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DrPH/CHP Student Profiles
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Nesreen Al-Anbar recently earned her Master’s in Emergency and Public Safety from Drexel University. Throughout this program she focused on her native country, Saudi Arabia. In her thesis, she identified a need for accreditation through a trauma foundation and for the establishment of a unified trauma registry system in the kingdom. Prior, she completed her bachelor’s degree in Cardiovascular Technology at Gwynedd Mercy College. She pursued this based upon her extensive work and training as a Cardiovascular Technologist in Saudi Arabia and in Europe. Currently she attends Drexel as a full time doctoral candidate in Public Health in Community Health and Prevention. She is an athlete and lover of adventure: Tae Kwon Do Master, tennis player, equestrian rider, diver, white water rafter and paraponter. |
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Jennifer Breaux received her MPH in 2004 from Drexel University School of Public Health and her BS in Exercise Science from Rutgers University. Prior to pursuing a career in public health, Jen worked as an athletic trainer where she mended the bodies and egos of student athletes. During her MPH studies, Jen researched and worked on issues related to food insecurity, hunger, school nutrition, obesity and obesity related programming. She is currently research coordinator for the Children’s Sentinel Nutrition Assessment Program (C-SNAP), a research project that addresses poor nutrition in children and families in an effort to stop the cycle of poverty and poor nutritional development. |
A firm believer in the mind/body connection, Jen practices yoga to help her deal with the stressors associated with school, work and life. In her spare time (spare time?) Jen enjoys exercising on her treadmill (or as she refers to it “the hamster wheel”), trips to Virginia, and classic rock.
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Robin Brennan has over ten years experience managing programs and conducting research. She was an independent consultant evaluating the effectiveness of substance abuse treatment programs in Maryland correctional facilities. Before that, she was responsible for conducting research and tracking the progress of 1,500 substance abuse treatment participants for the School of Medicine at the University of Maryland. Currently, she is the Director of the Youth Health Empowerment Project
(Y-HEP), a project of Philadelphia FIGHT, which offers a comprehensive range of health promotion and youth development programs using a harm reduction approach to at risk youth.
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Her research areas include: Lesbian and Transgender Health, Women’s Reproductive Health, Human Rights, and Youth Empowerment. Robin holds a Masters degree in Applied Psychology and Quantitative Methods, and a Bachelors degree in Psychology.
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Jonathan Cass graduated from the Drexel MPH program in 2001, concentrating in Community Health and Prevention. His masters project addressed the “digital divide” among north Philadelphia residents by helping to set up and evaluate the effectiveness of a public access computer center. After graduation, Jonathan worked as a Research Associate for the New England Research Institutes in Watertown, MA, helping with community outreach efforts on a community-based survey of urologic disorders in a multiethnic sample of Boston residents. |
Jonathan is currently the Director of Community Projects at the Drexel School of Public Health, serving as the liaison between community agencies, faculty, and students for the first year practicum and second year masters project programs. Jonathan’s research interests are in the areas of product and restaurant menu labeling and the interplay between public policy, health education and consumer choice. He and his wife Deborah live with their son Gabriel near Fox Chase.
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Michelle Renee Chyatte has her B.S. in broadcast journalism from Kent State University in Kent, Ohio and her MPH from the Consortium of Eastern Ohio Master of Public Health. Michelle was a reporter for a number of years for WKSU, 89.7 FM, a NPR affiliate. She also spent time at NPR headquarters in Washington, D.C. on a fellowship. While pursuing the DrPh degree, her principle research areas are maternal/child health, policy development and assessment, human rights, and ethics. Always one to believe in the power of listening and storytelling, Michelle knows that she has not placed her microphone down permanently and hopes to combine public health with journalism. |
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Chari Cohen is Senior Research Associate and Senior Program Manager at the Hepatitis B Foundation (HBF), in Doylestown, PA. She has almost 10 years experience designing and implementing local and national hepatitis B outreach and education programs. As part of the public health research team at HBF, Ms. Cohen plays a key role in designing the public health research priorities and initiating projects to achieve these goals. Her current research focus is on barriers to care for individuals with chronic hepatitis B, as well as local and national hepatitis B surveillance to attain a more accurate estimate of the burden of chronic hepatitis B in the U.S. |
She holds an MPH from Temple University (2001) and a BS in Biology from Lafayette College (1996). Chari lives in Newtown, PA, with her husband, Paul and her 5-year old daughter, Marissa.
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Holly Funkhouser Cucuzzella holds a Master’s in Public Health from the Medical College of Virginia and is a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES). She is currently employed by the Burlington County (NJ) Health Department as a Health Educator/Risk Communicator. Prior to this she was employed by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Ms. Cucuzzella has experience working as a health educator, risk communicator, epidemiologist and clinical research coordinator. Currently, her main areas of work include bioterrorism and preparedness education. She hopes to conduct her dissertation in the area of social marketing or risk communication. |
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Zupenda M. Davis received her BS in Public Health from Rutgers University and her MPH from UMDNJ-School of Public Health. She is a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) and has worked in the field of Public Health for 11 years. Her background is in HIV/AIDS and STI prevention, teen pregnancy prevention, program implementation and program evaluation. She has conducted presentations on HIV 101 for adolescents and young adults and has participated in development of HIV intervention training and materials for the University of Pennsylvania. She currently is a Training Specialist for the PA/Mid-Atlantic AIDS Education and Training Center of the Health Federation of Philadelphia, where she coordinates trainings for HIV providers and provides technical assistance to HIV health care and social service organizations in the city of Philadelphia. |
Zupenda is a first-year Doctor of Public Health student at Drexel University's School of Public Health. Her research interests include HIV, women’s health and domestic violence. Her hobbies include photography, reading, and travel. She is a member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. and belongs to Bethany Baptist Church in Lindenwold, NJ.
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Yeetey Enuameh is a physician who was trained at the Pirogov Vinnitsa State Medical University, Vinnitsa, in the Ukraine. He has been practicing as a Medical Doctor in Ghana over the past ten years. In 2005, he graduated from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana with a Master of Science in Health Service Planning and Management. Yeetey’s dissertation at the Master’s level focused on assessing and improving the Reproductive Health needs of students of KNUST. Prior to enrolling at Drexel University, he was a Clinical Research Fellow working with a team of scientists on Malaria Vaccine Trials at the Kintampo Health Research Institute (KHRC) in Ghana. |
He is the convener of the Joanna Briggs Institute- Kintampo Health Research Centre Evidence Synthesis Group (JBI- KHRC ESG). Yeetey’s areas of interests include (Adolescent) Sexual and Reproductive Health, Infectious Diseases and Evidence Based Clinical Practice. In March 2008, Dr. Enuameh received a Provost Fellowship from Drexel University, for academic years 2008-9 and 2009-10. The Fellowship is in the amount of $5000 for each academic year.
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Meredith Gaskins received her M.S. in Epidemiology with a concentration in Infectious Disease from Harvard University in 2003 and her B.A. in Biology from the University of Delaware in 2001. She is currently the Epidemiologist for the Bucks County Department of Health. In her position, she is involved in disease surveillance, disease investigation, as well as bioterrorism preparedness. Her research interests are in community preparedness, evaluation, and emerging infections specifically in urban communities with traditionally underserved populations. Meredith has been involved in peer education groups and rape crisis counseling while in college. |
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Lucy Wachera Kibe got her bachelors degree in Agriculture and Home Economics from Egertom Unversity, Njoro, Kenya, and her master’s in Nutrition and Dietetics from The University of Akron, Ohio. Her research interests are osteoporosis, vitamin D, HIV transmission through breast milk, and cardiovascular risks in recent immigrants from developing countries. Lucy is currently a research coordinator at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s nutrition and growth lab, where she is involved in examining bone health in adults with chronic renal insufficiency. |
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Jillian Lucas thought one day she would be a psychologist. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from U. of Pennsylvania and a Master's in Counseling from Temple U. After one year of counseling children, she changed her mind and decided that was not what her career was going to be. Jillian thought she would move back to her hometown of New York but Philadelphia has now been her home for eight years. Her early professional career has entailed coordinating research programs focusing on HIV prevention and health promotion. Now, Jillian will be a tobacco intervention specialist for women who have given birth to preterm babies. |
Jillian is a practicing Nichiren Buddhist and devotes a lot of her time cultivating her spirituality by chanting and studying Buddhism. As a result, she is very clear about her mission which is to reduce health disparities among minority populations particularly African Americans. Her hobbies include watching movies and reading leisure books if she has time. Her school interests are maternal/child health and sexual risk reduction among youth. After beginning the DrPH program, Jillian is confident that public health is a part of her life she will not change her mind about.
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Anuli Uzoaru Njoku received her BS in Public Health from Rutgers University and her MPH in International Health from Boston University School of Public Health. Her interest areas include international health, health disparities, and maternal and child health. Through various experiences here and abroad, she has developed a strong commitment to public health. In 2001, she completed a summer fellowship in Harare, Zimbabwe where she examined and analyzed HIV/AIDS coverage by major Zimbabwean newspapers. After completing her MPH, she spent 9 months in South Africa working with a program aimed at preventing HIV/AIDS and expanding risk reduction practices among South African youth. |
She has also worked as a Clinical Research Coordinator at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in NYC. There, she worked on research studies focusing on genetic, psychological and immunologic influences on breast cancer in women of color. She entered the DrPH program in Fall 2006. She hopes to develop her dissertation on a health issue affecting vulnerable and underserved populations such as communities of color or women.
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Candace Robertson received her BS in Biology from Villanova University and her Master's of Public Health from MCP Hahnemann (now Drexel) University. She is currently the Research Manager at the Women's Health Education Program, Drexel University College of Medicine. Ms. Robertson has participated in research focused on the epidemiology of adolescent violence in urban centers such as Philadelphia, hypertension in Pacific Islanders, menopause education and health risks associated with the menopausal transition, cultural competence, barriers to the inclusion of minorities in research and a DES education awareness program. Her primary research interests include exploring health disparities particularly those issues affecting women, minorities and adolescents. |
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Telisa Stewart received her B.A. in Sociology from the University of Southern Maine in 2002 and her Master's of Public Health (Health Policy and Management) from University of Massachusetts in 2005. Throughout her graduate work, Telisa has been working at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) in N.H. with prostate cancer patients. Her research interests include comprehensive cancer programs, multidisciplinary clinics, newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients (unique male needs in health care), prostate cancer: databases and tracking systems, patient education and support, patient decision making, and doctor/patient interactions. She also has been involved in free health clinics, medical support and access issues for the disadvantaged and pharmaceutical/pharmacological donations. |
Her dissertation involves working with Dynamic Clinical System, Inc and the Urology department at DHMC to capture patient reported information and evaluate newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients knowledge, values, and decisions surrounding treatment.
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Michelle Teti has her MPH from Drexel and a B.S. in Nutrition from Penn State. She is the Intervention Specialist for Protect and Respect, an HIV Prevention research project for women living with HIV. Prior to this, Michelle designed health promotion programs for sexual minority communities, managed addiction research projects, and worked as a counselor/legal advocate for violence survivors. Her research interests include HIV, women's health, peer education, cultural/social determinants of health, and the connection between trauma/stress and health. Her dissertation involves her current work with HIV peer educators. In her spare time she eats ice cream, runs, practices yoga, and watches movies. |
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Alia Turganbaeva -- after graduating from Kyrgyz State Medical University Alia worked as an OB/GYN in a gynecological hospital. After 6 years of working in a clinical setting, she entered the Public Health Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Department of Maternal and Child Health and graduated in 2006 with an MPH degree. After graduating from the UNC she returned to Kyrgyzstan and worked as a Monitoring and Evaluation Coordinator in a Swiss Red Cross project which coordinates Community Action for Health efforts in Kyrgyzstan in partnership with Kyrgyz Republican Health Promotion Center, the Ministry of Health, SDC, SIDA and USAID projects. Alia’s interests include nutrition and anemia in mothers and children. |
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