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SPH Inducts 2023 Cohort of Student, Faculty, Alumni and Honorary Delta Omega Inductees

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The Gamma Zeta chapter of the Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health at the University of Maryland School of Public Health is pleased to announce its 2023 inductees. Inducted  are 12 students, five faculty members, two alumni and one community partner.

Election to Delta Omega is based on high academic standards and outstanding performance in scholarship, teaching, research and community service. Election of membership in Delta Omega is intended to not only recognize merit but also to encourage and further excellence in and devotion to public health work.

Delta Omega is the honorary society in public health. The Gamma Zeta  chapter of Delta Omega was established at the University of Maryland  School of Public Health in 2011 to honor our distinguished students,  alumni, faculty and honorary members. The mission of the society is to  encourage and recognize excellence in practice, research, education and  academic achievement in the field of public health.

For more information about Delta Omega, please visit the National Chapter’s website at www.deltaomega.org.

Student Inductees

  • Zeina Alkhalaf, PhD '23 (FMSC)
  • Sylvia Costa, MPH '23 (MIAEH)
  • Sahra Ibrahimi, PhD '24 (FMSC)
  • Charlene Kuo, PhD '23 (BCH)
  • Jianyu Lai, PhD '23 (EPIB)
  • Michele Morgado, PhD '23 (MIAEH)
  • Jailyn Morris, MPH '23 (KNES)
  • Taylor Palmer, MPH '23 (BCH)
  • Emma Powell, MPH '23 (KNES)
  • Chawin "Win" Reilly, MHA '23 (HPM)
  • Nate Woodard, PhD '23 (BCH)
  • Martha Yumiseva, PhD '23 (FMSC)

Faculty Inductees 

  • Danielle Catona, PhD (Dean's Office)
  • Mariana Falconier, PhD (FMSC)
  • Rebecca Gourevitch, PhD (HPM)
  • Devlon Jackson, PhD (BCH)
  • Abdel-Razak Kadry, PhD (MIAEH)

Alumni Inductees

  • Kristin Cipriani Yee, MA '14 (PHSC)
  • Michelle Jasczynski, PhD '22 (BCH)

Delta Omega Gamma Zeta Chapter 2022 Community Partner Award

Identity, Inc. is a non-profit positive youth development and health promotion organization based in Montgomery County, focused on assisting Latino youth and their families. Founded in 1998, Identity offers a wide array of programming from social emotional learning, recreation, and academic support for children in elementary school, middle school, high school, and Youth Opportunity Centers serving older youth who are disconnected from school and work. A large percentage of Identity clients are immigrants, particularly from Central America, and many are undocumented or part of mixed-status families. Each year Identity serves over 3,000 youth and their families, and has become a leader in the region for service and advocacy on behalf of Latino youth, earning numerous recognitions and awards. Identity is a driving force in the community addressing critically important social determinants of health for a highly marginalized and vulnerable group of families.

SPH Student Poster Awardees

Jianyu Lai
Doctoral Student, Epidemiology
N95 Respirators Provide Superior Source Control of SARS-COV-2

Angshuman Kashyap
Doctoral Student, Behavioral and Community Health
Examining if and how different media platforms affect Nigerian children’s reception of content (Akili and Me): An experimental study

Undergraduate Awardee

Mina Tzoukermann
Exploring Holistic Health Approaches in Post-Incarceration Reentry Programming
Faculty Mentor Dr. Elaine Doherty

MPH Awardee

Shayla Stringfield (4th Place)*
Implementation of a Social Needs Screening Tool Across Multiple Settings for Children with Asthma
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Craig S. Fryer

PhD Awardee

Angshuman Kashyap (2nd Place)*
Examining if and how different media platforms affect Nigerian children’s reception of content (Akili and Me): An experimental study
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Dina Borzekowski

*2023 SPH Research Interaction Day Graduate Poster Winner

PhD Awardee

Jianyu Lai (1st Place)*
N95 Respirators Provide Superior Source Control of SARS-COV-2
Faculty Mentor:  Dr. Donald Milton

Yifan Yu
Impact of COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage Speed on COVID-19 Incidence: An Ecologic Study Across the United States
Faculty Mentor:  Dr. Hongjie Liu

*2023 SPH Research Interaction Day Graduate Poster Winner

Undergraduate Awardee

Leah Young
“I just feel like he’s okay with it”: Interpretations of ambiguous fathering behaviors among sexual minority youth
Faculty Mentor: Jessica Fish

PhD Awardee

Janay Johnson
A Qualitative Evaluation of Determinants of Health in Varanasi, India
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Lis Maring

Salwa Shan, Martha Yumiseva, Krystle McConnell
Psychological distress in a sample of Latino youth. 
Faculty Mentors: Drs. Amy Morgan, Amy Lewin, Mariana Falconier and Edmond Shenassa

PhD Awardee

Shuo Jim Huang
Redlining and Health in Baltimore and Beyond: Association of Century Old Policy with Health Outcomes Today
Faculty Mentors: Drs. Neil J. Sehgal, Kellee White, Michel Boudreaux, Dahai Yue and Nina Harris

Oluwasegun Akinyemi
The Association between Community-Level Economic Deprivation and Incidences of Emergency Department Visits on Account of Attempted Suicides in Maryland
Faculty Mentors: Drs. Kakra Hughes, Rebecca Gourevitch and Melvin Lamar Seale

PhD Awardee

Shuling Wu
Transportation Justice: Community Perceptions & Anticipations of a New Light Rail Transit Line
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jennifer Roberts

Catherine Sapp 
Markers of Mitochondrial Fusion and Mitophagy are Greater in Skeletal Muscle of Old versus Young Rats
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Steve Prior

PhD Awardee

Vivek Ravichandran
Utilization of the Maryland Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool (MD EJSCREEN) to Supplement Hyperlocal Air Quality Monitoring in Cheverly, Maryland
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Sacoby Wilson

Emily Healey (3rd Place)*
Basement Backups and Bacteria: Evaluating the Risk of Residential Exposure to Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria from Sanitary Sewer Overflows and Basement Backups
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Rachel Rosenberg Goldstein

Natalie Crnosija
The effect of COVID-19 lockdown/post-lockdown and season on children's exposure to PM2.5 and time expenditure by environment type
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Devon Payne-Sturges

*2023 SPH Research Interaction Day Graduate Poster Winner

Undergraduate Awardee

Yesenia Lemus Avila (1st Place)
The Impact of the 2022 Formula Shortage on Latina Mothers’ Formula-Feeding Experiences
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Elizabeth Aparicio

Adam Shahal (3rd Place)
MVC is not Significantly Correlated with Cardiovagal BRS Responses in Older Individuals
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Sushant Ranadive

*2023 SPH Research Interaction Day Graduate Poster Winner

First Place

Vivek Ravichandran, Doctoral Student, Environmental Health Sciences
Utilization of the Maryland Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool (MD EJSCREEN) to Supplement Hyperlocal Air Quality Monitoring in Cheverly, Maryland

Second Place

Jianyu Lai, Doctoral Student, Epidemiology
N95 Respirators Provide Superior Source Control of SARS-COV-2

Third Place

Alexis Hunter, Doctoral Student, Behavioral and Community Health
Rosie the Chatbot: Designing a Health Information Intervention Through the Lived Experiences of Pregnancy Among New Mothers of Color

First Place

Shuo Jim Huang, Doctoral Student, Health Services Research
Redlining and Health in Baltimore and Beyond: Association of Century Old Policy with Health Outcomes Today

Second Place

Nathaniel Woodard, Doctoral Student, Behavioral and Community Health
Structural Racism and Alcohol and Tobacco Use Behaviors in a National Sample of African Americans

Third Place  

Yesenia Lemus Avila, Undergraduate Student, Public Health Science
The Impact of the 2022 Formula Shortage on Latina Mothers’ Formula-Feeding Experiences