Education:

• Master of Public Health at Yale University 2021-2023 | Specialization: Social & Behavioral Sciences, Psychosocial Epidemiology, Public Health Modeling, Global Health

• Bachelor of Art at University of Virginia 2018-2021 | Major: Global Studies | Concentration: Global Commerce in Culture and Society | Double Minors: Philosophy, Anthropology

​

Honors:

Yale Horstmann Scholarship 2021-23 | Catherine F. Underwood Murray '89 Scholarship 2020-2021 | Lorna Sundberg International Scholarship Award 2020 | Singapore Ministry of Education Senior-Middle 1 (SM1) Scholarship 2013-2018

 

Relevant Coursework:

Functional Neuroanatomy (Cambridge University); The Neurobiology of Everyday Life (The University of Chicago) | Visual Perception and the Brain (Duke University) |  Fundamental Neuroscience for Neuroimaging (Johns Hopkins University); Computational Neuroscience (University of Washington) | Biostatistics | Statistics for Health and Social Sciences | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis and Decision Making | Stochastic Models and Inference for Biomedical Sciences | Applied Analytic Methods in Epidemiology | User-Centered Design of Digital Health Tools | Multivariate Statistical Methods for the Social Sciences

​

​

 

Implementation of an AI/ML Informed ChatBot to Promote HIV Testing (2021)

I recently joined on a five-year global HIV testing promotion project at Dr. Frederick Altice's lab led by Zhao Ni, where the team develops an artificial intelligence-based mHealth intervention to increase HIV testing in Malaysia. This 5-year study refines a ChatBot informed by artificial intelligence and machine learning to promote HIV testing and screen for and address depression and amphetamine-type substance use. The app involves a Type 1 implementation science trial using the REAIM framework and will take place in Malaysia. || Funding: Fogarty International Center

​

Implementation Science Scoping Review (2021)

As an implementation science researcher at Yale's Center for Methods in Implementation and Prevention Science, I'm currently working at Dr. Ashley Hagaman's Innovation Lab, focusing on systematic review of qualitative studies that investigate implementation of evidence-based practices. Implementation science (IS) is an expanding field of study that investigates the integration of evidence-based practices into real world settings. Qualitative methods are useful for providing an in-depth understanding of implementation strategies and outcomes from the perspectives of stakeholders such as policy makers, health practitioners, and individuals targeted by health interventions. Qualitative research methods are increasingly used in implementation research. A synthesis of the applications of qualitative methods is lacking, although it is critical for understanding how qualitative methods have been used to date and identifying areas for improvement.

 

With the aim to provide a summary of qualitative methods in IS research in health and describe their application and utility, our lab examines the following: the methods used to collect qualitative data, the qualitative analytic methods, the IS frameworks applied during qualitative data collection and/or analysis, and the IS issues explored using qualitative methods. Through inter rater reliability training alignment (4 rounds), full-text screening (739 articles), and data extraction (3 rounds), we aim to understand the different implementation strategies to improve implementation of evidence-based practices as well as various implementation outcomes and how they are assessed. Currently, we are evaluating and refining how to use different qualitative methods in implementation science, how to use mixed methods to evaluate implementation, important aspects that should be reported in qualitative papers, and how to clearly articulate qualitative studies.

​

Patients' Acceptance of Tele-psychiatry During the COVID-19 Pandemic (2020-2021)

Under the guidance of Dr. Richard L Merkel Jr., I collaborated with Prashanth Fenn at University of Virginia School of Medicine on this project. We conducted and presented original research on patient acceptance of tele-psychiatry during COVID-19 at the Mid-Atlantic Telehealth Resource Center Summit 2021. During our 1-year research, we sampled 280 patients through original socio-ecological theory-driven survey and integrated qualitative and quantitative coding methods to evaluate facilitators and barriers to tele-psychiatry uptake during a global health crisis. This project identified socio-economic circumstances and patient-physician identity match as powerful facilitators of patients' acceptance of, satisfaction with, and preference for tele-psychiatry. There had been limited research on the correlation between patients’ specific demographics and preference for tele-psychiatry during the COVID pandemic, and this research project addressed this gap. The open-response feedback provided personal anecdotes of technical issues, sense of connection, willingness to open up, and sense of security with UVA’s tele-psychiatry process as well as qualitative support for/against virtual sessions. Ultimately, this observational study promoted tele-psychiatry as a safe (socially-distanced) and convenient method of fostering doctor-patient connections that create avenues for emotional vulnerability during the pandemic.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

 

​

​

​

Site Selection and Feasibility Consultant at Yale Center for Clinical Investigation (YCCI) (Oct 2021 - Present)

As a service consultant, I'm responsible for baseline analyses of YCCI current site selection framework and past data & site performance to develop a predictive model to allow more efficient and effective selection of site partners. By coding and analyzing current YCCI questionnaires and interviewing staff members, my team's goal is to determine evidence-based criteria for site feasibility. We strive to develop effective frameworks for site success modeling tool based on upstream and high-level assumptions.

​

Connecticut Hospice Advisory Board Member (Sep 2021 - Present)

As a project consultant, I work on the evaluation of General Inpatient (GIP) criteria at CT Hospice. My team's goal is to help CT Hospice increase their success rate in hospice care reimbursement appeals under Medicare's guidelines. Thus far, I've created three General Inpatient (GIP) Care Documentation Checklists upon meta qualitative assessment of 6000 pages of denied audit reports through qualitative coding in NVivo, and a set of comprehensive GIP Care Utilization, Coordination, & Documentation guidelines to increase hospice claim appeal success rate. The next step is to conduct implementation analysis and evaluate the impact of these documentation guidelines in CT Hospice's appeal effort.

​

Yale Healthcare Conference 2022 (Sep 2021 - Apr 2022)

Yale Healthcare Conference is a student-led global conference that brings together healthcare experts, professionals, scholars, and students to engage in cross-disciplinary discussions on pressing contemporary healthcare challenges. As the marketing director for Yale Healthcare Conference 2022: Humanizing Healthcare through Patient-Centered Innovation, I design flyers, poster, logos and swag for event promotion, manage social media campaigns and website launch, and direct marketing efforts to optimize the Conference's outreach.

​

Councilor at Yale Student Health Advisory Councils (2021-2022)

Yale Student Health Advisory Councils serve promote, review and revise student care services across the Yale healthcare system improve overall care. As a councilor this year, I'm currently working on Yale Health Communication program where we design impactful and engaging infographics to increase the penetration and reach of Yale's health-related news and information to the student body.

​

Jefferson Trust Grant COVID Education and Support Program Developer (Jun 2021 - Sep 2021)

As part of the Jefferson Trust Grant Pandemic Education and Support Program led by Ashley E Hosbach, I created a series of COVID-19 Pandemic Education and Support: Children’s Book Digital Guides of 120 books to address issues of loss, trauma, and anxiety due to the Pandemic. See website here. I canvassed, extracted, and catalogued information from 120 books, and designed the program website under UVA Library COVID-19 guides, which is currently being promoted across the Commonwealth area for parents', educators', and counselors’ use.

​

Social Impact and Marketing Chair of COVID19 Student Service Corps at UVA

COVID19 Student Service Corps (CSSC) was founded upon the onset of the COVID-10 pandemic, with the mission to support health systems and their patients, workforce, and communities facing the COVID-19 Pandemic through inter-professional student service-learning projects. See Instagram here. I created over 150 posters and infographics to facilitate fundraising efforts and ran ten online health campaigns, where I managed eight teams' online outreach to ensure effective organizational flow and smooth implementation of local campaigns. I also mobilized 100+ UVA students, their families, and alumni in the creation of a video tribute for the healthcare workers and essential workers at UVA, which was later distributed throughout the UVA hospital network.

​

Special Need Childcare Program Developer at Crystal Bird Mental Rehabilitation Center, Xi’an, China (2018)

Crystal Bird Mental Rehabilitation Center was registered by the Civil Affairs Bureau of Beilin District, Xi’an, China (Shaanxi Beimin Zhengzi No. 010258) on December 31, 2012 as a social welfare organization for children, adolescents, and adults with autism and other mental disabilities. I spent my winter break there after graduating high school as a yoga coach, Math and English teacher, and special need program developer. Programs I developed for the residents include life skill training series, Nature-to-Heart field trips, low-impact mobility enhancement sessions, and art&music therapy, which are still being implemented today.

​

Peer Health Educator and UNICEF Child Protection Campaign Director at Mary Faith Rescue Center, Nairobi, Kenya (2015)

Mary Faith Rescue Center is a home for victims of domestic and sexual violence in Riruta Satellite, Nairobi, Kenya. Run by teacher-turned-founder Mary N. Daniel with the help of other support staff and volunteers, the home cares for 75 sexually and physically abused children and teen mothers. I spent one winter break there as a peer health educator, facilitating peer-to-peer mental health dialogues and teaching a variety of health and wellness topics to help grow children's and teenagers' skills in self-care, health promotion and prevention work. Having witnessed the ordeal of a 13-year-old girl with suicidal ideation after diagnosis of breast cancer and three teen moms impregnated after being raped, I directed a child protection campaign with another volunteer, later submitted to the UNICEF to raise social awareness of poverty and domestic and sexual violence in Riruta.