SPC Officers
The mission of the SER-Student & Post-Doc Committee (SER-SPC) is to facilitate the educational experiences and professional development of students in epidemiology-related disciplines by providing information, resources, and networking opportunities; facilitating student exchange of research ideas; and providing service to the SER and advancing and promoting the SER-SPC.
Catherine Lerro
President
Catherine is an epidemiologist studying occupational and environmental exposures and cancer risk. She is currently a research fellow at the National Cancer Institute, where her research evaluates the effects of pesticides and persistent chemical exposures on cancer risk and relevant biomarker endpoints. She received her PhD in environmental epidemiology and her MPH in Chronic Disease Epidemiology from the Yale School of Public Health. She earned her BA in Public Health Studies from the Johns Hopkins University, and previously worked at the American Cancer Society.
Contact
National Cancer Institute
Division of Cancer Epidemiology
and Genetics
catherine.lerro@nih.gov
John Pamplin II
President-Elect
John R. Pamplin II is a Smart Cities Postdoctoral Associate and an Assistant Professor/Faculty fellow at the New York University, Center for Urban Science + Practice. John’s postdoctoral research focuses on understanding the racialized impact of policies (and their enforcement) that are designed to curb the opioid epidemic, as well as investigating the relationships between policy structures in urban settings (policing and criminal justice policy in particular) and the mental health of populations of color. John has received his PhD and MPH in Epidemiology from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, and his BS in Biology from Morehouse College.
Contact
New York University
Center for Urban Science + Progress
John.Pamplin@nyu.edu
Dana Pasquale
Past-President
Dana recently completed her doctorate in infectious disease epidemiology at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. She is now a postdoctoral fellow in the Duke University Department of Sociology where she is studying social networks and health. Dana’s main research focus is understanding where to intervene in sexual networks to prevent HIV and syphilis transmission. Most of her work is within the domain of applied epidemiology and uses methods which are not traditional in epidemiology. She has an MPH in health behavior and a BA in anthropology.
Contact
Duke University
Department of Sociology
dkp20@duke.edu
Julie Petersen
Education Co-Chair
Julie is a PhD candidate in Epidemiology at the Boston University School of Public Health. She is interested in how the application of novel analytic methods may aid in gaining new insights in the study of pregnancy and early human development, including the etiology of birth defects. She also has a passion for teaching. Julie has an MPH with dual concentrations in epidemiology and biostatistics and a BA in psychology with minors in applied statistics and music, both from Boston University.
Contact
Jennifer Mongiovi
Education Co-Chair
Jennifer Mongiovi is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health and a predoctoral fellow on the NCI T32 Interdisciplinary Training in Cancer Epidemiology Training Grant at the University at Buffalo School of Public Health and Health Professions. Jennifer’s doctoral research has focused on breast and ovarian cancers, with specific interest in the impact of metabolic syndrome components on cancer survival. She also holds leadership positions in her program’s graduate student association and local chapter of 500 Women Scientists, a non-profit group dedicated to making science open, inclusive, and accessible. Jennifer previously earned a MS from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, and both a BS in Biological Sciences and BA in Psychology from the University at Buffalo.
Contact
and Health Professions
and Environmental Health
Kendra Sims
Education Co-Chair
Kendra is a doctoral candidate in Public Health, Epidemiology concentration, at Oregon State University. Broadly interested in data science and aging outcomes, her dissertation focuses on the moderating as well as intermediary factors relevant to associations between perceived discrimination and hypertensive trajectories. Previously, she received a MPH from Boston University and a BA in English and Psychology from Williams College.
Contact
Oregon State University
College of Health and Human Sciences
simske@oregonstate.edu
Rebecca Barry
Internal Affairs Chair
Rebecca is a PhD candidate in Epidemiology at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on rurality, access to care, suicide, and suicide attempts. She previously completed an MSc in Epidemiology at Queen’s University.
Contact
University of Toronto
Rebecca.Barry@mail.utoronto.ca
Alvin Thomas
Diversity and Inclusion Chair
Alvin (he/his/him) is a predoctoral fellow in cardiovascular epidemiology at UNC Chapel Hill. Alvin investigates chronic disease in older adults, with a focus on identifying interventions for dementia prevention and treatment. He is also involved in the development of digital health solutions for kidney and liver disease patients. He received his BS in Chemical Engineering from Washington and Lee University and his MSPH in International Health from the Johns Hopkins University. He feels “among his people” as a SER member, and hopes to make sure that everyone else does, too!
Contact
Robert Orellana
Media Chair
Robert Orellana, PhD, MPH is a recent graduate from The Ohio State University College of Public Health. He has also received a bachelor’s degree in microbiology. In his dissertation, Robert investigated the epidemiology of Clostridioides difficile within the healthcare setting. His research interests include healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial resistance. Robert’s postdoctoral work focuses on infectious diseases in marginalized populations. Robert has previously worked in clinical epidemiology, infectious disease surveillance, and clinical trials.
Contact
The Ohio State University
orellana.4@buckeyemail.osu.edu
Precious Esie
Program Co-Chair
Precious Esie is an Epidemiology PhD student at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, and will be a pre-doctoral fellow in the Psychiatric Epidemiology Training program beginning Fall 2019. Broadly speaking, she is interested in studying mechanisms through which social structures influence mental health outcomes. Her current work focuses on disentangling the relationship between intimate partner violence (IPV) and depression in IPV-endemic settings. Prior to Mailman, she earned her MPH in Epidemiology from Emory University and her BS in Mathematics from Loyola University New Orleans.
Contact
Columbia University
Mailman School of Public Health
pie2104@cumc.columbia.edu
Matthew Mietchen
Program Co-Chair
Matthew is a PhD candidate in the School for Global Animal Health at Washington State University. His interdisciplinary research is focused on mathematical modeling of infectious diseases, specifically the transmission of healthcare-associated infections, such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), in both hospital and community settings. He is interested in studying specific population interactions that affect pathogen transmission using models. His current work involves developing an inter-specific contact network involving companion animals and studying pathogen transmission throughout a community. Matthew earned a B.S. in Biology from Westminster College (SLC) and then his MPH from the University of Utah’s Division of Public Health in 2009. After receiving his MPH, he worked as a HIV/STI epidemiologist at the Utah Department of Health until 2017 when he decided to pursue his doctoral degree.
Contact
Washington State University
matthew.mietchen@wsu.edu