HBS Doctoral Students — Last Names N-Z
Learn about our doctoral students' interests, research, and more. Last names N-Z.
Danielle Nestadt
About
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Year entered: 2017
Previous degrees: Master of Public Health (Columbia University); Master of Social Work (University of Maryland); Bachelor of Arts (Brown University)
Research and Scholarship
Research and practice interests: Structural determinants of health; empowerment; female sex workers; children and families; case management/service access for marginalized populations
Dissertation proposal title: Empowerment among street-recruited female sex workers in Baltimore, Maryland: Implications for HIV prevention
Selected publications:
- Conceptualizing overdose trauma: The relationships between experiencing and witnessing overdoses with PTSD symptoms among street-recruited female sex workers in Baltimore, Maryland
- Confirmatory factor analysis and construct validity of the Internalized Sex Work Stigma Scale among a cohort of cisgender female sex workers in the United States
- CHAMP+ Thailand: Pilot randomized control trial of a family-based psychosocial intervention for perinatally HIV-infected early adolescents
Courses taught:
- Baltimore Community Practicum
Contact
Email: dnestadt@jhu.edu
Advisor: Susan Gail Sherman, PhD
Amelia Noor-Oshiro
About
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Year entered: 2017
Previous degrees: Master of Public Health (Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health); Bachelor of Arts (University of California, Los Angeles College of Letters and Science)
Research and Scholarship
Research and practice interests: Social determinants of health; mental health inequities and disparities; minority mental health; psychosocial stress; suicide; racial/ethnic minorities; immigrants; faith minorities (Muslim); discrimination; stigma; trauma and violence; intersectionality; oppression; life course perspective methods and approaches; community-based participatory research; qualitative methods; quantitative methods; mixed methods; multi-level socioecological approaches
Dissertation proposal title: Intersectional Stigma, Belongingness, and Suicide: A Novel Approach for Minority Mental Health
Courses taught:
- Islamophobia & Health
- Islamophobia & Mental Health
- Minority Mental Health
- Introduction to Campaigning and Organizing for Public Health
- Introduction to Community-Based Participatory Research: Principles and Methods
Contact
Email: anooros1@jhu.edu
Advisor: Carl Latkin, PhD
Stella Park
About
Year entered: 2015
Contact
Email: spark120@jhu.edu
Adrienne Pizatella
About
Year entered: 2021
Contact
Email: apizate1@jhu.edu
Meagan Robichaud
About
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Year entered: 2020
Previous degrees: Master of Public Health in Health Behavior (University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health); Bachelor of Arts in Sociology (Wake Forest University)
Research and Scholarship
Research and practice interests: Impact of tobacco control policies on tobacco use behavior and health disparities; impact of state and local marijuana policies on risk perceptions, substance use behavior, and health disparities; impact of communications, including marketing, for both tobacco and marijuana products on risk perceptions and substance use behavior, particularly among youth
Selected publications:
- Characteristics of proposed and enacted state tobacco control legislation in the United States, 2010–2015
- Tobacco companies introduce 'tobacco-free' nicotine pouches.
Contact
Email: mrobich3@jhu.edu
Advisor: Ryan David Kennedy, PhD
Joelle Robinson
About
Pronouns: She/her/hers/beloved
Year entered: 2018
Previous degrees: Master of Health Science (Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health); Bachelor of Arts (Spelman College)
Research and Scholarship
Research and practice interests: Food systems; food sovereignty; health equity; community-led and community-informed program and policy development
Contact
Email: jrobi142@jh.edu
Advisor: Roland J. Thorpe Jr., PhD
Shae Ala Robinson-Mosley
About
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Year entered: 2021
Previous degrees: Bachelor of Science in Sports Medicine - Athletic Training (Eastern Michigan University); Master of Education in Adult and Higher Education (Grand Valley State University); Master of Medical Science in Physician Assistant Studies (Emory University)
Research and Scholarship
Research and practice interests: Adolescent health; sexual and reproductive health and STI prevention; pediatric and adolescent HIV/AIDS; adolescent mental health ; LGBTQIA+ health
Contact
Email: srobi113@jh.edu
Advisor: Vanya Jones, PhD
Talata Sawadogo-Lewis
About
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Year entered: 2021
Previous degrees: Master of International Public Health (University of Sydney); Bachelor of Science in Food Chemistry (McGill University)
Research and Scholarship
Research and practice interests: Sexual and reproductive health; maternal and child health; LGBTQ health; global health
Selected publications:
- The potential contribution of the health system to reducing stunting in SUN countries
- The role of gender power relations on women’s health outcomes: evidence from a maternal health coverage survey in Simiyu region, Tanzania
- Early estimates of the indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal and child mortality in low-income and middle-income countries: a modelling study
Contact
Email: tsawado1@jhu.edu
Advisor: Stella Babalola, PhD
Laura Sisson
About
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Year entered: 2019
Previous degrees: Master of Science in Social Work, Advanced Clinical Practice (Columbia University); Master of Public Health in Sociomedical Sciences (Columbia University); Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Russian Literature (Cornell University)
Research and Scholarship
Research and practice interests: Structural vulnerability; mental health; substance use; social policy
Selected publications:
Contact
Email: lsisson4@jhmi.edu
Advisor: Susan Gail Sherman, PhD
Torra Spillane
About
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Year entered: 2020
Previous degrees: Master of Public Health (Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health); Bachelor of Arts (Reed College)
Research and Scholarship
Research and practice interests: Tobacco control; marijuana control; policy implementation and impact
Selected publications:
- Blowing the lid off: an analysis of interior cigarette pack features and marketing strategies
- Demographic and psychological moderators of the relationship between neighborhood cigarette advertising and current smoking in New York City
Contact
Email: tspilla1@jhu.edu
Advisor: Joanna Cohen, PhD
Saraniya Tharmarajah
About
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Year entered: 2021
Previous degrees: Bachelor of Arts (Johns Hopkins University); Master of Science (University of Oxford)
Research and Scholarship
Research and practice interests: Health communication; dissemination and implementation science; research-based theater; racial and ethnic health disparities; migration; community-based participatory research; systematic review methodology; mixed-methods
Selected publications:
- Safety Planning With Marginalized Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence: Challenges of Conducting Safety Planning Intervention Research With Marginalized Women
- The Effect of Lutein/Zeaxanthin Intake on Human Macular Pigment Optical Density: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Contact
Email: stharma1@jhu.edu
Advisors: Douglas Storey, PhD
Carla Tilchin
About
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Year entered: 2020
Previous degrees: Master of Science Public Health (Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health); Bachelor of Science (Bates College)
Research and Scholarship
Research and practice interests: Racial health disparities; community-informed research; translational research; social determinants of health; impacts of institutional racism
Selected publications:
- Overlapping Transmission Networks of Early Syphilis and/or Newly HIV Diagnosed Gay, Bisexual and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM): Opportunities for Optimizing Public Health Interventions
- Promoting Tuberculosis Preventive Therapy for People Living with HIV in South Africa: Interventions Hindered by Complicated Clinical Guidelines and Imbalanced Patient-Provider Dynamics
- Recommendations From Black Sexual Minority Men: Building Trust to Improve Engagement and Impact of HIV/STI Research
Contact
Email: ctilchi1@jhmi.edu
Advisors: Carl Latkin, PhD; Cui Yang, PhD
Samantha Tsang
About
Year entered: 2015
Contact
Email: stsang@jhu.edu
Tuo-Yen Tseng
About
Year entered: 2015
Contact
Email: tuoyen@jhu.edu
Mudia Uzzi
About
Pronouns: He/him/his
Year entered: 2018
Previous degrees: Master of Science in Control of Infectious Diseases (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine)
Research and Scholarship
Research and practice interests: Structural drivers of community violence and trauma; spatial analysis; influence of the built and social environment on public health issues; racial, socioeconomic and geographic based health inequities; social and structural determinants of health; place-based interventions; social epidemiology
Dissertation proposal title: Structural Drivers of Community Violence in Baltimore City
Contact
Email: ouzzi1@jhu.edu
Advisor: Carl Latkin, PhD
Connor Volpi
About
Pronouns: He/him/his
Year entered: 2021
Previous degrees: Master of Public Health (Brown University); Bachelor of Science (University of Florida)
Research and Scholarship
Research and practice interests: Sexual and gender minority health; implementation science; HIV/AIDS; global health; social networks
Selected publications:
- The role of county-level socioeconomic status on brand-name prescriptions in Medicare part D: A cross-sectional study
- Correlation of antimicrobial prescription rate and county income in medicare part D
- Retaining transgender women in HIV care: best practices in the field
Contact
Email: cvolpi1@jhu.edu
Advisor: Karin Tobin, PhD
Caitlin Weiger
About
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Year entered: 2017
Previous degrees: Master of Health Science (Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health); Bachelor of Science (Mount Saint Mary's University)
Research and Scholarship
Research and practice interests: Tobacco control; tobacco regulatory science; tobacco marketing; health communication; politics of health policy; psychophysiological indicators; neuroimaging
Dissertation proposal title: Misperceptions about nicotine and the tobacco product risk continuum: Understanding correlates of misperceptions and testing the effectiveness of messages to correct them
Selected publications:
- Are national antitobacco campaigns reaching high-risk adolescents? A cross-sectional analysis from PATH Wave 2
- Cigarette Packs With URLs Leading to Tobacco Company Websites: Content Analysis
- Restricting 'Natural' and 'Additive-free': Did FDA’s Agreement with Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company Change Advertising for Natural American Spirit?
Courses taught:
- Corporate Influence on Public Health
- Tobacco Regulatory Science
- Program Planning for Health Behavior Change
- Quantitative Methods for Tobacco Control
- Policy Interventions for Health Behavior Change
- Implementation: Making Change Happen in Tobacco Control
Contact
Email: caitlin.weiger@jhu.edu
Advisor: Meghan Bridgid Moran, PhD
Abigail Winiker
About
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Year entered: 2020
Previous degrees: Master of Science in Public Health in Health Education & Health Communication (Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health); Bachelor of Arts in Psychology (Wake Forest University)
Research and Scholarship
Research and practice interests: Design, implementation, and evaluation of harm reduction-based behavioral interventions targeting vulnerable populations, particularly people who use drugs, individuals living with HIV, and sexual/gender minorities; the role of trauma and violence on substance use and mental health outcomes
Selected publications:
- 'When you’re getting high… you just don’t want to be around anybody.' A qualitative exploration of reasons for injecting alone: perspectives from young people who inject drugs
- Characterizing profiles of polysubstance use among high school students in Baltimore, Maryland: A latent class analysis
- An examination of grit in black men who have sex with men and associations with health and social outcomes
Courses taught:
- Health and Homelessness
Contact
Email: awinike1@jhu.edu
Advisor: Karin Tobin, PhD
Daniel Zaltz
About
Pronouns: He/him/his
Year entered: 2019
Previous degrees: Master of Public Health (Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health); Bachelor of Science (Boston University)
Research and Scholarship
Research and practice interests: Obesity prevention; nutrition; early childhood; health equity
Selected publications:
- Participation in the Child and Adult Care Food Program is associated with fewer barriers to serving healthier foods in early care and education
- Healthy eating policy improves children's diet quality in early care and education in South Carolina
- A public health messaging campaign to reduce caloric intake: feedback from expert stakeholders
- A garden-based intervention to improve dietary diversity in Kenyan school children: results from a natural experiment
Contact
Email: dzaltz1@jhu.edu
Advisor: Sara Benjamin-Neelon, PhD