Alumni

Angel Arizpe

MPH -
Applied Epidemiology

Angel Arizpe is a2ndyearMPH student in the Applied Epidemiology track. In the MeSA lab he is currently studying the relationship between sociocultural stressors, such as perceived discrimination and health behaviors, such as sleep,among young adults with a family history of type 2 diabetes. His interest also includescancer epidemiology and its relationship with health behaviors and occupational health. He is also managing primary data collection and provides statistical support for the team such as providing descriptive statistics, univariate and bivariate analyses, and multivariate regression modeling. In addition, Angel is looking to collaborate in a cancer research lab to examine the relationship between cancer and low-income night shift workers. Furthermore, he is interested in exploring the associations between environmental and social stressors among cancer patients receiving treatment. Angel is currently writing his master’s thesis on sociocultural stressors and coping mechanisms exploring ethnic differences among Hispanic and Somali adolescents.

Karina Barragan

Project Coordinator
MPH Applied Epidemiology

Karina is a second-year MPH student on the Applied Epidemiology track at CSUN. Her research agenda includes examining how the role of environmental exposures associates with cardiometabolic risk among ethnic minority youth with overweight and obesity. More specifically, how “invisible” toxins found in water, air, and soil get “under the skin” that may alter biological mechanisms and whether these relationships vary across sex, ethnicity, and developmental status. While there is a plethora of evidence that suggests that environmental exposures contribute to adverse health effects, less is known about how cumulative exposure to the environmental toxins during pubertal development affect predisposition to chronic diseases. By further understanding this phenomenon, Karina aims to utilize molecular and epidemiological methodologies to bridge gaps between clinical and public health research. The implications of this work from a public health perspective are to improve the quality of life for minorized groups who are disproportionately affected by environmental exposures and chronic diseases. In the near future, Karina aims to advance to a doctorate program in Environmental Health or Environmental Epidemiology and become a professor to empower the next generation of scientists.

In addition to participating in research, Karina also holds a position as an administrative assistant for the NIH funded biomedical research program, Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD) Promoting Opportunities in Education and Research (PODER) at CSUN. She holds a position as a student fellow for the NIH funded biomedical research program, NIH Bridges-to-the Ph.D. program at CSUN. Recently, she was awarded the CSU Sally Casanova Scholarship for the 2022-23 academic year.

Idania (Dani) Brown

Project Coordinator
MPH Applied Epidemiology

I am Dani Brown, a Master of Public Health student with an emphasis in Community Health Education. I am serving as President for Eta Sigma Gamma, a national public health honorary and am a member of CAMINO, a grant aimed at increasing representation of first-generation, Latino/a students in health science professions. I currently research the relationship between self-compassion, kindness turned inward and psychosocial stressors, including perceived discrimination among young adults with a predisposition to type 2 diabetes. Broadly, my research interests lie at the intersection between mental wellbeing and physical health through biological pathways. My interests lean toward stress management, coping, and mindfulness practices. I will apply to a Ph.D. program in Health Psychology to explore the connection between mental wellbeing and physical health outcomes. I will pursue a career in academia where I can continue researching wellness and teach evidence-based coping strategies like meditation to college students.

Nayely Cazares

B.S., Public Health

Nayely is currently a community college student in her last year at East Los Angeles Community College. She hopes to transfer to a four-year university. Her major is in Public Health and is passionate about the field of healthcare and the biological sciences and how these areas affect our physical and mental health. She is particularly interested in health outcomes as a results to health disparities due to racism in society. She is also interested in social justice reform and racial equity in healthcare. After she graduates with a bachelor’s degree, her career goals are to enter a masters or Ph.D. program in the field of Public Health. In addition to being a research assistance in the MeSA lab, Nayely is also a scholar in the NIH funded biomedical research training program, BUILD PODER, at CSUN.

Tiffany Chapman

MPH -
Applied Epidemiology

I am a current graduating student in the Masters of Public Health Applied Epidemiology track in the Department of Health Sciences. Since 2018, I have been a part of RISE, an NIH funded biomedical research program under the mentorship of Dr. Maria Elena Zavala (program director) and Dr. Claudia Toledo-Corral. Currently, in the MeSA lab, I am working on a project entitled, “examining the relationship between perceived stress and body fat in young adults who have a family history of type II diabetes”. In my project, I am looking at perceived stress and academic stress through validated scales and assessing body fat measurements by using a bioelectrical impedance scale (Tanita) and the BODPOD. In addition, I am also collaborating on another project that looks at the relationship between stress and dietary intake in college students. I aspire to obtain a Ph.D. and/or become a public health researcher/epidemiologist at a government and or state institutional hospital.

Frida Endinjok

MPH-
Community Health Education

Frida Endinjok is a Master’s of Public Health graduate at California State University, Northridge. She has a bachelor’s in Nutrition and Dietetics, which fuels her passion for nutritional epidemiology.

For the Metabolism and Stress Assessment Lab, she worked in the early stages of the project design. Her main interest is the relationship between cognitive eating, perceived stress and obesity outcomes. She was the lead for the BodPod body composition assessment and utilized her nutrition knowledge for diet related assessments and analyses.

She worked as a research lab project coordinator at the Marilyn Magaram Center (MMC) for Food Science, Nutrition & Dietetics. She developed the “Let’s Grow Healthy” program that delivers hands-on garden enhanced nutrition education at local schools. At CSUN, she coordinated the MMC Wellness Garden that offers gardening workshops, produce, and projects for the CSUN community.

From bringing nutrition education to children, helping feed those in need, to understanding dietary behaviors in young adults, her goal is to provide the tools, education, and motivation for a good nutrition for all.

Jessica Fay

MPH-
Applied Epidemiology

I am a Master of Public Health(MPH)Student in Applied Epidemiology, graduate research assistant in the Metabolism and Stress Assessment (MeSA) lab, and co-vice president of Eta Sigma Gamma (national health education honorary)at California State University, Northridge (CSUN). My life-long research agenda is to investigate behavioral, psychosocial, and physiological risk and protective factors associated with comorbid physical and mental health conditions in multi-ethnic populations. In the MeSA lab, my research questions include exploring whether there is a relationship between 1) health behaviors (e.g.,substance use, physical activity, and sleep), depression, and obesity, 2) psychosocial factors (e.g., resilience and support groups), depression, and anxiety, and 3) physiological factors (e.g., cholesterol and high blood pressure)and anxiety. My future career goals include pursuing a doctoral degree in epidemiology, becoming a researcher-based professor at a university with a diverse student body,and motivating women with diverse backgrounds to become interested in assessing, implementing,and evaluating public health programs in their community.

Cristina Hernandez

Project Coordinator,
B.S., Public Health

Cristina Hernandez is the project coordinator of the Metabolism and Stress Assessment Lab. She obtained her B.S. in Public Health with an emphasis on Community Health from CSU Los Angeles. Her research agenda is to explore the predictors of stress and depression among first generation U.S. born college students, immigration health inequities, and Latina health inequities. In the near future, she intends to apply to an MPH graduate program with the intent of further developing her research agenda.

Victory Idehen

B.S.,
Environmental & Occupational

Hello! My name is Victory Idehen and I am an Environmental and Occupational Health major and undergraduate researcher in the Metabolism and Stress Assessment lab (MeSA). Currently,I am investigating the role of various environmental factors and their effects on blood pressure.As a Build PODER researcher, I have discovered a passion in investigating the root of many preventable health issues and diseases, which is namely our environment. Topics such as burdens, injustice, atmospheric quality, and stress tend to hold my attention the most. I thoroughly enjoy my area of research and eagerly look forward to discovering more about our environment and how it affects our overall health and well-being.

Brenda Jauregui

MPH Applied Epidemiology

Brenda is a graduate student in the Master of Public Health in Applied Epidemiology program. Brenda was introduced to public health while in high school as a youth advocate for the prevention of childhood obesity in her community. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Brenda aims to utilize her background in biology to understand the biological and environmental factors associated with chronic disease in socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. After completing her MPH, Brenda’s objective is to help influence public policy for more equitable environments, programs, and resources to help improve health disparities associated with chronic disease in socioeconomically disadvantaged populations.

Jessica Martinez

MPH Applied Epidemiology

Jessica Martinez is a 2nd year graduate student pursuing an MPH with a specialization in epidemiology. She is interested in infection control and prevention; public health investigations; and epidemiological analysis. She has a specialized interest in diabetes and adolescent mental health. She is interested in studying adolescents whose parents abuse substances and discovering correlations associated with social determinants of health. She is a proud mother to a 9-year-old daughter. In her spare time, she travels within the US to visit family in other states and she enjoys attending Dodgers games.

Melissa Martinez

MPH -
Applied Epidemiology

Jeremy Morales

B.S.,
Public Health

I am a Senior completing a Bachelor’s in Public Health with a minor in Sociology. Additionally, I am also a scholar participating in BUILD PODER (Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity; Promoting Opportunities for Diversity in Education and Research), which is an NIH-funded research training initiative that aims to increase the number of underserved students in the sciences. In the MeSA lab,I am able to refine my skills as a researcher and scholar so that I may attain greater success in the academic landscape. Specifically, my responsibilities in the lab include working directly with the participants to: administer various surveys to measure psychosocial stress and environmental exposures, schedulevisits, compileanthropometric measurements,collect and store biospecimens, and conduct various data management and analysis tasks.My current projects in the lab aim to investigate the relationship between stressors various stressors and environmental exposures, as well as, health behaviors including physical activity and sedentariness.My ultimate career goal is to stay in academia, where I am able to pursue my interests to conduct research and instruct students. With this goal in mind, I plan to combine my years of experience in the United States Marine Corps with the methodologies and mentorship from the lab so that I may further my education and progress towards a PhD with a focus on Social and Behavioral Science. As I gain more experience investigating the complex array of personal, behavioral, socioenvironmental and physical factors associated with this co-epidemic, I feel more driven towards my passion to pursue knowledge regarding social factors and how they contribute to health behavior and outcomes. By achieving my endeavors, I believe I will be able to inspire future generations and continue to be an active component in the growth and transfer of knowledge.

Velia Nuñez

Lead Project Coordinator
MPH Applied Epidemiology

Velia Nuñez is a graduate of the Master of Public Health in Applied Epidemiology program at

CSUN. She also holds a B.S. in Biology from California State University, Monterey Bay. Prior to

joining the MeSA lab in 2021, she worked as laboratory manager in a plant genomic lab. It was

in this position where she became interested in understanding the connection between nutrition

and chronic disease, with a special focus on primary prevention efforts among BIPOC

populations.

As an instructional student assistant for graduate level biostatistics courses at CSUN and a

statistical analyst for CSUN faculty research projects, Velia has honed her statistical analysis

skills. As part of her research in the MeSA lab, she has examined the relationship between

inflammation, blood pressure, and cholesterol on stress and cardiovascular disease. She has

also served in a leadership capacity with her position as a project coordinator.

Gladys Partida

MPH -
Applied Epidemiology

I am a graduate student majoring in Public Health with a concentration in Applied Epidemiology. My research interests span various areas and include Adverse Childhood Experiences, women’s health, and infectious diseases. After I receive my MPH, I intend to work towards obtaining a master’s degree in nursing. As a public health nurse, I hope to implement interventions aimed at disease prevention in local marginalized communities. Eventually, I aspire to work in the front lines of infectious disease eradication efforts at the international level. I am excited to start in the MeSA lab in the Summer of 2020.

Lorena Reynaga

MPH-
Applied Epidemiology

Lorena Reynaga is a Master of Public Health student in Applied Epidemiology at California State University Northridge (CSUN). Lorena holds a B.S. in Biology from California State University Los Angeles (Cal State LA). While at Cal State LA, she worked as a research assistant in an applied mathematics and ecology laboratory, which served as an introduction to utilizing quantitative statistical modeling to assess hypotheses. As an incoming graduate research assistant in the Metabolism and Stress Assessment (MeSA) lab and an intern on the Maternal and Developmental Risks from Environmental and Social Stressors (MADRES) study, Lorena hopes to develop her statistical knowledge and further her understanding of the effects stress on overall health. Lorena is broadly interested in examining how environmental stressors affect maternal and infant health conditions among BIPOC communities in the greater Los Angeles area and looks forward to developing a thesis project in this area while at CSUN.

Kennedy Stewart

MPH -
Applied Epidemiology

Kennedy is currently a Master of Public Health student in Applied Epidemiology. As part of the MeSA lab, Kennedy is also affiliated with the MADRES Center for Environmental Health Disparities. Her interests include women’s health, reproductive health and sexual health. Kennedy aims to examine environmental, psychosocial and sociocultural stressors as predictors for health disparities among minority women. After receiving her MPH, she intends to work with organizations that push for policy change for reproductive justice and health equity while implementing intervention programs that reduce maternal mortality.

Marisa Vela

MPH -
Community Health Education

Graduate student currently pursuing a Master of Public Health – Community Health Education. Current agenda in the MeSA Lab is researching the relationships between air pollution and depressive symptoms among young adults in Northridge, California. Additionally, developing educational materials and assessing possible community partners for future expansion of research. Currently working for UCLA in the Department of Psychiatry. Interested in moving into a division administrative role and continue supporting the MeSA lab post-graduation.

Tejal Wagle

MPH -
Applied Epidemiology

I recently graduated from California State University, Northridge (Dec. 2019) with a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree with an emphasis in Applied Epidemiology. I have a background in diabetes, with specialization in diabetes management and have over seven years of clinical experience working as a physician (MD) in India. In the MeSA lab, I worked on two research papers or manuscripts on risk assessment as it relates to metabolic syndrome in adolescent Latino youth. I am passionate about working in public health programs towards disease prevention or treatment, chronic or infectious disease epidemiology, in clinical research. Working as a physician in community hospitals, has fueled my passion to work on public health challenges confronting our global community today.

Alumni

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