Medical College of Wisconsin Public and Community Health PhD Alumni

Alumni - 2024

Olaitan Akinboboye, PhD
Olaitan is a family medicine resident at the Western Michigan University MD School of Medicine. His dissertation is entitled “Understanding the Contribution of Social Determinants of Health to Glycemic Control in African Americans with Criminal Legal Involvement and Type 2 Diabetes”. 

Jean Bikomeye, PhD
Jean has been working as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) with a focus on CardioOncology. His research continues to explore the intersection of cardiovascular disease and cancer, particularly how environmental factors like greenspaces can influence health outcomes. Additionally, Jean is collaborating with MCW PIs on global health projects and actively supporting the Wisconsin Kinyarwanda-speaking community in navigating essential resources. His dissertation is entitled “Greenspace and Cardio-Oncology: Disentangling Disparities and Links Between Exposure and Outcomes in the United States”.

Joanna Balza, PhD
Her dissertation is entitled “Preventing childhood lead poisoning: Risk factors and points of intervention”.

Alumni - 2023

Gabrielle O'Keefe, PhD
Dr. O'Keefe is a public health research analyst in RTI International's Justice Practice Area Workforce Wellbeing and Effectiveness Program where her research focuses on applications to improve the health, wellbeing,  and retention of the public safety workforce. Her community-engaged mixed methods dissertation study explored moral injury, posttraumatic stress, and resilience among Wisconsin law enforcement professionals. Her dissertation is entitled "“Moral Injury, Post-Traumatic Stress, and Resilience in Wisconsin Law Enforcement Professionals: A Mixed Methods Study”.

Lora Daskalska, PhD
Dr. Daskalska is the founder of Data for Good, a public health consulting company helping local organizations with their data needs. Her dissertation is titled "Examining Access to Mental Health Care for Children with Anxiety or Depression during the COVID-19 Pandemic".

Mara Lord, PhD
Her dissertation is titled “Community-Led Implementation to Foster a Reciprocal Continuum of Trust with Marginalized Communities”.

Erika Marion, PhD
Her dissertation is entitled “Exploring Motherhood, Resilience and Mental Health for Mothers with Young Children ‘During COVID-19: A Mixed Methods Study”.

Iwalola Awoyinka, PhD
Lola is an NCI T32 postdoctoral fellow in biobehavioral oncology at MCW. Her dissertation was titled: Social Connection, Allostatic Load, and Survivorship in African American Prostate Cancer Survivors. Her dissertation is entitiled “Social Connection, Allostatic Load, and Survivorship in African American Prostate Cancer Survivors”.

Alumni - 2022

Sarah Kohlbeck, PhD
Dr. Sara Kohlbeck is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin, and directs the Division of Suicide Research and Healing in MCW’s Comprehensive Injury Center. Her work focuses on identifying antecedents to suicide in disproportionately affected groups, and on developing, implementing, and evaluating public health approaches to suicide prevention. Her dissertation is entitled “Toward a Better Understanding of Farmer Suicide in Wisconsin”. 

Shannon Walker, PhD
Dr. Walker is a Clinical and Translational Science Collaborative T32 postdoctoral fellow at the Mary Ann Swetland Center for Environmental Health within the School of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University. Her dissertation is entitled, “Understanding the Contribution of the Social Determinants of Health to Pregnancy Outcomes and Postpartum Well-being in Black Women.” Her current research focuses on community-driven strategies to eliminate race- and place-based disparities in reproductive health and chronic disease burden.

Alumni - 2021

Ronald Anguzu, PhD
Dr. Anguzu is currently an Assistant Professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin. His dissertation was entitled Intimate partner violence during pregnancy in Uganda: Policymaker perspectives, healthcare provider screening experiences and spatial accessibility to antenatal care. His dissertation is entitled “Intimate partner violence during pregnancy in Uganda: Healthcare provider screening practices, policymaker perspectives and spatial accessibility to antenatal care services”. 

Abdul Shour, PhD
Since graduating from the Public and Community Health program, Abdul has been involved in research at the Cancer Care and Research Center, Marshfield Clinic Research Institute, focusing on health service utilization to improve cancer care access and reduce disparities. He also serves as a Clinical Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. Additionally, he is an Executive Representative on the Wisconsin Governor’s Council on Domestic Abuse, contributing to policy and program development. His dissertation is entitled "Women's Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence and its Impact on Birth Outcomes in the United States”.

Antoinette Spector, PhD
Dr. Spector is an Assistant Professor at Northwestern University in the Feinberg School of Medicine. She is also the Director of the Doctor of Physical Therapy/Master of Public Health dual degree program. Her dissertation was titled Opioid misuse initiation and substance use disorder treatment access among women: The role of syndemics and structural violence.  Her dissertation is entitled “Opioid misuse initiation and substance use disorder treatment access among women: The role of syndemics and structural violence".

Michael Totoraitis, PhD
Dr. Totoraitis is now the Commissioner of Health for the City of Milwaukee Health Department. He was reappointed in May of 2024 to another 4-year term. His dissertation was titled: Examining the Disparities of Out of Home Placements for Maltreated Children. His disseration is entitled “Examining the disparities of out of home placements for maltreated children".

Alumni - 2019

Meredith Halling, PhD
Her dissertation is entitled “Investigating the role of socio-environmental stressors and biological vulnerability in PTSD development among ethnic/racial minorities after traumatic injury”. 

Benjamin Holmes, PhD

Thant Ko Ko, PhD

Jared Olson, PhD

Alumni - 2018

Amin Bemanian, PhD
Amin is a MSTP student and has return to Medical School to finish his MD. His dissertation is entitled “Investigating the relationship between racial residential segregation and liver cancer”. 

Alumni - 2017

Joseph Byonanebye
Dr. Byonanebye is an Assistant Professor at Marquette University in their College of Health Sciences. His dissertation was titled Characteristics, regional trends and determinants of teenage pregnancy in Uganda.

Alumni - 2016

Allison Ertl, MS, PhD
Dr. Ertl is now an Epidemiologist for the Mortality Surveillance Team in the Division of Violence Prevention at the CDC. Her dissertation was titled Neighborhood Context and Racial Disparities in Pediatric Violence.

Laila Azam, PhD
Clinical Assistant Professor of Public Health Studies. Her dissertation title is "The Impact of Physician Cultural Competency and Access to Diabetes Self-Management Education".

Sandra Bogar, PhD
Dr. Bogar is a Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Institute for Health and Equity at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Her dissertation was titled Roots: Growing Environmental Health Literacy through Youth Engagement.

Alumni - 2015

Dina Garcia, MPH, PhD
Dina's dissertation is titled, The Oral Health Status and Dental Care Utilization of Mexican-origin Latinos. Dr. Garcia is completing a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Iowa College of Dentistry to continue her research.

Mina Farazhad, PhD
Mina's dissertation is titled The Impact of Motherhood on the Mental Health & Substance Use of Women Who Trade Sex. Mina is part of the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) at MCW and returned to MCW's Medical School to finish her medical degree. Dr. Farazhad is now completing her medical residency at Emory in Atlanta. 

Katherine Quinn, MSW, PhD
Dr. Quinn is currently funded by a NIH K01 Mentored Research Scientist Development Award studying “The Effect of Intersecting Stigmas on PrEP Outcomes for Young Black MSM”

Alumni - 2014

Rebekah Angove, PhD
Rebekah now serves as the Community Engagement Manager at LACDRN. She was awarded a 2015 PECORI grant titled Patient Engagement in PCOR: a MedEd Training. Project Summary

Rebekah's dissertation is titled Screening for Childhood Exposure to Violence in Pediatric Primary Care:Provider Practices and Perspectives. Rebekah Angove Abstract (PDF)

Rebekah took a position at the Louisiana Public Health Institute (LPHI). She is the Engagement Lead for the Louisiana Clinical Data Research Network (LACDRN).

Alumni - 2013

Emily Hall Ganos, PhD
Emmy is working at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation as a Program Officer. She joined RWJF in 2013 as Program Associate. She works on the Foundation's efforts to advance a Culture of Health, where our economy is less burdened by excessive and unwarranted health care spending, and where the health of the population guides public and private decision making.

Her dissertation is entitled Physicians' Cultural Norms and Health Care Intensity.
Emily Hall Ganos Abstract (PDF)

Alumni - 2012

The PhD Program in Public and Community Health graduated its first cohort of students in 2012. They began their journey to a PhD degree in 2008. On May 18, 2012, Kaija Zusevics, Elizabeth Duthie, and Annie Nguyen graduated with a Doctor of Philosophy degree.

Kaija Zusevics, PhD
Dr. Zusevics is now an Adjunct Assistant Professor in Institute for Health and Equity at MCW and teaches in the MPH Program. She is also an Associate Researcher at the Center for Urban Population Health in Milwaukee, WI.

Kaija Zusevics completed her post-doctoral fellowship with the Program in Genomics and Ethics in the Center for Bioethics and Medical Humanities in the summer of 2014. 

Kaija's dissertation was entitled Testing an Intervention to Impact Student Engagement and Hope among Urban Students: A Social Determinants of Health Framework. Kaija Zusevics Abstract (PDF)

Elizabeth Duthie, PhD
Elizabeth Duthie is now an Associate Researcher at the Center for Urban Population Health in Milwaukee, WI.

Elizabeth’s dissertation was entitled The Unbearable Lightness of Being Pregnant: Patient and Provider Perspectives on Pregnancy Weight Gain. Elizabeth Duthie Abstract (PDF)

Elizabeth accepted a postdoctoral fellowship sponsored through the Center for Patient Care and Outcomes Research at the Medical College of Wisconsin. She worked on an NIH-funded project (R21) following couples as they go through treatments for infertility to better understand their decision-making about which treatments to pursue.

Annie Nguyen, PhD
Dr. Annie Ngyen is now an Assistant Professor at the USC Keck School of Medicine and continues to study Gerontology.

Annie’s dissertation was entitled Cultural Perspectives, Lifecourse, and the Social Ecology of Successful Aging: The Views of Chinese and Hmong Elders. Annie Nguyen Abstract (PDF)

2012: She accepted a gerontology Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of California-Irvine School of Medicine in the Department of Family Medicine/Geriatrics.