People

  1. Bravo Square2

    Mercedes Bravo

    Research Affiliate

    Mercedes Bravo

    Research Affiliate

    mercedes.bravo@duke.edu

    Mercedes Bravo serves as a Research Scientist Affiliate at CEHI and as an Assistant Professor at the Duke Global Health Institute. Her research focuses on identifying and characterizing relationships between social and environmental exposures and disparities in health and developmental outcomes. Mercedes received her Ph.D. in Environmental Science (2014) from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, and also has a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science (Chemistry minor) from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

  2. Callender Square2

    Rashida Callender

    Research Associate

    Rashida Callender

    Research Associate

    rcallend@nd.edu

    Rashida Callender is a research associate at CEHI and project manager for the Texas Flood Registry and COVID-19 Registry. She is involved in protocol development and management, survey design, community outreach, and statistical analysis. Rashida received her Master of Public Health in Biostatistics from UTHealth School of Public Health and her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from MIT.

  3. Provost Marie Lynn Miranda 1665 Bj 6

    Marie Lynn Miranda

    Adjunct Professor

    Marie Lynn Miranda

    Adjunct Professor

    mlm@nd.edu
    Website
    P: +1 574-631-6631
    1013 Flanner Hall

    Marie Lynn Miranda founded and continues to lead the Children’s Environmental Health Initiative (CEHI), a research, education, and outreach program committed to fostering environments where all people can prosper. She is an accomplished and recognized data science scholar and communicator with over 135 peer-reviewed publications focused on the nexus of health, education, equity, and the environment, with over $65 million in federal, corporate, and foundation funding. Miranda is a professor of applied and computational mathematics and statistics at Notre Dame. She is also Adjunct Professor of Pediatrics at Duke University and Indiana University School of Medicine.

    Miranda specializes in spatial analytic approaches, especially targeted at understanding how the environment shapes health and wellbeing among children and those from low resource communities. Miranda is a leader in the rapidly evolving field of geospatial health informatics and has developed global cultural and scientific competence through extensive work on four continents. CEHI’s work leverages research, stakeholder engagement, and advocacy to effect environmental policy change. CEHI received the 2008 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Justice Award.

    Miranda has also held academic leadership positions at the University of Michigan (Dean of the School of Natural Resources and the Environment), Rice University (Provost), and the University of Notre Dame (Provost). In these roles, she implemented strategic choices for targeted university investments, significantly advanced diversity objectives related to faculty and students, delivered on critical fundraising targets, and demonstrated leadership excellence through effective engagement of a broad stakeholder group in strategic planning, as well as through emergency management during and after Hurricane Harvey and throughout the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic.

  4. Fabely Moreno

    Fabely Moreno

    Undergraduate Research Assistant

    Fabely Moreno

    Undergraduate Research Assistant

    fmoreno2@nd.edu

    Fabely Moreno began as an undergraduate research intern at CEHI in September 2022. Fabelyis a senior majoring in Applied and Computational Mathematics and Statistics (ACMS) with a concentration in Biological Sciences from Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico. Fabely has an interest in investigating factors that contribute to health disparities in minority groups. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with family, walking on the beach, and watching movies.

  5. Keo Pangan

    Giuseppe Pangan

    Undergraduate Research Assistant

    Giuseppe Pangan

    Undergraduate Research Assistant

    gpangan@nd.edu

    Keo Pangan started working as an undergraduate research intern at CEHI in January 2022. Keo hails from Wilmington, Delaware, and is a junior studying Applied & Computational Mathematics & Statistics (ACMS) and Harp Performance. He has a particular interest in utilizing mathematical and statistical analyses with an application to public health outcomes. Important skills that Keo brings to the CEHI staff include R programming, organization, and data analysis.

  6. Rolando Perez

    Undergraduate Research Assistant

    Rolando Perez

    Undergraduate Research Assistant

    rperez6@nd.edu
    317 Main Building

    Rolando Perez began as an undergraduate research intern at CEHI in October 2020. Rolando is from Brownsville, Texas and is a senior majoring in applied and computational mathematics and statistics, with a concentration in biological sciences. Rolando has a particular interest in spreading education of social issues amongst low income and minority communities. Important skills that Rolando brings to CEHI include R programming, ArcGIS, and advanced technical writing. Rolando’s favorite hobbies are playing chess and watching Notre Dame football!

     

     

  7. Runyi Shi

    Runyi Shi

    Undergraduate Research Assistant

    Runyi Shi

    Undergraduate Research Assistant

    rshi2@nd.edu

    Runyi Shi began as an undergraduate research intern at CEHI in February 2022. Runyi is from Beijing, China and is a sophomore majoring in Computer Science and Program of Liberal Studies. Runyi has a particular interest in policies and demographics. Important skills that Runyi brings to CEHI include R programming,Python, Excel, critical thinking and writing. Fun fact about her -she peels bananas the same way monkeys do!

  8. Soale Square2

    Abdul-Nasah Soale

    Research Statistician

    Abdul-Nasah Soale

    Research Statistician

    asoale@nd.edu
    Website
    1022 Flanner Hall

    Nasah is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Applied and Computational Mathematics and Statistics (ACMS) and a research statistician at the Children's Environmental Health Initiative (CEHI) at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. He received his Ph.D. in Statistics in 2021 from Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and his  M.S. in Mathematical Science in 2016 from East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee.  Prior to graduate school, he received his B.S. in Actuarial Science in 2012 from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana.

  9. Isabelle Thiara

    Isabelle Thiara

    Undergraduate Research Assistant

    Isabelle Thiara

    Undergraduate Research Assistant

    ithiara@nd.edu

    Isabelle Thiara began as an undergraduate research intern at CEHI in January 2022. Isabelle is from San Francisco, California and is a junior double majoring in Applied & Computational Mathematics & Statistics and Global Affairs, with an additional minor in the Glynn Family Honors Program. Isabelle has a particular interest in global health, specifically how statistics can help target environmental health challenges. Important skills that Isabelle bringsto CEHI include R programming and experience in ArcGIS Pro.

  10. Tootoo Square2

    Joshua Tootoo

    Director of Training and Geospatial Sciences

    Joshua Tootoo

    Director of Training and Geospatial Sciences

    jtootoo@nd.edu
    P: +1 574-631-8043
    1012 Flanner Hall

    Joshua Tootoo serves as CEHI's Director of Training and Geospatial Sciences. His work and responsibilities involve the coordination of CEHI's GIS capacity building efforts and the management of the group's geospatial projects. A certified Geographic Information Systems Professional (GISP), he completed his Masters in Environmental Planning from the University of Rhode Island and also holds dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Botany and Forest Ecology from North Carolina State University.

  11. George Yacu

    George Yacu

    Undergraduate Research Assistant

    George Yacu

    Undergraduate Research Assistant

    gyacu@nd.edu

    George Yacu began as an undergraduate researcher at CEHI in September 2022. George is from Vernon Hills, Illinois and is a senior majoring in biochemistry with a minor in philosophy. George has a special interest in investigating outcome disparities across the cancer control continuum with particular attention to patterns of HPV vaccine uptake. Important skills that George brings to CEHI include R programming, performing PubMed literature reviews, and technical writing along with practical experience scribing at a general pediatrics clinic and assisting at a subspecialty pediatrics research lab. A fun fact about George is he lived in Copenhagen, Denmark for five months during his study abroad in Fall 2021.

  12. Zephyr Square2

    (Pierre) Dominique Zephyr

    Statistician

    pzephyr@nd.edu
    1022 Flanner Hall

    Dominique Zéphyr serves as a statistician at CEHI. His responsibilities include supporting the development and application of statistical methods to assess how environmental and social exposures affect health and developmental outcomes across time and space. He is involved in the design, planning, and implementation of research projects and data analysis. Before joining CEHI, from 20012 to 2020, he worked as a Senior Data Analyst in the Applied Statistics Lab (ASL), a unit of the Dr. Bing Zhang Department of Statistics at the University of Kentucky. He has been a core research team member of the National Longitudinal Survey of Public Health Systems (NALSYS) and the National Health Security Preparedness Index, projects funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). At the Applied Statistics Lab, he also provided statistical support to faculty and graduate students across campus. From 2006 to 2012, Dominique Zéphyr worked as a Chief Data Analyst and Research Coordinator for the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP), a unit of the Political Science Department at Vanderbilt University that carries out public opinion surveys in 26 countries in the Americas, including the United States and Canada. He has received specialized training on survey sampling, analysis of complex sample survey data, multi-level modelling, structural equation modeling, and analysis of experimental and non-experimental data at the University of Michigan. He completed his graduate studies at Vanderbilt University, where he obtained two Master’s degrees, one in Economics, and the other in Latin American Studies.