Felicia Setiono, PhD
Health Equity Research Analyst
Felicia Setiono received her Doctorate from the Department of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University. Dr. Setiono utilizes both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies to understand how social determinants of health are associated with individuals' capacity to achieve optimal health. Overall, she aims to use her research to inform interventions and policies that reduce health disparities. While her work has primarily focused on improving the food retail environment, she is also interested in improving access to education and employment, particularly for those who come from historically marginalized and low-income communities. She has been an active member of the American Public Health Association, through which she has advocated for increased opportunities for students' involvement, as well as initiated workshops that focused on professional development. Outside of work, Dr. Setiono enjoys creating digital artwork and completing crossword puzzles. She is currently living in Columbus, Ohio.
W. Marcus Lambert is dedicated to health equity and diversity in the scientific workforce. Dr. Lambert currently serves as the Associate Vice President of Research Strategy and Operations and Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University. Dr. Lambert co-leads multiple research training programs at Downstate, including TRANSPORT, a $20 million endowment grant with a focus on recruiting and training underrepresented scientists in health disparities research.
Prior to SUNY Downstate, Dr. Lambert was Assistant Dean of Diversity and Student Life at Weill Cornell Graduate School, where he led a $2.4 million NIH-funded Initiative to Maximize Student Development (IMSD) Program to increase the number and enhance the success of Ph.D. students from underrepresented backgrounds. Dr. Lambert helped to establish a new office devoted to student diversity and building community across the training continuum, leading to an increase in the percentage of Ph.D. students from underrepresented backgrounds. He developed mentor training programs for both faculty and students, including a near-peer mentoring program to help first-year students from underrepresented groups transition into their Ph.D. programs.
Dr. Lambert was selected as one of New York’s Life Sciences Power 50 and one of Cell Press’ 100 Inspiring Black Scientists in America. He is also a member of national boards such as HHMI's Center for the Advancement of Science Leadership and Culture Advisory Board and a member of NIH Training, Workforce Development, and Diversity (TWD) Study Section. Dr. Lambert received his Ph.D. in biomedical science from NYU Grossman School of Medicine and his B.S. from Howard University. He holds an M.S. in Clinical Epidemiology and Health Services Research from Weill Cornell Graduate School. Dr. Lambert currently resides in Brooklyn, NY with his wife and four children.
W. Marcus Lambert, PhD, MS
Principal Investigator
Chellandra Samuels
MD/MPH student
Chellandra Samuels is a current third year MD/MPH student at SUNY Downstate College of Medicine. She was born and raised in Queens, New York where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology, followed by a Masters in Physiology. Chellandra is the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, giving her a unique perspective on the importance of cultural humility and understanding in healthcare. Her background has instilled in her a passion for addressing health disparities and improving access to quality healthcare and education for marginalized communities. During her undergraduate education, Chellandra worked as a YMCA after-school teacher and a member of the clinical team at an urgent care in Manhattan. Before starting graduate school, she worked at a Haitian owned urgent care in Brooklyn, NY. Her experience in these different settings has given her a deeper understanding of the disparities in healthcare and education and continues to impact her choices today. To support her interests, Chellandra has taken elective courses in Intermediate Medical Chinese and Global Health and is actively involved in health equity research projects. She is also eager to discover innovative ways to connect her interests in surgery and health equity in the future. In her free time, Chellandra enjoys listening to music, watching productivity videos, and jump roping. She is a dedicated and hardworking individual who is committed to making a positive impact in the world of healthcare and education.
Brittney Moncrieffe
Medical student
Brittney Moncrieffe is a graduate Cornell University and pursuing a medical degree at SUNY Downstate College of Medicine.
Eamen Ho
MPH student
Eamen Ho is a graduate of Hunter College and is pursuing an MPH at SUNY Downstate's School of Public Health.
Juanita Morris STEM Education Research Analyst
Avelino Amado, PhD
AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow at U.S. Department of Defense; Project Manager at the U.S. Department of State
Suwaiba Afonja
Medical student at Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Damonie Salmon
Medical student at Eastern Virginia Medical School
Ahsan Saeed
Researcher and administrator at Boston Children's Hospital
Nanda Nana
Medical student at Howard University College of Medicine
Patricia Ansah, MPH
Downstate SPH Graduate
Aaliyah Schultz
Medical student at SUNY Downstate
Hassan Attar, MPH
Confidentiality and Data Governance Coordinator at the NYC DOHMH's World Trade Center Health Registry
Natalia Monsalve
MD/MPH student at SUNY Downstate
Navika Gangrade, PhD, RD
Visiting Assistant Professor, New York University
Christina Bhawanidin, MPH
Downstate SPH Graduate
Tina Adjei-Bosompem is an Assistant Director with the Academic Affairs team at SUNY Downstate. In her role she assists the director in providing on-going guidance for program evaluation and outcomes assessment as well as activities and evaluation processes for Middle States and other accreditation. Ms. Adjei-Bosompem was previously the Senior Coordinator for Student Education and Research for the Office of Diversity Education and Research (ODER) in the College of Medicine. She coordinated the Early Medical Education Program and the Summer Program in Translational Disparities and Community Engaged Research. Along with coordination and student mentorship, Tina led evaluation of all programs for ODER. She has also served as statistical consultant for the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health, revamping their Research Skills curriculum for instruction to the Health Science Academy. Ms. Adjei-Bosompem obtained her Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology at the State University at Albany. She later earned a Master’s Degree in Public Health with a concentration in Biostatistics from SUNY Downstate where she was awarded The William Kuchler Award for Excellence in Biostatistics.
Tina Adjei-Bosompem, MPH
Asst Director and Researcher at SUNY Downstate
Kim Wu is a doctoral candidate at Tulane University's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine's Department of Social, Behavioral, and Population Sciences. She is a dedicated community health professional originally from Queens, New York. She received her master's in public health from the University of California Berkeley in 2018. Kim has over 10 years of experience in education, community-centered health program management, and capacity building that promoted cross-sector collaborations in projects related to school-based health promotion policy, sexual health education, and mental health outcomes with multiple local and national serving agencies across the country.
Her research interest includes exploring innovative methodologies that value community participation and centering the voices of those historically marginalized. She is involved with research around adolescent mental health, the impact of the built environment on health, the relationship of social cohesion on health, and the costs of gender-based violence within national contexts. With her degree, Kim hopes to pursue teaching and research that promotes equitable systems-level change within public health education and workforce development.
Kimberly Wu
Doctoral student
at Tulane University
Hamed Bamba
Undergraduate student
Hamed Bamba is a student at St. Francis College and is interested in pursuing degrees in public health and medicine.
Lateefah Shabazz
Undergraduate student
Lateefah Shabazz was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY and she is a passionate public health advocate currently pursuing a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Biology at CUNY York College. Inspired by her parents’ commitment to equal rights, Lateefah is deeply involved in her community at Masjid Khalifah and volunteers whenever possible. She holds certifications as a Nursing Assistant and Health Coach and has hands-on experience as a Teacher Assistant and Home Health Aide, supporting diverse and vulnerable populations.
Lateefah is always seeking ways to grow as a servant leader. She was honored with awards from Senator Cordell Cleare and the New York Coalition of 100 Black Women, receiving recognition at the Coalition’s annual conference. Through her work with organizations focused on food insecurity, vaccine access, and census participation, she consistently centers her efforts on advocacy, education, and compassionate care. Lateefah’s goal is to become an Occupational Therapist, using her skills to motivate, advocate for, and inspire underrepresented communities.
Amanda Carbajal, MS, PhD
Amanda, born and raised in California, earned her Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She began her doctoral work at NASA, studying ancient microbes to understand how life originated on Earth—and potentially elsewhere. When the pandemic interrupted her lab access, she shifted her focus to clinical microbiology, investigating antibiotic resistance in pathogenic E. coli from urinary and kidney infections, which can lead to sepsis if untreated. While completing her Ph.D., Amanda was one of the students that helped legitimize a graduate student unionization to offer more protections for trainees in precarious and vulnerable environments, which has now taken off at many other universities. While a PhD student, she taught undergraduate biology as an instructor of record at the University of San Francisco, Santa Clara University, and San Francisco State University. Teaching helped her support herself despite the stipend not matching the cost of living in Silicon Valley, sharpen her communication skills, and mentor students—especially those facing barriers like she once did. After graduating, Amanda began a postdoctoral fellowship at Duke University, where she studied the microbiome-gut-brain axis. Her research explored how microbial signatures stimulate specialized gut cells that innervate the vagus nerve to reach the brain and thus influence feeding behavior. Now, Amanda investigates the science of mentorship—particularly how to better support underrepresented trainees—and studies how physician diversity impacts health outcomes. Her interest in these areas grew from her own difficult training journey: she started at community college, worked full time, and battled imposter syndrome for years. It took her a decade to finish her B.S. at San Francisco State University, having almost quit entirely many times. A first-generation college graduate, Amanda is a woman of color and the daughter of Mexican immigrants. She grew up in poverty, barely graduated high school, and had challenges finding mentors at different times of her training. Despite this, she persevered. She believes there’s no such thing as a “stupid” question and hopes her work with the Lambert Lab helps make science more accessible for anyone who wants to pursue it. She enjoys travel, riding motorcycles, science fiction (The Expanse and Star Trek) and the arts (dance and music).
Alexandra Kuvaeva received her M.A. in Education Leadership and Policy Studies as a Fulbright Program participant and her Doctorate from the University of Maryland, College Park, and her M.D. from Izhevsk State Medical Academy, Russia. Dr. Kuvaeva has 15 years of experience in higher education research, quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis, measurement, statistics and evaluation. During her graduate studies at the University of Maryland, she provided methodological and analytical support to ADVANCE Program for Inclusive Excellence, an NSF-funded campus-wide project promoting institutional transformation with respect to the retention and advancement of women faculty in STEM, that quickly expanded to improve work environments for all faculty, including programs for faculty from racially minoritized groups, professional-track faculty, and the development of equity-minded faculty leaders across identities and ranks. As a postdoctoral associate at the University of Maryland, she coordinated research activities for an NSF funded project at the department of psychology that focused on diversity, equity and inclusion in faculty tenure evaluation and promotion. She is passionate about data processes and data driven decision making that serves to create a more equitable world. In her free time, Dr. Kuvaeva enjoys hiking, jogging with her dog, playing piano and learning guitar.
Shaheed Abdelfattah is a third-year medical student at SUNY Downstate College of Medicine. He was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York and earned a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry at Stony Brook University. Having grown up in Brooklyn, Shaheed was able to see the disparities in healthcare that exist across the neighborhoods of NYC, sparking his passion for health equity research. Before starting medical school, Shaheed worked as a behavior technician for an Applied Behavioral Analysis agency, providing therapy services for children with autism. In his free time, Shaheed enjoys coding – which supported his efforts in analyzing data related to Dr. Lambert’s research on mentorship networks – as well as basketball and assembling computers.
