Issue 1

April 2023

Letter From The Editor

MPH@Simmons alum, students, faculty and friends,

I hope your spring is already off to a great start! MPH@Simmons celebrated National Public Health Week with several exciting happenings:

Current students attended the Immersion course at the Arizona Borderlands, led by Prof. Shelley White and Christopher Tse. We look forward to hearing about the learnings, connections and actions our students take upon their return!

Check out our featured alum below to see what they are up to. If you are an alum and want to be featured in our newsletter, send us your updates to our current MPH Graduate Assistant, Nat Thomson.

Our community partners are also up to amazing things, please check out North American Indian Center of Boston's Twitter feed and please go volunteer with Haymarket People's Fund.

For alum and current students on the job market, please make sure you are getting our Handshake emails. Please reach out to Nat Thomson if you are not.

In solidarity,

Meenakshi Verma-Agrawal

MPH@Simmons

In The News...

National Public Health Week

As mentioned, National Public Health Week was from April 3rd to April 9th. Occurring during the first week of April each year (mark your calendars for 2024). Created by the APHA, National Public Health Week is a chance to celebrate the different ways all cultures bring health to the forefront, and is a great chance to learn from each other.

The APHA encourages us all to urge our members of Congress to prioritize public health funding in fiscal year 2024, and so do we; if you can, take a few minutes to write your congressperson about this important funding decision.

April is also National Minority Health Month; read a statement from HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra about the HHS Office of Minority Health theme for the month along with ways to get learn more about minority health.

Finally, we all appreciated the perspective put forth by Dr Soumya Swaminathan, Dr Angela Muriuki and Dr Bill Rodriguez on the importance of bridging the diagnostic testing gap between men and women.

Alumni Spotlight

Nicole Taikeff Gabella, MPH

Nicole Taikeff Gabela (Simmons MPH class of ‘21) is currently the project manager of a DP1 study named FOREVER, focusing on creating scalable scientific strategies to improve the representation of historically marginalized and minoritized groups in Alzheimer's Disease and related dementias (ADRD) studies. A multi-stage study, so far Nicole and the team have collected attitudes and knowledge about ADRD research from communities in Harris County, TX and are in the process of conducting specialist interviews nationally in order to to understand the landscape of recruitment, engagement, and retention strategies used in Alzheimer's disease research.

Since graduation, Nicole has submitted three papers to three different journals, one of which is a modified version of a Simmons MPH Capstone course submission. She also recently presented the work of FOREVER’s Phase 1 at the 20202 Alzheimer's Association International Conference. When not presenting or researching, Nicole has welcomed her family to the Boston area, where they have all recently moved and also enjoys rock climbing with her partner, with a special focus on the tallest and scariest walls.

More details on FOREVER

Congratulations, Nicole! We, the Simmons community, are so proud of your accomplishments!

What We're Listening To

Simmon's own Professor Verma-Agrawal discusses racial justice work in practice with Omari Richins on the Public Health Careers Podcast, part of Richins Public Health Millennial project.

NPR’s Throughline explores Yuri Kochiyama’s friendship with Malcolm X and her solidarity with cross-ethnic people of color.

The Social Work Podcast hosts a two part discussion with LIsa Damour, PhD, on topics included in her book The Emotional Lives of Teenagers, from the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of adolescents to the importance of helping teens regain control of their emotions.

Dates & Events

Friday, May 19th marks the 118 Simmons University Commencement. This year’s commencement will be held at MGM Music Hall at Fenway and you can find further details like start times and parking options here.

On Tuesday May 16th, the Simmons MPH program and Simmons student body organization HERE4Justice will collaborate together on a health and justice focused event for faculty and students. Details forthcoming, please watch Simmons MPH and HERE4Justice social media profiles for updates.

Feature Interview
Dr. Carolyn Rodgers, PhD, MPH, MHS

This issue we sat down with Dr. Carolyn Rodgers, Bachelors Program Director, Professor of Practice for the Department of Public Health at Simmons University, to hear a little more about what she is keeping busy with and has on her mind this spring.

Tell us about your role here at Simmons?
Currently, I am a Professor of Practice and the Program Director for the Bachelors of Public Health program. Also, this is my first year serving as the Eckert Leadership Fellow for Integrated Health and Wellness.

What have some of your teaching highlights at Simmons been so far? My teaching highlights have been interacting with the many scholars throughout the Public Health Program and other disciplines and to see their goals as health professionals come to fruition.

What research are you currently engaged in? Can you tell us about the aims and the process?
Currently, I am engaged in research involving COVID-19 vaccination accessibility, as well as studying the mental health of college students, staff and faculty and the services needed on college campuses.

What sparked your interest in public health?
I have always loved observing people and trying to find ways to improve situations and health outcomes. Public health was the perfect avenue to do all of those things (and more).

Outside of teaching and research, what do you do to enrich or express yourself? I have always had an interest in singing, dancing and health and well-being. I am a fitness guru and come from a musical background so those are my most favorite activities to engage in.

What health topics and issues do you see becoming more prominently discussed in 2023? I see the topic of inclusion, food and economic insecurities becoming more prevalent over the course of the year.

Thank you Dr. Rodgers for all that you've contributed to the Simmons community!

Dr. Rodgers has previously talked with Voices of Simmons about the overturning of Roe vs. Wade if you would like to hear more of her perspectives.

Report abuse