Kent is a member of Penn's class of 2011 in the College of Arts and Sciences. He is majoring in Health & Societies with a concentration in Health Care Markets & Finance. He also plans to minor in Chemistry, Biology, and the Biological Basis of Behavior.

This summer, Kent is working with LDI Senior Fellow Dan E. Polsky, PhD, MPP on a project evaluating the relationship between market competition and the quality of home health services. In addition, Kent is working with Senior LDI Fellow Douglas J. Wiebe, PhD on a project assessing the impact that urban neighborhoods and stressful activities have on the lives of young adults in Philadelphia.

Kent is greatly interested in exploring the wide array of inequalities that exist in the access and the quality of healthcare received by minorities. Eventually, he intends to pursue a career in medicine that incorporates health services research. Kent’s ultimate goal is to make a difference in the health of urban communities.

Kent's Presentations:
Assessing the impact that urban neighborhoods and stressful activities have on the lives of young adults in Philadelphia (Mentor: Doug Wiebe, PhD)

Evaluating the relationship between market competition and the quality of home health services (Mentor: Dan Polsky, PhD)

Elena is a member of Penn’s class of 2010 in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is a double major in Health & Societies, with a concentration in International Health, and Hispanic Studies. This summer, Elena is working with LDI Senior Fellow Amy Hillier, PhD, on evaluating the effects of urban planning on health, with a focus on healthy food access.

Elena has research interests in health disparities, especially regarding the Latino population, as well as child and maternal health and nutrition in the developing world. She plans to pursue a Masters of Public Health, and potentially a PhD in Global Health. Aside from research, Elena is a member of Penn Singers, Penn’s light opera company, as well as the International Affairs Association. Eventually, she hopes to work for the World Health Organization and focus on health in Latin America.

Elena's Presentation:
Evaluating the effects of urban planning on health, with a focus on healthy food access (Mentor: Amy Hillier, PhD)

Natalie is a member of the class of 2012 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is majoring in Community Health with a concentration in Health Planning and Administration.
Natalie’s research interests include health care disparities and social inequality and HIV prevention in the African American community. She is passionate about advocating for underrepresented groups, specifically for minorities and people of low socioeconomic status.

As a part of the SUMR program, Natalie is working as a research assistance with LDI Senior Fellow Katrina Armstrong, MD, MSCE and Keerthi Gogineni, MD on assessing whether there are difficulties related to access to new patient appointments at cancer centers for patients with no insurance or Medicaid.

Natalie is also working with assistant professor of nursing Anne Teitelman, PhD, CRNP on an HIV prevention intervention for teenage African American girls. In the future, Natalie plans to pursue an MPH and is interested in a PhD in health administration

Natalie's Presentations:
Assessing whether there are difficulties related to access to new patient appointments at cancer centers for patients with no insurance or Medicaid (Mentors: Keerthi Gogineni, MD and Katrina Armstrong, MD, MSCE)

HIV prevention intervention for teenage African American girls (Mentor: Anne Teitelman, PhD, CRNP)

Manuel is a member of Penn’s class of 2011 in the College of Arts and Sciences. He is a Biological Basis of Behavior major and Chemistry minor.

Manuel is working with LDI Senior Fellow, Ebbing Lautenbach, MD, MPH, MSCE on MRSA transmission in Philadelphia households.

After college, Manuel hopes to pursue a medical degree. Once he has established himself as a skilled physician, he hopes to enter the field of epidemiology, researching minorities’ predispositions to cancer, diabetes, hypertension, and cardiac disease.

Manuel is currently considering pursuing an MPH and/or a PhD in epidemiology after he has gotten his medical degree. Manuel is a resident of the beautiful state of Maryland, and hopes to eventually work at Children’s National Medical Center in the nation’s capital. With his skills, both scientific and academic, he hopes to improve both the effectiveness and efficiency of healthcare.

Manuel's Presentation:
MRSA transmission in Philadelphia households (Mentor: Ebbing Lautenbach, MD, MPH, MSCE)

A rising Senior, Hallie attends the School of Arts and Sciences at Penn, majoring in Health & Societies with a concentration in Health Care Markets and Finance.

Hallie is working with LDI Senior Fellow Scott Lorch, MD, MSCE, at the Center of Outcomes Research on a project titled Quality Report Cards for Obstetric and Pediatric Care. In addition, Hallie is also working with Gretchen E.L. Suess, PhD, at the Netter Center for Community Partnerships on a project called Mapping the West Philadelphia Community Nutrition Environment. The project involves mapping the location of grocery and convenient stores and assessing the availability, cost, and quality of healthy foods around West Philadelphia’s Sayre High School.

During the academic year Hallie runs for Penn’s Women’s Track and Field team and dances for Onda Latina, Penn’s Premiere Latin Dance Troupe. In the future, she plans to pursue an MD degree and do clinical research.

Hallie's Presentations:
Quality report cards for obstetric and pediatric care (Mentors: Scott Lorch, MD, MSCE and Orit Even-Shoshan, MS)

Mapping nutrition in West Philadelphia (Mentor: Gretchen Seuss, PhD)

Vanessa Dabel is a senior in the School of Arts and Sciences at Penn. She is majoring in Psychology with a minor in Italian Studies. Vanessa is President of the West Philadelphia Alliance for Children (WePAC) Step Mentoring Program and is involved in many other extra-curricular activities. She enjoys working with children and would like to pursue a career in the feild of mental health that will allow her to interact with children and adolescents on a daily basis.

Vanessa is working with LDI Senior Fellow David Mandell, ScD, on a project that examines parent-nominated symptoms as an outcome measure in autism intervention research. She is also working with Dr. Gretchen Suess doing evaluation research on the Agatson Urban Nutrition Initiative (AUNI) Program.

Vanessa's Presentations:
Evaluation research on the Agatson Urban Nutrition Initiative (AUNI) Program (Mentor: Gretchen Seuss, PhD)

Parent-nominated symptoms as an outcome measure in autism intervention research (Mentor: David Mandell, ScD)

Jillian is a student in the Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business, earning degrees in International Studies and Health Care Management and minoring in French. She is interested in the intersection of health and community development and how market-based principles can be applied to health care.

Jillian is currently working with LDI Senior Fellow Guy David, PhD on the economics of EMS, examining the determinants of EMS provider choice in 5 US states and the impact of these choices on EMS performance and patient outcomes. Eventually, she hopes to go to medical school and pursue an MD/PhD in global health. In the short-term, she is trying to earn enough money to go to the World Cup in South Africa in 2010!

Jillian's Presentation:
The economics of EMS, examining the determinants of EMS provider choice in 5 US states and the impact of these choices on EMS performance and patient outcomes (Mentor: Guy David, PhD)

Ijeoma Eboh is a member of the class of 2012 at Harvard University, where she is majoring in History and Science, while fulfilling her pre-med requirements. She was born in Nigeria, but is now living in northern New Jersey. She is mainly interested in researching healthcare disparities and epidemiology, in particular, the social determinants of health. This summer, she is working with Sarah Gollust, PhD examining whether the news media’s portrayal of the epidemiology of obesity correlates with the actual epidemiology of the disease. She is also working with Karin Rhodes, MD collecting Women’s Health surveys and conducting interviews targeting intimate partner violence and alcohol risk in health centers and the emergency department. In the future, Ijeoma wants to pursue her MD, possibly in conjunction with a PhD or MPH.

Ije's Presentations:
Examining whether the news media’s portrayal of the epidemiology of obesity correlates with the actual epidemiology of the disease (Mentor: Sarah Gollust, PhD)

Collecting women’s health surveys and conducting interviews targeting intimate partner violence and alcohol risk in health centers and the emergency department (Mentor: Karin Rhodes, MD, MS)

Shana Green
Howard University, Class of 2009
Major: Anthropology

Shana Green is a recent graduate of Howard University where she majored in anthropology and minored in chemistry. In fall 2009, she will attend Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health studying social science research in public health. She plans to receive a MPH degree and later a PhD in maternal and child health or epidemiology. Her main career goal is to work on maternal and child health outcomes and implementation research associated with relieving some of the health burdens of mothers and children. Some of her other research interest include HIV/ AIDS and infectious disease. This summer Shana is working with Shimrit Keddem, MS, manager of the Penn CIGHT, and a post doc Elly Tenman on Ultra Orthodox Jewish Women and Prenatal Diagnosis to find out what is the reproductive decision making process for ultra orthodox jewish women surround prenatal genetic testing. She is also working on The Effects of Nursing on NICU Patient Outcomes with LDI Senior Fellow Eileen Lake, PhD, RN, FAAN, to determine how nurse staff composition effects the health outcome of NICU patients.

Shana's Presentations:
Ultra orthodox Jewish women and prenatal diagnosis (Mentor: Shimrit Keddem, MS)

The effects of nursing on NICU patient outcomes (Mentor: Eileen Lake, PhD, RN, FAAN)

Brittany Lynae is a member of Penn’s class of 2011 in the College of Arts and Sciences. Her major is Health & Societies, with a concentration in Health Policy & Law and a minor in Gender & Health. This summer she is working with mentor Karin Rhodes M.D. M.S., on two projects: (1) Evaluating barriers to access specialty health care for children insured by the State of Illinois and (2) Collecting Women’s Health surveys and conducting interviews targeting intimate partner violence and alcohol risk in health centers and the emergency department. Brittany is also working with mentor Maureen McCunn M.D., on Leadership, Gender and Stereotypical Concordance during Trauma Resuscitation.

Brittany has research interests in health care policy, especially regarding child Medicaid insurance plans. Upon graduation, she plans to pursue a Juris Doctor (J.D.) and Masters of Public Health (M.P.H.) joint degree. In the future, she is looking forward to combining her legal interests with health care disparities. Aside from research, Brittany is the Vice President of the Black Student League, a member of the New Spirit Penn Gospel Choir, and a Communications Within the Curriculum (CWiC) speaking advisor.

Brittany's Final Presentations:
Leadership, Gender and stereotypical concordance during trauma patient resuscitation (Mentor: Maureen McCunn, MD, MIIP, FCCM)

Evaluating barriers to access specialty health care for children insured by the State of Illinois (Mentor: Karin Rhodes, MD, MS)

Jean-Paul Julien
University of Pennsylvania, Class of 2011
Major: Health and Societies

John Paul Julien is a junior at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a Health & Societies major, concentrating in Health Policy & Law. For his research experience, John-Paul worked with Dr. James Coyne on addressing access to care issues for maternal depression patients. Also, working with Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar, Dr. Jane Jue, John-Paul helped perform an exploratory survey of the nutritional environment around the University of Pennsylvania's campus. He continues his work with both of his mentors today, and hopes to pursue a dual MD/PhD degree.

Jean-Paul's Presentations:
Exploring dietary habits of college students (Mentor: Jane Jue, MD )

The Hawthorne Effect and maternal depression care (Mentor: James Coyne, PhD)

Ambar La Forgia
Swarthmore College, Class of 2011
Major: Economics and Mathematics/Statistics

Ambar is a member of Swarthmore's class of 2011 and is an Honors Economics Major and Honors Mathematics/Statistics Minor. She was born in Santo Domingo, DR, but since then has lived in Maryland, Brasilia and São Paulo, Brazil as well as New Delhi, India. Therefore, she tends to simply define herself as a world citizen. Her research interests include the working uninsured, minority health issues, and US healthcare reform. As a SUMR Scholar, Ambar worked with LDI Senior Fellow Susmita Pati, PhD on Medicaid retention rates amongst children across the United States.
Ambar also worked with Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar Mark Neuman, MD, researching the prevalence and causes of variation in surgery outcomes amongst the elderly in Pennsylvania hospitals. After college Ambar plans to eventually attain a PhD in Health Economics and travel as much as possible!

Ambar's Presentations:
Medicaid retention rates amongst children across the United States (Mentors: Susmita Pati, MD, MPH, Kathleen Noonan, JD and Jane Kavanagh)

Researching the prevalence and causes of variation in surgery outcomes amongst the elderly in Pennsylvania hospitals (Mentor: Mark Neuman, MD)

Christina Lomax, born and raised in the greater Philadelphia area, is a member of the class of 2011 at Penn. As a student in the College of Arts and Sciences, her major is Science, Technology, and Society with a concentration in Science and Society, but will be changing it to Science and Public Policy.

Christina is will be working alongside John Holmes, PhD, and his research assistant Ruthann Auten on their project called PROSPEC. This project includes research about prostate cancer screening and establishing an open, communicative relationship between patients and physicians using different technologies. In addition to working with Dr. Holmes, she will also be working closely with Skip Rosoff, J.D. on his book about universal healthcare with a focus on five nations: France, Italy, Argentina, Singapore, and Japan. Christina is on the board of Linking Legacies (a sub-organization of the Alumni Council on Admissions), and is an active member of the Black Wharton Undergraduate Association. After graduation, Christina hopes to continue conducting research and pursue an MPH-PhD.

Christina's Presentations:
Prostate cancer screening and establishing an open, communicative relationship between patients and physicians using different technologies (Mentor: John Holmes, PhD)

Universal healthcare with a focus on five nations: France, Italy, Argentina, Singapore, and Japan (Mentor: Skip Rosoff, JD)

Kathy is interested in health care policy and management with specific interests in improving the health care services received by urban residents, for whom the issues of access, cost and quality continue to target. This summer Kathy is working with LDI Senior Fellow Douglas Wiebe, PhD at the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics on a pilot study to assess how the daily activities of young adults affect their stress levels.

Kathy is also working with Nancy Kassam-Adams, PhD at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia on a project to establish a practical means to assess children's acute stress reactions after potentially traumatic events. The current stage of the project involves assessing the reliability and validity of English and Spanish checklists. Kathy is currently interested in pursuing an MPH in Health Care Policy and Management with the hope of one day helping to reform our health care system through the point of hospital operations and management. Kathy hopes to improve the quality of health care facilities, expand services to meet the needs of the community, and improve hospital’s financial performance to help make our health care system better - one hospital at a time!

Kathy's Presentation:
Assessing the impact that urban neighborhoods and stressful activities have on the lives of young adults in Philadelphia (Mentor: Doug Wiebe, PhD)

Establish a practical means to assess children's acute stress reactions after potentially traumatic events (Mentor: Nancy Kassam-Adams, PhD)

Brittany is a rising junior at Emory University. She is currently majoring in Anthropology and Human Biology. Her research interests are in health disparities in African-American populations and improving health care for such populations. Brittany is currently working with Shimrit Keddem on identifying barriers to genetic screening for the disorder Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia (HHT). The project will also ascertain attitudes toward genetic screening in people who either have HHT or are relatives of individuals with HHT.

Brittany will also be working with Maureen McCunn, MD on her project “Leadership, Gender and Stereotypical Concordance during Trauma Patient Resuscitation”, which will investigate the characteristics of effective leaders on resuscitations in the trauma bays of Philadelphia’s emergency rooms. She is interested in obtaining an MD/PhD so that she can one day become a surgeon while still working toward understanding and reducing health care disparities. Brittany’s activities include photography and singing in the gospel choir at Emory.

Brittany's Presentations:
Leadership, Gender and stereotypical concordance during trauma patient resuscitation (Mentor: Maureen McCunn, MD, MIIP, FCCM)

Identifying barriers to genetic screening for Herediatary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia (Mentor: Shimrit Keddem, MS)

Justin is a rising Junior at the UNC’s School of Public Health. He is originally from Columbia, MD. His research interests include health disparities in obesity and heart disease and the effect of prevention programs on health outcomes. Justin is working with LDI Senior Fellow Therese Richmond, PhD, FAAN, CRNP, on learning which programs are most effective in preventing violence among youth. Justin is also working with Gretchen Suess, PhD on mapping nutrition in West Philadelphia. In the future, Justin plans to pursue an MD-MPH or MD-PhD.

Justin's Presentations:
Learning which programs are most effective in preventing violence among youth (Mentor: Theresa Richmond, PhD, FAAN, CRNP)

Mapping nutrition in West Philadelphia (Mentor: Gretchen Seuss, PhD)

Alexander Ryu
University of Pennsylvania, Class of 2011
Major: Economics

Alex attends the School or Arts and Sciences at Penn. He is pursuing a major in Economics and a minor in music. Alex is working with LDI Senior Fellow Andrea Apter, MD, MSc, on a project assessing the effectiveness of two interventions on asthma treatment adherence. Alex’s general research interests include health disparities, and assessments of healthcare effectiveness. He is interested in pursuing either an MD/MBA or MD/PhD program in the future, and aspires to a career combining medical practice, administration, and economic research. Outside of research, he studies piano at Penn and is involved with Relay for Life.

Alex's Presentation:
Assessing the effectiveness of two interventions on asthma treatment adherence (Mentor: Andrea Apter, MD, MS)