Meet Our Team

Major: BA, Neuroscience, 1999; PhD, Neuroscience, 2004

Postdoctoral training: Neuroscience (2004), Physiology & Pharmacology (2004-2007), Science Education (2007-2009)

Bio: Lisa Marriott is an Associate Professor in the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health who studies applied science education and biomedical workforce development. Marriott received an Excellence in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Mentoring Award from the National Institutes of Health in 2022.  She won OHSU's Teaching Award in 2020 and the Faculty FLAME Award in 2021 from students.  She teaches environmental health to public health graduate students, qualitative methods to health professionals, and biomedical research pathways (enrichment) to undergraduates.  She leads teacher professional development programs, most recently on epigenetics and cancer research, with accompanying published articles in teaching journals that describe lessons and activities for teaching new areas of science to middle and high school students. 

 She serves as Associate Director of Let’s Get Healthy!, an education and research exhibit at OHSU that uses health information technology to assess health behaviors and provide immediate, tailored feedback to individuals internationally. The program earned the 2015 Technology Award from the Society of Public Health Education. Her research investigates student pursuance of science careers and health-related decision-making using informatics-based approaches. Her grants from the National Institutes of Health focus on science education and biomedical workforce development.  

Explore:   Marriott CV (1/2023) |   Marriott CV of Rejection (Keep going, always)

Training Websites:

• Learn Environmental Health (and student-developed companion sites created in the course: COVID-19 & Environmental Health, Rays of Light in Environmental Health, Wildfire & Human Health)

• Learn Photovoice 

• Learn Qualitative Methods

Major: BS, Science, June 2021; MS, Professional and Technical Writing, June 2024 (expected)

Bio: Stephanie Paris graduated magna cum laude from Portland State University with a BS in Science and a minor in biology. While pursuing her bachelor’s degree, she became a BUILD EXITO Scholar and joined a Research Learning Community directed by Dr. Lisa Marriott. During her undergraduate research experience she studied the impact of stable housing on health outcomes for low-income individuals; statistically analyzed pre-post data to be used for presentation and future publication; supported development of Institutional Review Board protocols governing protections for human subjects; performed user testing of a health informatics platform (Let’s Get Healthy!) for global use; and contributed to a manuscript in preparation for peer-reviewed publication on the topic of epigenetics education for adolescents. 

One of the many things Stephanie learned about herself as an undergraduate research trainee is that writing and the documentation of applied research provides a meaningful overlap of her skills and her passions. For this reason, in 2021 she began graduate school at Portland State University, pursuing a Master of Science in Professional and Technical Writing. This degree path aligns with her long term research goals to use a variety of dissemination methods for health promotion. One of her intrinsic values is being of service to others, and her work as a Research Assistant in the Marriott Lab supports the fulfillment of this purpose by offering opportunities to contribute to the innovation and dissemination of protocols that mitigate disparities and health inequities in marginalized and institutionally underserved populations. 

Bio: Shanthia is a first-generation Chamorro-Dominican transfer student from her hometown in Saipan, CNMI. As a recent Public Health graduate and BUILD EXITO scholar alumni,  Shanthia became one of the UCLA Public Health Summer Program recipients in Los Angeles. While in LA, she interned at one of the largest Board Districts of the LA Unified Schools under the Board District 7 office as a Family & Community Engagement intern. While in LA, she participated in the 2022 CDC CUPS Research Conference, where she presented on "Intimate Partner Violence amongst LGBTQ+ & BIPOC individuals." After the program ended, she returned to Portland as a Senior Research Assistant at the Marriott Lab at OHSU-PSU School of Public Health.  

Currently, Shanthia is working on providing e-feedback for the START Project and LetsGetHealthy! research focusing on motivational resilience and self-determination theory together and understanding the barriers and supports for STEM high school and undergraduate students. In addition, Shanthia is excited and motivated about the research collaboration with her lab on Inclusive Demographics in STEM.  Building community is a core value for Shanthia. Her passion for building relationships and supporting underrepresented and marginalized communities to thrive in their personal and professional growth. Shanthia enjoys mentorship and community engagement and hopes to continue her work in diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

Major: Psychology, Public Health

Bio: Angie Setthavongsack, also known as Gee, is a queer, first generation Asian-American. During undergrad, they involved themselves with leadership activities within PIAAA (Pacific Islander, Asian, Asian-American) such as being president for the Cambodian Student Association. Along with learning about other cultures, they've taken the time to learn languages, such as Laotian, Thai, Japanese, and Korean.

Gee started their BUILD EXITO journey back in 2019 as a sophomore with an interest to transgenerational trauma, the study of DNA methylation due to traumatic incidents, because of its correlation to their own ancestral history. They wanted to give back to their community, as rural villages such as "That Ing Hang" in Savannakhet, Laos did not receive proper resources to stay healthy. After witnessing countless of family members going through vast illnesses, they knew creating an environment where families would not need to worry about essentials, could then focus on education.

Gee has since been named an alternate for the prestigious scholarship named Fulbright, and is currently reapplying to pursue mental health studies within microbiome at Mae Fah Luang University located in Thailand. They've been accepted as a UCLA CUPS scholar, where they continue to use their interest in global health to focus on the social linguistics of gender and sexuality within inclusive demographics.

Major: MPH, Public Health Practice, 2022; BS, Community Health, 2019

Bio: As a research assistant in multiple labs during undergraduate and graduate studies, Teala applies academic concepts and theories to real world research and leads research projects with undergraduate scholars. Although nutrition, food systems, and food justice are at the heart of her research passion, she finds joy and purpose in working on qualitative projects such as thematic coding of focus groups across Oregon, validating self-report measures to better discuss individual’s skin cancer risk, and designing and administering surveys and daily diaries to better understand the unique physical and emotional challenges of personal support workers caring for individuals with intellectual and developmental disorders.

Teala is passionate about mitigating health inequities through applied research and supporting the training and retention of a diverse workforce through peer and workplace mentorship. Throughout her time as a BUILD EXITO scholar, she supported staff and faculty in creating a safe, inclusive, and open atmosphere which encouraged critical dialogue and honest feedback for evaluation purposes, often acting as a spokesperson for her cohort. Using her experience as a retail manager she assisted fellow scholars in fine tuning interview skills, and has participated in several panel discussions with incoming BUILD EXITO scholars about how to maximize mentor-mentee relationships, and how to navigate the transition into, and culture of, graduate school. Teala continues this leadership role, helping to train and guide the next cohort of scholars joining Dr. Marriott’s lab.

In her free time, Teala can be found puttering in her garden, pestering her cat, or backpacking around Oregon and Washington with her husband.

Major: Public Health, graduated June, 2020

Bio: Phuc is a first-generation immigrant and college student. Having grown up in a low-income household with families and friends ridden with mostly preventable diseases, his initial expectation and aspiration were to become a healthcare provider. However, as he went through his undergraduate education, the concepts of social determinants of health and health disparity completely changed the way he wanted to help people. And soon afterward, public health became his new interest.  

 As a BUILD EXITO Scholar, Phuc joined Dr. Marriott’s lab and started working on a statewide qualitative study examining public perceptions of predictive genetic testing for cancer.  He developed an interest in statistics and promoting healthy behaviors through adequate supports. Eventually, he worked on his own project, teaching himself factor analysis in order to determine the factor structure of the short version of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-15) when applied to middle school students.

Phuc is a BUILD EXITO alum and peer mentor supporting current and aspiring scholars in and the program. He hopes to continue exploring different topics and fields before committing to a graduate program.  Phuc is currently working with the Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences.

Major: BS, psychology and social science, PSU Honors College

Graduation date: June 2019

Bio: Deza'Rae is a student health advocate and a BUILD EXITO alumna whose interests include mental health awareness, social and racial justice, and the various social constructs that impact human behavior of marginalized populations. Previously, she worked on a project observing rhesus macaque dominance hierarchy and the impacts of alpha male tolerance levels on large captive breeding groups at the OHSU Oregon National Primate Research Center (ONPRC). 

As a scholar in the NIH funded BUILD EXITO program, Deza'Rae joined Dr. Marriott's team to explore relationships between impulsivity, STEM identity, and STEM interest among middle school students, using survey data collected through Let's Get Healthy!. 

Currently, Deza'Rae works as a research assistant at the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health on a team lead by Dr. Elizabeth Waddell evaluating a hybrid effectiveness-implementation protocol for Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) amongst a criminal justice-involved population. Through her studies, research, and advocacy, Deza'Rae hopes to influence societal change at a policy level regarding mental health and addiction services, particularly for underserved populations.

Major: Mathematics

Graduation date: June 2020

Bio: As an undergraduate research scholar in the BUILD EXITO program at Portland State University, Mark helped improve the sun safety component of Let’s Get Healthy!, an education and research program at OHSU. Mark supported the team by adding a photo-spectroscopy component to the project by collaborating with Dr. Ravi Samatham, of the OHSU Dermatology department.  The device, originally designed to measure oxygen levels through the epidermis by directing light through the skin via fiber optics, was utilized by the Marriott team to measure skin melanin. This allowed for validation of the self-report survey intended to measure an individual's sun sensitivity. Mark's focus was on the mathematical and analytical aspects of the project.

Mark is currently working as a data analyst for Portland Public Schools. 

Major: Bachelor of Science in Public Health Studies

Graduation date: June 2021

Bio: Harold Omotoy is an Asian-Pacific Islander who grew up in the Philippines. He is majoring in Public Health Studies with a concentration in Community Health Promotion. He is a senior undergraduate student and a BUILD EXITO scholar at Portland State University. Before PSU, he spent two years studying computer engineering at Mapua University in the Philippines. He then moved to Saipan to obtain his associate's degree in computer applications at Northern Marianas College. Following that, he had an internship as a systems specialist and junior programmer. He was a research assistant at the Agile and Adaptive Robotics Lab where he worked on muscle placements for bipedal robots and characterizing braided pneumatic actuators.

Harold is currently working in Dr. Marriott’s Lab and taking part in the Knight Scholars Program, a cancer research training program based at Oregon Health & Science University, and is a collaboration between the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute and the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health. He aims to be in the field of public health informatics to contribute his skills in information technology to public health practice, research, and learning.

Major & Expected Graduation Date: Health Studies: Pre-clinical Sciences, June 2021

Bio:  My name is Kelsey P. and I am a senior at Portland State. I am majoring in health sciences with a pre-clinical studies focus and minor in Biology. I am pursuing the pre-Physician Assistant track at Portland State University following the prerequisites for the Physician Assistant program at the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) and Pacific University. I am fortunate to be a part of the NIH-funded BUILD EXITO Research Pathway program that allowed me to be an undergraduate researcher in the Epilepsy and Seizure lab at OHSU for the past two years. I have started a new research position in Dr. Marriott’s lab with a public health studies focus partnered with OHSU. My research interests stem from the experiences and knowledge I have obtained with a special interest in neurological diseases as well as public health advocacy. In connection from the career pathway of a physician assistant to cancer research, the need for a provider with medical education within different specialties that forms a bridge of connection between primary care and other medical specialties (such as medical research) would be of great benefit to the community. As a physician assistant, it would allow preventative medicine to be connected with a specialty practice for the community.

Major: Bachelors of Science in Health Sciences

Graduation Date: June 2021

Bio: Judit Marquez is a first generation college student at Portland State University majoring in Public Health: Health Sciences with a minor in Psychology. She is on the pre-nursing track and pursuing a career as a nurse practitioner with a pediatric psychiatry focus. Judit is a BUILD EXITO scholar, peer mentor for first generation college students, and previous orientation leader at Portland State University. She worked as a certified nurse assistant (CNA) in Beaverton, OR and as a research assistant at the Oregon Health and Science University studying social determinants of health and the challenges that caregivers faced during pediatric hospitalization. 

Judit is now a research assistant in Dr. Marriott’s Lab and taking part in the Knight Scholars Program, which offers underrepresented high school students the opportunity to explore careers in the medical field and public health with special emphasis on cancer.  Judit would like to use her experience as a CNA and aspiring Nurse Practitioner (NP) to help young students expand their knowledge on the roles and responsibilities that nurses/nurse practitioners have in cancer research, treatment, and prevention. 

Major: Psychology 

Expected Graduation Date: June 2021

Bio:  Favio Estrada-Sanchez is a first-generation college student at Portland State University (PSU) majoring in Psychology with a minor in Chicano/Latino Studies. He is a BUILD EXITO scholar and a McNair scholar. His first research project was at the Developmental Cognition and Neuroimaging Lab at the Oregon Health & Science University. Favio was born and raised in Southeast Portland and is very proud of his hometown. He graduated from David Douglas High School in 2017.  His goals are to further his education through research or clinical practice to help the Latinx community in Oregon. Favio is active on campus with many organizations and enjoys building a community with his peers. He serves as a lead mentor for first-generation college students in the GANAS program at PSU. In the future, he would like to obtain a Ph.D. or PsyD to continue his educational journey and be the first one in his family to receive a doctoral degree. Favio is now a research assistant in Dr. Marriott’s Lab. He is involved in the Knight Scholars Program, which offers underrepresented high school students the opportunity to explore careers in the medical field and public health, emphasizing cancer research.