion and Health (Emory University Candler School of Theology and Rollins School of Public Health); Bachelor of Applied Health Science in Public Health (Bowling Green State University)
Research and Scholarship
Research and practice interests: Homelessness; displacement by law enforcement; data systems; public health governance; religion as a determinant of health; ethics and human rights
Selected publications:
- Incidence of COVID-19 among Persons Experiencing Homelessness in the United States, January 2020-November 2021
- Screening for Housing Needs — Or Preventing Them?
- Previous Health Care Experiences’ Influence on Health Care Perceptions Among Residents in Six Homeless Shelters in Seattle, Washington, July–October 2021
- Public Health and Homelessness in the United States: Findings from a Nationwide Landscape Assessment, 2023
- COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptability among People Experiencing Homelessness in Central Florida and Southern Nevada, March-July 2021
Courses taught:
- Public Health Policy
- Service-Learning in Baltimore for Community Health and Well-being
- Crisis and Response in Public Health Policy and Practice
Contact
Email: ameehan3@jhu.edu
Advisor: Amy Knowlton, ScD
Google Scholar profile | LinkedIn profile