Lamar Polk MPH'19 was recently accepted into the Doctor of Public Health program at Johns Hopkins University. He will pursue his DrPH with a concentration in Health Equity and Social Justice.
Alumni News & Notes
Learn about the recent accomplishments of your fellow Dartmouth Institute alumni—
Rebecca Brandes MPH'21
Rebecca is the lead author on a new paper, Leveraging National Nursing Home Huddles for Rapid COVID-19 Response. The paper was published in a special issue by the Geriatrics journal on "Responding to the Pandemic: Geriatric Care Models." Rebecca says she her work with writing scientific papers during the MPH program helped to enhance her publication and research skills for this project.
Jessica Hensley MPH'20
Jessica Hensley was offered a part-time role as the health policy legislative analyst for Oregon State Representative Rachel Prusak, the Chair for Oregon's House Committee on Health Care. Hensley’s role stems directly from her MPH applied practice experience and integrative learning experience work that Hensley did for Prusak’s team to help develop policy proposals for advancing legislation on universal primary care across the state.
“Now I get to be employed within the Legislature doing what I am passionate about and enjoy, in the area of public health that largely drew me to The Dartmouth Institute in the first place: health policy reform,” Hensley says. “It feels like the exact balance I was hoping for because I'll still be able to be the primary caregiver for our toddler son and also be able to continue to participate in Oregon's health reform in a really tangible way.”
Monika Maripuri MPH'20
Monika writes, “Graduating in the midst of a pandemic was quite difficult, especially with no job offer in hand. After months of hard work and patience, I'm finally pleased to say that I've received an offer and have started working at the Veterans Affairs in Boston as a Project Manager at The Massachusetts Veterans Epidemiology Research and Information Center (MAVERIC).”
Nhimba Mwinga MPH'20
After graduation, Nhimba co-authored a book chapter titled Global Infant Health: Innovations, Socio-economic and Environmental Determinants. The book, Handbook on Global Health edited by Robin Haring, Ilona Kickbusch, Detlev Ganten, Matshidiso Moeti, was accepted for publication and her chapter will appear in the section Global Health Life Course Perspectives. Nhimba also volunteered with Wise Upper Valley Lebanon, New Hampshire, and Families in Transition-New Horizon Manchester New Hampshire.
Rachel Albright, DPM, MPH’19 Rachel has been named a rising star by the American Podiatric Medical Association.
Reed Bratches, MALS'18, MPH’19
Reed, a current PhD candidate at The Dartmouth Institute, just published his first paper from his PhD research. The article is a systematic review about how we communicate clinic visit information to family caregivers.
Lamar Polk MPH'19
Lamar was recently accepted into the Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) program at Johns Hopkins University. He will pursue his DrPH with a concentration in Health Equity and Social Justice. Lamar hopes to explore (1) how racism impacts prevention, treatment, and recovery support services for individuals who use substances; (2) how to develop and evaluate racially equitable systems of care; and (3) intersectional engagement of communities through antiracist practice, especially Black and Brown communities.
Daniel Lee MPH'19
Dan moved to Washington DC in 2018 and currently serves as advisor to the World Bank Group Managing Director and Chief Administrative Officer.
Fiona McEnany MPH'19Fiona was highlighted as one of the honorees included in New Hampshire Union Leader's 20th-anniversary edition of "40 Under Forty," which commends "recognized acclaimed writers, innovative educators, extraordinary volunteers, citizen legislators, immigrant entrepreneurs." She was also recognized as a 2021 Rising Star by Stay Work Play New Hampshire for her work as an emerging young leader making a positive impact in her community.
Catherine Alexander, DNP, MPH'18, RN
Catherine presented at the International Microsystem Festival in Jonkoping Sweden in March 2021. The presentation was co-authored by Dartmouth Institute alumnus Hasna Hakim DNP, MPH19, RN and Associate Professor Brant Oliver, PhD, MS, MPH, FNP-BC, PMHNP-BC.
Ashley Nguyen, MPH'18
Ashley graduated in 2021 from the JD program at The George Washington University Law School with a concentration in Business and Finance Law.
She has accepted an offer from Goodwin Procter's San Francisco office to join as an associate attorney in their top-ranked corporate and business law practice. Goodwin was named the number one firm by deal count globally in FY 2020 for pharmaceutical, medical, and biotechnology mergers and acquisitions.
Furaha Prosper Kyesi, MD, MMed, MPH'17
Furaha writes in from Tanzania where she is a pediatrician and public health specialist. Since 2018, Dr. Kyesi has been working with the Immunization Program in Tanzania as Head of Section of Service Delivery and Introduction of New Vaccine (prior she was working with Temeke Regional Referal Hospital).
Additionally, she and her Tanzanian and Dartmouth colleagues have published a paper that was part of her Dartmouth studies: "Successful implementation of Isoniazid preventive therapy at a pediatric HIV clinic in Tanzania" in BMC Infectious Diseases.
Salman Hussain MPH'16Salman was appointed to the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Rare Disease Advisory Panel, where he will be advising PCORI and other funders on the conduct of patient-centered research in rare disease and how to meaningfully engage the rare disease community. He joins his Dartmouth Institute classmate Carly Paterson Khan MPH'16 on the panel.
Renata Yen MPH'16; Catherine Saunders, MPH'16, PhD'20; Camille Harris MPH'19
New research from a 3-year, Dartmouth Institute-led study will help women with breast cancer make better surgery choices. The PCORI-funded study details how patient decision aids improve their decision process, particularly for women with lower health literacy. The research team features an international collaboration of health services researchers, including several Dartmouth Institute alumni co-authors: Renata Yen MPH'16; Catherine Saunders, MPH'16, PhD'20; and Camille Harris MPH'19.
Cole Zanetti, DO, MPH'16
Cole was appointed as the senior advisor for the Veteran Health Administration’s Innovation Ecosystem. In this role, he will be helping the VA nationally in shaping the vision and strategic direction of the entire innovation arm of the VA. This position is an add-on to his current role as a primary care section chief in the Colorado VA so that he can continue to provide guidance from the perspective of an on-the-ground-clinician.
Dyane Tower MPH'13
Dyane recently published "Evidence-Based Podiatry: A Clinical Guide to Diagnosis and Management." Of note, fellow Dartmouth Institute alumna, Rachel Albright, DPM, MPH'19 contributed to the text as an author.
This textbook is for the busy student, resident, fellow or practicing provider who might not have time to cull through the most recent literature to find out the latest information on diagnosis and treatment for several foot and ankle conditions.
Yuki Aoyagi, MD, MPH'13Yuki moved to New Zealand with his wife and two daughters in 2015, after serving two years in Rwanda as a Geisel faculty member for the Human Resources for Health Program. He is currently working as a consultant physician in general medicine and infectious diseases at Dunedin Hospital. He is also Associate Clinical Director of Internal Medicine Department and actively involved in teaching at Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, as a Clinical Senior Lecturer.
Yuki’s main achievements for 2020 include: Winning a university teaching award (Certificate of Excellence in Teaching 2020) in the Department of Medicine, co-authoring a textbook in clinical infectious diseases in Japan (Dialectics on Infectious Diseases by ID Specialists, Medical Science International, Tokyo), as well as catching big chinook salmon in Otago Habor with lures.
Jonathan Havrda MPH'12
In February 2021, Jonathan started a new position as the Imaging Services Manager, Diagnostic Radiology and Ultrasound, at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY.
Brant Oliver, PhD'12, MS, MPH'08, FNP-BC, PMHNP-BC
Recent research related to the MS-CQI study by Brant's team was presented at multiple international conferences, including contributions by Dartmouth MPH graduates Drs. Alexander and Hakim (see attached for details). Dr. Oliver, a Dartmouth MPH and PhD graduate, serves as MS-CQI PI and is currently an Associate Professor at Dartmouth.
Heather Wolfe MPH'12
Heather brings years of experience in holistic nutrition, health coaching, homesteading, and scratch cooking to her newly published vegetarian cookbook titled Sustainable Kitchen: Recipes and Inspiration for Plant-based, Planet Conscious Meals (Herald Press, 2020).
More than just a cookbook, Sustainable Kitchen offers a philosophy of eating grounded in nutritional and environmental wisdom, a testament to the author's conviction that food choices matter greatly when it comes to the well-being of ourselves, both body and soul, and our world. Click here for a look inside the book.
Meena Sigireddi MD, MPH'11Meena is currently working at NYU Langone as a Clinical/Cancer Geneticist.
Bianca Belcher, MPH'10, PA-C
Bianca Belcher was promoted to Vice President of Clinical Operations for Steward Health Care Network and now oversees the network's strategy and efforts in the transitions and post-acute care space. The clinical team, made up of over 150 nurses, community health workers, social workers, pharmacists, and behavioral health specialists aims to reduce total cost of care and improve quality outcomes for their ACO.
Matthew A. Davis, PhD, DC, MPH'10
University of Michigan Associate Professor of Nursing Matthew Davis received a University of Michigan Henry Russel Award during the 96th Henry Russel Lecture on March 9. The award is the university’s highest honor for faculty members at the early to mid-stages of their careers. Davis, who is also an associate professor of learning health sciences at the U-M Medical School, is one of four faculty members selected for the award. An educator and a health services researcher, Davis' work includes the identification of sources of arsenic exposure in the U.S. population, tracking the national opioid epidemic and the development of methods to use social media data to measure social support and public opinion.
Matthew Davis MPH'09
For the last two years, Matthew Davis has been at the League of Conservation Voters, now as Senior Director of Government Affairs, where he is helping lead their work on climate, clean air, and environmental justice appropriations, policies, and regulations. He is very excited about the opportunities to enact ambitious policy and investments to tackle climate change, environmental justice, democracy, and racial equity.
Bade Fatunde, MD, MPH'08 and Ryan McDermott, MD, MPH'08The Dartmouth Institute Alumni connection runs strong! Last month, MPH classmates Bade Fatunde (left in picture) and Ryan McDermott (right in picture) from the class of 2008, ran into each other in the Mayo Clinic Arizona ED. Ryan works as an ED attending and Bade is a Cardiology fellow. Bade is also a co-author on a new paper that looks at the Interactions between cardiology and oncology drugs in precision cardio-oncology.
Oren Mechanic, MD, MPH'10
Oren leads telehealth efforts at Harvard Medical Faculty Physicians at BIDMC as its medical director. During the pandemic, telehealth has provided hundreds of thousands of virtual visits to patients at the medical center, allowing for increased access, family engagement, and patient-centric care. Oren's interests remain in value-based and accessible care delivery, hallmarks of The Dartmouth Institute's education, and works on digital health innovation.
Aaron Hoffman, DO, MPH'07
Aaron recently took a new position as the Chief Clinical Innovation Engineer at Atrius Health in Boston, where he is also practicing primary care. Concurrently, he is continuing as co-director of the Home for Family Medicine at the Center for Primary Care at Harvard Medical School, and as the medical director of the PA Studies Program at the MGH Institute of Health Professions. He and his wife, Melissa Lin, CECS MS '07, just bought a new home in Boston. Melissa is continuing her work as a Transformation Sensei at the Virginia Mason Institute.
Annie Nguyen MPH'07Annie was elected Chair of the Aging and Public Health section of the American Public Health Association (APHA).
Ruofan Yao MD, MPH’07
Ruofan Yao is a co-author on a new paper on improving treatment outcomes for women facing severe hypertension (severely high blood pressure) during pregnancy. Their project used an automated treatment algorithm built into the electronic medical record system to identify pregnant patients with severe hypertension and provide treatment recommendations independent of physician input. This system eliminated communication errors and medical staff explicit/implicit biases in treating severe hypertension in pregnancy.
The national recommendation is to provide treatment for severe hypertension in pregnancy within 30-60 minutes. However, the average compliance rate across the country is only around 50 percent. The project Yao supported provided a >90 percent compliance rate without any adverse events.
Read the full paper in Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Jason Azuma MPH'04
Jason is living in Orange County, CA enjoying the sunshine and outdoor activities. He works in county government managing data and evaluative clinical science in the Emergency Medical Services. He writes that he is “still struggling to support the null hypothesis, and faithful that good decisions are the result of good data.”
James DiResta, DPM, MPH'04
The podiatry practice of Dr. James J DiResta at Anna Jaques Hospital in Newburyport has formally affiliated with Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge as a satellite surgery rotation site for MAH PGY-1 podiatric medicine and surgery residents. James looks forward to supporting PGY-1, 2 and 3 residents with their research projects.
James Lynch, MD, MS'01
Dr. Lynch, a member of the inaugural class of the dual degree MD/MS program with Dartmouth Medical School, recently retired from the U.S. Army after serving over 31 years. For the last 10 years of his military career Dr. Lynch spearheaded an effort to incorporate an innovative procedure into posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment. Along with longtime colleague from the Special Operations community, Dr. Sean Mulvaney, Dr. Lynch pioneered the use of stellate ganglion block (SGB) in the treatment of PTSD symptoms.
In April 2021, Dr. Lynch joined Dr. Mulvaney in private practice to form The Stellate Institute in Annapolis, MD. They aim to raise awareness of this life-changing procedure for the 10 million Americans who suffer from invisible injuries of trauma, including sexual assault survivors and our first-responder community.
For more information on SGB for PTSD and The Stellate Institute see: thestellateinstitute.com
Katherine S. Rowell, MS'99Katherine recently published a new book under contract with Wiley titled "Visualizing Health and Healthcare Data -- Creating clear and compelling data visualizations to see how you're doing." It is currently available on Amazon and is an extension of the work that the firm (HealthDataViz) she founded in 2013 specializes in – creating clear and compelling displays of data and information.