Our People

David Paige, MD MPH, is Principal Investigator (PI) for HPRIL. He is Professor, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health in JHSPH, with a joint appointment in the Center for Human Nutrition and with Pediatrics in the Medical School. He is Director of the Johns Hopkins Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program. The Hopkins program has provided WIC services in multiple clinic sites in Baltimore City for more than forty years and currently operates 13 WIC clinics, including Head Start, shelter sites, and a homeless center. Dr. Paige has conducted numerous WIC based research studies to improve WIC services and has had a long-term interest in identifying ways to improve participation and retention. Dr. Paige is in charge of overall administration of HPRIL.

Laura E Caulfield, PhD, is co-Principal Investigator for HPRIL. She is Professor, Center for Human Nutrition, Department of International Health in JHSPH. She is a nutrition epidemiologist with 30+ years of research in maternal and child nutrition in diverse populations in the US, Canada and around the world. She is fluent in Spanish. She has conducted research in WIC populations in the US on nutrition and on infant feeding, including breastfeeding promotion, and served on the 2002 IOM committee evaluating dietary risk criteria for WIC. She is founding Academic Director of the accredited Johns Hopkins MSPH/RD program. She works with Dr. Paige on the overall administration of the HPRIL, will lead the grants program and oversee the technical assistance activities.

Susan M Gross, PhD MPH RD, is co-investigator for HPRIL. She is Assistant Scientist, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health in JHSPH, and is a nutritionist with the Johns Hopkins WIC Program.  She is a specialist in maternal and child nutrition, and has extensive experience with WIC implementation, evaluation methods, quality improvement research techniques, and providing technical assistance to state and local WIC agencies. She provided technical assistance to sub-grantees and is the primary contact for HPRIL, manages the HPRIL website, and manages the project's daily activities. You can contact Susan at sgross3@jh.edu.

Marycatherine Augustyn, PhD, is a co-Investigator for HPRIL. She is a Research Associate in the Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health in JHSPH and performs clinical duties as a certifier and nutrition counselor at the Johns Hopkins University WIC Program. She is a social and behavioral scientist with extensive experience in Maternal and Child Health research and programming, with an emphasis on the promotion and conduction of collaborative research and activities between academic and public agencies, particularly coordination of WIC activities with research activities. She will provide technical expertise on the incorporation of research into WIC setting and on qualitative research methods.

Erin Wick, BS, is a Senior Financial Manager in the Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health at JHSPH and is the financial manager for HPRIL. Ms. Wick has over 15 years of public health research grant and contract experience, including budget management of the Johns Hopkins WIC program, as well as extensive experience working with local and state WIC agencies. She is responsible for all aspects of HPRIL budget management and will work directly with sub-grantee financial staff to ensure that all financial activities are carried out efficiently, effectively and in compliance with all federal and University regulations. 

Yunhee Kang, PhD, is the epidemiologist for HPRIL. She is Assistant Scientist, Center for Human Nutrition, Department of International Health in JHSPH. She is a nutrition epidemiologist and program evaluator with 12 years of extensive experience in maternal and child nutrition. She has extensive experience leading and supporting the impact and process evaluation research of community-based nutrition programs implemented by international NGOs and UN agencies in low-income countries. She will provide technical expertise on quantitative data analysis to HPRIL sub-grantees.