IHP. Meet Our Staff. Marlisa Allen, M.P.H. Graduate Assistant Marlisa.A. The Institute for Health Policy

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1 Meet Our Staff IHP The Institute for Health Policy Marlisa Allen, M.P.H. Graduate Assistant Marlisa.A. Marlisa Allen is currently pursuing a doctor of public health degree in community health practice at The University of Texas School of Public Health. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Grambling State University and her Master of Public Health degree in maternal and child health from the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. Marlisa s research interests include access to care and social services issues in the African-American community, maternal and child health, and minority health disparities.

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4 Larissa J. Estes, M.P.H., A.T.C., Graduate Assistant Larissa J. Estes is currently pursuing a doctorate of public health at The University of Texas School of Public Health. Larissa received her bacherlor s degree in athletic training from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh and her master s degree in public health from the University of Arizona. Larissa s research interests include public health policy analysis, maternal and child health, women s health, minority health disparities and the intersection of HIV and violence against women. Leah Fischer Amy.T.Beaven@uth.tmc.edu Amy Beaven completed a Master of Public Administration with a concentration in Public Policy Analysis in 2005 at Virginia Commonwealth University. In addition to her work in policy and administration, she has a background in biotechnology and experience in molecular biology research. Her aim at the Institute is to merge her experience and interests in health science and public health policy in order to serve as a generalist capable of bridging gaps and leveraging opportunities for various stakeholders and greater public health. She is also interested in the public administration issues of program design and evaluation, organizational effectiveness, and social equity in public policy.

5 Stephen H. Linder, Ph.D., Associate Director Stephen Linder is the Associate Director of the Institute for Health Policy. He was on the faculty of UCLA and Tulane University before coming to the University of Texas School of Public Health in He is currently a Professor in two Divisions- Management, Policy and Community Health, and Health Promotion and Behavioral Science. He received his doctorate in political science from the University of Iowa. He has been honored with the prestigious Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation Award, which is given annually to Texas professors for superior teaching at the college level. Dritana Marko, M.D., M.Sc. Faculty Associate Dritana.Marko@uth.tmc.edu Dritana Marko was trained as physician by the University of Tirana (Albania) prior to enrolling in the University Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain from which she obtained a Master's in Health Economics and Health Care Management in Her medical education coupled with her study of economics has furthered her interests in health economics and health policy with a central focus on translation and dissemination processes of policies relevant to the health of populations. She has worked internationally on public health projects as well as in health care systems research, thus bringing a unique perspective to the work of the Institute.

6 Syed W. Noor, M.A.,M.S., M.P.H.,Graduate Assistant Syed earned a bachelor s degree in social anthropology from the University of Dhaka in Bangladesh and a master s degree in cultural anthropology from Wichita State University. He also received a master s in public health from Wichita State. He is currently pursuing a doctorate in behavioral sciences at the University of Texas School of Public Health in the Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences Division. Syed s expertise includes needs- and strength-based program planning and evaluation, as well as evidence-based program planning, HIV/AIDS-related policy analysis, health disparities, and informed decision making. His current research effort focuses on social and cultural determinants of high-risk behaviors among intravenous drug users. Oluwafolakemi ("Folake") M. Olaniran, M.Sc., Graduate Assistant Folake.O.Olaniran@uth.tmc.edu Folake Olaniran received her M.Sc. in Population and Development from the London School of Economics and has spent time working for the United Nations Population Fund in Nigeria. She is currently enrolled in the Ph.D. (Behavioral Sciences) program at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, School of Publi Health. Her research interests include health disparity policies, organizational behavior with a focus on healthcare systems, quality of care issues and program evaluation.

7 c Patty Poole, Executive Assistant Patty Poole is the Executive Assistant for the Institute for Health Policy. She works closely with the Institute coordinating communications, project meetings, and events. Prior to joining the Center in 2003, Patty worked in the legal and medical industries. Her experience also includes special event planning, project management and marketing. Patty received an Associate's Degree from Erie Community College, Buffalo, New York. Shannon M. Rasp, Sr. Communications Specialist Shannon Rasp earned a bachelor s degree in journalism from Sam Houston State University. She has more than 15 years of experience as an awardwinning reporter, writer, and media relations professional. She worked in the media relations departments of UT-Houston, the Harris County Hospital District, the University of Houston, and the Houston Astros Baseball Club before joining the Institute for Health Policy. Shannon specializes in communicating medical and health discoveries to the public.

8 Tom Reynolds, Ph.D., Research Associate Research Associate Tom Reynolds earned his masters' in health care administration from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, and his doctorate in management and policy from the University of Texas School of Public Health. His primary research interests center on issues related to health service access. His experience includes applying geographical information systems technologies and small area estimation methods to these issues, which led to his involvement in developing several Web-based local and regional health data query and dissemination systems. A major objective of his current work with the institute is to help develop such a system for the data gathered for the Health of Houston Survey. Nickalos A. Rocha, M.P.A., Program Manager Nickalos.A.Rocha@uth.tmc.edu Nickalos A. Rocha is the Program Manager of the Research Into Action Knowledge Translation Program. His previous fifteen years of work experience has focused on: surveillance systems, non-profit development, evaluation, alcohol related substance abuse prevention programs, injury prevention programs, program specific knowledge translation efforts and grant, contract and philanthropic development. Past educational efforts consist of attaining a Bachelors Degree in Political Science, a Masters of Public Administration with a concentration in International Policy and Administration from the University of Texas at San Antonio and a certificate in Injury Prevention from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

9 Zubin Segal, M.P.H., Graduate Assistant Zubin Segal earned a bachelor s degree in neuroscience from Northwestern University and recently graduated from The University of Texas School of Public Health with a master s degree in public health, specializing in epidemiology. His research interests extend into a variety of health policy arenas and upstream intervention and educational initiatives. Zubin s work involves contributing to the KTExchange.org Web portal and analyzing the efficacy of the IHP-associated PASS/CATCH program. Zubin is also experienced in study design, implementation and analysis, and is a trainer and research and associate with the Center for Biosecurity and Public Health Preparedness at the UT School of Public Health. Denise H. Truong, Graduate Assistant Denise.H.Truong@uth.tmc.edu Denise H. Truong received her Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from the University of Texas at Austin and is currently a Master of Public Health candidate in the Management, Policy and Community Health Division and Global Health Concentration at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, School of Public Health. She has experience developing and directing culturally sensitive programs in the public and private sectors and has studied in Europe and worked in Asia. Her interests in health policy and knowledge translation include their applications to the culturally diverse aging disabled population affected by motor neuron diseases and other progressive degenerative disorders.

10 Jessica M. Tullar, Ph.D., M.P.H., Faculty Associate Jessica Tullar completed both her M.P.H. and Ph.D. in Epidemiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, School of Public Health. While her dissertation work as a NIOSH Occupational Injury Prevention Fellow focused on physical and psychosocial occupational exposures, she led multiple collaborations both among researchers and with the worksite sponsoring her dissertation. She brings experience in both survey design and fielding as well as building collaborations. Dr. Tullar is interested in finding out what questions government, community and other public health stakeholders have and providing scientifically valid answers. Li Yu, M.F.A., Graphic Designer Li.Yu@uth.tmc.edu Li Yu is the Graphic Artist for the Institute for Health Policy, who specializes in branding, graphic and web design. She attained her Bachelor s degree in Graphic Design from Tsinghua University in Beijing, and her Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Graphic Design from Iowa State University. Li has worked closely with clients in marketing, engineering, products, and sales. Her fine art and visual communication/ design backgrounds specifically focus on typography, publication and user interface design, symbology, illustration, photography, animation, painting and drawing.