Our Team

Claire A. Spears, Ph.D., Director

I am a clinical psychologist and public health researcher. My work focuses on promoting tobacco cessation; increasing access to mindfulness-based interventions; and using digital health technology for treatment delivery. My research has been funded by the National Cancer Institute, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, National Institute of Mental Health, and Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health, as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

I am an Associate Professor in Health Policy & Behavioral Sciences in the School of Public Health at Georgia State University. I obtained my doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Louisiana State University with emphasis on mindfulness, addictions, and behavioral medicine. I completed a National Cancer Institute-funded postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. After postdoctoral fellowship, I served as an Instructor at MD Anderson and a faculty fellow of the Duncan Family Institute for Cancer Prevention and Risk Assessment.

Faculty Website

Research Staff

Madison Murphy, MPH

I earned my MPH with a concentration in Health Promotion and Behavior at GSU in 2023. I am a research coordinator with the GSU Mindful Living Lab and the PREVent Lab. I have experience in community outreach and working with disadvantaged populations. My areas of interest include community health, program planning and implementation, and health disparities.

Katherine Henderson, MPH

I received my MPH with a concentration in Health Promotion and Behavior from Georgia State University in 2019. I am currently serving as a Project Coordinator for the Tobacco Control Group in the GSU School of Public Health. My research interests include examining health risk behaviors, communicating about these risks, health disparities, and novel interventions to reduce health risk burdens.

Bonnie Douglas, MPH

I earned my MPH with a concentration in Health Management and Policy at the GSU School of Public Health in 2023 and currently working as a research coordinator with the GSU Mindful Living Lab. I am passionate about reducing health disparities, particularly in the smoking and diabetic populations.

Current Students

Larry Mason Jr., BS

I am a graduate of Xavier University of Louisiana with my BS in Public Health Sciences. I am currently pursuing my MPH with a concentration in Health Promotion and Behavior at Georgia State University. I've previously done research within geriatrics and alcoholism in coordination with the NIH and COVID-19 response in coordination with the CDC and Morehouse College. Some of my research interests include maternal and child health, health policy/advocacy, and chronic disease interventions utilizing mobile health.

Paige Capponi, BS

I am an MS student in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at Georgia State University. I received my Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Publishing from Belmont University in 2021. I have experience in cancer research and working with survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. My areas of interest include trauma response, emotional processing, and interpersonal violence.

Lauren Hester, BS

I am pursuing my MPH in Epidemiology at GSU. I earned my B.S. in Psychology with a minor in the science of mental health and well-being from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2024. I have had research experience in biomedical engineering, psychology, and public health settings. I am interested in research related to health disparities and navigating mechanisms to bridge these gaps through strategic investigation and intervention.

Hailey Rueden, BS

I am an MPH student with a concentration in Health Promotion and Behavior at GSU. I earned by Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of North Georgia in May 2022. I have research experience in both Psychology and Sociology. During my MPH, I hope to focus my attention on health literacy and communication.

Hope Derricott, BS

I am pursuing a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree with a concentration in Health Promotion and Behavior. I hold a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience and a Graduate Certificate in Public Health from Georgia State University. I have experience working with individuals with intellectual disabilities and am currently involved in a Behavioral Genetics of Addiction Laboratory at Emory University. My research interests focus on addiction among adolescents.

Makayla Jackson, BA

I am a public health professional and personal trainer committed to promoting chronic disease management and community advocacy. I hold an undergraduate degree in Sociology from Claflin University, an HBCU, and am pursuing an MPH with a concentration in Health Promotion and Behavior. My work as a personal trainer allows me to integrate mindfulness practices to help clients achieve physical and mental wellness.

Kathy Garcia, BS

I earned my B.S. in Environmental Health with a minor in Public Health at the University of Georgia. During undergrad, I had the opportunity to intern with NEHA under NEPHIP. My internship project was based on trying to identify vulnerable populations during an emergency event, such as a natural or man-made disaster, using GIS mappings. Now, I am pursuing an MPH with a concentration in Epidemiology. I am very passionate about addressing health disparities.

Khandis Brewer, MS

I am a dual student in the MPH and Ph.D. in Community Psychology at GSU. I received my Bachelor's in Psychology and Master's in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the University of Oklahoma. I previously did research with the Health Promotion Research Center at OU Health Sciences on health disparities. I am interested in developing culturally sensitive interventions to improve mental health.

Yanna Fajardo Cedeno, BSPH

I graduated from Georgia State University with a Bachelor of Science in Public Health. Currently, I’m pursuing an MPH with a concentration in Environmental Health. I was born and raised in the Dominican Republic, and I’m passionate about health promotion, especially working with different cultures and communities. I had the opportunity to work as a contact tracer during the COVID-19 pandemic, which gave me valuable experience. Outside of work, I enjoy traveling and trying different foods.

Brittany Kelley, BSN RN

I am an MPH student with concentration in biostatistics. I have a BS in Nursing from Georgia College & State University and a BS in Genetics from the University of Georgia. I have worked for Emory University since 2017, and I have been at the Emory Goizueta Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center since 2018. My work at the GADRC focuses on finding the biomarkers of aging and Alzheimer’s. Most of my work has been as a research nurse but I am currently working in the biorepository lab as a research specialist. My research interests include statistical analysis, and genetics and genomics.

Puja Raol

I am an undergraduate student majoring in Neuroscience and a Presidential Scholar at GSU. Throughout high school, I enjoyed avidly volunteering. I strive to continue leaving a positive impact on underserved populations through research. I especially am interested to research how mindfulness can positively impact lives in underserved communities.

Jaikanishka Nattamai Subramanian Rajkumar

I am an undergraduate student at the GSU Neuroscience Institute. Throughout high school, I was involved in the Healthcare pathway and served as an EMT 3rd rider. Outside of school, I was an intern at multiple healthcare facilities and an Eagle Scout. Through these experiences, I have seen the beneficial value of service to the community and am interested in researching how mindfulness can enhance that positive trend.

Muna Deka

I am an undergraduate Public Health student at Georgia State University. I am passionate about helping underserved populations throughout the Atlanta area through regular community volunteering and initiatives. Through the Mindful Living Lab, I aim to gain hands-on research experience and explore how mindfulness techniques can reduce health risk behaviors and improve well-being.

Megha Yeddula

I am an undergraduate student at the Georgia Institute of Technology. After completing a high school research internship with the GSU Mindful Living Lab, I continue to collaborate with the lab on research projects. I want to pursue a career in healthcare and expand my knowledge in research.

Kyan Nguyen

I am an undergraduate student at the Georgia Institute of Technology. I participated in a high school research internship with Dr. Claire Spears as my mentor. I continue to work with the Mindful Living Lab on research projects.

GSU Mindful Living Lab Alumni

Josephine Mhende, DrPH

Dr. Josephine Mhende earned her DrPH in the GSU School of Public Health in 2024, as well as her MPH at GSU in 2016. She is now a Program Manager in the Center of Excellent for Children's Behavioral Health at the Georgia Health Policy Center. Her research interests include using contemplative practices and mindfulness to decrease mental health disorder prevalence in communities facing health disparities.

Michelle Mavreles Ogrodnick, Ph.D.

Dr. Michelle Mavreles Ogrodnick earned her PhD with a Health Promotion and Behavior concentration at the GSU School of Public Health in 2022. She received her MPH at GSU in 2017. Her research interests relate to health disparities, health communication and health literacy. She is now a Project Manager at the GSU Adult Literacy Research Center, working on a USDHHS funded grant to improve health communication for non-native English speakers.

Cherell Cottrell-Daniels, Ph.D.

Dr. Cherell Cottrell-Daniels earned her PhD with a Health Promotion and Behavior concentration in the School of Public Health at GSU in 2021. She received her MPH in Epidemiology from Georgia Southern University in 2014. She completed an NIH T32-funded postdoctoral fellowship at Moffitt Cancer Center, and she is now a research scientist at Health Choice Network. She focuses on developing interventions to reduce health risk behavior in underserved populations.

Dina Jones, Ph.D.

Dr. Dina Jones earned her PhD with an Epidemiology concentration in the School of Public Health at GSU in 2019. She received her MPH in Epidemiology from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health in 2015. She completed postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences under the mentorship of Dr. Pebbles Fagan. She is now a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the College of Public Health at UAMS and Principal Investigator of an NIH-funded K01 award.

Do Van Vuong, PhD

Dr. Do Van Vuong earned his PhD with an Epidemiology concentration in the School of Public Health at GSU. He is now a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California San Francisco. His research interests include the epidemiology of non-communicable diseases and their risk factors, especially tobacco use.

Angelique Willis, MPH

Angelique earned her MPH with a concentration in Environmental Health at GSU in 2022, followed by her MS in Geosciences in 2024. She is now a Dual PhD student and University Distinguished Fellow in Geography, Environmental Science, and Policy at Michigan State University. She was awarded the 2022 GSU School of Public Health MPH Achievement Award. Her research focuses on understanding and targeting health disparities stemming from environmental hazards.

Helina Teklu, MPH

Helina earned her MPH with a concentration in Health Policy and Management at the GSU School of Public Health in Spring 2023. She is now a Research Associate at the Georgia Health Policy Center. Her areas of interest include health policy and evaluation.

Salma Abdirahim, MPH

Salma earned her MPH with a concentration in Health Management and Policy at GSU in Spring 2024. Her research interests include identifying effective policy and health promotion interventions to improve well-being in underserved populations.

Shayna Coleman, MPH

Shayna earned her MPH with a concentration in Health Promotion and Behavior at GSU in 2024. Her public health interests include chronic disease prevention and maternal and child health.

Logan Ray, MPH

Logan earned their MPH with a concentration in Health Policy and Management, as well as the Health Literacy certificate, at GSU in 2024. They are particularly passionate about improving healthcare access and quality of care, harm reduction policy and programming, and utilizing qualitative research as an effort to understand and improve these areas.

Thandiwe Bobb, MPH

Thandiwe earned her MPH with a concentration in Epidemiology at GSU in 2024. Her main interests are in Maternal and Child Health.

Courtney Eustache

Courtney is an undergraduate student on the Pre-Med track majoring in Public Health. She is interested in preventative medicine along with studying how rural communities are affected and ways to improve health risk to those in such communities.

Bailey Nelms, MS

Bailey earned her MS degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at GSU in 2024. She has work and research experience working in community outreach and prevention planning. She is now a mental health counselor at Agnes Scott College.

Tanvi Kulkarni, MPH

Tanvi earned her MPH with a specialization in Epidemiology at Georgia State University School of Public Health in 2024. She is now a Grants & Contracts Officer II at GSU. In addition to research administration, she has interests in development and evaluation of community health programs, along with a keen interest in analyzing data to gain insights into health disparities.

Akwasi Akosah, Pharm.D., MPH

Akwasi earned his MPH at GSU with concentration in health management and policy in 2024. He earned his degree in Doctor of Pharmacy from the Kwame Nkrumah University (Ghana). He is now pursuing a PhD in Health Outcomes and Pharmacoeconomics at the University of Georgia.

Alyanna Reick-Mitrisin, MS

Alyanna earned her MS degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at GSU in 2024. She is now a Professional Counselor at Nurture and Be Therapy Services. Her areas of interest include mindfulness and Narrative Exposure Therapy in counseling.

Ryan Segur, M.Sc.

Ryan worked as a Research Associate in the Mindful Living Lab from 2022 to 2024. She earned her M.Sc. in Behavioral and Social Sciences from Brown University in 2019. She is now a business developer at VocoVision, with focus on connecting patients with teletherapy services.

Priyam Joshi, MPH

Priyam earned her MPH at GSU and is now a PhD candidate in Community Psychology at GSU. Her research interests include mindfulness, mental health promotion for underserved communities, and the development of technology-based interventions for widespread dissemination.

Courtney Strosnider, MS, MPH

Courtney earned her MPH, with a concentration in Health Promotion and Behavior, at GSU in 2019. She is a Clinical Instructor in the GSU Kinesiology and Health Department. She is interested in clinical populations and exercise, obesity prevention, and helping sedentary populations become more physically active.

Hari Vedantam, BS

Hari completed a research internship in the Mindful Living Lab in 2023. She is now a clinical research coordinator at Emory University. Her research interests include mindfulness, mental health education and advocacy, and violence prevention programs in underserved populations.

Neeharika Chenna, BS

Neeharika completed a research internship with the GSU Mindful Living Lab after earning her BS in Psychology from The Pennsylvania State University. She is now a residential counselor at Evolve Adolescent Behavioral Health.

Daniel Martinez

Daniel completed a research internship with the GSU Mindful Living Lab in summer 2023, through the McNair Scholars Program. He is an undergraduate public health student at Dillard University with a concentration in health promotion and disease prevention. His areas of interest include nutrition and fitness.

Byron Hall

Byron completed a research internship with the GSU Mindful Living Lab in summer 2023, through the McNair Scholars Program. He is an undergraduate public health student with a concentration in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention at Dillard University. He is part of Dillard's Thompson Cooke Honors Program and a Gates Scholar. He aspires to pursue a Ph.D. in Biostatistics.

Satya Tetali

Satya completed a research internship with the GSU Mindful Living Lab in Fall 2021. He is a student at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He aims to pursue a medical degree and improve upon disparities in the medical system.

Marsha Wright, MPH

Marsha earned her MPH with a concentration in Health Promotion and Behavior at the GSU School of Public Health in 2021. She is a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, with a year of service competed in Namibia, Africa. She is now working as a research associate. She is interested in educating underserved populations to improve health disparities, health education programs, and overall well-being within their communities.

Sarah Tarr, MPH

Sarah earned her MPH with a concentration in Epidemiology at the GSU School of Public Health in 2022. She received her BA in Anthropology from The University of Florida. Her areas of interest include global health, health disparities, and social determinants of health. She is now a research coordinator at Emory University, focusing on health among postpartum mothers.

Danielle Arroliga, MPH

Danielle earned her MPH with a concentration in Epidemiology at the GSU School of Public Health in 2022. She received her BA in Spanish and Public Health from Agnes Scott College in 2016. Her interests include addressing health disparities and maternal and child health. She is now an Epidemiologist at DeKalb Public Health.

Ayeesha Sayyad, MPH

Ayeesha earned her MPH with a concentration in Health Promotion and Behavior at GSU in 2021. She received a BA in Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology from Washington University in St. Louis in 2018. She is interested in addressing health disparities and improving maternal health outcomes. She is now an ORISE Fellow in the Division of Reproductive Health at CDC.

Micah Streiff, MPH

Micah earned his MPH at GSU in 2020. Before that he studied General Science and Mechanical Engineering at Morehouse College and Georgia Tech. He has worked in product development and design since 2011. Micah is interested in the intersection of health, technology and society. He works with young people in community building activities and is particularly interested in programs that empower young people to take charge of their own development. He is now a senior data analyst at the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health.

Asha Bell, MPH

Asha earned her MPH with a concentration in Health Promotion and Behavior at GSU in 2018. She worked as a clinical research coordinator at Emory University before returning to the GSU Mindful Living Lab as a Research Associate from 2019-2021. Her focus is on health disparities. She worked at the CDC Foundation after graduating from GSU, and she is now a program manager at the National Network of Public Health Institutes.

Brittani Carter, MPH

Brittani earned her MPH with a concentration in Health Promotion and Behavior at GSU in 2017. Brittani's thesis focused on smoking among people living with HIV in higher-risk and lower-risk areas in Atlanta. Brittani won the Master's Round of the university-wide Three-Minute Thesis Competition. She completed an ORISE fellowship in the CDC's Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention. She is now a Health Scientist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Charly Scarlett, MPH

Charly earned her MPH with a concentration in Health Promotion and Behavior at GSU in 2018. Her thesis was a qualitative study of Mindfulness-Based Addiction Treatment. She is now pursuing her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the University of Florida.

Hala Elahi, MPH

Hala earned her MPH with a concentration in Epidemiology at GSU in May 2019. She is now a microbiologist in the polio department at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Maitreyi Bandlamudi, MPH

Maitreyi earned her BS in Public Health at GSU in May 2018. She then obtained her MPH degree at Boston University. She is now a Program Manager III at Point32Health.

Amanda Grant, MS

Amanda earned her BS in Public Health at GSU in May 2018. She then obtained her MS degree in Health Informatics and Analytics at the University of North Carolina - Charlotte. She is now a digital measure programmer at NCQA and a DS4A data engineering fellow.

Anna Sigurdardottir, MS

Anna earned her MS in Marketing at the GSU J. Mack Robinson College of Business. She is now a lab diagnostics localization project manager at Siemens.

China Hawkins, BS

China worked as a Research Associate in the Mindful Living Lab in 2021-2022. She earned her BS in Public Health Policy & Management from Purdue University in 2016. She is now pursuing a Master of Data Science and Analytics and Master of Business Administration dual degree at GSU. She is interested in healthcare policy, program implementation and sustainability, and utilizing technology to improve access to healthcare.

Ishani Ammavajjala, BS

Ishani earned her BS in Neuroscience at GSU in 2023. She is interested in research that addresses long term health conditions and ways to reduce their impact on the lives of people. She is now a quality manager at Epic Systems.

Jackie Luong, MPH

Jackie graduated with her BS in Public Health in the GSU Honors College in May 2021. She then earned her MPH at Emory University Rollins School of Public Health. She is now an ORISE fellow at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Gift Nwagu, BS

Gift earned her BS in Biological Sciences with a Pre-Medical Concentration at the GSU Honors College in 2022. She is now an MD/MPH dual degree student at Emory University.

Hasna Chowdhury, BS

Hasna completed a research internship with the GSU Mindful Living Lab in 2022. She received her Bachelor of Science in Public Health with a minor in Public Policy from the George Washington University. She is now a Project Associate at JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc.

Nikki Nobari

Nikki completed a research internship with the GSU Mindful Living Lab in Spring 2021. She is a student at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She plans to pursue a career that combines public health and medicine.

Sejal Patel

Sejal completed a research internship with the GSU Mindful Living Lab in 2021. She is interested in research on health disparities, epidemiology, and technology usage in global health issues. She is a pre-medical student at Duke University.

Liamith Rao Joganpalli

Liamith completed a research internship with the GSU Mindful Living Lab in 2024. He is now an undergraduate student at Emory University.

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