Student 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.”

Amy Bastianelli

Amy Bastianelli hails from Newark, Delaware. She is a MSW/MPH dual degree student, having graduated from the University of Richmond in 2007 with a BS in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Spanish. Amy intends to pursue macro social work practice, with special focus on advocacy and policy formation relative to her public health interests, which include reproductive health services and ethnic health disparities. Amy is inspired by the work of Paul Farmer. She likes to spend her free time with friends and family.

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.

Inna Bleckman

Inna graduated from Penn with a Bachelor of Arts in Health and Societies and a minor in biology.  Her experience includes working for Penn's Center for Research on Reproduction and Women's Health and the Family Planning Council (Philadelphia, PA).  She also worked for the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) as coordinator of PCOM's component of the Bridging the Gaps program as well as a general community outreach coordinator.  Since 2005, Inna has been a research coordinator at the Center for Sleep at Penn.  Inna is a member of the Pennsylvania Public Health Association (PPHA) and the Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP). She is certified by both Penn and ACRP as a Clinical Research Coordinator.  In her personal life, Inna is a co-founder of a charity organization, an applicant interviewer for Penn and an advisor for Penn's Office of Career Services. She enjoys travel, photography, and reading.
 

Bei Chen

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.

 

Stephanie Ciosek

Stephanie Ciosek is a research specialist at the University of Pennsylvania. Over the course of her eleven year career in biomedical sciences, she has studied genetic diseases, development, and virology.  One goal of her studies is to use her scientific knowledge to help people understand health and biomedical issues as they relate to governmental policy.  

 

James Ferguson, V.M.D.

James David Ferguson is Associate Professor in Clinical Nutrition, Department of Clinical Studies, at the University of Pennsylvania New Bolton Center in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.  Dr. Ferguson received his VMD from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, his MS in Biomedical Engineering and Science from Drexel University, and his BA in Natural Science from Johns Hopkins University.  He is a Diplomat in the American College of Veterinary Nutritionists, as well as the American College of Theriogenologists.

 

Melissa Fernando

After obtaining a Bachelors degree in Computer Applications from Stella Maris College, Chennai, Melissa Fernando moved to Philadelphia in the summer of 2004. After much consideration, Melissa decided to pursue the route of the biomedical sciences. She accepted a position at the Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Department at the School of Medicine, where she developed and performed a wide variety of immunological experiments and analyzed her findings in scientific reports and presentations. During this period, Melissa successfully completed a course in Immunobiology where she gained sound knowledge of the biological basis of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). This sparked her interest in HIV and further research led her to find that HIV is the leading cause of death in African Americans. She pursued her interest further by exploring the research work of the University of Pennsylvania Faculty and found the work of Dr. Chris Coleman to be intriguing.  Melissa interviewed with Dr. Coleman and accepted his offer for the position of Research Assistant. During the past few months, Melissa has been working for Dr. Coleman on his latest research,“The Black Men’s Health Promotion Project.”This project is a randomized behavioral trial for African American seropositive men who have sex with men 50 years and older. Melissa has been in charge of screening and recruitment, module development, data collection and general database management of the Project. Currently, Melissa works as a Research Coordinator at the Center for Sleep and Respiratory Neurobiology at the School of Medicine.

 

Carmen Frazier  

 

Carmen Leticia Frazier is pursing a Master of Public Health degree with a concentration in Administration and Health Policy. Currently, she is the project manager of the WIN Asthma Study at the University of Pennsylvania. Carmen received her Bachelor of Science degree in Neuroscience from East Carolina University in 2005. Her interests lie in the areas of child and family health, immigration and health issues affecting the Hispanic community.

Amy Fuller

Amy Fuller entered the Master of Environmental Studies program after working at an animal shelter for two years post graduation. Public health classes taken through that program led her to apply for the Master of Public Health degree, which she plans to finish as a dual program with the MES. Amy hopes to find a Capstone Project that focuses on sustainable agriculture and nutrition in developing countries. After graduation she would like to enter the public health field through an international NGO or government position.

 

Joseph Graham, MD

Joe Graham is a residency graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Department of Family Medicine and Community Health. He is currently a fellow in the Family Medicine department and sees patients at Penn Family Care in West Philadelphia. Joe is interested in the delivery of primary care to urban families and is focusing his public health studies on community interventions that promote access to care.

 

Michael Harhay, MBe

Michael is a second year student in the MPH Program. His interests in public health focus broadly on governance, capacity building, and international development. Michael's research has taken him to Santiago, Chile as a Penn Global Health Fellow at the Universidad de Chile, and the Drugs for Neglected Disease Initiative in Geneva, Switzerland, as a CASE Fellow. Prior to the MPH Program, he completed his masters of bioethics (2006) from Penn's Center for Bioethics and his B.S., cum laude, in neuroscience and philosophy from Muhlenberg College. Since 2005 he has worked full-time in clinical research in Penn's Pulmonary Vascular Disease Program.

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.

Shannon McLaughlin

Shannon graduated with a Masters in Physical Therapy in 2002 from The University of Sciences in Philadelphia, and began her career at the Medical College of Pennsylvania, which was a Level II trauma hospital in the inner city.  There, Shannon was exposed to a number of inpatient settings including orthopedics, ICU, CCU and neurology.  After 8 months in the acute care setting Shannon was offered an inpatient rehab position at Magee Rehabilitation Hospital.  Shannon left Magee in 2005 to start her own company with a partner. They contracted with the Medical College of Pennsylvania (then called Woman’s Medical), where she worked as the inpatient therapist as well as managed the OT and Speech Therapists, staying with MCP until it closed in March of 2005. For two and a half years Shannon has served as a Senior I Physical Therapist at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where she is able to focus on the outpatient services of the neurological population.  She sat for her Neurological Specialist Certification in March 2007.

 

Daniel O. Morris, DVM, 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.

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, MD

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.

 

Anna Payanzo

Anna Payanzo hold a BA in Social Anthropology from Harvard College, with a focus on medical anthropology and critical science and technology studies. Undergraduate studies included research in tradition healing and religious practices in a Central African urban community, particularly as a means of addressing psychiatric and behavioral distress. Anna has been working, since completing her undergraduate studies, in inpatient and community mental health service setting, first with individuals, as a mental health specialist on a unit for dissociative and trauma, and most recently in program and housing development for a community-based social service agency operating throughout southern New Jersey. She is interested in researching policy and programmatic solutions to the nexus of health issues around homelessness, trauma, and dislocation and behavioral health program assessment. Anna would like to use my current work in supportive housing development as a focal point, but explore how research and programmatic interventions can be applied to similar issues among folks dislocated by war, trauma and poverty in Africa and in the Rural Native American Southwest United States.

 

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.

 

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.

 

Sara Whittington, MSW

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.  She would like to obtain an MPH to continue prevention research for at risk populations.

 

John Wierzbowski, MS

John Wierzbowski, MS, is employed at Pennsylvania Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania Health System. He is currently practicing Safety, Industrial Hygiene, and Emergency Management at the Hospital.  His primary focus is the anticipation, recognition, evaluation, and control of workplace health hazards (chemical, physical, biological, and radiological) and taking on all phases of the Emergency Management Life Cycle such as mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery in taking an “all hazards” approach to the management of any and all types of disasters that may affect Hospital Operations, whether natural or man-made. His expertise in safety, industrial hygiene, and hazardous materials has allowed for the successful development of a Patient Decontamination Response Team, and has also been involved in hospital, community, and citywide planning and preparedness for Pandemic Influenza. Moving forward, John is a strong believer that Emergency Preparedness is emerging into a large Public Health issue, and evidence shows a need for integration into sound public health practice. He believes this academic preparation will assist him is his important leadership role at Pennsylvania Hospital and in the surrounding community in which it serves, as well as be a resource for his home community.

 

Cara Zayac

Cara Zayak is originally from the small town of Scranton, PA. She received her undergraduate degree in Life Science with a minor in Psychology (cognitive/neuro emphasis) from Penn State University.  Cara started out as a pre-med major, but questioned whether pursuing an MD was the way to truly pursue the common good.  After working in research at Harvard Medical School for an epidemiological study focusing primarily on pulmonary function in spinal cord injured patients, Cara thought more seriously about a degree in public health.  She realized her goals in medicine would be better served working for the benefit of entire populations or communities, rather than one single case at a time, as a sole physician.

Cara has found she has many interests in health care, specifically promoting wellness, hygiene, access to care, and policy issues, and need a dynamic field and career, such as public health.  She enjoyed the research she did in epi, and hope to find a project she can feel passionate about. Cara is looking toward pursuing a PhD in epi and possibly staying in academia.