POSTDOCTORAL TRAINEES

Education: PhD in Biological and Biomedical Sciences: CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology in New Delhi, India

Faculty mentor: Anca M. Pasca, MD

Research focus: My research interest lies in understanding how environmental factors contribute to neurodevelopmental disorders and translating those insights into therapies. My current research in Dr. Pasca’s lab focuses on how reductive stress associated with maternal metabolic syndrome affects neonatal brain development.

Education: MSPH in International Health - Social and Behavioral Interventions: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, MD

PhD in International Public Health: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Faculty mentor: Jochen Profit, MD, MPH

Research focus: My research is primarily focused on equity in human milk feeding. I am currently conducting qualitative research as part of the Motivating and Optimizing Maternal Milk in Safety Net NICUs (MOMMS) project at the California Perinatal Quality Care Collaborative (CPQCC), aiming to improve human milk feeding in safety net NICUs throughout the state.

Education: PhD in Stem Cell Biology: Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in Daejeon, South Korea

Faculty Mentor: Anca M. Pasca, MD

Research focus: I use brain organoids to study preterm brain injury and other neuro-developmental disorders. I focus specifically on synapses, aiming to understand their development and regulation in both normal and disease contexts.

Education: PhD and MA in Anthropology: Stanford University School of Humanities and Sciences in Palo Alto, CA

Faculty Mentors: Susan Hintz, MD, MS & Jochen Profit, MD, MPH

Research focus: I'm contributing to qualitative research that explores the birth experiences and care received by Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) families in California, with the goal of informing more equitable care practices. I'm also working on a study examining how telehealth has been implemented and sustained or phased out at High-Risk Infant Follow-Up (HRIF) clinics following the pandemic.

Education: MPH in Epidemiology: Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, OR; PhD in Epidemiology: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Chapel Hill, NC

Faculty Mentor: Suzan Carmichael, PhD, MS

Research focus: My research focuses on determining structural drivers of maternal health outcomes using large, administrative healthcare databases. Some of my current work includes: comparing rates of severe maternal outcomes derived from different databases; determining how residential segregation and healthcare availability intersect to produce racial disparities in maternal health outcomes; and determining how rates of hypertensive disorders and diabetes contribute to disparities among diverse Asian populations in California.

Education: MPH in Epidemiology/Biostatics: University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health in Berkeley, CA; PhD in Epidemiology: University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health

Faculty mentor: Suzan Carmichael, PhD, MS

Research focus: My research employs interdisciplinary theories and advanced epidemiologic methods to assess how social and structural forces are biologically embodied to influence racial health inequities. To date, I have examined multi-level stressors (e.g. experiences of discrimination, neighborhood environments) in relation to the risk of accelerating aging markers and pregnancy-related complications. I am interested in addressing the contextual determinants of cardiometabolic outcomes among women across the life-course and the unique role of pregnancy.

Education: MPhil in System Dynamics: University of Bergen in Bergen, Norway; PhD: University of Palermo in Palermo, Italy and University of Bergen

Faculty Mentors: David Stevenson, MD & Gary Darmstadt, MD

Research focus: My current research involves using a new methodology in quality improvement to advance population health. We will adopt system dynamics modeling and simulation methodology to study how the interplay between system components, goals, decision rules, personal and contextual factors influences the decision of pregnant women at risk of preeclampsia to take up and adhere to prophylactic aspirin administration. For a previous postdoc project, I used system dynamics to explore how to equitably increase institutional care delivery to marginalized women in Bihar, India.

Education: PhD in Applied Mathematics and Statistics: University of North Carolina at Charlotte in Charlotte, NC

Faculty Mentors: Ivana Maric, PhD

Research focus: I use and develop artificial intelligence and machine learning to study perinatal outcomes.

Education: PhD and MS in Biology: Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) in Pune, India

Faculty Mentor: Anca Pasca, MD

Research focus: I work with human stem cell-derived brain organoids to study neurodevelopmental disorders and brain injury in premature infants. My work focuses on understanding mitochondrial and cellular mechanisms of disease and developing targeted therapeutic interventions.

Education: MPH in Epidemiology and Maternal and Child Health: University of South Florida in Tampa, FL; PhD in Public Health Sciences: University of North Carolina at Charlotte in Charlotte, NC

Faculty Mentor: Suzan Carmichael, PhD

Research focus: As a trainee affiliated with Stanford PRIHSM, I employ quantitative and qualitative methods to reduce postpartum hemorrhage by addressing disparities in cesarean birth, iron-deficiency anemia, and severe maternal morbidity. My research focuses on the exploration of social and structural factors that impact maternal health and well-being.

Education: MPH: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, MD; SM in Biostatistics: Harvard University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in Cambridge, MA; PhD in Population Health Sciences: Harvard University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

Faculty Mentor: Jochen Profit, MD, MPH

Research focus: My research aims to improve neonatal care for infants and families by focusing on three key areas: evaluating the implementation of evidence-based interventions, identifying structural barriers to family engagement in NICU care, and evaluating programs that improve the transition home for NICU infants and their families.