iCHASM Alumni
Elizabeth Cahn, MPH
December 2016-December 2017
Elizabeth worked as a graduate research assistant for the iCHASM team while obtaining her MPH at Washington University in St. Louis. Currently, she works as a healthcare consultant with Navigant, where she focuses on government-level healthcare strategy, specifically helping with design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of healthcare programs and reform initiatives. Elizabeth is interested in institutional policy and how such policies affect behavioral change.
Veronica Chaitan, MPH
September 2015-May 2016
Veronica was a graduate research assistant with Dr. Cavazos’ team. She completed her undergraduate degree at St. John’s University before obtaining her MPH at Washington University in St. Louis, with a specialization in epidemiology/biostatistics. Currently, she researches and evaluates projects related to tobacco control and chronic disease as a Data Analyst at the Washington University Center for Public Health Systems Science. Her interests include epidemiology, biostatistics and data visualization.
Tina Chen
Summer 2019
Ms. Chen was a research assistant at the iCHASM lab over the summer, which was her first research experience. She is a rising high school senior at John Burroughs School and is interested in public health policy and East Asian studies.
Alexandra D'Agostino
August 2016 - May 2017
Alexandra D’Agostino worked at iCHASM while completing her undergraduate degree from St. Louis University. Alexandra is currently a graduate student in the University of Kentucky Clinical Psychology Doctoral program working with Dr. Mark Fillmore in researching how behavioral and cognitive mechanisms interact with the development of substance use disorders.
Jayla Johnson
Summer 2019
Jayla Johnson worked with the iCHASM team through the ASPIRE internship commenced through Washington University. She currently is a junior at Harris- Stowe State university, where she plans to graduate with a bachelors degree in biology. Following Harris-Stowe she hopes to pursue a MD-PHD partnership program.
Bianca Joseph
Summer 2017
Bianca worked with the iCHASM team as a NIDA Summer Intern. She is a senior at Columbia University, pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. Her research interests include social media and mental health, with a specific interest in the relationship between depression and self-identity as a result of the need for a positive self-image online. Bianca hopes to attend graduate school in Fall 2018 to pursue a Ph.D. in Social Psychology.
Kiriam Escobar Lee, MD, MPH
June 2016-December 2016
Kiriam is an international medical graduate from the Republic of Panama. In May 2017, she received her MPH with a Global Health concentration from Washington University. Currently, she is pursuing residency training in Pediatrics. She has an interest in addressing health disparities that exist in developing countries and plans on working to facilitate access to healthcare for low-income and disadvantaged children.
Lanie Pointer
Summer 2019
Ms. Pointer is rising Senior at Affton High School. She participated in a summer research program, called STARS, at Dr. Cavazos’ lab in Summer 2019. She is pursuing a career in medicine.
Biva Rajbhandari, MPH, MSW
June 2016 - May 2017
Biva Rajbhandari was an iCHASM research assistant. She currently works as an Analyst at the Child Investment Fund Foundation in New Delhi, India. As an Analyst, Biva conducts research for her team on the latest issues surrounding children’s health and rights in South Asia. She also oversees projects in India that aim to improve access to healthcare and education for children. Biva completed her undergraduate degree at Grinnell College before obtaining her MPH and MSW at Washington University in St. Louis. She is interested in using research to evaluate interventions to advance human rights and access to quality health care around the world.
Bria Savoy
Summer 2018
Miss Savoy had her first research-related experience with the iCHASM team through her internship with Washington University’s ASPIRE program. She currently attends Fisk University in Nashville, TN, Bria is a psychology major and plans on becoming a clinical neuropsychologist.
Austin Smarsh
Summer 2018
Mr. Smarsh worked with the iCHASM team as a part of Washington University’s IPH Summer Research Program. He is a graduate student pursuing his MPH at the University of Michigan, where he also completed his undergraduate degree in 2012. Mr. Smarsh has experience studying psychiatric disorders through neuroscience and biology, plans to study medicine, and is passionate about interdisciplinary healthcare.
Haley Stelzer-Monahan
Summer 2015
Haley interned with iCHASM as a STARS student the summer before her senior year of high school. She is currently attending Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology Science. Haley plans to apply to the Farmer School of Business and pursue a double-major with a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Business Management.
Sriram Zassenhaus
Summer 2019
Sriram is a senior at Marquette High School. He participated in a summer research program at Dr. Cavazo’s lab in the Summer of 2019. Sriram will attend a 6 year BA/MD program at the University of Missouri-Kansas City starting in Fall 2020.
Kidist Zewdie, MPH
October 2014-May 2016
Currently, she is a Technical Advisor at the University of Minnesota where she works with researchers across the country who are interested in utilizing Medicare and Medicaid administrative claims data for research. Kidist completed her undergraduate degree at Macalester College before obtaining her MPH at Washington University in St. Louis, with a specialization in epidemiology/ biostatistics. She is interested using both qualitative and quantitative data to address pressing public health issues, both globally and locally.
Jessie Zheng
November 2016-May 2017
Jessie was a research assistant at iCHASM. She is currently pursuing her MSW from the Brown School at Washington University with a concentration on children, youth, and family issues. She specializes in promoting effective management strategies in the field of social work and public health. She has worked in various community-based programs focusing on the improvement of children’s health and wellness.
Micah Goodman
2018-2019
Mr. Goodman graduated from Washington University with a degree in computer science. He has experience in social science research and app development. He’s particularly interested in using technology to expand access to high quality mental health help. Currently, Micah is the CEO of Rissana, LLC which is builds software that helps individuals make healthy behavioral changes.
JJ Zhang, MSW
September 2019-April 2020
JJ worked as a practicum student for the iCHASM team while earning his MSW from the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. He is interested in exploring data from social media and natural language processing techniques. JJ is going to pursue a Ph.D. in Social Work at the University of Hong Kong.
Briana Wilson
July 2019-April 2020
Ms. Wilson is a graduate of the University of Missouri – Columbia where she received her B.S. in Biomedical Engineering. After completing her studies, Briana returned to work in the hospital setting in one of the underrepresented areas of St. Louis. She has previous experience conducting research within the field of engineering.
Caroline Min
July 2018-February 2020
Ms. Min was an MD/MPH candidate at Washington University (WU). Before beginning her medical training at WU School of Medicine, she completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Pennsylvania. She hopes to specialize in Obstetrics and Gynecology. She is now a graduate student of public health at WU Brown School. Within public health, she is interested in women’s, maternal-fetal, sexual, and reproductive health, and cancer disparities and prevention. She has experience working in medical and public health research.
Nnenna Anako
July 2018-May 2020
Ms. Anako was an MPH candidate specializing in Health Policy Analysis at Washington University. She attended the University of Arizona where she double majored in Psychology and Sociology. She has conducted research on the social and cultural implications of the Gold King Mine spill for Native American communities. After her undergraduate degree, Nnenna worked as a counselor, focusing on substance abuse, domestic violence and life skills. She is interested in mental healthcare access and policies for low income and under-served communities.
Samantha Sansone
June 2017-December 2019
Samantha is an undergraduate student at Washington University pursuing a B.A. in Entrepreneurship with a minor in Psychology. She has worked with the iCHASM team on and off since she was in high school and is happy to be back again this semester to help with all the ongoing research projects in the lab.
Raven Riordan
July 2019-July 2021
Raven completed her B.S. at the University of Missouri with a major in Biology and a minor in Spanish. She was a Rater in the iCHASM lab is currently attending medical school with a specific interest in Obstetrics and Gynecology. She has extensive experience conducting a variety of bench research as well as assisting patients overcome opioid addiction.
Andrea Fentem
August 2019- August 2021
Andrea completed her undergraduate degree in Psychology and her Masters in Clinical Psychology at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. She was the project manager in the iCHASM team. She has experience working with a wide-variety of populations, and has focused specifically on personality traits. Andrea is now pursuing her PhD in Psychology.
Christine Doroshenko
September 2018-May 2021
Christine received her MPH specializing in Biostatistics at the Brown School at Washington University. She was a student as well as a statistical data analyst in the iCHASM lab. She is interested in psychiatric epidemiology, psychiatric genetics, health behavior, developmental psychology, and psychoanalysis. Ms. Xu has experience examining risk factors and psychiatric comorbidity of eating disorders and social anxiety disorder, and the effects of child maltreatment using data from genetically informative, longitudinal study designs.
Amelia Dorsey
Spring 2021
Amelia was a research coordinator and assistant in the iCHASM lab. She graduated from Webster University with a BS in Psychology. She has worked in a variety of clinical settings including volunteering at St. Louis Children’s Hospital and BJC Hospice. Ms. Dorsey worked with Dr. Alex Ramsey, as well, on genetic implementation research.
Arielle Smith
Summer 2021
Arielle worked with the iCHASM team through the Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program. She is currently a senior at Washington University in St. Louis studying Psychological & Brain Sciences with a Concentration in Experimental Psychopathology. After her undergraduate education is complete, Arielle plans to pursue a PhD in clinical psychology.
Mehaly Bekele
Summer 2021
Mehaly worked with the iCHASM team as a NIDA Summer Intern. She is a junior at the University of Southern California pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Health Promotion & Disease Prevention with a minor in Neuroscience from Keck School of Medicine. She is interested in women’s mental, sexual/reproductive, and maternal and child health, specifically in underserved and low-income communities. Mehaly plans on obtaining her medical degree and specializing in obstetrics and gynecology after completing her undergraduate studies.
Jingchuan Fan
Summer 2020-Summer 2021
Jingchuan worked as a practicum student in the iCHASM lab. She received her MSW/MPH degree from Washington University in Saint Louis in 2021. During her time in the lab, Jingchuan assisted with projects related to substance use disorders and eating disorders. She is interested in mixed-methods research on substance use disorders and mental health and interdisciplinary research approaches using machine learning to detect health data on social media platforms.
Kevin Davet
Fall 2020- Spring 2021
Kevin worked with the iCHASM lab during his sophomore year at WashU as a part of his Mind-Brain-Behavior research program. He is majoring in Cognitive Neuroscience and Computer Science and has a passion for learning about Artificial Intelligence and its improvements for public health. After his last semester with iCHASM, Kevin worked as a Machine Learning Intern for the Cleveland Clinic. In the future, he hopes to continue learning about Computer Science and how to apply it to better physical and mental health.
Shawn Fraine
June 2021- March 2022
Shawn completed his Masters degree in Clinical Psychology at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. He has clinical training in neuropsychological assessment, counseling, and has worked with a variety of populations in both settings. Broadly, his research interests focus on LGBTQ+ health and relationships with special interests in revictimization, body dysmorphic disorder, and gender dysphoria.
Vibol Kong
Spring 2021
Vibol Kong worked with iCHASM lab during the first year of his MSW studies at the WU Brown School of Social Work, assisting with a project related to depression and social media. He his passionate about mental health, research, and policy. In addition, he hopes to bring back the knowledge and skills learned during his research experience to improve mental health in his home country (Cambodia).
Melody Konadu Frempong
Spring 2021
Melody worked as a practicum student with the iCHASM team while obtaining her MSW at WU Brown School of Social Work. She supported projects related to substance use among adolescents and adults, including pregnant and postpartum women and people. She has previously conducted research on harm reduction and substance use treatment among adults in Spain. Her interests include mental health, substance use recovery, adolescent reproductive health, and the use of technology in promoting equal access to health.
Georgi Sirko
Spring 2022-Fall 2022
Ms. Sirko completed her BA in Psychological Sciences from University of Connecticut and her Master of Social Work degree from Washington University in Saint Louis. She has training in conducting psychosocial assessment, crisis intervention, strengths-based intervention and trauma-informed care. She has worked with a variety of populations within non-profit organizations. Her research interests include intimate partner violence, PTSD, and how stigma influences help-seeking.
Mandy Montayne, MA
July 2021-July 2023
Ms. Montayne graduated from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville with her Masters degree in Clinical Psychology. She has training in counseling, crisis intervention, trauma-informed care and psychological assessment and has work with a variety of populations in various settings including university counseling centers, community mental health centers, and a sexual assualt care facility. Her research interests include eating attitudes and disordered eating, interpersonal violence, and sexual assault.
Yoseph Worku MD
Fall 2022-Fall 2023
Mr. Worku completed medical school at St. Paul’s Hospital Millenium Medical College in Ethiopia. He completed his Master’s in Biostatistics and Epidemiology at WUSM and Data Science and Statistics as a one league scholar at MIT. He worked as a front-line physician in Ethiopia during the COVID-19 pandemic, and has experience in clinical research and data analysis. His research interests include digital health interventions, health communication’s impact on clinical practice, and ways of increasing patient engagement in clinical practice and program development.
