Research Interests

Health disparities, public health in West Virginia and Appalachia, substance use disorder, homelessness, health surveillance, health surveys, childhood diarrheal disease, urban and peri-urban environmental health, collective action around water and sanitation, rotavirus vaccination, ETEC and Shigella vaccination, translating research into health and development policy, dimensions of poverty

Geographic areas of interest: United States, Appalachia, West Virginia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia

Education

2016 Ph.D. School of Natural Resources and the Environment, Environmental and Global Health, University of Florida

2008 M.S. School of Natural Resources and the Environment, Anthropology, University of Florida

2001 B.S. Biology, Shepherd University

Academic and Research Positions

2022 – Present: Research Associate, Health Affairs Institute, West Virginia University, West Virginia, USA

Description: Leads research efforts within the Health Affairs Institute’s State-University partnership and other interdisciplinary research projects. Supports research and evaluation initiatives within Health Affairs interdisciplinary teams in collaboration with state partners to support large-scale evaluations, research and/or policy analyses.   

2020-2022: Lead Data Analyst, PATH & Bagamian Scientific Consulting, Florida, USA

Project: Public Health Value Propositions for Future Shigella Vaccines

2020-2022: COVID-19 Public Health Analyst, Pitkin County Public Health, Colorado, USA

Description: Contributed to COVID-19 response by supporting data management and public dashboards for Pitkin County Public Health.

2017 – 2019: Research Consultant, Sanitation and Hygiene Applied Research for Equity Consortium

Project: SafeStart – Randomized control trial studying the impact of a suite of weaning food hygiene interventions.

2019: Research Consultant, World Bank Water Global Practice

Project: Applying the Poverty Risk Model Assessment to water, sanitation and hygiene in Angola

2018: Research Consultant, World Bank Water Global Practice

Project: Global review of Chemical Contaminants in Drinking Water

2017-2019: Research Consultant, PATH Vaccine Solutions

Project: Rotavirus vaccine impact and cost-effectiveness accounting for heterogeneity across populations in Chad and Nigeria.

2017-2018: Research Consultant, PATH Enteric Vaccines Initiative

Project: Global and sub-national burden of ETEC and Shigella diarrhea and cost-effectiveness of ETEC and Shigella vaccinations

2017-2018: Research Consultant, World Bank Water Global Practice

Project: Global review of Chemical Contaminants in Drinking Water

2017: Post-doctoral Researcher, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC

Projects: Estimating Global Burden, Impact and Cost-Effectiveness of Rotavirus, ETEC and Shigella Vaccines

2011-2016: Research Coordinator, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

Projects: Effects of Geographic and Socioeconomic Disparities on Estimated Rotavirus Vaccination Impacts in India and Nigeria, Estimating Inequities in Sanitation-related Disease Burden and Estimating the Potential Impacts of Pro-poor Targeting.

2014-2015: Research Manager, Great Lakes University Kisumu, Kenya

Awards and Recognition

2023 Recipient, Research Associate of the Year, West Virginia University Health Affairs Institute

Team Recognition: 2021 Overall County Government Experience Award Finalist for Pitkin County COVID-19 Response and Recovery Website

2015 Recipient, Jeffery A. Gabor Employee Recognition Award, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

2015 Recipient, College of Public Health and Health Professions Employee of the Year, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL