Principal Investigator
Katie Brooks Biello
she/her
PhD, MPH
Katie is Interim Chair of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Associate Professor of Epidemiology, and Associate Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences at Brown University. Her research interests are in identifying and understanding the underlying risk factors for social inequities in HIV/STIs and developing behavioral interventions to reduce risk among racial, sexual and gender minorities and those in resource limited settings, both domestically and globally.
Principal Investigator
Jaclyn White Hughto
she/her
PhD, MPH
Jackie, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Assistant Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences at Brown University, is a social epidemiologist with expertise in epidemiology, behavioral science, and mixed-methods (qualitative and quantitative) research. Her research examines the individual, interpersonal, and structural drivers of health inequities, with a focus on the impact of stigma on the health of sexual and gender minority populations, people who use drugs, and those living with HIV.
Data Scientist
David Pletta
he/him
PhD, MPH
David is a Data Scientist at Brown University. He is a social and psychiatric epidemiologist who studies structural, interpersonal, and individual-level factors influencing the mental and sexual health of stigmatized populations, including sexual and gender minorities, people who use drugs, and people living with HIV. David received his PhD in Population Health Sciences from Harvard University. He also holds an MPH in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from the Boston University School of Public Health and a BS & BA from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Project Director
Jennifer Olson
she/her
MBA
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Project Coordinator
Madeline Noh
she/her
MPH
Madeline “Maddy” is a Project Coordinator at the Center for Health Promotion and Health Equity, where she supports numerous studies around substance use and overdose prevention, sexual and reproductive health, structural racism, and LGBTQ+ issues. She is experienced in qualitative research. Madeline has a background working around health justice issues and has an interest in policy and advocacy. She is personally and professionally passionate about prioritizing community engagement and intersectionality in public health. She is a graduate of Brown University, where she received an MPH and BA in Anthropology and Public Health.
Project Director
Vanessa Silva
she/her
BA
Vanessa has a background in social sciences, cardiovascular health and social and behavioral health and her research interests lie in socioeconomic and racial impacts on health outcomes and one's mental health. She hopes to one day take the skills she has learned in medical and social science research and apply them to research in social sciences. In addition to research, she enjoys gardening, running and organizing local community efforts.
Study Interventionist
Evan Davis
he/him
BS, MSW
Evan has a background in social work with an interest in community-based behavioral health research. Much of his experience lies in working with children and families as well as racial and gender minority groups. He hopes to continue working in public health research studying mental health and addiction from an Afrocentric perspective. When he is not working, Evan is often found taking care of his plants, playing video games, or sleeping.
Project Coordinator
Lance Nelson
he/him
BA
Lance is a sex worker rights advocate and project coordinator on the PrEPare for Work and Project IMPACT studies. A graduate of Columbia University, where he wrote his thesis on peer-led outreach for male sex workers, he worked previously as a research and advocacy intern with the Sex Workers Project of the Urban Justice Center. He has organized expert panels on the decriminalization and destigmatization of sex work, and worked as a project advisor at the prison abolitionist organization Black and Pink, where he helped build a healthcare toolkit for current and former sex workers. He also enjoys camping, hiking, reading, and horror comedies.
Research Assistant
Jonathan Rascon
he/him
BA
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Doctoral candidate
William Lodge II
he/him
MSc
William II is a fourth-year doctoral student focused on HIV primary and secondary prevention research—both domestically and in resource-constrained settings across the globe. His research interests include investigating barriers and facilitators to suboptimal antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence among gender and sexual minorities living with HIV. His dissertation research uses syndemic theory and intersectionality to understand the impact of substance use and other psychosocial factors on ART adherence among transgender women in India. Before Brown, he worked for several years at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School on a range of research projects such as knowledge and attitudes on polio immunization, Ebola and Zika viruses, quality of surgical care, and cost-effectiveness of a national immunization program. While his work has primarily been focused in South Asia, he has also worked on projects in Tanzania, Somalia, Guinea Bissau, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the United States.
Doctoral candidate
Siena Napoleon
she/her
MPH
Siena earned her BA in Cognitive and Linguistic Sciences and Psychology from Wellesley College and her MPH in Health Policy and Management from Boston University. Siena has diverse practical experience in multiple sectors of public health. Currently a PhD student in Behavioral and Social Sciences at Brown, she is advised by Drs. Katie Biello and Rosemarie Martin. Her main research interests include implementation science and the neurocognitive impact of stimulant use in young adulthood. Outside of school, Siena loves cooking, outdoor sports, and spending time with her daughters.
Doctoral candidate
Patrick Kelly
he/him
MPH
Patrick "Pat" is a first-year doctoral student focused on the psychosocial and structural factors that influence medical decision making among LGBTQ populations and people with substance use disorder(s). He created the makeshift medicine framework that aims to understand how people meet their healthcare needs when excluded from formalized healthcare systems. Pat primarily contributes to data collection and qualitative analysis for the POINTS Study. He holds an MPH in Social and Behavioral Sciences from Temple University, and is advised by Drs. Hughto and Biello.
MPH candidate
Tyler Alexander
she/her
BA
Tyler is a Master of Public Health (MPH) student and Health Equity Scholar at Brown. She is concentrating in interdisciplinary studies that focus on epidemiology and health services research. She is a research assistant with the FRESH Lab under the supervision of Dr. Katie Biello where she works primarily on the PrEPare for Work study. Tyler completed her undergraduate degree in Chemistry at Xavier University of Louisiana. Her research interests include sexual and reproductive health, health equity, and gender and sexual minorities.