Are you interested in advancing your career in health disparities research globally? If so, apply to be a GATHER Trainee.

As a Trainee with the Global Alliance for Training in Health Equity Research (GATHER) at the Drexel Dornsife School of Public Health (DSPH), you will be supported while conducting health equity research in the United States and around the world.

Trainees partner with mentors (DSPH faculty and GATHER advisory committee members), receive intensive skills-based research training, and have an opportunity to travel to one of three research sites in Brazil, Kenya, and Mexico.

Becoming a GATHER Trainee offers doctoral students and postdoctoral scholars a chance to advance their careers and develop expertise in global health equity issues, while joining the DSPH's extensive international network of public health scholars across Latin America and Africa.

GATHER Trainees receive:

• A stipend and mentorship for the duration of the program (3-12 months)
• Coverage of housing and travel expenses to one global site
• Additional support for the UHC Summer Institute and travel to the GATHER launch event and one conference

The first cohort of GATHER Trainees was selected in 2019, so this is the fifth year for the program. 

GATHER is a NIMHD Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Training (MHRT) Program (T37).

Application and Information

The GATHER Program application for our 2023-2024 cohort of Trainees has closed.

If you are interested in applying for the next cohort, please download the GATHER Information Packet to read the program overview and review eligibility requirements. The application will re-open in January 2024.

If you have any questions please contact the program at t37gather@drexel.edu.

Meet the 2023-2024 GATHER Trainees

Rachael HaileSelasse, MA, PhD Student

Doctoral Trainee
Department of Community Health & Prevention, Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health

Rachael HaileSelasse is a current 3rd year PhD in Community Health and Prevention student at Drexel University’s Dornsife School of Public Health.

Rachael’s interests relate to the social, political, and structural contexts around gender-based violence and violence-related interventions.

Her mixed methods dissertation uses secondary data analysis of male-perpetrated violence, interviews with domestic violence first responders, and discourse analysis of policy recommendations for how to mitigate male-perpetrated domestic violence.

She aims to integrate men’s perspectives on domestic violence perpetration and prevention into public health discourse in order to improve interventions with men and communities to mitigate violence and promote victims’ human rights to freedom from violence.

Francesca Mucciaccio, MPH, PhD Student

Doctoral Trainee
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health

Francesca Mucciaccio is a PhD in Epidemiology student focusing on social epidemiology at the Dornsife School of Public Health.

Her research encompasses spatial health disparities, immigrant health, and chronic disease.

She is interested in approaches to measure spatial and social determinants of health, including gentrification, racial and ethnic disparities, and the built, social, and natural environment as they relate to chronic disease outcomes such as cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias (ADRD). Her dissertation work will focus on the relationship between gentrification, neighborhood change, and ADRD.

Previously, Francesca was a public health analyst at CDC, working on federal policy/strategy development and science translation across multiple areas, including chronic disease, emergency response, global health, and sickle cell disease. She holds a BA in Linguistics from Reed College and an MPH in Health Policy from Emory University.

Nicole Norman, MSPH, DHSc

Post-Doctoral Trainee
Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

Nicole Norman received her DHSc from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.

Her research interests focus on medication adherence, cardiovascular health and maternal health among vulnerable populations. She is excited about examining the healthcare challenges in Kenya.

Nicole views this post-doctoral training as a wonderful opportunity to intensify her research and analytical skills to effectively address health equity issues not only in the United States but outside as well. In addition, she is looking forward to working with the mentors and trainees in the GATHER program.

2022-2023 GATHER Trainees

Anushka Aqil, MPH, PhD

Post-Doctoral Trainee
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Anushka Aqil (she/her) received her PhD from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Broadly, her research interests include incorporating anti-oppression into public health teaching and practice, trans and non-binary health and wellness, and intimate partner violence amongst South Asian immigrants living in the U.S.

Anushka co-leads AntiOppression Consulting and most recently, co-ran a workshop for the Council on Education for Public Health on incorporating principles of anti-oppression for public health pedagogy.

Anushka is also an instructor at Johns Hopkins University and Adjunct Professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

Lizbeth Gomez, MPH, PhD Student

Doctoral Trainee
Environmental and Occupational Health, Drexel University

Lizbeth Gomez is a doctoral trainee at the Dornsife School of Public Health at Drexel University, in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, under the guidance of Dr. Jane Clougherty.

Her research encompasses ambient air pollution, social determinants of health, and clinical treatment efficacy. She studies the role that the environment and lived experience may play in asthma medication efficacy and hopes to continue fostering and enriching her research skills to translate her research into policy.

Lizbeth holds a BSc in Biology and Chemistry from The City College of New York and an MPH in Environmental Health Sciences from Columbia University.

Luwam Gebrekristos, MPH, PhD Student

Doctoral Trainee
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Drexel University

Luwam Gebrekristos is a PhD student in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Dornsife School of Public Health.

Her interest lies in examining the social and structural factors that drive racial and gender health inequalities.

Her proposed dissertation will integrate spatial and non-spatial data to examine the impact of multilevel drivers of HIV risk among adolescent mothers in sub-Saharan Africa.

She hopes to address knowledge gaps related to marginalized populations in order to inform tailored HIV prevention interventions and policies.

Casper Voyles, MPH, PhD

Post-Doctoral Trainee
Community Health and Prevention, Drexel University

Casper Voyles (he/him) is a queer, transgender scholar studying social inclusion of sexual and gender minorities (SGM). His research interests include how SGM experience inclusion in work, school, and play settings and the intersections of engagement in these social spaces and health.

Casper's dissertation focused on participation and identity disclosure of SGM in athletic spaces, identifying factors that affect sports persistence.

Through the GATHER program, Casper will turn his attention towards advancing occupational inclusion for SGM, in part through community-engaged research with the fire service.

Casper received his PhD in Community Health and Prevention from Dornsife School of Public Health at Drexel University. Prior to this, he received his Master of Public Health degree from Dornsife and his Bachelor's degree in Psychology and Russian Language & Culture from Colby College.

2021-2022 GATHER Trainees

William Lodge II, MSc, PhD Candidate

Doctoral Trainee
Behavioral and Social Health Sciences, Brown University

William Lodge II is a doctoral student focused on HIV primary and secondary prevention research—both domestically and in resource-constrained settings across the globe. His research interests include investigating barriers and facilitators to suboptimal antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence among gender and sexual minorities living with HIV. His proposed dissertation uses a syndemic approach to understand the impact of substance use and other psychosocial factors on ART adherence among transgender women in India.

Prior to Brown, he worked several years at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School on a range of research projects such as knowledge and attitudes on polio immunization, Ebola and Zika viruses; quality of surgical care, and cost-effectiveness of a national immunization program.

While his work has primarily been focused in South Asia, he has also worked on projects in Tanzania, Somalia, Guinea Bissau, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the United States.

Macceau Médozile, DrPh, MPA

Post-Doctoral Trainee
Public Health, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University

Dr. Médozile, a native-born citizen of Haiti received his DrPH in Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences from the SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University School of Public Health (2020), his MPA in Public Administration from Long Island University (2013), and his BS in Environmental Sciences from Medgar Evers College (2008). His doctoral dissertation focused on the evaluation of the associations between the cholera vaccination, access to health services, health behaviors and cholera specific-mortality rates during the first two years (2010-2012) of the epidemic in Haiti.

His research focuses on communicable diseases. He plans to build on his doctoral research by studying risk factors and determinants of health associated with HIV and tuberculosis in Kenya.

Dr. Médozile will use this post-doctoral training to reinforce his analytical skills, explore the possibilities to expand his public health researcher career, collaborate and network with other scholars.

Sara Jane Samuel, MPH, PhD Candidate

Doctoral Trainee
Sociomedical Sciences, Columbia University

Sara Jane Samuel developed an interest in health equity as an undergraduate at Yale University. As a current student in the Sociomedical Sciences department (History track) at Columbia University, she is interested in the intersection of public health with American foreign policy. Specifically, Sara's work examines the use of vaccination campaigns and other public health measures as instruments of American foreign policy in the latter half of the 20th century in Mexico and South Asia.

She hopes to gain a better understanding of how American power has been cultivated and utilized using non-violent, non-militaristic means.

Prior to her doctoral studies, Sara worked in central California to increase access to prenatal healthcare to migrant workers and has professional experience working to reduce sexual misconduct and promote sexual health on college campuses. In her free time, Sara enjoys playing board games, allergen-free cooking, and playing soccer.

Jamile Tellez Lieberman, MPH, DrPh Candidate

Doctoral Trainee
Community Health and Prevention, Drexel University

Jamile Tellez Lieberman is a graduate research fellow and DrPH candidate at the Dornsife School of Public Health at Drexel University, in the Department of Community Health & Prevention, under Dr. Ana Martinez-Donate, PhD. She also holds a BA in International Studies from Elon University and an MPH in Community Health & Prevention from the Dornsife School of Public Health at Drexel University.

Jamile hopes to work in non-academia or industry setting after earning her DrPH degree, focusing on intervention development/evaluation, applied mixed-methods, community-based research, and service delivery in communities of color, specifically Latine/x immigrant families at the intersection of social justice and health equity.

She is also interested in exploring the use of arts in healing, advocacy and community-based research, as well as comprehensive immigration reform nationally to protect the well-being of immigrant families and children.

2020-2021 GATHER Trainees

Cinthya Alberto, PhD

Post-Doctoral Trainee
Health Services Research and Policy, Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health

Cinthya Alberto received her PhD in Health Services Research and Policy in May 2020. Her dissertation focused on examining the association of maternal (e.g., citizenship, insurance coverage) and health care provider characteristics (e.g., ethnicity), and immigrant state-level policies (e.g., criminalizing, integrating) on health care access and receipt of family centered care disparities among Latino youth born in the United States (US).

Broadly, she is interested in the intersectionality of health and immigrant policy, and on systemic factors that continue to exacerbate racial and ethnic health disparities in the US. As a GATHER Post-Doctoral trainee, she plans to expand on her methodological skills, research portfolio, and to receive additional mentoring, networking, and knowledge of various potential career directions and the steps needed to transition into an academic or industry career that focuses on eliminating health inequities that disproportionately impact vulnerable populations.

Amílcar Matos-Moreno, PhD Candidate

Doctoral Trainee
Epidemiology, University of Michigan

Amílcar Matos-Moreno is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Michigan. He is a member of the Center for Social Epidemiology and Population Health. His research interests encompass population aging, psychosocial determinants of health, migration, multilevel analysis, and counterfactual models.

His research focuses on population migration and elderly health in Puerto Rico. Specifically, he aims to identify the intertwined pathways between migration, mental health, and well-being in older adults left behind. He studies the impact of familial separation, reduction of social support, social isolation, and other psychosocial factors on older adult’s health and well-being.

Adedotun Ogunbajo, PhD

Post-Doctoral Trainee
Behavioral & Social Health Sciences, Brown University

Adedotun Ogunbajo received his PhD in Behavioral & Social Health Sciences from Brown University in May 2020. 

His research interests are on issues related to health disparities and inequity, specifically HIV prevention and treatment, mental health, and substance use in racial and sexual minority communities both in the United States and across the African continent.

Kristefer Stojanovski, PhD Candidate

Doctoral Trainee
Health Behavior & Health Education, University of Michigan

Kristefer Stojanovski is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Health Behavior & Health Education, School of Public Health at the University of Michigan. Kristefer has been conducting community-based mixed methods research since 2010. His research explores the social and structural determinants to sexual health and HIV outcomes among key populations in the U.S. and in Southeastern Europe.

Kristefer’s work interrogates how stigma drives HIV risk and infection using complex systems theory, structural equation, agent-based, and multilevel modeling. Kristefer also translates his research into policy and decision-making. He serves as an evaluation specialist with the Capacity Building Assistance program with the San Francisco Department of Public Health assisting health departments and the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention in enhancing their HIV prevention efforts to achieve high impact. In his spare time, he reads fictional books, enjoys playing video games, and staying active.

2019-2020 GATHER Trainees

Marina Armendariz, MS, PhD Candidate

Doctoral Trainee
Biobehavioral Health, The Pennsylvania State University

Marina Armendariz is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Biobehavioral Health at The Pennsylvania State University.

Her research interests broadly encompass understanding social determinants of health disparities, particularly those experienced by Latinos.

Her current interests are to understand the complex pathways in which place-based characteristics and sociocultural factors influence cardiometabolic health outcomes in Latinos.

Diana A. Burnett, PhD, MPH

Post-Doctoral Trainee
Howard University School of Divinity
National Museum of African American History and Culture

Diana A. Burnett is a researcher who has focused on cultural, psychosocial, environmental, and spiritual influences on health behavior(s) specifically those related to increased risk for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) domestically and globally. Through postdoctoral training experiences, she is actively seeking to investigate the relationship between chronic physical NCDs and mental health conditions with attention to violence and trauma.

As a GATHER trainee, Diana aims to pursue a goal of expanding her portfolio, research network, and a publication record in urban global health equity research that will contribute to the fortification of knowledge that evidentially supports the relationship between health behavior, the environment, and chronic disease with an emphasis on the social determinants of health.

Regina Y. Fuller, MA, PhD Candidate

Doctoral Trainee
Educational Policy Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Regina Fuller is a doctoral candidate in Educational Policy Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Her dissertation investigates how in-school youth learn about sexuality, love, and relationships in sexuality education classes in Ghana.

She is currently conducting her dissertation research in Accra and Tamale Ghana.

Rosie Mae Henson, MPH, PhD Candidate

Doctoral Trainee
Health Services Research and Policy, Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health

Rosie Mae Henson is a doctoral candidate in the department of Health Management and Policy at the Dornsife School of Public Health.

Their work focuses on policymaking, policy evaluation, and policy advocacy from a health equity perspective. Topic areas of their research include substance use, urban redevelopment, transgender & gender minority rights, and multi-level factors influencing the adoption and implementation of health equity policy.

Elizabeth H. Morgan, MEd, PhD Candidate

Doctoral Trainee
Human Development, University of California, Davis

Elizabeth Morgan is a doctoral student in Human Development at UC Davis. She also serves as a program coordinator for the UC Davis Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities at the MIND Institute in Sacramento, CA.

Her area of focus includes Early Childhood and Early Intervention Services with a specific interest in underrepresented populations. An educator by training, she holds a Masters in Education from Harvard Graduate School of Education and has supported Early Childhood practitioners in utilizing developmentally appropriate practice and inclusion strategies since 2004.

Yan Wang, PhD

Post-Doctoral Trainee
University of California, Los Angeles

Yan Wang received her PhD in Biostatistics in the summer of 2019. Her research background includes data harmonization, HIV adherence, and Pediatric oral health.

She has led a team to conduct the 2018-2019 oral health assessment among kindergarteners and the third-grade children in Los Angeles County.

For more information:

Global Alliance for Training in Health Equity Research (GATHER)
Dornsife School of Public Health
Drexel University
t37gather@drexel.edu