MPH students present their Applied Learning Experiences

MPH students graduating this spring, successfully completed and presented their Applied Learning Experiences (ALEs). 

The ALE is a transformative two-semester fieldwork project that empowers students to integrate and apply public health knowledge and skills gained in the classroom to a real-world public health problem.

Students completed projects that covered the full gamut of public health challenges—from food accessibility, to vaccine literacy, to quality health data. Below are this semester’s ALEs:

Emily Butcher (JD/MPH): Interviewer’s Playbook: Content Analysis of Mayoral and Public Figure Views on Community Gun Violence in Highly Effected Cities
Preceptor: Mark Gottlieb, Executive Director, Public Health Advocacy Institute
​Course Director: Jennifer Pustz

Ric Bayly (EPI/BIO): Healthy Food Access Surveys and Spatial Analyses in Rhode Island East Bay Health Equity Zones
Preceptor: Jay Metzger, GIS Manager, Rhode Island Department of Health 
Course Director: Jennifer Pustz

Anjali Thakrar (MPH/PA): Assessing the Impact of Medicaid Expansion on Racial/Ethnic Disparities, Including Latino Subgroups, in Quality & Completion of Opioid Use Disorder Treatment
Preceptor: Michael Flores, Research Scientist, Department of Psychiatry, Cambridge Health Alliance Health Equity Research Lab
Course Director: Daniel Hatfield

Zhengyuan Qiu (EPI/BIO): TBD
Preceptor: Ian Wong, Director of Health Promotion and Prevention, Tufts University
Course Director: Jennifer Pustz

Sara Ahsan (HSMP): Newborn Nursery- Understanding the Challenges for Newborn Caregivers in terms of Introduction of High Allergenic Foods and Lactation
​Preceptor: Dr. Michael Pistiner, Director of Food Allergy Advocacy, Education and Prevention, Mass General Hospital for Children
Course Director: Daniel Hatfield

Suki Lee (Epi/Bio): Measuring the Impact of Violence Against Children During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Preceptor: Dina Burstein, HOPE Project Director, Tufts Medical Center, HOPE National Resource Center
Course Director: Daniel Hatfield

Tsion Fikre (EPI/BIO): Developmental Medicine Structured Data Initiative: A Quality Improvement Project
Preceptor: Alyssa DaCunha, Program Manager, Clinical Innovation, Boston Children’s Hospital
Course Director: Daniel Hatfield

Dana Yizhaky (PA/MPH): Vaccine Hesitancy and Misinformation Among Haitians
Preceptor: Dr. Marie-Louise Jean-Baptiste, Director of Community Affairs, UDH Health Coach
Course Director: Jennifer Pustz

Annie Ruhmann (PA/MPH): The Importance of Group Visits in Diabetes Management
Preceptor: Marie-Louise Jean-Baptiste, Director of Community Affairs, Cambridge Health Alliance
Course Director: Daniel Hatfield

Lauren Ballini (HSMP): Community-Based Needs Assessment to Address Cancer Screening Promoters During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond
Preceptor: Efren Flores, MD., Staff Radiologist, Massachusetts General Hospital
Course Director: Jennifer Pustz               

Tianwei Niu (EPI/BIO):Corticosteroid Exposure and Cumulative Effects in Atopic Dermatitis Patients
Preceptor: Dr. DeDe Gardner, Director of Research and Evaluation, Allergy and Asthma Network
Course Director: Daniel Hatfield

Jing Huang (EPI/BIO): The Optimal Gestation Weight Gain to Minimize Adverse Health Outcomes Among Mothers and Infants in China
Preceptor: Wenfang Yang, Professor, Chief Physician, Xi’an Jiaotong University, China
Course Director: Daniel Hatfield

Anna Massefski (HSMP): Regulatory Methods to Prevent Ambulance Crashes
Preceptor: Stephanie DeMarco, Project Manager, MIH Application Reviewer, Office of Emergency Medical Services
Course Director: Jennifer Pustz

Cordelia Sheetoh (EPI/BIO): Provider Uptake of 2020 CDC Treatment Guidelines for Gonorrhea in Massachusetts, January to August 2021.
Preceptor: Heather Elder, Senior Epidemiologist and Research Coordinator, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Bureau of Infectious Disease and Laboratory Sciences, Division of STD
Course Director: Daniel Hatfield

Amaodo Oguagha (BSHC): Early Intervention Parenting Partnerships and Welcome Family: Use of Qualitative Evidence to Identify Best Practices and Develop Quality Recommendations
Preceptor: Beth Buxton, Program Director, Maternal and Infant Health Initiative, MA Department of Public Health
Course Director: Jennifer Pustz

Hallie Maly (BSHC): An Innovative Approach to YOUTH Engagement in Egypt
Preceptor: Salma El-Tanany, Deputy Chief of Party, Strengthening Egypt Family Planning Program, John Snow, Inc. (JSI)
Course Director: Jennifer Pustz

Renata DeLury (PA/MPH): Assessing the Cultural Inclusivity of the Teaching Kitchen at Boston Medical Center
Preceptor: Olivia Weinstein, Culinary Nutrition Director, Boston Medical Center
Course Director: Jennifer Pustz

Yixin Li (EPI/BIO): Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences
Preceptor: Dina Burstein, MD, MPH, HOPE Project Director, Tufts Medical Center
Course Director: Daniel Hatfield

Yutong Chen (EPI/BIO): Mobile Health Interventions for Sickle Cell Disease Patients
Preceptor: Valencia Koomson, Associate Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Tufts University
Course Director: Daniel Hatfield

Akshay Selvakumarraj (BHSC): Feasibility and Accessibility of Mobile Health Applications Targeting Chronic Illness in Underserved Communities
Preceptor: Dr. Valencia Koomson, Associated Director of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Tufts Department of Electrical Engineering
Course Director: Daniel Hatfield

Victoria Childs (PA/MPH): Increasing HIV Testing in People who Use Drugs that Receive Care from Physician Assistants
Preceptor: Dr. Alysse Wurcel, Attending Physician, Tufts Medical Center
Course Director: Jennifer Pustz

Emma Cooley (PA/MPH): Student Health Center Assessment of Sexual Health Care at Tufts University
Preceptor: Alexandra Donovan, Director, CARE, Tufts University
Course Director: Jennifer Pustz

Raymond Graham (BSHC): Spreading HOPE: A Positive Approach to Effecting Change
Preceptor: Dina Burstein, HOPE Project Director, HOPE (Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences)
Course Director: Jennifer Pustz

Julia Galdiz (PA/MPH): Food Insecurity Among the Latinx Community: Addressing Barriers to Accessing Resources
Preceptor: Lara Jackson, Practice Transformation Director, DotHouse Health
Course Director: Jennifer Pustz

Erin Dwyer (HSMP): Quality Improvement Project to Improve Health Disparities Among Spanish-Speaking Perinatal Patients
Preceptor: Lisa Capra, Medical Director Newborn Nursery, Co-Chair Maternal-Child Health Equity Quality, Tufts Medical Center
Course Director: Daniel Hatfield

Hector Nunez (PA/MPH): Evaluation of Express STI Screening Service
Preceptor: Cassandra Sutten-Coats, Clinical Operations and Program Director, Open Door Health
Course Director: Daniel Hatfield

Yimuran Kaisaier (BSHC): Correlation Analysis of Nutritional Status of Infants and Young Children and Supplementary Food Supplements in Xinjiang
Preceptor: Rena Maimaiti, Chief Physician, Xinjiang Medical University, Department of Child Health
Course Director: Jennifer Pustz

Jacqueline Dow (BSHC): Promoting Best Practices in Identification and Management of Psychosis in Emergency Settings
Preceptor: Kelsey Johnson, Program Manager, Massachusetts Psychosis Network for Early Treatment
Course Director: Jennifer Pustz