PhD in Public Health

My research interests lie in environmental and occupational health disparities surrounding Latiné populations. Specifically, I am interested in working closely with Mexican fieldworking communities to examine urban-heat and its impacts on fieldworkers and how public health education and PPE provision can mitigate pesticide exposure. Currently, I am working on a project to examine the lived experiences of fieldworkers and how structural violence manifests in their occupational environments.

As a data and policy analyst in healthcare for two more years, she is eager to apply insights from economics and methods from statistics to investigate possibilities of benefiting the vulnerable population through the lens of empirical research. Her research interests include health disparities, infectious disease prevention, social epidemiology, and women’s health. Mimi’s current work is focusing on COVID-19 preventive behaviors.

Sithara is a first-year PhD student interested in using infectious disease modeling to study the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and arboviruses in vulnerable populations. He previously earned his MPH in Applied Epidemiology and conducted research involving people with HIV, U.S. Veterans, and older adults.

An important experience I gained in my career was interning for Community Action Partnership of Orange County (CAP OC), a nonprofit dedicated to alleviating the cause and effects of poverty. Interning at CAP OC helped pinpoint my specific interest in public health. I am highly interested in learning and understanding the challenges and barriers vulnerable populations face to in turn, help mobilize, advocate and direct programs and services to assist in alleviating those challenges. With the guidance of my advisor, my current research focuses on the social epidemiology of stroke and cardiovascular disease.

My research interests include natural disaster risk perception, preparedness, and other factors influencing the two variables. I am currently focused on the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake and how risk perception and preparedness have changed after experiencing, or not experiencing, the disaster. My training is in gerontology, and I received my MPH from Columbia University with a concentration in Aging and Society. I have received my Bachelor’s degrees from UC Davis.

Harwood is a second year doctoral student in the UC Irvine disease prevention program. He aims to prevent suicide in U.S. military veterans by incorporating past research into Selective Service policies to improve outcomes for World War veterans. Harwood is also examining DOD classification changes that could prevent suicide among recently-discharged veterans (a group at very high risk for suicide) by improving camaraderie in that group. As a member of the Timberlake Lab, Harwood also investigates the marketing and consumption of tobacco products to current and former military service members. Harwood’s degrees include MS Biomedical and Translational Science, MA Medical Anthropology, BA Cultural Anthropology, AA Mathematics, and AA Social Science. Before college, Harwood was a Hospital Corpsman for the U.S. military where he earned Fleet Marine Force and Surface Warfare devices. Harwood’s body of work includes a thesis on veterans and suicide and commentary on military health ethics. He is also the Graduate Liaison for the UC Irvine Alumni Public Health Association, a member of the UC Irvine Police Advisory Board, and a mentor for the UC Irvine Alumni Association.

Huo’s research interests include mental health and its health services utilization, aging and dementia, and health inequality. She is especially interested in the time-serious evidence and trajectory of health outcomes and health services performance. Huo completed her MPH degree at Yale School of Public Health in the Health Policy track, with a research thesis on “Early Life Environments and Health Inequality among Chinese and American Older Adults: Comparative Evidence from Machine Learning.

Kirjava is a board certified audiologist and PhD student. Her research focuses on how people get the hearing healthcare they need. Kirjava is particularly interested in the unique challenges that historically marginalized communities such queer folks experience when they interact with the American hearing healthcare system.

• Los Angeles Basin CSU Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Training Program (MHRT)
• Lived and performed research in Chiang Mai, Thailand in Summer 2023 in partnership with Chiang Mai University and California State University, Fullerton.

My research interests include harm reduction, cost-effectiveness, and social determinants of health. I have previously received my MPH at NYU School of Global Public Health. I have also previously worked at Weill Cornell Medicine, assisting in substance use research and cost-effectiveness studies.

Moones research interests lie in refugee health and climate change-induced displacement, particularly in the relationship between the built environment in refugee camps and quality of life. She is currently working on a research project examining the cultural concepts of distress among recently resettled Afghan refugees in California.

Minhazul’s current research focuses on understanding how maternal substance exposure during pregnancy alters children’s brain and endocrine development. He is a physician by training from Bangladesh. Minhazul’s interest in public health research was ignited during their work in the International Center for Diarrhoeal Diseases Research, Bangladesh, where he explored several public health issues like childhood stunting, malnutrition, and antimicrobial resistance.

Morales research interests primarily focus on the interaction between sociocultural and social ecological factors in health behaviors among ethnic minority and immigrant populations around the globe. Celina looks forward to contributing to the fields of epidemiology and demography, and hopes her research findings will contribute to the development of culturally competent interventions and policies which are urgently needed. She is currently working on projects focusing on violence, socio-cultural stressors, and chronic health conditions.

Christine’s research interests center on cancer health disparities, cancer prevention, early detection of cervical cancer, and Asian American health. She graduated from the University of California, Irvine with an MPH in Sociocultural Diversity and Health in 2022. Prior to beginning her doctoral training, she worked as a researcher and policy analyst with nonprofit organizations addressing immigrant health, food insecurity, and cancer prevention.

Christine is a two-time recipient of the Cancer Epidemiology Education in Special Populations (CEESP) Fellowship, supported by the National Cancer Institute (NIH/NCI R25 CA112383). She has also been awarded the H & H Lee Charitable Foundation Scholarship.

Anais is a first-year PhD student in public health focusing on chronic disease management, health equity, and health in the Hispanic/Latinx community. With a research background in diabetes management and promoting health among vulnerable populations, Anais is dedicated to exploring innovative approaches to improve chronic disease outcomes and advance health equity. She aims to develop culturally sensitive strategies that promote better health and well-being.

Dean’s Fellowship Recipient

Her research interests are focused on social networks, social media, reproductive health, student wellness, and violence prevention. In addition to this, she is also interested in social determinants of health, focusing on the role that both individual and structural factors play in impacting health disparities among immigrant communities. Earning both her B.A. in Public Health Policy and MPH in Sociocultural Diversity & Health from UC Irvine in 2016 and 2021, she is now back for a third program at UCI to earn her doctorate degree.

UCLA CSW – Survivors + Allies Report Fellow & UCSF CHAT Study GSR

Tessa’s research focuses broadly on the health equity implications of the impacts of gentrification on health, with a focus on food environments for her dissertation research. She applies structural determinants of health and structural racism theories to assess health inequities in the experiences and potential health consequences of gentrification. She employs a variety of methodologies, including community-based participatory research approaches, spatial analyses, and qualitative methods.

• Northgate Market Scholarship (July 2025)
• Center for Liberation, Anti-Racism, and Belonging Graduate Student Fellowship (Sept 2024)
• H&H Lee Charitable Foundation Scholarship (July 2024)
• Environmental Racism and Health Equity Fellow (Sept 2022 – June 2024)

Rawal’s research interest lies in the social determinants of health, primarily as they relate to sexual and reproductive health within the Asian American community. Specifically, she is interested in understanding how socio-cultural perspectives and expectations impact the sexual/reproductive health and help-seeking behaviors of South Asian Americans, focusing on underserved populations such as gender and sexual minorities. Her work seeks to destigmatize the topic of sexual/reproductive health within the Asian community as well as improve access to care and information. Rawal also has the goal of contributing to research and policies that address the reproductive health disparities within the United States.

• Climate Justice Initiative Fellowship
• UCI Environmental Racism and Health Equity Fellowship
• Health Equity Research Summer Scholarship
• H&H Lee Charitable Foundation Scholarship
• Northgate Market Scholarship Program

Sehi am interested in studying vector borne diseases in Sub Saharan Africa. She has a background in biochemistry and worked extensively in a lithium battery lab focused on the discovery of new analytical techniques and marine molecular biology lab where she studied the genomic selection of different species of brown algae.

Donya Shahamati’s research focuses on nutrition and chronic disease prevention, with experience in primary and secondary prevention of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular health. For her master’s in Nutrition Science, she examined how lifestyle behaviors — diet, physical activity, sleep, and stress — contribute to variability in metabolic responses. Her research ultimately aims to guide interventions that address lifestyle-related determinants of cardiometabolic outcomes.

Sharma is an internationally trained dentist from India who holds a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology from Indiana University. Her academic and professional journey has allowed her to combine clinical experience with public health training, providing a broad perspective on how systemic health is influenced by both individual behaviors and structural determinants. Sharma’s current research interests focus on tobacco use among young adults, oral health equity, and health behavior patterns.

Sultana has a passion for tailoring appropriate health policies and interventions. Her research focuses on health disparities, healthcare access, nutrition, and non-communicable diseases to ameliorate the global health burden. Sultana is particularly interested in serving the community people, elucidating the mechanisms by which their health and well-being can be ensured, and making a significant contribution to the scientific world.

Tarnas research interests center on infectious diseases during times of conflict and war. She is particularly interested in how conflict affects infectious disease trends and how warring parties can weaponize health infrastructure and healthcare. Tarnas is also interested in the use of informal and syndromic disease surveillance systems during conflicts. Prior to beginning my PhD, she ran the Massachusetts Tuberculosis Drug Assistance Program, which provides medication access to patients with tuberculosis in Massachusetts at no charge. Tarnas is also a fellow with the Tufts Initiative for the Forecasting and Modeling of Infectious Diseases.

Adriana is a political scientist with a Master’s Degree in Comparative Politics (Sciences Po Paris). She worked in the public service in Peru as an advisor for the Minister of Development and Social Inclusion and the Minister of Education. She was the chair of the Political Science School at Antonio Ruiz de Montoya University. From 2017, her research is focused on the linkages between rural and urban environments, through research projects about rural youth. She is now focused on analyzing the way those linkages impact health, specially through infectious diseases such as dengue fever.

Wang’s research interest lies in cancer survivorship, especially among the Asian American population. He is particularly interested in how cultural factors and related stressors influence the cancer survival experience, coping strategy, and change in inflammation biomarkers. He is also interested in the development of culturally tailored behavioral interventions to improve the quality of life of survivors for certain ethnic groups in Asian American cancer survivors.

Wang’s research interests lie at the intersection of pediatric nutrition, pharmacoepidemiology, and cardiovascular disease. She is particularly passionate about nutrition education and studying obesity-related medication use in children and adolescents. Wang is especially interested in investigating the clinical and comparative effectiveness of pharmacologic treatments for obesity, as well as their adverse effects using real-world evidence to inform strategies that promote healthy and sustainable outcomes for youth.

Zimmer is a recent UC Riverside graduate where she received a bachelors in both Biology and Spanish Linguistics. A love for both the sciences and humanities is how she found Public Health to be her calling. At UCR she worked on an infant nutrition project that worked specifically with low income Latinx families with infants. Simmer bring this experience to UC Irvine in hopes to do work that focus on chronic illnesses and comorbidities specifically within the elderly Latinx population in Southern California.