Extant research has shown that the state of health or disease of the mouth affects general health and well-being. The OSHAL lab is focused on understanding the impacts of psychosocial and environmental determinants of health on oral-systemic associations through the conduct of epidemiologic research of oral diseases across the life course. Our goal is to inform health policy and to develop actionable population level interventions to mitigate risks among groups most affected.
Rasnick is in the Biostatistics PhD program at VCU in their second year. They graduated with a Master's in Mathematics in spring 2019 from East Tennessee State University. They have past teaching experiance but is now doing RA work for Dr. Akinkugbe. They enjoy to play tabletop RPG's, sewing, and playing Nintendo games in their free time.
I am a second year MPH student at Virginia Commonwealth University. I am currently running on my final semester of graduate school. I come from a health background. I worked as a medical officer in Nepal for a few years before coming to the United States. While I was working in a few hospitals in Nepal, we used to routinely organize medical camps in remote villages to address the health concerns of the disadvantaged people. During such visits, I witnessed health disparities that existed among people as a result of the geographic location, socio-economic condition, etc. It sparked my interest in public health and now my mission is to serve the underprivileged people and act to ensure that they have equal access to quality health care and that they don't bear a higher burden of disease. After enrolling in the MPH program at VCU, I have had the opportunity of learning more about the technical aspects of research and gain in-depth knowledge about different aspects of public health. I am currently doing my Capstone project on Asian Americans and my research topic is ‘The association between depression and socio-cultural factors among Asian-Americans’. I am also working as an Administration Specialist in the Department of Epidemiology and Surveillance at VDH. My work primarily revolves around COVID-19 data pertaining to Virginia.
Alyssa Simon is a second year Master of Public Health student at VCU. She will graduate Spring 2021 with a concentration in Epidemiology. During her time as an MPH student, she completed an internship at the Institute for Public Health Innovation where she helped update health equity materials, and a practicum at International Rescue Committee where she helped clients meet their health needs. She currently works as a graduate research assistant in the Department of Dental Public Health and Policy with Dr. Akinkugbe, where she works on research projects pertaining to oral health. She hopes to pursue a career in epidemiology after receiving her MPH. In her free time, Alyssa likes to spend time with friends and family, spend time outdoors, and travel to new places.