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Public Health Fellows

  • Abby Ong

    Yale University

    Agency: Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center, Yale School of Public Health

    Abby supports the Initiative for Strategic Health Communications in developing a health communications best practices guide for health departments and a vaccine messaging toolkit for local health departments/districts across Connecticut.

  • Alannah Doheny

    Southern CT State University

    Agency: East Shore District Health Department

    Alannah will be assisting in several projects, including work on Drug Use Harm Reduction education in the community, and education on Community Resilience to address mental health.

  • Anagha Babu

    Yale University

    Agency: Department of Public Health- Environmental Health and Drinking Water Section

    Anagha’s research will include interviewing or surveying state staff to gain details about their programs, gathering current research or studies conducted by EPA, CDC, other states, and/or regions, and compiling the data is a compendium of regulations and available literature.

  • Annarita Lynch

    University of Connecticut

    Agency: CT Department of Health Lab

    Annarita will assist in the validation and write-up of a standard operating procedure (SOP) for the laboratory under the guidance of the preceptor and alternate preceptor.

  • Anyue Tang

    Yale University

    Agency: DataHaven

    Anyue is providing support for community health needs assessments that DataHaven is creating in partnership with local health and social services agencies in multiple towns throughout the state. Anyue collects, analyzes, and presents qualitative and quantitative data related to health and related social needs in towns throughout Connecticut.

  • Aya Abdalla

    Wesleyan University

    Agency: Connecticut Cancer Partnership

    Aya is working with two partnership workgroups to develop an information-gathering tool to collect data about barriers and facilitators to cancer control-related services from local health districts and departments. She will focus on disparate and underserved populations to identify social determinants of health barriers.

  • Caitlin Clayton

    Fairfield University

    Agency: Yale New Health, Bridgeport Hospital

    Caitlin will be actively involved in work that supports our regional collective impact partnership, Health Improvement Alliance. The mission and vision of HIA are to work together to identify, prioritize, and measurably improve the health of the Bridgeport community through prevention, education, and services.

  • Advice from past fellow Abigail Johnson:


    "Be present and take advantage of every opportunity to learn a new skill or improve existing ones."
    Abigail Johnson, Farmington Valley Health District (Boston University Metropolitan College)
  • Fiona Palmieri

    Southern CT State University

    Agency: East Shore District Health Department

    Fiona will be gathering data on mental health and drug harm reduction, including investigating local resources and partners in the East Shore area.

  • Juliana Sinotte

    Fairfield University

    Agency: Yale-New Haven Health, Bridgeport Hospital

    Juliana will work on the development of an annual report and the development of social media and other health communications to increase awareness of HIA, promote regional resources, and educate the community on ways to improve health outcomes.

  • Advice from past fellow John Mucha:


    "I would recommend looking for opportunities at local health departments. These departments having various divisions, thus providing an opportunity to work in multiple aspects of public health."
    John Mucha, Naugatuck Valley Health District Fellow (Southern CT State University)
  • Karissa McLaurin

    Walden University

    Agency: Michelle’s House

    Karissa will work on quantitative analysis, evaluation of all direct and indirect sequelae highly correlated with Sickle Cell Disease and support the quality standards of producing a report that defines the SCDAA CT as an exemplar.

  • Kasey Reed

    Fairfield University

    Agency: Naugatuck Valley Health District

    Kasey will be creating a mental health and wellness resource directory. She will research and record all available mental health resources easily accessible to residents of the seven covered towns.

  • Advice from past fellow Zoe Bassett:


    "Take advantage of all the resources provided by your preceptor and your fellowship program. Your preceptor and the PHFP team is there to help you navigate the extensive world of public health, and happy to do so. They have a wealth of knowledge at their fingertips that can help you develop your interests into goals. The fellowship goes by quickly, so take advantage of your time and ask every question that comes to mind."


    Zoe Bassett, CT DPH Fellow (University of Miami)
  • Kathryn Amatruda

    Marist College

    Agency: East Shore District Health Department

    Kathryn will perform a hands-on sample collection of contaminated water impacting recreational beaches and shellfishing beds. She communicates her results through oral and poster presentations to stakeholders in environmental justice and non-environmental justice communities and academic settings, providing the opportunity to practice communication skills to a variety of audiences.

  • Lauren McCall

    Southern CT State University

    Agency: Chesprocott Health District

    Lauren will be shadowing Sanitarians and gain an understanding of their tasks with a focus on certain Environmental Services including Food, Cosmetology, and Septic.

  • Margaret Osei-Yeboah

    Southern New Hampshire University

    Agency: Southwestern Area Health Education Center (AHEC

    Margaret will promote activities that highlight resiliency, and health promotion. She will facilitate education sessions, attend health fairs and screenings, participate in other community events, and professional development/training for students/community agency personnel/educational partners.

  • Mary Looney

    University of Connecticut

    Agency: West Hartford-Bloomfield Health District

    Mary will review the Community Health Assessment data and provide recommendations for evidence-based interventions.

  • Melissa Gomez

    Southern CT State University

    Agency: West Haven Health Department

    Melissa will be collecting data, developing surveys, planning events, and observing environmental inspections. The West Haven Health Department's services include environmental health, community health, and public health emergency preparedness.

  • Advice from past fellow Adiba Anzum:


    "[In the fellowship] your growth should be emphasized, and you should give yourself credit for what you've accomplished. As we learn and grow, we make mistakes, and mistakes are opportunities for improvement and skill acquisition."
    Adiba Anzum, Waterbury Health Department Intern (University of Connecticut)
  • Nakial Cross

    Wesleyan University

    Agency: Department of Public Health, CT Cancer Foundation

    Nakial will frame a problem statement starting by assessing and summarizing epidemiological data to determine prostate cancer incidence rates, mortality rates, and stage and age at diagnosis for Connecticut men overall and by race and ethnicity.

  • Nkemka Chukwumerije

    Wesleyan University

    Agency: Ella B. Scantlebury Senior Residence

    Nkemka will use quantitative data analyses of current census tract-specific resources to create a graphic presentation that will be used to profile the neighborhood's elderly and economic environment, suitable for presentation to stakeholders. He will also interview Key informants to develop questions for local focus groups.

  • Nour Osman

    University of St. Joseph

    Agency: West Hartford Bloomfield Health District, Environmental Health

    Nour will review the Community Health Assessment data and provide recommendations for evidence-based interventions.

  • Reeya Vora

    University of Pittsburgh

    Agency-CT Department of Public Health, Primary Care Office

    Analyze healthcare workforce data for trends, gaps, and shortfalls in care.
  • Samuel Diamond

    University of Bridgeport

    Agency: Stamford Department of Health & Human Services

    Samuel will develop health promotional materials in the area of youth mental health and Develop asthma educational programming for parents.

  • Sunny Light

    University of Pennsylvania

    Agency: DPH-Policy and Regulatory

    Sunny is supporting the legal and policy staff with regulatory and statutory research, conducting cross-state research and comparative analyses.

  • Trisha Lopez

    Wellesley College

    Agency: Norwalk Health Department

    Trisha will assist the NHD staff with the delivery and evaluation of community health programs, social media campaigns for seasonal health topics and the drafting of communications materials on various topics.

  • Tyanna Stewart

    University of Hartford

    Agency: West Hartford Bloomfield Health District

    Tyanna participates in health education programming. This includes reviewing data to assess program needs, providing recommendations, proposing evidence-based activities and interventions, researching existing programs, assisting in program development and implementation, and program evaluation.

  • Zoe Gentles

    Suny at Albany

    Agency: CT Department of Public Health - Epidemiology and Emerging Infections

    Zoe is participating in Babesiosis awareness and prevention presentations. She is completing data entry and provider follow-up for supplemental case report forms. She also participates in data quality assurance through participation in annual data reconciliation and develops statistical reports and graphs of Babesiosis statistical trends.