Lab Members

Desmon Inocencio

I am an undergraduate student at Tulane University, and I am majoring in Cell and Molecular Biology as well as minoring in Public Health. With my education I hope to become a pharmacist and use my background in Public Health to better help the communities I may work with. By working in this water quality lab during a pandemic I hope to learn how we can make access to clean water universal. 

Morgan Osbun,

I am a Tulane graduate student pursuing a Masters of Science in Public Health focusing on Environmental Health at the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. I recently graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Healthcare Administration in May 2020. After graduation, I would like to do environmental toxicology research.

 Jeenal Patel

I am from India. I did a Bachelor’s in Ayurved Medicine and Surgery (B.A.M.S) from India. I started my career as a Medical Intern in a rural hospital. Later, I joined the medical center in a metro city “Mumbai” (known as Bombay) as a Medical Officer. As a physician, I learned many things in the medical sciences, but I have been always curious about the Public Health sector. From the Doctor's perspective, I have gained valuable knowledge, but also learned how the health system is badly affected due to many issues hidden in reality. Also, public health in India is still developing and needs change. Currently, I am a second-year MSPH student in Environmental Health Sciences in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences. From a future perspective, I want to work in the field of water quality and infectious diseases as an environmental health scientist. I want to learn more about the wastewater and health risk assessment. I hope to gain a basic understanding of water-based pathogen and correlation of climate change with microbial factors. 

Hanna Brosky 

Hanna is completing her Master’s in Public Health in International Health and Sustainable Development from the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. She previously worked for Peace Corps as a water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) engineer in the indigenous regions of Panamá after graduating from Lehigh University with a degree in environmental engineering and entrepreneurship. Hanna works as a research assistant for Dr. Samendra Sherchan in water quality surveillance and focuses her studies on WASH systems in low-income and resource settings. She plans on pursuing her Ph.D. after her graduation from Tulane and will continue to investigate how global WASH engineering can be more equitable, sustainable, and resilient. 

Impana Murthy 

I’m an undergraduate student at Tulane University double majoring in Public Health and Cell and Molecular Biology on the pre-medical track. I aspire to become an obstetrician-gynecologist in the future. And I hope to use all my experience and knowledge in Public Health to improve my work in the medical field. I was born in Bengaluru, India, so I have seen many issues that are present in a developing country. I have seen the effects of contaminated water and its effect on health. I know that the same issues persist in New Orleans because of the after-effects of Hurricane Katrina. 

Joshua Garcia

I am an undergraduate student at Tulane University currently pursuing a double major in Public health and Cell and Molecular Biology. As a pre-med student, my goal is to one day be a cardiothoracic surgeon. I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California and I owe everything to my parents. As a son of Hispanic immigrants, I was fortunate enough to visit Guatemala and instantly became astonished with the water quality affecting many households. Current issues such as Flint's water crisis and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina have led me to believe water quality is an imperative human rights issue that should be a significant concern for everyone. 

Divya Polu

I am an undergraduate student at Tulane University majoring in Sociology with minors in Cell and Molecular Biology and Public Health. As a pre-med student with a humanities background, I am interested in the social and environmental aspects of health as I believe that preventative health is just as important as clinical care. I am especially interested in water/food security and sanitation as access to clean, healthy food and water is an essential human right and has a significant impact on health outcomes.  

Kinjal Shah received a bachelor’s degree in dental surgery from SDM College of Dental Sciences, India. After graduating, she worked as a dentist focusing on improving oral hygiene of patients from rural India. While working in rural areas, she realized the importance of environmental factors on human health leading her to pursue a master’s in public health in the Global Environmental Health Sciences Department at Tulane University. Currently, she is collaborating with the US Environmental Protection Agency on a project investigating E.coli contamination in New Orleans East waterways. The results will help guide the community on how to improve water quality. She aspires to work in the field of environmental sustainability in the future.

Sydney Sheffield

Sydney Sheffield is an undergraduate student at Tulane University studying Public Health and Chinese. She is on the pre-medical track and is an aspiring obstetrician-gynecologist. Sheffield is currently working with the nonprofit Farm to Classroom International and the village of Usangule in Tanzania to build sustainable food sources and increase overall health in the village, and she intends to use her experiences at the Soil and Aquatic Microbiology Lab to monitor the water systems surrounding Usangule. She also intends to incorporate a public health perspective and an emphasis on prevention into everything she does in the future in the medical field.

Rebecca Cormack

I am an undergraduate student at Tulane University double majoring in Public Health and French. I am interested in water quality, particularly how people receive access to water, and how to improve that access globally. This became an interest of mine after spending time in St. Martin on a service learning trip through Tulane's Center for Public Service. While volunteering at a Rastafarian-run farm and garden, I addressed public health issues such as access to food and water, particularly after Hurricane Irma, while learning about St. Martin's cultural ties to the land. I am looking forward to honing my research skills and becoming more knowledgable on water issues that affect our local New Orleans communities by participating in Dr. Sherchan's lab.

Kevin Caton

Kevin Caton received a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Maine, after which he worked as a medical technologist in Portland, Maine. He is pursuing a master’s in public health in the Global Environmental Health Sciences Department with a focus on water quality at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. Caton first became interested in water quality aspects of public health through his experiences at McCormick Hospital in Chiang Mai, Thailand, while participating in the WASH program and other community outreach programs. He hopes to apply what he has learned in Dr. Sherchan’s lab to improve water quality and access both domestically and internationally.

Collin Potter

Collin is a Research Assistant for Dr. Sherchan in the Global Environmental Health Sciences Department at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. Collin processes water samples via a variety of methods from a plethora of projects ranging from a project with the Audubon Institute to a project with Tulane Hospital. Collin is also pursuing his MSPH in Global Environmental Health Sciences with a focus in water and anticipates graduating from the program next spring.Collin earned his B.A. from Michigan State University in Special Education. Since graduation, Collin has worked in various settings for education-based companies, as well as a laboratory setting for Tulane Hospital, processing samples for human clinical trials. Collin is an animal-lover, fond of snow, and hopes to work in water quality in some capacity. Please email me at cpotter@tulane.edu with any questions, comments, or cat pictures.

Helen Keevy

Helen Keevy received her bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science from Savannah State University, where she did water quality research at the Savannah River. She is pursuing a master’s of science in public health at Tulane from the Global Environmental Health Sciences Department with a focus on water quality. Helen first became interested in water quality aspects of public health through her various trips with study abroad. The one she found most impactful was her trip to Haiti where she came down with cholera. That event drove her to want to find ways to help people overcome deadly waterborne diseases. She hopes she can apply all the great skills and lessons learned in Dr. Sherchan's lab and in the classroom into the WASH sector after graduation. 

Jennifer LaMori

Jennifer LaMori is a graduate student studying public health at Tulane University.  Jen is working in Dr. Sherchan’s lab for over a year studying water quality and testing for fecal bacteria in Lake Pontchartrain. In the future, she aspires to work internationally and aid in global disaster management or crises management.

Lauren Ward

Lauren is a graduate student pursuing her MPH&TM in Tropical Medicine at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. She earned her B.S. in Biology from Purdue University in 2018, as well as certificates in experiential learning and Peace Corps preparation. While at Purdue, Lauren had the opportunity to work in partnership with a Haitian university and a NGO on a project presenting WASH fundamentals and introducing low-cost water sanitation technology. This project sparked her interest in pursuing a career in international public health and introduced her to the One Health approach- recognizing the role that interactions with animals and the environment play in human health. Lauren hopes to eventually pursue a PhD in epidemiology or infectious disease and work in international health surveillance and research 

Bridget Ritten 

I am an undergraduate studying Public Health and Spanish. I am interested in environmental health, especially abroad, and am looking into possible careers within that field. I became interested in Public Health through the service project, Appalachia Service Project (ASP), that I participated in throughout high school. We helped rebuild homes in Central Appalachia and learned about the detrimental effects of the mining industry to the people of Appalachia. I witnessed many families who were suffering from lung cancer, and families who drank unsafe water and ate unsafe food. Therefore, I am hoping to learn more about environmental health and how I can help others while participating in research through this lab. 

Djoulissa Louis-Jean is a graduate student pursuing her MSPH in Tropical Medicine at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. She received her Bachelors in Environmental Sciences from the University of Central Florida. She became interested in the field of environmental health during her freshman year in undergrad when her research mentor at the time told her about the relationship that exists between humans, the environment, and disease. Ever since then she has worked towards learning more about this dynamic relationship. Djoulissaaspires to pursue a PhD in Microbiology/Immunology in the future and conduct research on antibiotic resistance and vaccine development. 

Mom (Nini) TatahMentan, is a  doctoral student at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. She is has experience and is passionate about monitoring and evaluation, maternal and child health, sexual and reproductive, and health communication. She is also very excited about this opportunity to work In Dr.Sherchan’s lab.  

Josh is a New Orleans native pursuing his Ph.D. in Environmental Health Science at the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. After his undergraduate degree at Tulane University, Josh worked for several years for aquariums and marine research facilities in dolphin and sea turtle rescue, animal husbandry and life support systems. Josh earned his first Master’s degree from the University of New Orleans in Earth and Environmental Science with his thesis “Overwash Controls on Barrier Island Morphodynamics during Storms”. Josh earned his second Master’s degree from Texas A&M University at Galveston in Marine Resources Management with his thesis “The Impact of the Installation of an Estuarine Dam on Sediment Distribution and Accumulation Rates in the Geum Estuary, South Korea”. Currently, Josh is working with his advisor, Dr. Samendra Sherchan, in water quality and the impacts to environmental and human health in St. Tammany Parish including Slidell and Pearl River, as well as St. Bernard Parish and New Orleans East. Josh is interested in pursuing research-based positions involving coastal morphodynamics, hydrology and the impacts to environmental and human health.

Ali is a DRC scholar pursuing her PhD in Environmental Health Sciences. A New Orleans native, she completed her B.Sc. in Coastal Environmental Science at Louisiana State University where she studied carcinogenic pathways to telomere dysfunction and coastal reef restoration. After graduating from LSU, she worked as a behavior therapist at Autism Spectrum Therapies became interested in the community outreach and education involved in accessing healthcare. She earned her M.S. in Environmental Sciences from Emory University and joined the Prokopec Laboratory of Applied Disease Ecology to aid in research at the interface of ecology and public health. Her researched focused on integrating the biology and ecology of insect vectors into spatially explicit statistical and mechanistic models of pathogen transmission. She is motivated to research using an interdisciplinary approach to understand disease transmission improve health equity for the people most affected.