2020 - 2021 Student Stipend Cohort

• Amber Anderson, PhD candidate in Health Promotion Sciences, conducted a scoping literature review describing the current role of Indigenous cancer patient navigators and cultural/spiritual support services in healthcare systems.

• Andrew Schaff, MPH Epidemiology student, worked with the Oklahoma State Department of Health. He utilized his GIS skills to investigate the distribution of COVID-19 cases across Oklahoma and produce maps to visualize current and predicted future spread.

• Flor De La Garza, PhD student in Health Promotion Sciences, collaborated with the Oklahoma Dementia Care Network to evaluate the use of iPads in nursing homes for virtual family visits and as potential “post-COVID” education model.

• Garrett Pierce, MHA Health Administration and Policy student, worked with the Public Health Policy Board of the Oklahoma Public Health Association (OPHA) to assess and evaluate policy that aligns with OPHA’s policy agenda, such as obesity, opioids, and Medicaid expansion.

• Spencer Hall, MPH Biostatistics student, worked with the Oklahoma City County Health Department alongside Dr. Aaron Wendelboe (faculty at the Hudson College of Public Health) to develop target metrics to act as “control” for Oklahoma COVID-19 statistics.

• Joshua Moore, MPH Epidemiology student, worked with the Southern Plains Tribal Health Board to evaluate the effects of rural/urban location on the association between diabetes and obesity among Native Americans hospitalized in Kansas between 2011 and 2016.

• Birjis Khan, MHA student in Health Administration and Policy, helped with the preparation and completion of a Hazard Communication Protocol that provided preparedness training and emergency response guidance to a tribe in central Oklahoma.

• Heather Scott, MHA student in Health Administration and Policy, assisted OPHA with planning the annual conference, developing marketing materials for social media and newsletters, and engaging in outreach to OPHA members and conference sponsors.

2019-2020 Student Stipend Cohort

• Terrance Todome, MPH student in Health Promotion Sciences, worked with the Southern Plains Tribal Health Board to conduct community surveys focused on prescription drugs and behavioral health. 

• Amanda Llaneza, doctoral student in Biostatistics & Epidemiology, worked with the Southern Plains Tribal Health Board to analyze data on oral health and youth diabetes outcomes.

• Caleb Alexander, MPH student in Epidemiology, conducted a GAP analysis for Dr. Thomas A. Teasdale’s Step Up For Dementia Care. 

• Tatiana Elonge, MPH student in Health Promotion Sciences, collaborated with the Wellness Now Community Health Worker (CHW) Work Group to conduct a needs and assets assessment focused on social determinants of health in northeast Oklahoma City. 

• Kelly Nguyen, Interdisciplinary MPH student, collaborated with the Wellness Now CHW Work Group to conduct a needs and assets assessment focused on social determinants of health in south Oklahoma City.

• Atul Abraham Muttenchery worked with OPHA to create member engagement and recruitment resources to increase membership and holistic public health approaches in Oklahoma. He also assisted the OPHA executive board with conference planning by creating surveys and evaluations for the annual conference.

 Find a summary description of the 2019-2020 cohort celebration in the R6 SCPHTC September 2020 Newsletter.

Highlighted Student Success Stories

• The experiences that I have gained through the project coordinated with the OPHTC and R6PHTC stipend opportunity will be invaluable to my future career as a physician. Learning to work with a team and developing a project to benefit a community will be skills that will allow me to better serve my future patients and the community in which I work and live in the future.

• My time with the Oklahoma Public Health Association (OPHA) has allowed me to interact with various public health professionals who work in organizations such as the Oklahoma Hospital Association, Oklahoma State Department of Health, Oklahoma Healthcare Authority, OKC-County Health Department, Tulsa Health Department, and The Well of Cleveland County in Norman. I have utilized my past consulting experiences working with the Oklahoma State Department of Health and Ronnie K. Irani Center for the Creation of Economic Wealth to target new and existing markets of public health professionals, and to increase participation in OPHA’s activities and initiatives to improve public health outcomes for the state.

• This internship allowed me the opportunity to apply epidemiological methods to real-life public health matters pertaining to tribal public health needs. As a research assistant, I was able to work on projects that were related to my research interests and interests of the Southern Plains Tribal Health Board for internal and external use. The skills I have further developed from this experience include data analysis, and communicating scientific information.