Clara Schiffer Project on Women’s Health

The Clara Schiffer Project on Women’s Health (2016 - 2020) honors the legacy of social-justice advocate and GW supporter Clara Schiffer. The Clara Schiffer Project provided financial support for graduate students to participate in either student- and faculty-directed research designed to improve women’s health and facilitate communication around women’s health issues.

2020 Fellows

Doctoral Fellows

Hanna Tessema, MPH, MSW, DrPH (c)

Doctoral candidate, Health Behavior

Faculty Mentor: Shawnika Hull, PhD

Understanding Individual, Environmental, and Drug-related Factors Influencing Diffusion of PrEP and PrEP + Contraception among Black Women in Washington, DC

 

Joya Chowdhury, MPH, DrPH (c)

Doctoral candidate, Health Policy

Faculty Mentor: Anne Rossier Markus, JD, PhD, MHS

Barriers to Utilization of Preconception Health Services and the Association between Women’s Receipt of Preconception Health Services and Pre-pregnancy, Pregnancy, and Postpartum Health Outcomes 

 

Darla Bishop, MPH, DrPH (c)

Doctoral candidate, Health Policy

Faculty Mentor: Cherise Harrington, PhD, MPH

Rural Health Centers Perceived Needs, Barriers, Challenges, and Facilitators to Involvement in Public Health and Health Services Research

Masters Fellows

Ranjani Sudarsan

MPH Student, Health Policy

Faculty Mentor: Anushree Vichare, MBBS, MPH, PhD

Promoting HPV Self-Sampling Test Kits to Increase Cervical Cancer Screening among Women Living with HIV

 

Janay Ezekwe

MPH Student, Community-Oriented Primary Care

Faculty Mentor: Jameta Barlow, PhD, MPH

Black Feminist Phenomenological Inquiry into Black Women’s Birth Experiences

2019 Fellows

Doctoral Fellows

Aubrey Van Kirk Villalobos, MPH, MEd, DrPH(c)

Doctoral candidate

Faculty Mentor: Monique Turner, PhD

Breastfeeding Norms among African American Women: Implications for Reducing Cancer Disparities

 

Erica Sedlander, MPH, DrPH (c)

Doctoral candidate

Faculty Mentor: Rajiv Rimal, PhD, MA

Unpacking the Relationship between Social Norms and Behavior: How Social Norms and Gender Norms affect Women’s Use of Iron Supplements in Rural India

Masters Fellows

Kayla Thompson

MPH Student

Faculty Mentor: Amita Vyas, PhD, MHS

Factors Influencing Effective Contraceptive Use among Reproductive Aged Women in Washington, DC

 

Dan Dinh

MPH Student

Faculty Mentor: Ami Zota, ScD, MS

Personal Care Product Use and Fibroid Outcomes

2018 Fellows

Doctoral Fellows

Julia Strasser, DrPH (c), MPH

DrPH Student, Health Policy

Faculty Mentor: Anne Rossier Markus, JD, PhD, MHS

Dissertation Research: Access to High Quality Contraceptive Care at Community Health Centers: Current Practices, Barriers, and Facilitators for Providing a One-Year Supply of Oral Contraception On-Site 

 

Masters Fellows

Nwanneamaka Ume

MPH Student

Faculty Mentor: Amira Roess, PhD, MPH 

The Impacts of Breastfeeding and Other Maternal Health Factors on the Microbiome of Black and Latino infants

 

Aika Aluc

MPH Student

Faculty Mentor: Rajiv Rimal, PhD 

Designing and implementing a maternal iron deficiency and anemia control strategy in India using a social norms approach and a Self Help Groups (SHGs) platform 

2017 Fellows

Doctoral Fellows

Jennifer Schindler-Ruwisch

DrPH (c) Student

Faculty Mentor: Amira Roess, PhD, MPH

Dissertation Research: Factors Affecting Breastfeeding Duration Among DC WIC Recipients

 

Masters Fellows

Snigdha Velugu

MPH Student, Maternal and Child Health

Faculty Mentor: Lorien Abroms, ScD

Evaluating the Effects of a Smoking Cessation Text Messaging Tool on Birth Outcomes among Pregnant Women

 

Brenda Trejo

MPH Student, Global Environmental Health

Faculty Mentor: Ami Zota, ScD, MS

Fibroid Observational Research on Genes and the Environment (FORGE)

 

Atlang Mompe

MPH Student, Epidemiology

Faculty Mentor: Shawnika Hull, PhD, MA

An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the Black Women's Health Imperative #LetsTalkAboutPrep campaign among Black Women living in Washington, D.C.

 

Katy Luxion

MPH Student, Epidemiology and Health Communications

Faculty Mentor: Kathleen Carrick, PhD, MSW

Culturally Appropriate Reproductive Education (CARE) for Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and/or LGBA+ Parents

 

Alyssa Llamas

MPH Student, Health Policy

Faculty Mentor: Susan Wood, PhD

Bridging the Divide: State-level Abortion Restrictions

2016 Fellows

Doctoral Fellows

Cinthia Josette Arevalo, PhD (c)

Trachtenberg School of Public Policy & Public Administration

Faculty Mentor: Kathryn Newcomer, PhD

 

Masters Fellows

Rosalind Fennell

MPH Student

Faculty Mentor: Karen McDonnell, PhD

Accomplishments of the Domestic Violence Hotline, Online Communications, and Text (ADVHOCaT)

 

Monika Juzumaite

MPH Student

Faculty Mentor: Mimi Ghosh, PhD, MS

Impact of chronic sexual abuse and depression on systemic immune modulators in HIV-uninfected and HIV-infected women

 

Megan Couillard

MPH Student

Faculty Mentor: Susan Wood, PhD

Bridging the Divide: Long-Acting Reversible Contraception