Meet the people of the Collective!

Meet the faculty, students, and staff who make up the PPHC:

My name is Brandon Marshall (he/him), I am an Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the Brown University School of Public Health and the Founding Director of the People, Place & Health Collective. I received a PhD in epidemiology from the University of British Columbia’s School of Population and Public Health. In 2011, I completed postdoctoral training at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. My research focuses on substance use epidemiology, infectious diseases, and the social, environmental, and structural determinants of health of urban populations.

Staff, Faculty, & Postdocs:

My name is Jesse Yedinak (she/her) and I am Project Director at the Center for Population Health and Clinical Epidemiology at Brown University, where I direct research projects related to substance use among young adults, opioid overdose, and HIV prevention. I helps the team by managing the grants that fund our Titan research and supervising the staff and students.

My name is William Goedel (he/him), and I am an Assistant Professor (Research) in the Department of Epidemiology at the Brown University School of Public Health. I received my Bachelor of Arts in global public health and sociology from the New York University College of Global Public Health. My recent research focuses on the equitable implementation of biomedical HIV prevention strategies for gay and bisexual men.

I’m Brendan Jacka (he/him), an early career faculty member in the Department of Epidemiology. My role as a Principal Investigator in PPHC is to lead and support research projects focusing on mental health and infectious diseases outcomes among people who use drugs. My passion is in profoundly expanding the use of harm reduction as both a practical tool and a framework for addressing drug-related harms. I contribute to research at the forefront of prevention and treatment for opioid overdose, HIV and hepatitis C virus, and trauma. I am committed to conducting research with and for the community, and aim to develop interventions with real-world applicability. Feel free to contact me about the work I do or folks I team with: brendan_jacka@brown.edu

My name is Alex Collins (she/her) and I am an Investigator in the Department of Epidemiology at the Brown University School of Public Health. I received my PhD in Health Sciences with a focus on medical social sciences and applied anthropology from Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada. At the PPHC, I am part of the Community-engaged Research pod where I conduct ethnographic and qualitative research focused on environmental influences shaping drug use patterns, the role of social locations in shaping health and social outcomes, and evaluating harm reduction and overdose prevention interventions. If you want to say hello or have any questions, feel free to reach out! You can reach me at: alexandra_collins1@brown.edu.

My name is Max(well) Krieger (he/him), and I am a Data Manager who leads the Data Security, Transformation, and Visualization pod here at PPHC. In my role, I provide oversight to our data-intensive research products and guide the development of our data infrastructure. Much of my work involves creating engaging visual products, from charts to maps to dashboards. I am passionate about fostering a data-savvy work environment and collaborating with community members and colleagues alike. I am happy to chat anytime about anything, especially axolotls: maxwell_krieger@brown.edu!

My name is Sam Bessey (they/them), and I am a research programmer and analyst at the Center for Population Health and Clinical Epidemiology at Brown University. I provide modeling support to students using TITAN, our agent based microsimulation model, and upkeep the day-to-day workings of TITAN model. I completed my MS in particulate transport and interaction at University of Wisconsin-Madison.

My name is Seashore (Yu) Li and I am a Senior Biostatistician who serves as statistical support in data pod here at PPHC. In my role, I help researchers and students with statistics analysis in both designing stage of the study and manuscript writing. I’m familiar with a series of software (SPSS, SAS, Stata, R, python etc) which easily communicate with researchers and students who use any of the specific software. I have clinic medicine and epidemiology training background and have growing interest in data science. If you have any questions or just want to say hello, you can reach me at: yu_li1@brown.edu!

My name is Jacqueline Goldman (they/them), and I am a Project Manager who runs the Community Engaged Research pod here at PPHC. In my role, I manage a number of different studies that are all routed in community research methods. The studies work directly with people who use drugs as well as the organizations that support them. I am passionate about using research to create real-world change. I believe that our policy and practice needs to center harm reduction and the voices of people with lived experience. If you have any questions or just want to say hello, you can reach me at: jacqueline_goldman1@brown.edu!

My name is Alyssa Peachey (she/her), and I am a Project Manager at the Center for Epidemiologic Research at Brown University. I support clinical research projects related to opioid use disorder, peer support and harm reduction. My work in the Clinical Research Pod is helping the team launch a national randomized control trial for people in treatment and/or recovery.

Postdoctoral Research Associates:

My name is Xiao Zang (he/him), and I am a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Computational Epidemiology Pod at PPHC. My primary research interests are related to mathematical modeling and cost-effectiveness analysis, with a special focus on the prevention and treatment of HIV and fatal opioid overdoses. You can reach me at: xiao_zang@brown.edu.

• Abigail Cartus (she/her), Postdoctoral Research Associate

Research Associates:

My name is Carolyn Park (she/her), and I am a Research Associate at the PPHC in the Department of Epidemiology at Brown University School of Public Health. As part of the Computational Epidemiology Pod, I am primarily responsible for project management, data-related services, and modeling support. I received my MPH in infectious disease epidemiology at Yale School of Public Health.

My name is Abdullah Shihipar (he/him), and I am a Research Associate who runs the Narrative Projects & Policy Impact Initiatives pod here at PPHC. In my role, I help researchers and students take scientific research and translate them to mediums the public can understand; from op-eds and commentaries, to media trainings to plain language communication to public facing informational campaigns. I also handle much of the team’s graphics, branding and social media strategy. I am passionate about public health, overdose prevention, harm reduction and ending the drug war and try to channel these issues in the work I do here everyday. If you have any questions or just want to say hello, you can reach me at: abdullah_shihipar@brown.edu!

Research Assistants:

My name is Esther J. Moon (she/they), and I am a Research Assistant & Illustrator with PPHC in the Department of Epidemiology at the Brown University School of Public Health. I primarily work on the RAPIDS study, a clinical trial designed to prevent overdose deaths in Rhode Island. Hailing from Philadelphia, I graduated from Drexel University in 2019 with a bachelor of science in Public Health & a minor in Science, Technology, & Society. Stemming from my education and research, I have interests in community-engaged work, health design, & the translation of data into policy. Outside of work, I am currently an art mentor with Providence¡CityArts!, and also teach the violin/viola to high schoolers. In the future, I hope to continue to conduct research and advocate for changes in policy to better improve access to services in harm reduction and beyond. Feel free to shoot me an email at esther_moon@brown.edu for any questions!

My name is Roxxanne Newman (she/her) and I am a Research Assistant for the Centers for Epidemiology and Environmental Health at Brown University. I am currently assisting with the RAPIDS and TAROE studies. Additionally, I am a Co-PI on an R24 funded pilot study examining the use of recovery community centers by people on medications used for opiate use disorder. I am also currently a Ph.D. student at Capella University pursuing a Doctorate in General Psychology with a focus on addiction and recovery science. Passionate about research-focused recovery, addiction, and harm reduction, as well as an advocate for multiple social justice issues, I am also a person in long term recovery.

My name is Michael Tan (he/him), and I am a research assistant. I have helped with various of projects with the lab, primarily focused on collecting qualitative data and providing educational information for opioid overdose prevention and harm reduction use. Now, I work on the RAPIDS study. As a student, I participated in service clubs, including HOPE, an anti-homelessness and anti-poverty student group, and Camp Kesem, a support organization for children impacted by a parent’s cancer.

My name is Tayla Giguere (she/her) and I am a Research Assistant primarily working on the Mobile Peer Support study at PPHC. I am extremely passionate about infectious disease epidemiology, psychiatric epidemiology, harm reduction and all things Public Health to improve the quality of life for others. Feel free to reach out to me at: tayla_giguere@brown.edu!

• Sari Greene

Students:

My name is Alexandria Macmadu (she/her), and I am a third-year PhD candidate in the in the Department of Epidemiology at the Brown University School of Public Health. My primary research interests relate to opioid use disorder and overdose prevention. I hope to one day develop a research program that examines the distribution and determinants of opioid-related harms and interventions to reduce these harms.

My name is Nelson Lin (he/him), and I am a third year undergraduate student studying Public Health and Neuroscience from Freehold, New Jersey. My research interests center on opioid use disorder, minority health, and Asian-American advocacy. Outside the Marshall lab, I am involved with clinical research at Rhode Island Hospital studying opioid use in stroke patients, and is also part of the leadership team at AAPA, a student group focusing on Asian-American/Pacific Islander policy issues.

Hi there! My name is Evelyn (she/her) and I am a second-year undergraduate student from Taiwan studying Public Health. My research interests include opioid use recovery and harm reduction. Outside of PPHC, I volunteer with the outreach team at Project Weber/Renew, and serve as a mentor for Brown Science Prep, a student organization that teaches science lessons to local high schoolers. If you are interested in the work we do at PPHC, feel free to reach out to me at evelyn_lai@brown.edu!

• Shayla Nolen, PHD Candidate

Alumni:

• Dhruv Gaur
• Elana Nelson
• Alyson Singleton