2023
Post-baccalaureate IRTA fellow Ayaan Ahmed received his BA in Biology from Northwestern University in 2022. He received his Master of Public Health from Northwestern University in 2023. Mr. Ahmed is a post-baccalaureate researcher in the TBHD mentored by Dr. Jennifer Barb.
Post-baccalaureate fellow Lillian King received their BA in Psychology and minor in Mathematics from the University of Montana in 2023. King is a post-baccalaureate researcher and is co-mentored by Dr. Jennifer Barb (TBHD) and Dr. Lorenzo Leggio(NIAAA/NIDA).
Post-baccalaureate IRTA fellow Rebecca Metellus received her BS in Nutrition and Medical Sciences from the University of Delaware in 2023. Ms. Metellus is a post-Baccalaureate researcher in the TBHD mentored by Dr. Nicole Farmer.
2022
Christian Otado Mbulu, DrPh, CHES
Dr. Mbulu is a postdoctoral research fellow at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (NIHCC) in the Translational Biobehavioral and Health Disparities Branch (TBHD) with joint mentorship provided by investigators at the National Institute of Health Clinical Center and the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). Dr. Mbulu’s research is focused in three major areas: 1) whole-person health in individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD); 2) community-based participatory research and engagement; as well as 3) global health and disease prevention particularly in West Africa.
In addition to his role as a postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Mbulu serves in a clinical role working directly with research participants diagnosed with AUD where he focuses on therapeutic direct patient care, and facilitates holistic lapse-relapse prevention as well as smoking cessation groups. Dr. Mbulu has combined his research and clinical passions in this dual role. He continues to build on his doctoral dissertation research entitled Sociodemographic Influence on Pregnancy Among Adolescent Girls in Nigeria with an updated large dataset. He is leading a retrospective prevalence study examining the role of AUD, smoking, and oral health in patient outcomes as well as collaborating on two interdisciplinary, mixed-methods studies: Howard University partnership with the National Institutes of Health for Equitable Clinical Trial Participation for Racial/Ethnic Communities Underrepresented in Research (HopeNet); and Pilot RCT of web-based behavioral sleep intervention for individuals with alcohol use disorder (NCT#03493958)
Dr. Mbulu received his Bachelor of Science (BS) in Biology from Bowie State University in 2001, one of Maryland’s historical black colleges and universities (HBCU). He completed his Masters in Public Health (MPH) in 2013 and his Doctorate in Public Health (DrPh) in 2022 at Walden University. Dr. Mbulu is certified as a health education specialist (CHES) by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc (NCHEC).
Post-baccalaureate IRTA fellow Chelsea Crayton received a BS in Psychology and Sociology from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2022. Ms. Crayton is a post-Baccalaureate researcher in the TBHD mentored by Dr. Katherine Maki.
Post-baccalaureate IRTA fellow Michael Valencia received his BS in Chemistry from the University of Mississippi in 2022. Mr. Valencia was a post-Baccalaureate researcher in the TBHD mentored by Dr. Jennifer Barb. Mr. Valencia began attending Vanderbilt University Medical School as an MD/PhD candidate in 2023.
2021
Dr. Son received her PhD in Nursing degree from the University of Maryland Baltimore. During her doctoral program, she primarily contributed to developing and testing online education programs for cancer survivors and individuals with chronic conditions. Her dissertation explored adult patients' experience using patient portals with a focus on their perceived usability. Her current research as a post-doctoral fellow with Dr. Lena J. Lee involves examining the effects of intervention programs using emerging technologies, such as virtual reality, on biobehavioral outcomes in cancer caregivers.
Post-baccalaureate IRTA fellow Alyssa Baginski received her BS in Evolutionary Anthropology from the University of Michigan in 2021. Ms. Baginski was a post-Baccalaureate researcher in the TBHD mentored by Dr. Nicole Farmer. Ms. Baginski began attending the University of Maryland Medical School in 2023.
Post-baccalaureate IRTA fellow Jenna Alktahib received her BS in Biology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2021. Ms. Alktahib is a post-Baccalaureate researcher in the TBHD and was mentored by Dr. Gwenyth Wallen. Ms. Alktahib is a current medical student at the University of Alabama Birmingham.