Dornsife Holds First Annual Public Health Student Case Competition
Dornsife MPH students Alex Trautman, Katherine Castro, Farren Rodriques, Nicole Mertz, and Shannon Kelleher display their prize.
February 5, 2020
The Office of Public Health Practice at the Dornsife School of Public Health (DSPH) held its first annual Public Health Student Case Competition on Thursday, January 30, 2020. Undergraduate and master’s students in eight interdisciplinary teams were tasked with finding solutions to mitigate the potential negative public health impacts of the 2019 Hahnemann Hospital closure in Philadelphia. They investigated different populations that are impacted by the closing, identified specific risks, and proposed plans that were specific to Philadelphia with the city’s unique challenges.
Teams were given one week to collaborate and effectively work with one another before presenting to a live audience and expert judge panel of faculty and local public health practitioners for a chance to win prize money. During this work period, students were able to meet with their randomly assigned faculty mentor for guidance and support.
At the highly attended standing-room only event, each team presented for 10 minutes and participated in a five-minute Q&A with the judges. Audience members included faculty, staff, students, and family and friends of the competitors. After presentations, all were welcomed to a reception where the winners were announced and presented with their prizes.
After carefully tallying the scores, the judges selected Team Four — Katherine Castro, MPH Epidemiology ’20, Shannon Kelleher, MPH Epidemiology ’20, Nicole Mertz, MPH Community Health & Prevention ’20, Farren Rodriques, MPH Community Health & Prevention ’20, and Alex Trautman, MPH Community Health & Prevention ’20 — as the winners and Team Seven — Alesha Amin, MPH, Community Health & Prevention ’21, Mitali Aralekar, MPH Environmental & Occupational Health ’21, Deja Moore, MPH, Health Management & Policy ’21, and Armonie Pierre-Jacques, MPH, Community Health & Prevention ’21 — as the runners-up. The winning team received $500 per member and the second-place team received $200 per member.
View photos from the event
2020 Competitors
Team 1:
Kallie Fehr, MD/MPH, Community Health & Prevention ‘20
Wesley Goodman-Levy, MD/MPH, Environmental &Occupational Health ‘20
Ashni Nadgauda, MD/MPH, Epidemiology ‘20
Heba Yusuf, MD/MPH, Community Health & Prevention ‘20
Team 2:
Anna Bostwick, BS/MPH, Epidemiology ‘21
Alexandra Eastus, BS, Public Health ‘20
Mariah Menanno, BS/MPH, Epidemiology ‘21
Danielle Pryor, BS/MPH, Epidemiology ‘21
Alexandria Reguinga, BS/MPH, Environmental & Occupational Health ‘21
Team 3:
Afrah Howlader, BS, Public Health ‘21
Anais Leone, BS, Public Health ‘23
Alyssa Sorensen, BS, Public Health ‘23
Team 4:
Katherine Castro, MPH, Epidemiology ‘20
Shannon Kelleher, MPH, Epidemiology ‘20
Nicole Mertz, MPH, Community Health & Prevention ‘20
Farren Rodriques, MPH, Community Health & Prevention ‘20
Alex Trautman, MPH, Community Health & Prevention ‘20
Team 5:
Olamide Adebowale, MPH, Health Management & Policy ‘20
Maxine Davis, MPH, Community Health & Prevention ‘20
Adya Maddox, MPH, Health Management & Policy ‘20
Alexus Reynolds, MPH, Epidemiology ‘20
Hannah Savage, MPH, Health Management & Policy ‘20
Team 6:
Tobechukwu Ezeh, MPH, Epidemiology ‘21
Sucharu Ghosh, MPH, Epidemiology ‘21
Zuhaib Haleem, MPH, Health Management & Policy ‘21
Vara Anoosha Vijjapu, MPH, Epidemiology ‘21
Manali Vora, MPH, Epidemiology ‘21
Team 7:
Alesha Amin, MPH, Community Health & Prevention ‘21
Mitali Aralekar, MPH, Environmental & Occupational Health ‘21
Deja Moore, MPH, Health Management & Policy ‘21
Armonie Pierre-Jacques, MPH, Community Health & Prevention ‘21
Team 8:
Deepika Chauhan, MPH, Epidemiology ‘20
Nahian Ehtesham, BS, Public Health ‘23
Meghan Gupta, BS, Public Health ‘23
Ishita Patra, BS, Public Health ‘23
Maya Stallings, MPH, Epidemiology ‘21
2020 Judges Panel
Joe Amon, PhD, MSPH, director and clinical professor, Global Health and Community Health and Prevention at DSPH
Cheryl Bettigole, MD, MPH, director, Division of Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention, Philadelphia Department of Public Health
Jim Buehler, MD, clinical professor and interim chair, Health Management and Policy at DSPH
Amy Carroll-Scott, PhD, MPH, associate professor, Community Health and Prevention at DSPH
Leslie Ain McClure, PhD, MS, professor and chair, Epidemiology & Biostatistics at DSPH
Daniel Taylor, DO, associate professor, department of Pediatrics, St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children and Drexel University College of Medicine
2020 Dornsife Faculty Team Mentors and Case Reviewers
Sherry Brandt-Rauf, MPhil, JD, associate teaching professor, Environmental and
Occupational Health
Jennifer Breaux, DrPH, MPH, CHES, associate teaching professor and director, Community Health and Prevention, Undergraduate Education
Jerry Fagliano, MPH, PhD, associate clinical professor and chair, Environmental and Occupational Health
Dennis Gallagher, MA, MPA, associate teaching professor, Health Management and Policy
Marla J. Gold, MD, dean emerita and professor, Health Management and Policy
Ed Gracely, PhD, associate professor, Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Jana Hirsch, MES, PhD, assistant research professor, Urban Health Collaborative, Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Jen Kolker, MPH, clinical professor, Health Management and Policy
Mike LeVasseur, PhD, MPH, visiting assistant professor, Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Philip Massey, PhD, MPH, associate professor, Community Health and Prevention
Michael Yudell, PhD, MPH, professor and chair, Community Health and Prevention