Personal Interests:
I am what many consider to be a “Native New Yorker,” born and reared in Jamaica, Queens. Coupled with the morals and values inculcated by my parents, attending Allen Christian School, from pre-kindergarten to 8th grade provided a solid foundation for my development and success. My mother’s commitment and devotion as a geriatric nurse heavily oriented my interest towards health. As a result of this burgeoning interest in health, throughout the years as a student at Jamaica High School, I participated in programs that were geared towards careers in medicine. While attending Vassar College, I found it nearly impossible to integrate my passions—sociology and biology—into a major. It was at this point when the origins of my interest in public health began and the emergence of an intense curiosity and dedication to the research and analysis of social conditions affecting health status manifested itself. The primary objective of my undergraduate senior thesis entitled “A Biological Manifestation of a Social Inequality: African-Americans and Cardiovascular Disease” was to investigate the role of racism as a significant determinant of health. This crude study eventually became the springboard for my decision to pursue research at the graduate level.

Academic Interests:
I began at the MSPH in the Research Track of the Department of Sociomedical Sciences. The research I was involved with as an MPH student with centered around immigrant health and health disparities with regard to individuals with disabilities and arthritis. While working as a graduate research assistant with Dr. Ana F. Abraído-Lanza proved to be an enriching experience, I became intrigued with the work of epidemiologists such as Dr. Luisa Borrell and Dr. Ana Diez-Roux. I was fascinated by the use of epidemiologic methods to investigate social determinants impacting the distribution of disease and the notion of utilizing a multi-level framework for examining these issues. Currently, I am pursing a Ph.D in Epidemiology at MSPH. My primary interests include investigating social inequalities and neighborhood-level characteristics, specifically, racial/ethnic residential segregation. It is my hope to amalgamate epidemiology and sociology to elucidate the mechanisms by which these factors influence health, and to eventually translate these findings into practical interventions or policies that lead to the amelioration of social inequalities in health.

Community Interests:
While a student at MSPH, I have served as a student member of the Student Sub-Committee of the MSPH Diversity Committee, and as a student mentor for the Initiative for Minority Student Development Program. The connections with my beloved elementary school remain and I currently serve as a member of the Board of Directors. Also, I had to opportunity to work with C. Virginia Fields, the Manhattan Borough President, and the Commission to Close the Health Divide in a year-long initiative to identify strategies for reducing, and ultimately eliminating, health outcome disparities that disproportionately plague African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans and Native Americans in New York City. This work culminated in a report entitled “Closing the Health Divide: What Government Can Do to Eliminate Health Disparities among Communities of Color in New York City.”