JACLYN ALEXANDER-MOLLOY earned a BA in Communication from the University of New Hampshire and an MS in Health Communication, with a concentration in Applied Communication Research, from Boston University. While completing her master’s degree, Jackie spent a semester at the Brigham and Women’s STRATUS Center, as a student researcher, focusing on product penetration. Prior to becoming part of the Viswanath Lab team, she was a Data Specialist at Forrester Research, where she extracted and analyzed survey data for clients in the healthcare and financial services sectors. Her focus is to aid in the growth of public health education and disease prevention and she looks forward to continually increasing her knowledge of these areas at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

CASSANDRA ANDERSEN completed a BS in Environmental Policy and Development at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. At the Central Massachusetts Center for Healthy Communities, she worked with organizations and coalitions to provide support, technical assistance, evaluation, and training to staff and community members on the use of evidence-based models and programs. She is active in her community, volunteering on boards and committees at several organizations, such as Oak Hill Community Development Corporation, United Way of Central Massachusetts, and the Central Massachusetts Regional Employment Board.

Cassandra is passionate about engaging youth and adults in learning the skills and techniques they need to advocate for themselves, to strengthen their communities, and to work together towards civic and economic self-sufficiency. She believes that involving community members in the research and data collection process leads to more effective community-building initiatives and is essential for increasing authentic community collaboration with researchers.

CARMENZA BRUFF joins the Viswanath Lab as a Community Health Worker in the city of Lawrence for the Community-Based Participatory Research study P.LA.N.E.T. MassCONECT. Carmenza received a BS in Human Services/Community Organizing from Springfield College and is enrolled in the MA in Education/Integrated Studies program at Cambridge College.

In her interest to be actively involved in the community and to help people with language barriers, Carmenza works as a freelance Medical Interpreter. She brings vast experience with underserved communities in Colombia, where she worked in the Prevention Against Cancer Program at the Instituto National de Cancerologia in Bogota. This knowledge was expanded through her job as a Community Health Educator for the Merrimack Valley Lead Prevention Program in Lawrence.  She has also served on the Lawrence YWCA Board of Directors and on the Community Affairs Advisory Board for the city of Haverhill.

Carmenza is currently a member of the Arts Council of Haverhill, where she resides. She loves new knowledge, reading, dancing, and traveling.

JOSEPHINE CRISOSTOMO completed a BA in Psychology at CUNY - Queens College and an MPH at Boston University School of Public Health. She most recently worked as a program coordinator for the Boston Public Health Commission, where she specialized in coalition building and community organizing. She also served as the communications assistant for the Education Development Center, Inc.’s Higher Education Center, where she worked on press and communications projects, and worked with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health Cancer Prevention and Control Program, as the social marketing assistant.

Josephine actively volunteers at organizations such as Cradles to Crayons and the American Cancer Society, and serves the community as a Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician. She has a passion for health communications and health promotion, and is specifically interested in translating health communications research into practice in the field. She continues to pursue these interests as Project Director for the Center for Community-Based Research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

EZEQUIEL GALARCE, PhD completed a doctorate in Psychology at Johns Hopkins University. His research interests are focused on the role of communication on health beliefs, attitudes, and behavior. From a macro perspective, this includes understanding how factors such as exposure, health literacy, and socioeconomic status influence communication processes, and ultimately, health outcomes. At the individual level, Dr. Galarce is interested in further characterizing the cognitive and emotional processes involved in message processing, recollection, and persuasiveness.

VINU ILAKKUVAN is a graduate student at the Harvard School of Public Health, pursuing a master's degree in Society, Human Development, and Health with a concentration in Health Communication. She received her B.S. in Biomedical Engineering, with a double major in Economics, from the University of Virginia. Vinuís interest in Health Communication stems from her experience in high school and college journalism and public speaking, as well as an interest in translating technical information into more understandable and accessible language. Vinuís academic background in Biomedical Engineering and public health related experience during summer programs at the Virginia Governor's office, the M.V. Diabetes Centre in Chennai, India, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science have also contributed to her interest in the field. Her interests within Health Communication center on utilizing innovative communication techniques to reach and empower underserved populations.  

JOSE JORGE comes to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute's Center for Community-Based Research with vast knowledge and expertise in computer technical assistance and support. In his previous position as End User Support Specialist at Children’s Hospital Boston, he specialized in software training and troubleshooting. He also managed and maintained the hospital's End User Resource Center Computer Lab.

Jose finds great interest in teaching and helping others to understand and get comfortable with technology, such as new software and equipment. He pursues these interests as User Support Analyst for the Viswanath Lab, working on such projects as Click to Connect and in the new ECHO Lab.

Jose spends as much of his free time as possible tending to his children and family. He enjoys skiing and exercising, working outdoors, and working on small to medium projects around the house. Jose is a “do it yourself” kind of guy.

LISA LOWERY serves as the Program Coordinator for the Viswanath Lab's research team. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education, with a concentration in Exercise Science. Her interests include promoting physical fitness, raising money for charity — especially by running marathons, and taking her Newfoundland dog for long walks.

Lisa is excited to be a part of the groundbreaking research being conducted by the Viswanath Lab. She is particularly fascinated by the field of Community-based Participatory Research.

YUDY MUNETON is a research assistant working on several projects within the Viswanath lab. She attended the University of Massachusetts Boston where she received a BS in Psychology and Biology in 2004. Currently a graduate student at Boston College, she is pursuing a Masters degree in Social Work, which she will complete in 2010.

Yudy’s undergraduate thesis focused on "Asthma as a Risk Factor and Supportive Relationships as a Resource Factor in Asthmatic Children’s School Functioning." Her current research interests are in health disparities associated with race, socioeconomic status, and neighborhoods, especially as they relate to underserved populations. She is also passionate about working to improve access to mental health services within the Latino community.

Yudy is very excited about the opportunity to learn how information dissemination impacts public health.

SARA MINSKY completed a BA in Economics at Emmanuel College and an MPH at Boston University. She most recently worked as a project manager for the Social and Behavioral Sciences Department at the Boston University School of Public Health. Her experience includes managing randomized controlled trials examining residual effects of alcohol on occupational and academic performance, acute effects of transdermal scopolamine on simulated ship navigation performance, and effectiveness of condom promotion interventions on STD reduction.

She has also directed a quasi-experimental pilot evaluation researching the impact of interactive computer-based video on urban and suburban adolescent alcohol and marijuana use. Prior to joining the Viswanath Lab, Sara worked for six years as an evaluator for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health's STD/HIV Prevention Training Center. Her eclectic research interests and personal dedication to cancer prevention have led her to become a Project Director for the Center for Community-Based Research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. 

DIVYA RAMAMURTHI received her Masters in Newspaper Journalism at Syracuse University. After graduating from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, she worked for six years as a health reporter for two of India’s largest English dailies; New Indian Express and The Hindu. As a reporter, she extensively covered the gap in access to healthcare for individuals of lower socioeconomic status. Divya focused on developing effective communication materials to promote health literacy while working as a Research Assistant at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. She is also pursuing her Masters in Health Communication at Emerson College.

SHOBA RAMANADHAN, ScD, MPH is a Research Scientist in the lab. Her research interests center around dissemination and implementation, capacity-building, and social networks. Prior to joining the lab, she was an AHRQ Postdoctoral Fellow at the Yale School of Public Health. While there she studied health management capacity-building programs in low- and middle-income countries, with a focus on Ethiopia and Liberia.

Shoba received her doctorate from the Harvard School of Public Health, where she studied the use of staff social networks in community-based organizations to facilitate program adoption and implementation. She also holds an MPH in Health Management from the Yale School of Public Health and a BA in Biology from Cornell University.

NEYHA SEHGAL joins the Viswanath Lab from Boston University, where she completed a BA in Health Sciences and an MPH, with special focus in International Health. She was born in India and raised in Nigeria, Africa; Sydney, Australia; London, (UK); Pennsylvania, (USA); and finally, Massachusetts, (USA). This diverse background has molded her into a culturally rich and adaptable individual, and thus, a unique addition to the Lab.

Neyha's previous public health experiences include working in a diabetes research and metabolism unit, and interning at both the Brookline Department of Public Health (BDPH) and Health Care For All (HCFA). She is particularly interested in understanding the importance of using health communications in community-based programs, to improve health literacy, and subsequently, to improve health outcomes of persons with socioeconomic disparities.

EMILY ZOBEL KONTOS completed an AB in Biomedical Ethics from Brown University and an ScM in the Department of Society, Human Development, and Health at the Harvard School of Public Health. Emily is interested in exploring the relationship between communication inequalities and health disparities. She is also dedicated to translating health communication research into public health practice.

Prior to joining the Viswanath Lab, Emily was the Communications Coordinator for the Nutrition and Physical Activity Unit at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. She also served as the Health Literacy Studies Coordinator at the Harvard School of Public Health. Currently, Emily is a doctoral student at the HSPH and a research assistant at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.