Incoming Doctoral Student Profiles
Sara Samuel
Track: History
Areas of Interest: History of Public Health, Gender & Women's Rights, Family Planning, South Asia, American Foreign Policy, Public Health Ethics, Health Policy & Politics
Education: BA, History of Science/History of Medicine, Yale University (2015)
MPH, Sociomedical Sciences, Columbia University (2018)
Sara developed an interest in the history, politics, and ethics of public health as an undergraduate at Yale University, where she wrote her senior thesis on the moral and methodological underpinnings of family planning programs in South Asia during the Cold War. As a student at the Center for the History and Ethics of Public Health at Columbia, Sara is interested in examining the relationship between family planning, women's rights, and terrorism, using history as a lens to examine the forces that influence social mobility and contribute to violent political outcomes on the Subcontinent. Prior to her doctoral studies, Sara worked in central California to increase access to prenatal healthcare to migrant workers. Sara also has experience working to reduce sexual misconduct and promote sexual health on college campuses.
Cohort Year: 2018
Valentina E. Parisi
Track: History
Areas of Interest: History of Health Social Movements, Environmental Justice, Gender Justice, Climate Vulnerability, Environmental Law and Policy, Social Determinants of Heath, Health and Human Rights
Education: BA, Anthropology, Brown University (2014)
MS, Integrative Studies, Brown University (2015)
MPH, Sociomedical Sciences, Columbia University (2018)
Prior to Columbia, Valentina studied anthropology and immunobiology at Brown University where she received her BA and MS degrees. While at Brown University, she worked in the Rhode Island Hospital Surgical Research Department for several years studying the immune response and the role of cell surface receptors in combatting fungal pathogens. This research experience and her continued interest in anthropology led her to the field of public health. In May 2017, she graduated from Mailman with her MPH degree in Sociomedical Sciences and a certificate in health and human rights. She became increasingly interested in the intersection of health, gender, and the environment during her time at Mailman and this past year, she worked as a Program Officer in the Population and Family Health Department where she engaged in collaborative research projects concerning environmental and gender justice, forced migration and health, and plural legal systems. Her doctoral research interests broadly include health social movements, gender justice, and environmental health and policy. She hopes to continue work related to gender justice and equity in the context of environmental threats such as toxic exposures and climate change.
Cohort Year: 2018
Alyssa Basmajian
Track: Anthropology
Areas of Interest: Medical Anthropology, Gender and Sexuality, Reproductive Health, Embodiment, Ethnographic Methods, Social Movements in the United States, Inequality and Resistance
Education: BA, Cultural Anthropology, CUNY Hunter College (2014)
MA, Cultural Anthropology, CUNY Hunter College (2014)
Alyssa Basmajian’s research interests are grounded in the political and social tensions surrounding reproductive health in the United States. For Basmajian’s master’s thesis research, she examined a new form of political expression known as the abortion doula by drawing on theories of embodiment and social transformation. In her current role, as fellow in the NIH PreDoctoral Training Program in Gender, Sexuality, and Health (GSH) at Columbia University, Basmajian plans to further investigate doulas at the intersection of gender, agency, and neoliberalism in the United States. Prior to beginning her doctoral studies, Basmajian was the health educator at NYU Fertility Center and also volunteered for ATHENA Network, a nonprofit organization that aims to advance human rights and gender equity in the global response to HIV.
Cohort Year: 2018