Doctoral Students

Erik Jorgenson
Program: Department of Epidemiology Areas of interest: Gun violence prevention
Mentor: Charles Branas

Jenny Caruso Program: Health and Behavior Studies, Teachers College
Areas of interest:   Gun violence prevention, school violence prevention, school climate
Mentor: Sonali Rajan

Dawn Myers Program: Health and Behavior Studies, Teachers College
Areas of interest:   Gun violence prevention, school violence prevention, school climate
Mentor: Sonali Rajan

Joseph Sanchez
Program: Health and Behavior Studies, Teachers College Areas of interest:   Community gun violence prevention
Mentor: Sonali Rajan

Christina A. Mehranbod
Program: F31 Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award   Areas of interest: Firearm violence, alcohol epidemiology, spatial epidemiology
Mentors: Christopher Morrison, Katherine Keyes, Dustin Duncan

Siddhesh Zadey
Program: R49 Columbia Center for Injury Science and Prevention Areas of interest: Firearm violence, alcohol epidemiology, spatial epidemiology
Mentor:  Charles Branas and Christopher Morrison

Stanford Chihuri Program: T32 Substance Abuse Epidemiology Training Program
Areas of interest: Cannabis use, road traffic crashes Areas of interest: Cannabis use, road traffic crashes
Mentors: Christopher Morrison, and Deborah Hasin

Amy Pitts
Program: T32 Substance Abuse Epidemiology Training Program Areas of interest: Casual Inference and Substance Use
Mentors:  Kara Rudolph, PhD and Caleb Miles, PhD

Adam Whalen
Program: T32 NIEHS Combined Training Program Areas of interest: Spatial epidemiology, substance use, injury epidemiology
Mentor: Dustin Duncan, Christopher Morrison

Sasha Berns
Program: Department of Environmental Health Sciences Areas of interest: Work Injuries
Mentor: Thelma Mielenz

Damemarie Paul
Program: Department of Epidemiology  Areas of interest:  fairness in machine learning algorithms
Mentor: Thelma Mielenz and Jeanette Stigone

Nora Clancy Kelsall
Program: Department of Epidemiology  Areas of interest:  Adolescent mental health, suicide (especially means access), overlap between overdose and suicide, spatiotemporal methods
Mentor: John R. Pamplin II

Megan Marziali
Program: Department of Epidemiology  Program: R36 Areas of interest:   partner incarceration and maternal substance use and the impact of endometriosis on risk substance use.
Mentor: Silvia Martins

Erin Annunziato
Program: Department of Epidemiology  Areas of interest: Substance use
Mentors:  Silvia Martins and Justin Knox

Cale Basaraba
Program: Department of Epidemiology  Areas of interest: Suicide contagion
Mentor: Katherine Keyes

Catherine Gimbrone
Program: Department of Epidemiology  Areas of interest: Substance use, mental health, injury epidemiology, epidemiology methods
Mentor:  Katherine Keyes

Sarah Gutkind
Program: Department of Epidemiology  Areas of interest: Substance Use
Mentors:  Silvia Martins and Debbie Hasin

Tameir Holder
Program: Department of Epidemiology 
Areas of Interest: Child Rights, Implementation Science, Policy
Mentor: Danielle Laraque-Arena

Jacqueline Wallace
Program: Mount Sinai School of Medicine Areas of interest: Youth Participatory Action Research
Mentor: Danielle Laraque-Arena

MPH Summer Practicum Students

Anjali Mani Abstract: Assessment of School Safety Measures and Hardening Practices Implemented in Public Schools in the United States.
Mentors: Sonali Rajan

Zehua Wang
Abstract: Beyond Gun Policies: What is the Evidence on the Effectiveness of Community Violence Interventions in Reducing Firearm Violence in the US?
Mentor: Charles Branas

Cailyn Clemons
Abstract: Quality Assurance of the Ogun Measure: Enhancing the Accuracy of Structural Racism Indicators in Health Outcomes Research
Mentor: Paris Adkins-Jackson

Caroline Nelson
Abstract: Beyond Gun Policies: What is the Evidence on the Effectiveness of Community Violence Interventions in Reducing Firearm Violence in the US?
Mentors: Charles Branas and University of Michigan

Christina Odewumi
Abstract: Examining the Association Between Teen Suicidality and the Prevalence of Cyberbullying Among Adolescents from Grades 9-12 in the United States: An Analysis of National Data from YRBS, 2011- 2023
Mentor:  Laura Jones (Bassett Research Institute, Center for Biostatistics)

Emillie Medina
Abstract: Drug Reduction Laws/Legal Provisions Have the Greatest Potential to Reduce Overdose Deaths Among General and Black Populations
Mentor:  John Pamplin II

Kennedy Jenkins
Abstract: Predictors of Social Isolation Among Older Drivers: AAA Longroad Study
Mentor:  Thelma Mielenz

Lillian Eisner
Abstract: Metric Development for Interrogating the Relationship Between Gentrification and Cognitive Functioning Among Older Adults in NYC
Mentor:  John Pamplin II

Yao Zeng
Abstract: Enhancing Measurement Tools for Structural Racism: A Comprehensive Analysis of Public Data and Methodological Approaches
Mentor: Paris Adkins-Jackson

Katherine Powers
Abstract: Jail Visits and Gun Violence Victimization in Dallas, Texas from 2015-2020
Mentor: Christopher Morrison

Riya Nadkarni
Abstract: Analyzing the Impact of Cyberbullying on Suicidality Among Otsego County Youth from 2016 to 2023 Using Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System Data
Mentor: Laura Jones (Bassett Research Institute, Center for Biostatistics)

Sam D. Gardner
Abstract: The Relationship Between the Receipt of Government Assistance Programs and Medicaid with Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Medication for Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Among Women in the US.
Mentor: Silvia Martins

Lisa Pardee
Abstract: Adverse Childhood Experiences as a Moderator of the Associations Between Minority Stressors, Sleep, Physical Activity, and Blood Pressure in Sexual and Gender Minority People of Color
Mentor: Billy Caceres (Columbia University School of Nursing)