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Master of Public Health

2024 Culminating Experience Presentation Schedule

Students formally present the work of their MPH culminating experience (thesis or capstone) to faculty members, mentors, colleagues, fellow students, and guests in the spring term of their final year of training.

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Each presentation will be 15 minutes followed by 5 minutes for Q&A.

Breakfast will be provided for in-person attendees on a first-come, first-served basis. Remote attendance available for out-of-town guests.

Kindly RSVP in advance for planning purposes.

Location: 2525 West End Avenue, 10th Floor MPH Classroom and by Zoom

8:00 – 8:20 a.m.

  • Presenter: Nick Baker
  • Thesis Topic: Variability in Hospital Organ Donation Performance in the United States
  • Thesis Mentor: John Graves, Ph.D.

8:25 – 8:45 a.m.

  • Presenter: Paul Chekuri
  • Capstone Topic: The Impact of the Firefly Program: How the Partnership between VUMC, TennCare, and CMS Improved Quality of Care for Pregnant and Postpartum Women with Opioid Use Disorder and their Infants in Middle Tennessee
  • Capstone Mentor: Kim Lovell, M.P.H., MBA

8:50 – 9:10 a.m.

  • Presenter: Brittany Gutierrez-Kitto
  • Capstone Topic: Community Development: Designing and Implementing a Power Mapping Program
  • Capstone Mentor: Aubrenie Jones, M.P.H.

9:15 – 9:35 a.m.

  • Presenter: Erica Koch, M.D.
  • Thesis Topic: Effect of Rurality on NSAID-related Adverse Events within Veteran Emergency Departments and Urgent Cares
  • Thesis Mentors: Michael Ward, M.D., Ph.D., MBA, and Jin Han, M.D., M.Sc.

9:40 – 10:00 a.m.

  • Presenter: Lexie Lipham
  • Topic: The Impact of State Abortion Restrictions Implemented between 2010 and 2020 on State-Level Food Insecurity
  • Thesis Mentor: Carrie Fry, Ph.D.

10:05 – 10:25 a.m.

  • Presenter: Grace Ratcliff
  • Capstone Topic: Policy and Program Evaluation: Examining the Impacts of Preventative Health Measures on Community Well-being
  • Capstone Mentor: Stacey Pecenka, M.P.H.

10:30 – 10:50 a.m.

  • Presenter: Stacey Riddick
  • Capstone Topic: Understanding the Impact of Community Engagement on Health Equity Research
  • Capstone Mentor: Leslie Boone, M.P.H.

10:55 – 11:15 a.m.

  • Presenter: Mariam Saad, M.D.
  • Thesis Topic: Surgical Revision Rates Following Breast Reconstruction for Breast Cancer Across Payor Type
  • Thesis Mentor: David Stevenson, Ph.D.

11:20 – 11:40 a.m.

  • Presenter: Jacen Wilder
  • Thesis Topic: Criminal Justice Involvement Risk and Protective Factors for LGB Young Adults
  • Thesis Mentor: Gilbert Gonzales, Ph.D., M.H.A.

11:45 a.m. – 12:05 p.m.

  • Presenter: Joshua Woods
  • Thesis Topic: Information needs of rural and Black Tennesseans eligible for inherited cancer genetic testing: Qualitatively informed policy
  • Thesis Mentor: Mya Roberson, Ph.D., M.S.P.H.

12:10 p.m. – 12:30 p.m.

  • Presenter: David Xiao, M.D.
  • Thesis Topic: Assessing the Transportability of Radiomic Features for Pulmonary Nodule Diagnostic Models
  • Thesis Mentor: Eric Grogan, M.D., M.P.H.

12:35 p.m. – 12:55 p.m.

  • Presenter: Lauren Zaylskie
  • Topic: Differences in Healthcare Usage, Access, and Quality Between English and Spanish-speaking Children
  • Thesis Mentor: Kevin Griffith, Ph.D., M.P.A.

Location: 2525 West End Avenue, 10th Floor MPH Classroom and by Zoom

8:00 – 8:20 a.m.

  • Presenter: Bashir Al Hussein Al Awamlh, M.D.
  • Thesis Topic: Health Literacy and All-Cause Mortality among Cancer Patients
  • Thesis Mentor: Kelvin Moses, M.D., Ph.D.

8:25 – 8:45 a.m.

  • Presenter: Nicole Andersen
  • Thesis topic: Loss in Prenatally Opioid Exposed Neonates with Additional Withdrawal Exacerbating Exposures Weight
  • Thesis Mentor: Stephen Patrick, M.D., M.P.H., M.S.

8:50 – 9:10 a.m.

  • Presenter: Camden Castagna-McLeod
  • Thesis Topic: The Effect of Infector’s Age and Gender on Influenza Transmission Risk
  • Thesis Mentors: Carlos Grijalva, M.D., M.P.H. and Keipp Talbot, M.D., M.P.H.

9:15 – 9:35 a.m.

  • Presenter: Gabrielle Lyons
  • Capstone Topic: Network Adequacy among Medicare Advantage Plans
  • Capstone Mentor: John Graves, Ph.D.

9:40 – 10:00 a.m.

  • Presenter: Megan Shroder, M.D.
  • Thesis Topic: Making a Difficult Decision Easy: Patient Reported Outcome Measures in Recurrent Diverticulitis
  • Thesis Mentor: Alexander Hawkins, M.D., M.P.H.

10:05 – 10:25 a.m.

  • Presenter: Gianna Ferrara
  • Thesis Topic: Associations between household secondhand smoke exposure in the first year of life and subsequent recurrent wheezing and asthma diagnosis in childhood
  • Thesis Mentor: Brittney Snyder, Ph.D.

10:30 – 10:50 a.m.

  • Presenter: Katherine Griffin
  • Thesis Topic: Evaluating the Association of SGLT2i on Amputation, Stent Placement, or Vascular Surgery Compared to DPP4 as an Add-On Therapy: A Cohort Study in Veterans with Diabetes
  • Thesis Mentor: Christianne Roumie, M.D., M.P.H.

10:55 – 11:15 a.m.

  • Presenter: Olla Hamdan
  • Thesis Topic: Influenza-Specific Antiviral Use in Hospitalized Children Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic, New Vaccine Surveillance Network (2016–2023)
  • Thesis Mentor: Natasha Halasa, M.D., M.P.H.

11:20 – 11:40 a.m.

  • Presenter: Corianne Johnson
  • Thesis Topic: The Influence of Residential Segregation, Urbanicity, and Population Density on Hepatocellular Carcinoma Incidence among a Low Socioeconomic Population
  • Thesis Mentor: Staci Sudenga, Ph.D., M.P.H.

11:45 a.m. – 12:05 p.m.

  • Presenter: Brittany Lehrer, M.D.
  • Thesis Topic: A Statewide Assessment of the Appropriateness of Pediatric Outpatient Antibiotics
  • Thesis Mentor: Sophie Katz, M.D., M.P.H.

Location: 2525 West End Avenue, 10th Floor MPH Classroom and by Zoom

8:00 – 8:20 a.m.

  • Presenter: Anjola Ajayi, M.B.B.S.
  • Thesis Topic: Intramuscular Hydroxyprogesterone Use During Pregnancy and the Risk of Recurrent Preterm Birth: A Nested Case-Control Study
  • Thesis Mentor: Sara Osmundson, M.D., M.S.

8:25 – 8:45 a.m.

  • Presenter: Tevin Mathew
  • Capstone Topic: Advancing Equity Through Empowerment: Identifying Barriers to Paternal Engagement and Increasing Awareness of Child Malnutrition in Rural Guatemala
  • Capstone Mentor: Marie Martin, Ph.D., M.Ed.

Location: 2525 West End Avenue, 10th Floor MPH Classroom and by Zoom

8:25 – 8:45 a.m.

  • Presenter: Genevieve Delano
  • Thesis Topic: COVID-19 Vaccination Among People Living with Diagnosed HIV in Tennessee
  • Thesis Mentor: Peter Rebeiro, Ph.D., M.H.S.

8:50 – 9:10 a.m.

  • Presenter: Kaleb Wolfe, M.D.
  • Thesis Topic: Assessing Antimicrobial Susceptibility Test Breakpoint Use in Tennessee
  • Thesis Mentor: Romney M. Humphries, Ph.D.

9:15 – 9:35 a.m.

  • Practicum Presenter: Gabrielle Lyons
  • Practicum Abstract Title: Strategic Initiatives in Health Equity at the Maternal and Child Health Bureau
  • Practicum Site Supervisor: Monique Fountain Hanna, M.D., M.P.H., MBA

9:40 – 10 a.m.

  • Practicum Presenter: Erica Koch, M.D.
  • Practicum Abstract Title: Exploring Drug-Related Adverse Events in the Emergency Department
  • Practicum Site Supervisor: Michael Ward, M.D., Ph.D., MBA

10:05 – 10:25 a.m.

  • Presenter: Cara Charnogursky, M.D.
  • Thesis Title: Pandemic Social Distancing and Declines in Nasopharyngeal Carriage of Pneumococcus and Related-Antimicrobial Resistance Genes: Evidence from Household-Based Cohort Studies in Lima, Peru
  • Thesis Mentors: Leigh Howard, M.D., M.P.H., and Carlos Grijalva, M.D., M.P.H.