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We are thrilled to introduce our Fall 2024 doctoral cohort! They are 17 individuals whose training and background are highly diverse, but who share a passion for all that public health at CUNY SPH means. Please join us in welcoming them to our community.
Timnit Berhane
Community Health and Health Policy
Timnit Berhane, MPH, was born and raised in the beautiful city of Asmara in Eritrea. After completing her bachelor’s in applied biology, she moved to the US, where her journey in public health officially began. Her first encounter with public health was in the advocacy sphere in Eritrea, where she volunteered in maternal and women’s reproductive health campaigns. Timnit went on to obtain her master’s in public health from Ohio University and has since been working on health equity and community engaged research. Currently, she splits her time between the Institute for Health Equity Research and the Office of Gender Equity in Science and Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Her future interest area lies in exploring community-based mental health interventions in migrant communities.
Outside of work, Timnit loves finding coffee shops with a nice ambiance and drinks to work, read a good book, or just relax with friends. She also has a passion for plants, stemming from her experiences in a flowering plants class during undergrad, where she undertook the challenging task of collecting 20+ rare and endemic plants in Eritrea.
Aishwarya Sharma
Community Health & Health Policy
Aishwarya Sharma is a passionate public health advocate, driven by a commitment to community empowerment and health equity. Armed with a Master of Public Health from Columbia Mailman School of Public Health and dual degrees in Psychology and Public Health from the University of Texas at San Antonio, her journey is fueled by a pursuit of knowledge and improved health outcomes. Currently, she serves as a Health Education Associate at Mount Sinai, where she crafts educational materials and fosters open conversations on sexual and reproductive health with youth. From academia to community outreach, her work is guided by a dedication to fostering healthier, more equitable futures for all.
Jacqueline Cortez
Community Health & Health Policy
Jacqueline Cortez Lainez is a doctoral student at the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy, concentrating in Community Health and Health Policy. Her research interests include preventable chronic illnesses, specifically, type 2 diabetes, heart diseases and respiratory illnesses. She earned her Master of Public Health degree from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and a BS in Biology from St. John’s University. Throughout her research experience, she has contributed to several study interventions that aim to mitigate health disparities particularly within low-income and underserved communities.
Elizabeth Izampuye
Community Health & Health Policy
Elizabeth Izampuye hopes to combine research with community and hospital engagement to reduce maternal health disparities. Her interests lie in examining barriers to prenatal and postpartum care, exploring how hospital interventions can lessen these barriers, and using qualitative and community-based participatory research methods. She obtained a BS in Health, Society, and Policy from the University of Utah and an MPH in Social and Behavioral Sciences from the Yale School of Public Health.
Nicolas Makharashvili
Community Health & Health Policy
Bringing over a decade of experience, Nicolas specializes in designing and managing evidence-based public health and social development programs, particularly focused on preventing violence against children. As Director of Safe Futures Hub, he leads collaborative efforts with prominent organizations such as the Sexual Violence Research Initiative, Together for Girls, and WeProtect Global Alliance to generate and mobilize knowledge in combating childhood sexual violence. In his prior role as Senior Program Officer at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, Nicolas played a key role in disseminating and scaling up evidence-based interventions aimed at ending violence against children, collaborating closely with influential stakeholders including WHO, UNICEF, CDC, and others
Deirdre Flynn
Community Health & Health Policy
Deirdre Flynn has held finance, strategy, and operations roles working across a broad range of social service, consulting, and finance organizations primarily focused on healthcare services. She currently works as a Senior Healthcare Payment and Finance Advisor at the New York City Department of Health in the Bureau of Equitable Health Systems. Previously Deirdre was a Director at Nonprofit Finance Fund, advising community-based organizations that address social drivers of health on contracting with health systems and payors to serve their clients. She holds an MBA in Healthcare Management. She loves her noisy family, reading, and New York!
Miles Avila
Epidemiology
Miles Avila, MPH, is dedicated to improving patients’ lives by bringing critical medicines to those who need them. He graduated from Boston University School of Public Health in 2018 with an MPH in Biostatistics. Since 2018, Miles has been working as a biostatistician supporting and leading the statistical design and analysis of randomized controlled trials. Miles spent a few years working at CROs and learning in different therapy areas and study phases; since 2020, he has been working for AstraZeneca in the Vaccines & Immune Therapies Unit. In this role, Miles has led and supported the statistical design and analysis of clinical trials for COVID-19 medicines Evusheld (monoclonal antibody cocktail) and Vaxzevria (vaccine), both of which served as pre-exposure prophylaxis options against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. His work included conducting sample size and power calculations, assessing various analysis methods, and performing the statistical analyses that were critical to regulatory submission efforts. As a PhD student at CUNY SPH, he looks forward to expanding his statistical toolkit and giving back to the statistical community through methods research.
Allison S. Guarino
Epidemiology
Allison S. Guarino, MPH (she/her), is passionate about using research and data analysis to understand the drivers of health inequities and improve reproductive health in NYC and beyond. Allison is currently working as a contracted Health Scientist from the CDC Foundation with the Perinatal and Infant Health Team at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In her role, she provides scientific technical assistance and data analysis to the Perinatal Quality Collaborative program, specifically to sites serving pregnant and parenting people with substance use disorder and related mental health conditions. Prior to this, Allison was a Research Analyst at NYC DOHMH, studying programs for new mothers, babies, and their families. She also worked as an Epidemiologist at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, evaluating sexuality education programs, positive youth development programs, and clinical sexual and reproductive health services. As an upcoming PhD candidate in Epidemiology at CUNY SPH, she is excited to delve into traditional and emerging methods, as well as implementation science best practices to help guide research and policy. Allison obtained her MPH in Epidemiology and Maternal and Child Health from Boston University School of Public Health and graduated magna cum laude from the Kilachand Honors College at Boston University. Outside of her professional and academic pursuits, Allison loves to run in Central Park, see new shows, and try new restaurants with family and friends.
Jose Mazariego
Epidemiology
Jose Mazariego is currently completing his last semester as an MPH student at CUNY Graduate School of Public Health in Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Prior to pursuing public health, he was a student at Baruch College where he studied Statistics and Quantitative Modeling. His dedication to public health springs from his fervor for statistical analysis and data, as well as a strong desire to give back to his community. As an immigrant from El Salvador, he has personally witnessed the challenges faced by the immigrant community across the United States, from inadequate healthcare to economic hardships during the Covid-19 pandemic. As a research assistant at the Center for Systems and Community Design (CSCD), his work has centered on unraveling the myriad factors impacting the health of vulnerable populations, particularly in Harlem. His ongoing projects include investigating the impact of substance use, homelessness, and psychological distress on adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy among people with HIV, alongside simulating the effects of Covid-19 on HPV vaccinations among adolescents in New York State. As he transitions into this PhD program in Epidemiology and an incoming fellow at the Center for Immigrant, Refugee, and Global Health, he aspires to leverage both his personal experiences and professional expertise to enact positive change in communities like his through research and evidence-based interventions.
Brett Martini
Epidemiology
Brett Martini recently completed his Master of Public Health in Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases at the Yale School of Public Health (YSPH). There he nurtured an interest in infectious diseases, vaccine development, and vaccine-preventable diseases. During his tenure at YSPH, Brett participated in multiple research projects, such as developing accessible digital health tools and estimating different measures of vaccine effectiveness. In his roles, he assisted with evidence synthesis projects, provided support for clinical trials, conducted statistical analysis, and contributed to the creation of manuscripts intended for publication. Along with his research pursuits at Yale, Brett is finishing a two-year fellowship in clinical pharmacology at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Drug Research and Evaluation. His projects at the FDA focus on furthering the development of biological products through clinical trial database management, PK/PD modeling and simulation, and analysis of immunogenicity data. As a PhD student at CUNY, Brett is looking forward to acquiring advanced knowledge in epidemiologic research and methodology to become a creative researcher studying infectious diseases and evaluating the impact of vaccination. Outside of his professional and academic pursuits, Brett enjoys cooking for (and with!) friends and family, exploring national parks, and rating movies on Letterboxd.
Kedie Pintro
Epidemiology
Kedie Pintro, MS is interested in psychiatric epidemiology research with a focus on disparities and underserved populations. She currently works as a biostatistician at Massachusetts General Hospital and graduated with a master’s degree in neuropsychiatric epidemiology from the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health and a bachelor’s degree in biology and mathematics from CUNY Medgar Evers College. Projects she’s worked on have explored the impact of biological, social, environmental factors on psychological health outcomes as well as moderation of those outcomes. In her free time, Kedie enjoys listening to music, drawing, and playing team sports.
Eslam Abousamra
Epidemiology
Eslam Abousamra is a dedicated public health researcher passionate about infectious disease surveillance, data analysis, and enhancing public health intervention strategies. He graduated with a bachelors from Connecticut College in 2022 with honors studying molecular biology, applied statistics, and environmental studies and with a masters in Public health Epidemiology from University of Washington in 2024. He currently works as a graduate researcher at the Trevor Bedford lab within the Fred Hutch Research Center in Seattle where he researches infectious disease forecasting, surveillance, and the complex dynamics of respiratory viral interference. He also worked on various epidemiological research projects including studying addiction epidemiology specifically opioid research. He also had experience working in industry at Regeneron where he served in the digital biomarkers team and helped conducting clinical trials for digital end points. As an upcoming Ph.D. candidate in Epidemiology at CUNY SPH, he is eager to learn more advanced epidemiological methods as well as earn various skills in infectious disease interventions and implementation science. His goal is to build tools to improve public health surveillance and infectious disease interventions. In his spare time, Eslam enjoys photography, being outside, hiking, and reading about technology and science.
Jean Yanolatos
Environmental and Planetary Health Sciences
Jean Yanolatos holds a MS in Biotechnology from Johns Hopkins University, an MBA from New York University, and a Project Management Professional Certification. She has had a long career at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where she currently is a Director of Research Program Management overseeing and directing projects from early-stage research through clinical development in Regeneron’s Obesity, Muscle, and Metabolic Disease projects. Jean has worked on efforts to discern disease biology, develop precision medicine approaches to define patient populations, and create treatments for obesity, lipodystrophies, metabolic-dysfunction associated steatohepatitis, type 1- and 2-diabetes, and muscular diseases. Her research interests include understanding disease mechanisms and prevention of obesity and other metabolic/nutritional disorders. In her free time, Jean occasionally paints and spends time with her husband and young son.
Claire Masters
Environmental and Planetary Health Sciences
Claire Masters, MHP, has been based at Yale University for 10 years. She graduated from the University of Sydney School of Public Health in 2013 with a Master of Health Policy before relocating to the United States from her native Australia in 2014. With a background in healthcare administration, Claire initially worked in this field before transitioning to research. For three years, she served as a Research Associate at Yale’s Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, managing cardiovascular outcomes and quality measurement projects, before moving into her current role at the Yale School of Public Health as Associate Director for Health Care Management Education. Claire’s published research spans various aspects of public health, including digital health, cardiovascular outcomes, group prenatal care, perinatal mental health, and social determinants of maternal and child health. Through her doctoral studies, Claire is excited to contribute to a deeper understanding of the intersection of maternal and child outcomes and environmental determinants of health. In her spare time, she loves to run in Central Park, go swimming in the (Pacific) ocean, and go on adventures with her husband and son.
Neevetha Nadarajah
Environmental and Planetary Health Sciences
Neevetha Nadarajah graduated from Columbia University with a Master of Arts in Climate and Society. She also has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Communications. She currently is an Associate Client Success Manager at EnergyHub, a software company that built a distributed energy resource management system (“DERMS”) to support utilities in managing their load during peak demand to mitigate overload in the electric grid. In this role, she strives to be the distributed energy resource expert for her client in the utility world. Alongside being a client advocate, she also is a part of EquityHub, her company’s employee resource group focused on finding solutions to make demand response more equitable and accessible to all. As a continuation of her work in the energy industry, her research will focus on the negative impacts of an unstable electric grid on marginalized communities, such as how blackouts and brownouts disproportionately affect these communities and the health impacts of peaker plants that are often situated in low-income neighborhoods. In her free time, she loves to bake sweet treats, challenge herself with new dinner recipes, dance, and go to Broadway musicals.
