Graduate Biosketches
Cliff Akiyama
Cliff Akiyama is a Lecturer in the Division of Family and Community Health in the School of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania, where he teaches victimology, forensic science, and forensic mental health. For the past ten years Mr. Akiyama has studied youth gangs with an emphasis in Asian gangs and has used his research to educate the law enforcement, public health, social work, mental health, and medico-legal communities on understanding the “signs and symptoms” in detecting youth gangs. Prior to coming to PENN, Mr. Akiyama served as a Deputy Sheriff to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Reserve Forces Bureau. As he continues his education in Public Health, Mr. Akiyama hopes to gain further insight into effective means of combating the problem of youth gang violence, which he calls “domestic terrorism.”
Sameena Azhar
Sameena Azhar graduated with an MSW/MPH from UPenn (2007) and a BA in Philosophy from the University of California, Berkeley (2002). Sameena received both the Otto and Getrude Pollack Scholarship and the Foreign Language Area Studies Fellowship at Penn. Sameena's areas of interest are the clinical fields of mental health, substance abuse, sexual trauma, and HIV/AIDS. As a recipient of a service fellowship from the American India Foundation, Sameena spent a year working at Mamta Health Institute in New Delhi, India, where she conducted a research study documenting the stigma and discrimination experienced by people living with HIV/AIDS. Sameena has worked in HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment at the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies at the University of California, San Francisco; Congreso de Latinos Unidos; and Blacks Educating Blacks about Sexual Health Issues (BEBASHI). She has also served on the Board of Directors of AIDS Services in Asian Communities (ASIAC) in Philadelphia. She currently resides in San Francisco where she works as a Clinical Supervisor at the Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center.
Arpita Basu, MBBS
Much of Arpita Basu's interest in Public Health was inculcated while pursuing a medical degree at T.N. Medical College, India. The one year of internship in the remote areas of India further added fuel to her interest in global health promotion and disease prevention. She actively participated in trauma management and was part of the flood relief camp conducted in Mumbai in July 2005. She is keen on pursing a further course in injury epidemiology and prevention on completion of the MPH.
Julie Cederbaum, M.S.W.
In addition to being a graduate of the MPH program, Julie Cederbaum is a doctoral candidate in the School of Social Policy & Practice. Her dissertation entitled, The Impact of HIV serostatus on Mother-Daughter Communication and Parental Monitoring is currently in process. Julie works with Drs. Loretta Sweet Jemmott and M. Katherine Hutchinson in the Center for Health Disparities Research at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. Julie received her Master’s in Social Work at the UCLA in 2001.
Bei Chen, M.D.
Bei Chen is a research fellow of Department of Otolaryngology –Head Neck Surgery. She graduated from Shandong University, School of Medicine, China. After graduation she had worked in the Hospital of Shandong University as an Otolaryngologist for more than ten years. During her career both as a physician and a researcher, she find that most head neck diseases correlate with cigarette smoking, such as cancer of oral cavity, nasal cavity, paranasal sinuses, larynx, pharynx and lung. Also cigarette smoking can cause infections of upper aerodigestive tract, such as chronic sinusitis, pneumonia and chronic obstructive lung disease. Currently she participates in the research project “Contribution of Second Hand Tobacco Smoke to Sinusitis” Her future research will focus on cigarette smoking and head neck diseases.
Evelina DiFranco, MPH, Graduated Summer 2005
Evelina DiFranco has been the Project Director of 4Sight Program, an eye care community outreach program of the Scheie Eye Institute at the University of Pennsylvania, since 2000. In this capacity, Ms. DiFranco oversees the daily activities of three part-time staff members, maintains and modifies established protocol activities, manages the budget, submits for funding to local and national organizations, and presents program accomplishments to various organizations, including the American Public Health Association. To date, the program has enrolled almost 1,000 members. In addition, Ms. DiFranco has been working with the West Philadelphia community in a new outreach initiative of 4Sight. It includes comprehensive vision screenings with follow-up or referred patients to provide eye exams and eyeglasses for those who are uninsured or underinsured. Ms. DiFranco’s primary public health interests focus on preventive community-based outreach and education initiatives.
Joel A. Fein, M.D., MPH, Graduated Spring 2005
Joel A. Fein, M.D., MPH is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and an Attending Physician in the Emergency Department at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). His areas of interest include violence prevention and pain management in children and adolescents. Dr. Fein is the co-director of the Emergency Department Violence Intervention Project at CHOP and The University of Pennsylvania Medical Center.
Dr. Fein has authored review articles and original research papers on the topic of violence prevention and the evaluation of post-traumatic stress disorder, and was the guest editor of the “Injury Prevention and Control” issue of Clinical Pediatric Emergency Medicine in June 2003. He is a manuscript reviewer for Pediatrics, Annals of Emergency Medicine, Pediatric Emergency Care, and Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. Dr. Fein is the Chairman of the Patient Satisfaction Subcommittee at CHOP, a member of the Youth Fatality Review Team of the Philadelphia Department of Health, and a member of Physicians for Social Responsibility.
Eron Friedlaender, M.D.
Eron Friedlaender, M.D. is an attending physician in the Division of Emergency Medicine at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and is an Instructor of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. She completed her fellowship training in pediatric emergency medicine at CHOP in 2003. Currently, she is supported by a T32 grant to pursue a fellowship in child advocacy.
Dr. Friedlaender’s research interest is in injury prevention, specifically related to child maltreatment and sports medicine. She is currently the principal investigator for a case-control study designed to evaluate the healthcare utilization patterns of victims of child maltreatment compared to matched controls in order to assess the association between Emergency Department and ambulatory service use prior to a diagnosis of abuse. In addition, Dr. Friedlaender has begun to establish an interdisciplinary team of experts in pediatrics, pediatric emergency medicine, law, public health, and social work to address landlord-tenant issues that compromise the health of children, such as abatement for lead, absent locks on windows and front doors, absent smoke detectors, and unregulated hot water heater temperatures.
Eric Griffin
Before becoming an MPH student at the University of Pennsylvania, Eric Griffin served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Republic of Kiribati, a pacific atoll nation. While in Kiribati, Mr. Griffin worked with the Ministry of Health to formulate the first road-safety program for the country. Mr. Griffin works with the Urban Nutrition Initiative (UNI), developed to improve the eating habits of West Philadelphia Teens, which he also worked with while an undergraduate at Penn.
Emily M. Hall
Emily M. Hall is student in the Family Health Nurse Practitioner/Masters of Public Health dual degree program. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Virginia in 2003. Since that time she has been practicing in the Intermediate Surgical Intensive Care Unit at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, where she qualified for certification as a Progressive Care Nurse. Her interests in international health lead her to participate in a health assessment and education program in rural Rwanda during 2006. She will pursue these interests while completing the Masters of Public Health program as a Global Health Fellow during the 2006-2007 academic year.
Joanna Holsten, M.S., R.N.
In addition to being a student in the MPH program, Joanna is also working towards her PhD in the School of Nursing. In her research she is focusing on the obesity epidemic that this country is facing. Joanna did her undergraduate work in at the University of Pennsylvania as well. Joanna is the 2008 recipient of the Shiriki Kumanyika Public Health Leadership Award.
Wen-Zhe Ho, M.D.
Wen-Zhe Ho, M.D. MPH
Dr. Ho is a viral immunologist with a research interest in how the body protects itself against viral infections, particularly human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV). He is also interested in investigating how drug abuse such as opioids and alcohol suppress human immune system and promote viral infections. Dr. Ho's laboratory is investigating the role of drug abuse in the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the immune dysfunction seen in patients infected with HIV and/or HCV. He uses in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo models to directly address whether drug abuse has the ability to promote HIV and/or HCV diseases. In addition, the work Dr. Ho has done in the past twenty years has given him insight into a number of problems and issues in public health.
Dr. Ho reports that his MPH training at Penn has certainly promoted him to have deep interests in using his basic research knowledge and background to address physical, mental, and environmental health concerns of communities and populations at risk for disease in the future.
Joanna Holsten, M.S., R.N.
In addition to being a student in the MPH program, Joanna is also working towards her PhD in the School of Nursing. In her research she is focusing on the obesity epidemic that this country is facing. Joanna did her undergraduate work in at the University of Pennsylvania as well.
Jennifer Levy
Jennifer Levy completed her undergraduate degree in Women’s Studies at the University of Maryland. She recently spent a year teaching English in Prague, Czech Republic. Since her return she has been working at the National Latina Health Network (NLHN), assisting in the development and implementation of public health programs designed to prevent chronic illness in Latinas and their families. While at NLHN her work has focused on programs that value peer/youth leadership, community mobilization and gender-centered approaches as tools for intervention and raising awareness. During her time at UPenn she hopes to continue working on projects that promote healthier communities through social change. Her primary interests within the field of Public Health include Global Health, Public Policy and Health Communications.
Sage Macleod, B.A., B.S.N., R.N.
Sage Macleod is currently enrolled in the Nurse-Midwifery program at the School of Nursing. Her interest in public health began while working at a reproductive health clinic, where Sage witnessed how economic, geographic, and social barriers to healthcare effected women’s lives. Working with low-income and HIV positive pregnant women has reinforced Sage’s interest in studying barriers to healthcare and underserved populations.
J. Nicole Martin, M.A.
J. Nicole Martin received her MA in Medical Anthropology in May 2006 from the University of Pennsylvania, and examined the role of drinking-experience narratives in two alcohol treatment programs, the BRENDA biopsychosocial model, and in Alcoholics Anonymous. As a former University of Pennsylvania undergraduate, Ms. Martin was an Urban Nutrition Initiative Fellow where she taught health and nutrition classes to middle school students, and organized and led a fitness night at a local West Philadelphia middle school, which was dedicated to informing students about the importance of exercising and eating healthily. Currently, Ms. Martin serves as the Director of the Phoenix Language Services Program at a local pediatric healthcare institution where she has worked on LEP (Limited English Proficient) patient policy and coordinates interpreter services to facilitate LEP patient care. While housed in the SOM at Penn, Ms. Martin plans to continue examining and addressing public health concerns, specifically LEP patient health rights, and more locally, researching and implementing policy regarding obesity concerns of West Philadelphia adolescents. Ms. Martin’s future endeavors consist of writing policy for LEP patients, co-creating and serving as secretary for the Pennsylvania Association of Medical Interpreters (PAMI) and pursuing a career in public health law.
Daniel O. Morris, D.V.M., DACVD
Dan Morris is an Associate Professor of Dermatology at the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. Since the mid-1990’s, Dan’s research has focused on zoonotic skin diseases and their implications for companion animal and human health. Most recently, his work has concentrated on the arena of multi-drug resistance in staphylococci [in particular, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)] and the potential for antimicrobial resistance in bacteria to be shared between people and their pets. Collaboration with the Pennsylvania Dept. of Health led Dan to realize that he wanted further education and credentials in the field of public health. Dan serves as a trainer in zoonoses for the PDH’s biannual Public Health Institute and is involved in the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System’s (NARMS) “Get Smart” program to further public health education regarding appropriate antibiotic use.
Lynda Nolan, RN, MA, MSN, APNC
Lynda Nolan has worked as a Nurse Practitioner in a joint Hospital and University Center in a high risk perinatal practice. She has also taught graduate and undergraduate nursing education. Because of her experience in reproductive health care as well as attending an OSHA internship, Ms. Nolan became interested in current and developing research on specific environmental chemicals that act as endocrine disruptors in fetal and newborn development. Her publications include a qualitative research analysis on Women’s Decision Making Process prior to hysterectomy as well as an article on the analysis of chronic exposures to certain environmental toxins. While attending the Public Health program at the University of Pennsylvania, she wishes to construct and participate in epidemiological studies as they relate to reproductive health issues in women’s health care and child development.
Jenny Pahys
Jenny Pahys first became interested in public health while researching Genetics as a Biology major in college. She has been interfacing with health systems for the last six years through her work experience in the consulting field and, currently, with Independence Blue Cross. Jenny would like to focus her public health study on factors impacting access to health care and health care utilization in urban environments as well as analyzing the efficacy of existing heath care systems and policies designed to assist low-income families.
Amanda Bennett Palladino, M.D.
Amanda Bennett Palladino, M.D. is a Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics fellow at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She received her medical degree from Marshall University School of Medicine and completed general pediatrics training at The Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. Dr. Bennett’s career interests include public school and mental health services and support systems for children with special needs and their families.
Nirav Patel, M.D.
Nirav moved to the United States in 2001 following medical training and the most part of medical residency in London, England. He joined Penn in 2004 having completed residency in Internal Medicine. After completing fellowships in pulmonary and critical care medicine, Nirav commenced a fellowship in sleep medicine. He is currently a post-doctoral fellow in the Center for Sleep and Respiratory Neurobiology and a clinical fellow in the Division of Sleep Medicine. Nirav’s concomitant exposure to the domains of sleep and public health has led him to an interest in the public health aspects of ‘sleep practice’.
Nirav’s research focus is in the sociology of sleep. Sleep is a ubiquitous activity that occupies one-third of our lives. The fact that millions worldwide do not sleep ‘well’ for one reason or other, translates to enormous direct and indirect costs by way of lost productivity, sick days, road traffic accidents, medical illness, and early mortality. In spite of this, the priority and interest in the subject of societal sleep practice is limited. His work aims to uncover differences in ‘sleep practice’, ‘sleep priority’, and sleep quality among social and neighborhood strata. Hypothesized differences, he believes, may also explain part of the well-known social-health gradient of society. Intervention on a grass-roots level would be required to positively affect sleep practice.
Andres Pinto, D.D.S., D.M.D.
Andres Pinto, D.D.S., D.M.D., is an Assistant Professor-Clinician Educator in oral medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine and a Clinical Attending Instructor at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center. He received his D.D.S. degree from Universidad Javeriana, (Bogota, Colombia) and a D.M.D. and a certificate in oral medicine from the University of Pennsylvania. Board eligible in oral medicine, he is also a member of the American Academy of Oral Medicine, the Hispanic Dental Association, and a fellow of the American Association of Hospital Dentists. He has been board certified since 2004. Dr. Pinto's research interests include pediatric oral medicine and minority access to care.
Dana Prince
Dana Prince is an educator and activist. A native of Seattle, Prince arrived in Philadelphia via Oberlin College. For the past four years, she has worked for the University of Pennsylvania Center for Community Partnerships coordinating health promotion and disease prevention programs at Sayre High School in West Philadelphia. Prince has researched, developed and implemented peer health education programs in adolescent sexual and reproductive health, nutrition, physical fitness and smoking awareness. She also founded two after-school peer health education groups: Nutrition Most Wanted, fall 2004, and the Stay Safe Crew, summer 2005. Prince is particularly interested in how urban youth can be active agents for change in their own lives and communities. She plans to use her experiences as Peer Health Education Coordinator at Sayre High School as a case study in the process, impacts and implications of peer-to-peer health education for urban youth.
David Reed
David Reed served as the Director of Infection Control and Quality Assurance for the School of Dental Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and worked with faculty, students and patients to assure awareness of the hazards associated with dentistry and related occupational injury. Mr. Reed is interested in issues of environmental and occupational health and has extensive experience in the field of occupational safety.
Esther Sampayo, M.D.
Esther Sampayo, M.D. is a Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellow in the Division of Emergency Medicine at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). She received her medical degree at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY. Dr. Sampayo completed a pediatric internship and a residency in social pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore, Bronx, NY. There she also acted as Chief Pediatric Resident before taking her current position at CHOP. Dr. Sampayo has served as vice-president of the National Boriqua/Latino Health organization and spearheaded national meetings, conferences and community outreach program.
Michelle Sanchez
As a fifteen year old working in a HIV/AIDS support clinic, Michelle Legaspi Sánchez began down her path to understanding the need for social change. Before pursuing her graduate education through Penn’s Social Work and Public Health dual degree program, Ms.
Sanchez has witnessed first hand how an adverse environment can greatly affect a child's health. She volunteered as a counselor, staff and board member during nearly a decade of work with a camp for children infected and affected with HIV/AIDS. More recently, she has worked as a social worker for several years in the Philadelphia foster care system and in international adoption. Ms. Sanchez was drawn to pursue studies at Penn to develop her skills in program development, advocacy work, and health policy in order to continue down the path working toward social change.
Devorah Wieder, M.D., MPH, Graduated Spring 2005
Devorah Wieder, M.D., MPH received her degree in medicine and her MPH from the University of Pennsylvania. She has long been interested in women’s health issues and specializes in Obstetrics and Gynecology. As a participant in the Victim Advocacy Training Program, Dr. Wieder received training in identifying women at risk for domestic abuse and in empowerment techniques to enable them to set up support systems. Dr. Wieder completed her MPH degree with a capstone project entitled “Documenting Obstacles to Obstetrics Care Utilization Among Medicaid Recipients in Southeastern Pennsylvania: A Patient-Centered Perspective.”
Sara Whittington, M.S.W.
Sara Whittington received a Master’s Degree in Social Work from Temple University in 2003. Shortly after receiving her MSW, she began working at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in clinical trails for HIV Prevention where she is the Data Manager for a several multisite Vaginal Microbicide and HIV Vaccine trails. Ms. Whittington has worked with people at risk for both homelessness and HIV Infection.