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Professional Documents
The first year of my doctoral degree included taking a host of classes. At the end of the year it was required to pass a qualifying exam. Since starting my second year I have chosen my advisors, Paul Parker and Rebecca Killick. We have began my doctoral research projects. Additionally, I have started serving as the graduate student representative.
The first year of my doctoral degree included taking a host of classes. At the end of the year it was required to pass a qualifying exam. Since starting my second year I have chosen my advisors, Paul Parker and Rebecca Killick. We have began my doctoral research projects. Additionally, I have started serving as the graduate student representative.
Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine
Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine
In summer of 2025 I worked as an applied statistician at Kaiser Permenente's school of medicine. I worked on a host of statistical projects during my six weeks there. I continued the work described below on exploring preterm birth health disparities. Kaiser Permenente has committed to waiving tuition for students enrolling in medical school between Fall 2020 and Fall 2026. In order to complete medical school, students must act as a subject matter expert for a statistical project of their choosing. I was able to aid in one of these projects. With a team, we worked the CDC's National Health Interview Survey to determine if differences in injury rate in blue collar workers differed between ethnicity. Furthermore, I worked with one of the clinical professors to examine if different types of assigned work had different effects on student exam performance.
My Applied Research
My Applied Research
Exploring Preterm Birth Health Disparities: Insights into Maternal Anxiety Across Demographic & Socio-Economic Groups
Exploring Preterm Birth Health Disparities: Insights into Maternal Anxiety Across Demographic & Socio-Economic Groups
Preterm birth is the leading cause of perinatal mortality, increasing the risk of chronic medical conditions and developmental delays in children. In 2020, 13.4 million preterm births caused around 900,000 infant deaths globally, and in the U.S. alone, the preterm birth rate stood at 10.4%, leading to higher neonatal mortality, significant morbidity, and a minimum $25.2 billion economic cost. Subsequently, there is growing literature demonstrating health disparities in the U.S. in conjunction with pregnancy and its direct and mediated relationship with anxiety [1], [2]. Current efforts in creating large-scale, public health oriented data repositories, including NIH's AllofUs, have further energized research related to women's health, across many ethnic and socio-economic groups. Using the data extracted from AllofUS, we examine our hypothesis that having anxiety during pregnancy disproportionately affects pregnant women from minority groups and lower socio-economic backgrounds. This, in turn, leads to substantial health disparities in pregnancy outcomes, particularly premature delivery. In this work, we highlight two parallel modeling approaches for studying the dynamics of women's pregnancy, anxiety, and premature delivery, particularly among minorities and economically disadvantaged groups. Specifically, we we use ordinal logistic regression and cox proportional hazards models to identify parameters contributing to anxiety among pregnant women.
Preterm birth is the leading cause of perinatal mortality, increasing the risk of chronic medical conditions and developmental delays in children. In 2020, 13.4 million preterm births caused around 900,000 infant deaths globally, and in the U.S. alone, the preterm birth rate stood at 10.4%, leading to higher neonatal mortality, significant morbidity, and a minimum $25.2 billion economic cost. Subsequently, there is growing literature demonstrating health disparities in the U.S. in conjunction with pregnancy and its direct and mediated relationship with anxiety [1], [2]. Current efforts in creating large-scale, public health oriented data repositories, including NIH's AllofUs, have further energized research related to women's health, across many ethnic and socio-economic groups. Using the data extracted from AllofUS, we examine our hypothesis that having anxiety during pregnancy disproportionately affects pregnant women from minority groups and lower socio-economic backgrounds. This, in turn, leads to substantial health disparities in pregnancy outcomes, particularly premature delivery. In this work, we highlight two parallel modeling approaches for studying the dynamics of women's pregnancy, anxiety, and premature delivery, particularly among minorities and economically disadvantaged groups. Specifically, we we use ordinal logistic regression and cox proportional hazards models to identify parameters contributing to anxiety among pregnant women.
References:
References:
[1] Dario Elias, Hebe Campaña, Fernando A Poletta, Silvina L Heisecke, Juan A Gili, Julia Ratowiecki, Mariela Pawluk, Maria R Santos, Viviana Cosentino, Rocio Uranga, et al. Preterm birth etiological pathways: a bayesian networks and mediation analysis approach. Pediatric research, 91(7):1882–1889, 2022.
[1] Dario Elias, Hebe Campaña, Fernando A Poletta, Silvina L Heisecke, Juan A Gili, Julia Ratowiecki, Mariela Pawluk, Maria R Santos, Viviana Cosentino, Rocio Uranga, et al. Preterm birth etiological pathways: a bayesian networks and mediation analysis approach. Pediatric research, 91(7):1882–1889, 2022.
[2] Lianne Tomfohr-Madsen, Emily E Cameron, Christine Dunkel Schetter, Tavis Campbell, Maeve O’Beirne, Nicole Letourneau, and Gerald F Giesbrecht. Pregnancy anxiety and preterm birth: The moderating role of sleep. Health psychology, 38(11):1025, 2019.
[2] Lianne Tomfohr-Madsen, Emily E Cameron, Christine Dunkel Schetter, Tavis Campbell, Maeve O’Beirne, Nicole Letourneau, and Gerald F Giesbrecht. Pregnancy anxiety and preterm birth: The moderating role of sleep. Health psychology, 38(11):1025, 2019.
Presentations
Presentations
2025 Poster Presentations
2025 Poster Presentations
International Conference Health Policy Statistics at San Diego under PI, Dr. Sam Behseta
Title: Exploring Preterm Birth Health Disparities: Insights into Maternal Anxiety Across Demographic & Socio-Economic Groups
Graduate Student Representative
Graduate Student Representative
I was appointed to be the graduate student representative in Fall 2025. In this position I organize events for graduate students and professors. So far this position has helped me develop my leadership and communication skills. I have also learned the importance of hosting regular events to support a healthy, productive academic environment.
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