Students Present Internship and Research Experiences at Poster Day 2023
On April 27 in the Campus Center Ballroom, over 75 public health students presented on their internship and research experiences for the School of Public Health’s 32nd annual Poster Day, part of UAlbany Showcase.
“This hallmark event is truly one of the highlights of the year for our school and for me personally,” said Interim Dean Mary Gallant. “It’s a wonderful demonstration of what makes our school a national leader in practice-based public health research and education.”
Students presented on various aspects of public health, including malaria, Lyme disease, air pollution, lead exposure, nutrition in food banks, pesticides, communication and accessibility, and more. Many students were mentored for their hands-on experiences by practitioners at the New York State Department of Health, which co-founded the School of Public Health with UAlbany in 1985.
Examples of student work can be found below.
Excellence in Scholarship winners ($250 award) and Honorable Mention winners ($150 award) were selected for each academic subject area for Poster Day. Monetary awards for the 16 winners (listed below), totaling $3,000, were sponsored by Health Research, Inc. (HRI).
Biomedical Sciences
- Excellence in Scholarship: Ryan Schneider ($250 award)
- Honorable Mentions: Kathleen McCarthy ($150 award) and Rachel Fay ($150 award)
Environmental Health Sciences
- Excellence in Scholarship: Najm Alsadat Madani ($250 award)
- Honorable Mentions: Cindy Arthur ($150 award) and Kimberly Mergen ($150 award)
Epidemiology
- Excellence in Scholarship: Charlotte (Bishan) Huang ($250 award)
- Honorable Mentions: Isa Brackett ($150 award) and Alexandra Frary ($150 award)
Health Policy & Management
- Excellence in Scholarship: Maeve McCulloch ($250 award)
- Honorable Mentions: Rebecca Pendergrass ($150 award) and Yodit Berhan ($150 award)
Social Behavior & Community Health
Excellence in Scholarship: Jamie Reedy ($250 award) and Danielle Pellino ($250 award)
Honorable Mention: Allison Nolan ($150 award) and Ashley Shayya ($150 award)
Samples of Student Work:
MPH student Anne Pysnik interned at the Bureau of Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology at the state health department, looking at the demographic differences between those who preferred a mobile phlebotomy service versus a patient service center for sample collection.
PhD student Jordan McAdam worked with Professor Erin Bell and the New York State Department of Health to investigate determinants of four legacy PFAS concentrations in the general US adult population.
MPH student David Appau worked on the New York State Public Health Corps Fellowship Program, helping to identify key stakeholders for workgroups, develop outreach communication tools, create a social media communications plan, and develop content for the website.
PhD student Tamba Lebbie examined transportation-related air pollutants in a medical center parking garage in Philadelphia. Transportation-related air pollutants can be very harmful to humans and the environment. The study found that the concentrations were below the dangerous zone, but some areas of the garage did have higher concentrations of pollutants than others.
MPH student Taylor Manzelli interned with the Albany Guardian Society, helping to develop an interactive workbook to help older adults in the Capital Region improve their quality of life and wellbeing.
MPH student Ashley Maitre worked with the Bureau of Toxic Substances Assessment to conduct a literature review to assess and summarize recent findings regarding the immunological benefits of fish or fish oil consumption.
MPH student Christina Winn worked on a literature review to understand whether COVID-10 and/or flu testing can be leveraged to provide HIV testing to emergency rooms to identify acute HIV infection.
PhD student Anonna Saha examined smoking and infertility among women. The study, which looked at 4,152 women, found a significant association between smoking and infertility, particularly among younger women.