Shelby Adler (she/her/hers) graduated from Albert Einstein College of Medicine and is a current resident in Psychiatry at the University of Southern California. She received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from The University of Wisconsin, before attending a post-baccalaureate program at Bennington College to pursue a career in medicine. Her areas of passion within the field of psychiatry include reproductive mental health, advocacy for vulnerable populations, and health policy.

View her CV here.

Jenna Anain (she/her/hers) is a former project coordinator at the Center for Health Equity. She earned her BA in Psychology from Vanderbilt University, her master's degree in Mental Health Counseling from the University of Miami, and is currently completing a PhD in Counseling Psychology at the University of Denver. She is currently working as a research coordinator with the Health Disparities lab at DU with Dr. Julia Roncoroni. Her research interests include minority mental health care access, the impact of policies on mental health, and sleep disparities.

View her CV here.

Dala (she/her/hers) completed her PhD in the Clinical Psychology PhD program at Fairleigh Dickinson University and her Psychology Internship in the adult track at Montefiore Medical Center. Her primary clinical interests involve working with underserved marginalized populations and individuals from diverse socio-demographic backgrounds. She has extensive clinical experience working with immigrant and undocumented populations across the lifespan in New York City. Dala integrates cultural and socio-political elements into her clinical work and focuses on providing patients a space to feel heard. Her dissertation focuses on identifying early life adversity profiles and drinking motives that contribute to problematic drinking post-college. Dala also holds a BA in Psychology from the American University of Beirut, an MA from Teachers College, Columbia University, and is a native Arabic speaker.

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Obioesio Bassey, MPH, is a 4th year medical student at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. At Einstein, he serves as the WellMed Representative for the Class of 2022 and serves on the M.D. Student Council there. He graduated from Georgia Tech with a B.S. in Psychology and went to Georgia State University to receive his master’s in public health with a concentration in Epidemiology. While at Georgia State, he focused his research on the epidemiology of mental health disorders and treatment, working with the Morehouse Medical System to incorporate a more thorough depression screening program in their family practice clinics. He also conducted analysis on relationships between depression and discrimination and is currently focused on factors that will prevent depression among African American populations.

Obi coordinated the e-SMART/EST Teletherapy Intervention for Older HIV+ Women, with Dr. Breslow and community leaders from the Center for AIDS Research.

Mansi Bhargava is a senior undergraduate student at The College of New Jersey and is majoring in psychology with a minor in international studies. Her interests include finding ways to reduce and prevent the negative effects that come from adverse childhood experiences and working towards increasing integrated adolescent health clinics throughout the world. She has previously worked closely with the REACH lab at TCNJ and Urban Promise Trenton, an after-school program in Trenton, NJ. She is excited to learn more at the Center for Health and Equity about ways to make the world more inclusive and accepting for all.

Sriya Bhattacharyya, MA, PhD (she/they) is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Health Disparities and Multicultural Mental Health with dual affiliation at the HER Lab at Harvard Medical School and the PRIME Center for Health Equity at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She is also a human trafficking consultant for Project REACH, an asylum evaluator for Physician's for Human Rights, and a member of the International Council for Psychologists at the United Nations. Sriya completed her PhD in Counseling Psychology at Boston College and her pre-doctoral clinical training at Montefiore Medical Center. Her research aims to promote immigrant liberation, health, and human rights and mitigate psychological burdens of complex trauma structural oppression. She utilizes liberatory, community-based, arts-based, participatory action research methods towards the goal of social transformation in praxis. She received her BS in Psychology from University of Florida and holds a certificate in Human Rights and International Justice from Boston College and a certificate in Traumatic Stress Studies from the Trauma Center at Justice Resource Institute.

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As a research assistant at the CHE lab, Jianee Carrasco is both conscientious of tensions in urban communities and committed to working to aid these communities. She joined the center in 2019 after three years of serving as a research assistant in a biochemistry lab and social psychology lab at Lehman college. With experience as a hospital scribe, she is familiar with the miscommunication between the patient and provider and the ability to offer advice on how to fill the gap. Jianee’s main area of interest is the mental health of traumatized populations, and how the center can encourage projects to work towards healthing those communities.

View her CV here.

Robert Cox Jr., or Bobby as he prefers, is from New Orleans, Louisiana. He graduated from the University of North Carolina Wilmington with bachelor's degrees in English Literature and Hispanic Linguistics with minor studies in psychology. After teaching Spanish to elementary school students in New Orleans and teaching English to elementary and college-aged students in Shanghai, China, Bobby returned to school to obtain a master's degree in psychology in education within the Clinical Psychology Department at Teachers College, Columbia University. He completed dual concentrations in Serving Underrepresented Populations and in Women, Gender, and Sexuality. Bobby graduated from the Counseling Psychology PhD program at Teachers College, Columbia University and completing his Clinical Internship at Montefiore Medical Center.

Claire Janda was a Research Assistant at PRIME Center for Health Equity Research and Harvard University’s Center for Health Equity. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in May 2020 with a joint B.A. in Urban Planning and Political Science, and a minor in French. In planning, she focuses on housing and community development through the lens of mental health, especially access for low-income and minority populations. Her senior thesis examines intentional community and neighborhood design in the context of diverse and increasingly dense urban environments.

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MEDICAL STUDENT

Patryk Kubiszewski (he/him/his) is an alum of Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He received his bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from Cornell University, before working as a clinical research coordinator in a Neurology research group at Massachusetts General Hospital. His research interests include disparities in healthcare specific to trans/non-binary adolescents as well as LGBTQ+ health disparities more broadly. He is now completing his Psychiatry Residency at Montefiore Medical Center.

Ari Samuel Morgenstern (he/him/his) was a medical student at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and is a resident. At Einstein, he volunteered with Bronx Oncology Living Daily (BOLD), a free program that provides social support and wellness sessions to help meet the needs of Bronx community members with cancer and peer mentoring for their children. He graduated from the University of Rochester with a degree in Molecular Genetics prior to coming to Einstein. His research interests include examining the role of English proficiency in mediating ethnic/racial disparities in access to mental health care.

While a member of the research team, Michelle Nosratian (she/her/hers) was a medical student at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. At Einstein, she served on the board of the Einstein Community Health Outreach (ECHO) student-run free clinic, led the Psychiatry Student Group as its president, and been involved in numerous mentorship opportunities for students in the local Bronx community. She completed her undergraduate work at UCLA, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Art History. Her art history departmental honors thesis focused on the influence of psychoanalytic theory on the Dada art movement in the early 20th century. She is fascinated by the idea of art as a form of therapy and the role that creative expression can play in processing personal and collective trauma and maintaining mental health and well-being. Originally from LA, Michelle loves road trips, visiting local museums and galleries, keeping active by hiking/camping, and her handsome Australian shepherd, Romeo.

Ellen Park (she/her) is a Research Assistant at the PRIME Center for Health Equity at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She is a junior at Tufts University studying Community Health and she is particularly drawn to the intersection of public health and psychology. Her specific research areas of passion include understanding bio-behavioral and psychological pathways underlying chronic stress, utilizing culturally-informed interventions to advance Asian American mental health, and utilizing creative arts to heal and empower communities through community-based participatory research. She is interested in pursuing a graduate degree in public health and/or clinical psychology in the near future, and she is grateful for the opportunity to advocate for health equity alongside fellow CHE Lab members.

Violeta Pekar (she/her/hers) is a student at the Bronx High School of Science. She is working to get more exposure to the field of research by volunteering at the PRIME Center for Health Equity.

Natalie L. M. Ramsey (she/her/hers), Ph.D. completed her MD/PhD at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Natalie received her bachelor's degree in Biology from Howard University before working in clinical research at the National Institutes of Health. Her research interests include outcomes and treatment related to race- and gender-based trauma as well as community-centered research. She is currently applying for psychiatry residency for the next steps in her career. Natalie is a Brooklynite and loves cupcakes, curry goat, travel with friends, and music.

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Ginette Sims, PhD (she/her/hers) completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at PRIME Center for Health Equity at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 2024. She received her doctoral training in Clinical Psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara and completed her predoctoral internship at Columbia Irving Medical Center/New York Presbyterian Hospital. Ginette’s research focuses on examining how sociocultural and environmental stressors impact trauma symptomatology and prognosis in marginalized populations. She has a special interest in assessing how systemic and interpersonal experiences of discrimination influence health disparities in minoritized communities. She utilizes community-based-participatory research approaches and mixed methodology to inform service adaptations and program development in an effort to reduce disparities in mental health utilization and empower underrepresented communities. Ginette received her BA in Anthropology from Williams College and her MA in Counseling Psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

View her CV here.

RESEARCH FELLOW

Hailey Wojcik was a graduate research assistant at the Center for Health Equity at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, engaged in research on topics including: mental health disparities among transgender and nonbinary communities, LGBTQ people with psychosis, and development of health equity interventions. She is also an intern for the Central New York Psychiatric Center & Office of Mental Health’s New York State Transgender Identity Project. She completed her master’s degree in clinical psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University with a certificate from the Sexuality, Women and Gender Project, LGBTQ concentration and is now completing a PhD in Clinical Psychology at City College. She earned her BA in and Creative Writing from Western Michigan University. She worked with neurologist and writer Oliver Sacks from 2008 to 2015. She is also a musician and visual artist. Her research interests include LGBTQ mental health disparities and minority stress; psychotic disorders and stigma; and creativity, music and mental health.

Kelly Yang is a medical student and a Service and Research Scholar at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She received her bachelor's degree in Human Development from Cornell University before working in clinical research at Massachusetts General Hospital. Her research interests include mental health disparities as well as cultural perceptions of mental health, and she hopes to pursue a career in child and adolescent psychiatry.