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Current Scholars and Fellows
VA Women's Health Fellows
Meghan Brennan, MD
VA Women's Health Fellow
Education: Earned her MD from University of Vermont Medical School. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine at University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics and went on to complete an Infectious Disease fellowship at the same institution.
Research: Today, Dr. Brennan's main research interests are in HIV screening as well as outbreak investigation. To aid in these endeavors, she is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Population Health through the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Population Health.
Andrew Katz, PhD
VA Women's Health Fellow
Education: Earned his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He completed his pre-doctoral internship at the Counseling & Psychological Services center at the University of St. Thomas, in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Research: His general interests are in Multicultural Counseling Competence (MCC) theory and in healthcare provider factors that lead to outcome disparities among minorities, women, and other stigmatized groups. In particular, he is interested in the role that implicit prejudice might play when providers form professional relationships and make treatment decisions with patients from such groups. In addition to having cross-cultural knowledge and skills, MCC theory asserts that culturally competent providers are also aware of their own "assumptions, values, and biases." However, recent work in social psychology has demonstrated that individuals have little awareness or control over some forms of personal bias, including automatic prejudice. Andrew's recent dissertation research sought to measure awareness by comparing the difference between therapists' self-report and automatic prejudice scores, and then correlate this index with their clinical decisions about Black and White patients. Results suggest that therapists' awareness of personal biases did not influence their clinical reactions as much as the strength of their prejudice scores alone. In other words, MCC theory might put too much emphasis on awareness of personal prejudice, rather than on prejudice reduction itself. He would like to replicate and broaden this research to other healthcare fields, such as medicine and nursing. Eventually, he would like to translate his findings into improved multicultural competency training for all healthcare providers.
Christine Kolehmainen, MD
VA Women's Health Fellow
Education: Earned her MD from Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine at University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics.
Research: Dr. Kolehmainen's main research interest is the field of graduate medical education and she is pursuing a degree in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at University of Wisconsin. Her current project is focused on how doctors-in-training experience leadership in the setting of medical emergencies.
Nicole Rogus-Pulia, PhD, CCC-SLP
VA Women's Health Fellow
Education: Earned her master's degree in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Iowa in 2003. She completed her clinical training at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and received her Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-language Pathology (CCC-SLP). She also went on to earn her Ph.D. in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Northwestern University.
Research: Nicole's research interests are focused in the area of dysphagia, or swallowing disorders. She is mostly interested in the ways that changes in varying aspects of saliva production as well as oropharyngeal sensation affect swallowing. Nicole's dissertation work focused on changes in saliva production, patient perception of their own swallowing ability, and swallow physiology following chemoradiation treatment for head and neck cancer. She would like to continue to explore radiation-induced changes to saliva and swallowing but also to broaden her research questions to other patient populations.
Tonya Roberts, PhD, RN
VA Women's Health Fellow
Education: Earned a PhD in Nursing with a minor in Industrial & Systems Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Research: Tonya's area of research is aimed at improving nursing care delivery to enhance quality of life and quality of care for older adults in nursing homes. Specifically, her research has focused on delivery of person-centered care, articulating the interpersonal interactions and organizational structures that support and sustain it. 'Close relationships', particularly between nursing staff and residents, are often considered the fundamental building blocks for successful delivery of person-centered care. However, what is meant by a 'close relationship' is often undefined, making successful and systematic implementation of relationships difficult in practice. Her dissertation research explored nursing home resident definitions of 'close relationship' and the role of these relationships in care delivery. The results demonstrated how 'close relationships' developed and influenced care and the finding will be used to guide future work aimed at further articulating how relationship influence person-centered care delivery and care outcomes.
Postdoctoral Researchers
Anna C. Kaatz, PhD, MPH
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Education: Earned her MPH and a PhD in Clinical Investigation after completing an MA in Comparative Literature at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. As a graduate student she was an Advanced Opportunity Fellow, and an NIH funded R25 TEAM-Science Fellow. She also served as a teaching assistant for the course Women and Their Bodies in Health and Disease for 4 years.
Research: Anna's research focuses on understanding reasons why women physicians and scientists are more likely than men to leave biomedical research careers, particularly on the "bridge to independence" -a career juncture when post docs and junior faculty transition from applying for research funds under the auspices of mentors and begin to apply for independent research support. One significant determinant of independence is obtaining a Research Project Grant (R01) from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Anna's dissertation research examined reasons for women's lower R01 success rates. As a post doc Anna is expanding her graduate work, and currently leads multiple studies focused on identifying the extent to which unconscious gender biases disadvantage women in scientific and academic peer review processes. She plans to expand this research to also study how an applicant's race may bias peer review. Anna is working toward an independent research career focused broadly on identifying targets for interventions to recruit, retain and advance traditionally underrepresented physicians and scientists, such as women and racial minorities, in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medical (STEMM) fields.
R25 TEAM-Science Scholars
Bryan Ampey, PhD Candidate
R25 TEAM-Science Scholar
Education: Earned his Master of Science degree in Cell and Molecular Biology at San Francisco State University. He is currently working on his Ph.D. in Endocrinology & Reproductive Physiology.
Research: Bryan never imagined working with the endocrine system until recently. The vast possibilities of the bodies function have captivated his interest. His current research interest includes vascular diseases such as hypertension and pre-eclampsia. Specifically investigating effects of shear stress on connexin 43 expression and phosphorylation for the formation of gap junctions in the endothelium.
Hometown: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Dream Job: A dream job would be anything that he enjoys and makes him happy at the end of the day!
Favorite Hobbies: Music production, playing sports, reading, and watching movies.
Ice Cream: He loves butter pecan ice cream. It's just that good, need he say more?
James Garcia
R25 TEAM-Science Scholar
Education: Earned his Bachelors degree in Neurobiology at University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Research: Endocrinology and Reproductive Physiology: The role of the hypothalamus in precocious puberty in female rhesus monkeys
What led James toward this research: Studying neurobiology as an undergraduate here at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Hometown: Mukwonago, Wisconsin
Dream Job: Brain Surgeon
Hobbies: Running, Biking, Golfing, Fishing, Hiking
Ice Cream: Chocolate Shoppe Chocolate because it's so rich and creamy
Porsha Howell, PhD Candidate
R25 TEAM-Science Scholar
Education: Earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology at New Mexico State University and is presently working on her PhD in Nutritional Sciences at UW-Madison.
Research: Her current research focuses on the impact of caloric restriction, (a dietary intervention shown to extend the lifespan in multiple species) and aging on white adipose tissue metabolism and structure.
What led Porsha toward this research: Porsha loves food and when she started taking Biology and Nutrition courses in undergrad she became more interested in how the food we eat affects us at the cellular and molecular level.
Hometown: Hampton, Virginia
Dream Job: Any job that makes her happy.
Hobbies: Dancing, cooking and reading.
Ice Cream: Anything with vanilla ice cream and chocolate pieces.
Fatou Jallow, PhD Candidate
R25 TEAM-Science Scholar
Education: Earned her Bachelors degree in Biology from Dillard University in New Orleans, LA. and is currently working toward a Ph.D in the Endocrinology & Reproductive Physiology Program.
Research: Fatou's current focus is on Breast Cancer. Most breast tumors in women are estrogen receptor alpha positive (ERalpha+). Even though there are drugs out there that target these receptors, the tumors have somehow managed to gain resistance from them. She want to focus on how these cancer cells acquire resistance by looking at the close linkage between prolactin, and the pathogenesis and therapeutic responsiveness of ERalpha+ breast cancer. Fatou thinks it is very important for us to achieve prevention and cure for breast cancer in our lifetime. This can be accomplished by bringing awareness worldwide and acquiring funding for clinical and translational research.
Hometown: Grew up in New Orleans, LA
Dream Job: She would love to have her own lab where she can lead and mentor young scientists.
Interests: Loves shopping, music, reading and spending time with her family
Ice Cream: Fatou loves Snickers ice cream, Twix ice cream...pretty much any ice cream that has lots of caramel and nuts.
Patrice Leverett, PhD Candidate
R25 TEAM-Science Scholar
Education: Earned her Bachelors degree in Communications/English at the University of Pittsburgh and her Masters degree in Special Educations at Queens College of New York.
Research: Patrice is interested in establishing valid and culturally responsive interventions for students of all ages, particularly around academic achievement and emotional health. Through the R25 grant, she will work on projects on and around increasing minority representation in the STEM fields through enhancing the mentor/mentee relationship and decreasing the impacts of stereotype threat, particularly on women.
What led Patrice toward this research: Having spent five years as a public school teacher, Patrice found that there was a need, particularly in minority student populations, for advocates of change. Through continuing her education in the field of Educational Psychology, she hopes to help fill this need and to create a framework for others who share her interests.
Hometown: Jamaica, New York
Dream Job: Patrice's dream job changes with the needs of the educational community. While she is interested in the training of professionals at a higher level, she also hopes to integrate consultation and practice. Most importantly, Patrice hopes the encourage collaboration across disciplines to close gaps in educational and psychological well-being in underrepresented populations.
Hobbies: Patrice enjoys cooking, catching up on recent literature and traveling.
Ice Cream: Her favorite ice cream is some sort of chocolate, brownie, crunch combination. "If it has all of those things, it's meant for me."
Tolu Oyesanya, PhD Candidate
R25 TEAM-Science Scholar
Education: Earned her Bachelors and Masters degree in Nursing at UW-Madison and is currently working toward her Phd.
Research: Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a relatively understudied phenomenon. Annually, over 1 million people in the United States have a TBI. Two-thirds of persons currently living with a TBI are men; historically, men have been the focus of TBI studies. Although men have a higher incidence of TBI, there is an increased need to examine the needs of women with TBI to determine what healthcare providers can do to provide improved care. Tolu would like to focus on adult women with TBI, focusing on the variables of hope and depression to determine how these variables relate to adherence to rehabilitation.
What led Tolu toward this research: From a young age, Tolu has been fascinated with the brain and how it operates. While in high school, Tolu was given the opportunity to shadow healthcare providers on a Neurological Rehabilitation unit in Milwaukee, WI. This experience allowed Tolu to interact with persons with TBI while witnessing rehabilitation journeys from injury to optimal point of recovery. This opportunity sparked her interest in TBI and rehabilitation.
Hometown: Franklin, Wisconsin
Dream Job: Tolu's dream job is to become dean of a nursing school at a research-intensive university after conducting a productive program of research.
Hobbies: Tolu enjoys cooking, watching movies, traveling and shopping.
Ice Cream: Tolu loves vanilla ice cream because it is simple, smooth and tasty! "Vanilla hits the spot every time!"
Dennis Paiz-Ramirez, PhD Candidate
R25 TEAM-Science Scholar
Education: Presently working on his PhD in Curriculum & Instruction Program. Dennis completed a Master's Degree in Education emphasizing in Learning Design and Technology in 2009 at Stanford University in California.
Research: Dennis studies videogames and learning. Specifically, he looks at what commercial videogames do well and tries to find out why they do it well. Almost every videogame must teach its player how to play the game, must keep the player interested in the game, and must present challenges in such a way the player will get better. Successful games do all of the above, and they do it well. Currently, he is looking at the way failure is presented in videogames. Why does a failing "grade" seem like a challenge to a player, but a death sentence to a student? Most games require you to die multiple times before you get better (Super Meat Boy, Limbo, Mario) why don't people get frustrated when this happens?
What led Dennis toward this research: After doing a bit of research at the University of New Mexico with artificial intelligence, Dennis realized that there are a lot of technologies that, for some reason or another, aren't being incorporated in schools. Because of this, he decided to see what schools were focusing on the integration of technology and school. While completing his Masters in Learning Design and Technology at Stanford, he was inspired to continue working with new technologies in the classroom, particularly using videogames as teaching tools. This was an excellent fit given his Computer Science background and his love of videogames.
Hometown: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Dream Job: Design and create things that people will enjoy using. In the future, Dennis sees himself creating videogames that present subject matter in fun and accessible ways. He would also like to design experiences and interactive displays for museums that represent information in ways never been presented before (by using augmented reality, for example).
Hobbies: He likes to play guitar and draw.
Ice Cream: If they have it, he really enjoys pistachio ice cream. Though, not many places carry it.
Erika Starks
R25 TEAM-Science Scholar
Education: Earned her Bachelors degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology at University of Arizona.
Research: Erika is currently working in a Neuroimaging laboratory. Her specific project will hopefully shed light on the function and anatomical brain alterations that accompany corrective electrical tongue stimulation in patients with balance disorders. Electric tongue stimulation was found to be a non-invasive method of correcting certain symptoms in balance disorders as well as other pathologies.
What led Erika toward this research: When Erika started graduate school she knew she wanted to focus on the brain and imaging seemed like the most interesting way to go about it.
Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
Dream Job: Erika's dream job would be splitting her professional time between a lab focused on brain pathology and a clinical career.
Hobbies: Exercise, eating, reading classic novels
Ice Cream: Butter Pecan. I don't really know why, other than it's delicious!
Yacob Tedla, PhD Candidate
R25 TEAM-Science Scholar
Education: Currently working on his PhD in Population Health Sciences concentration Epidemiology. While doing his PhD, Yacob is also earning a Master of Science in Epidemiology.
Research: Yacob's research interest focuses on Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs). Currently he is investigating the association between pulse wave velocity and hypertension, and the independent risk of arterial stiffness on different cardiovascular events. Yacob is also examining the sensitivity and specificity of different drug-adherence-measures, and the effect of drug-adverse-effects and drug-complexity on medication compliance among patients taking antihypertensive drugs. He is also interested in understanding emerging risk factors and risk markers for CVDs.
What led Yacob toward this research: The global burden of CVDs and the emerging epidemic of CVDs in developing nations caught the attention of Yacob. He then started to get interested to study CVDs, their risk factors and preventive approaches and is convinced that he needs to have grounding knowledge in cardiovascular research.
Dream Job: Yacob hopes to get a faculty position and engage in research and teaching. In the future he plans to continue to investigate emerging risk factors and biomarkers of CVDs and the role of biological, behavioral, socioeconomic and environmental differences on development and progression of CVDs.
Hobbies: Yacob likes to play soccer, swim and visit new places with friends.
Ice Cream: If he had to choose, Yacob prefers chocolate-peanut butter.
Rosalina Villalon Landeros
R25 TEAM-Science Scholar
Education: Earned her Bachelor of Science in Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior at University of California, Davis.
Research: Rosalina's current research interests are fertility treatments, in-vitro fertilization and embryonic development. The project that she will become involved with for her first rotation looks into the effects of estrogen on uterine artery endothelial cell mitogenesis and tube formation. All this is done with the purpose of having a better understanding of the effects of estrogen in capillary formation at the placenta and uterine connection during normal pregnancy.
What led Rosalina toward this research: In order to understand in-vitro fertilization and embryonic development she needs to understand the basic foundation of the connection between the mother and embryo. It can't get any more basic than uteroplacental connection. She wants to study something that will help her work in one or all the previous fields and ultimately will provide her with the tools necessary for what she wants to do in the future.
Hometown: Santa Paula, California
Dream Job: Rosalina's dream job would be to be able to conduct research and at the same time be able to put my research to work in clinical trials. She would like to work in human fertility treatments and in-vitro fertilizations.
Hobbies: Reading, watching movies and walking
Ice Cream: Black cherry because of its perfect combination of fully ripen cherries mixed with just the right amount of vanilla. It can't get better than that. Plus it brings back memories of good times spent with friends and family.