Past Awardees

Andrew J. Arakaki is a doctoral student in the Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health. His research is focused on assessing the impact of everyday discrimination on patient-reported outcomes, outpatient care utilization, and biomarkers of systemic inflammation among young adults with acute myocardial infarction. Andrew completed his MPH at the Yale School of Public Health in 2020 and conducted research at the Yale Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation (CORE) using data from the National Cardiovascular Disease Registry (NCDR). He also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from the University of Washington.

Tiffany E. Chang is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology at Yale School of Public Health. Her dissertation research examines the sex-specific impact of patient- and system-level factors on hypertension outcomes among young Veterans. Prior to her doctoral studies, Tiffany worked as a health services researcher (contractor) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as a quality improvement director at the American Heart Association. Tiffany earned her MPH from Yale School of Public Health and her BA from Cornell University.

Rebecca is a PhD candidate in the Grubaugh Lab in the Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases. Her research focuses on the outbreak dynamics of emerging viruses in human and animal populations. Previously, Rebecca was a Research Analyst in the Prevention Policy Modeling Lab at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where her work focused on modeling the potential impact of changes in disease control strategies. She received a Master of Public Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and also has four years of experience in global and domestic health consulting.

Mallory Ellingson, MPH, is a doctoral student in the Department of Epidemiology of Microbial diseases. Her research interests include vaccines and vaccine-preventable diseases, with a specific focus on improving vaccine communication and understanding vaccine acceptance and refusal. Prior to starting at Yale, she earned her MPH in Epidemiology at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. She also worked as a Public Health Program Associate in the Global Health department on projects related to maternal immunization and interventions to improve vaccine uptake.

Danielle is a PhD candidate conducting her research in the Mood Disorders Research Program. Born and raised in New York City, she initiated her research curiosities while in high school, where she studied the role of GABA in the dimensionality of symptoms in adolescents with Major Depressive Disorder and Generalized Anxiety Disorder in the laboratory of Dr. Vilma Gabbay. For this work, she was named a 2012 finalist in both the prestigious Intel Science Talent Search and Intel Science and Engineering Fair. She continued this work while in college at Columbia University, extending her experience in fMRI and genetic techniques for studying developmental psychopathology. Also while at Columbia, she diversified her interests by delving into the realm of development of normative emotion regulation strategies under the mentorship of Dr. Kevin Ochsner, as well as the realm of prenatal biomarkers of neurodevelopmental risk, under the mentorship of Dr. Frances Champagne. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience and Behavior, she loved the academic and collaborative environment so much that she remained at Columbia to pursue her interdisciplinary interests. She received her master’s degree in Bioethics where her thesis work focused on the utility of genetic technologies in diagnosing heterogeneous pediatric neurology patients, with a secondary interest in the utility of neuroimaging evidence in the juvenile justice system. She has presented her work academically at numerous national and international conferences (SOBP, ISDP, Flux, AACAP), as well as in more widely public settings (social media correspondent for Society for Science and the Public), and continues to eagerly disseminate her findings and passion for science. Danielle now conducts research under the mentorship of Dr. Hilary Blumberg where her research interests broadly revolve around examining the neurobiological correlates of, and risk factors for, abnormal developmental trajectories in mood-related psychopathology. Outside of the laboratory, Danielle is ardently passionate about outreach and mentorship opportunities (INP Outreach Executive Committee, Yale Science Diplomats, Flipped Science Fair, INP Recruitment Student Committee).

Leah Puklin, MPH, is a PhD student in the Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology. As a member of Dr. Melinda Irwin's research team, her doctoral work focuses on nutritional epidemiology and breast cancer. Her mission is to use implementation science strategies to make nutrition and physical activity counseling part of routine care for all cancer patients. She earned her MPH from the Yale School of Public Health in 2019. Before returning to Yale, she spent a year at the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy working on the Global Dietary Database; the most comprehensive and reliable estimates of food and nutrient intake worldwide. She attended Connecticut College for her undergraduate and graduated in 2015 with a major in Environmental Studies and a minor in Mathematics.