News and Highlights
June 2009
Welcome New Staff
Anna Araiza, MPH, is a part-time Research Aide in the Division of Prevention and Health Behavior. Ms. Araiza earned her Masters of Public Health in 2009 in Sociomedical Science Research from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. She previously received a BA in Sociology from San Diego State University. She has experience as a Research Assistant in the Clinical Trials Network and the Alcohol Research Group through partnerships with Tarzana Treatment Centers, Inc., as a Field Interviewer for the Rand Corporation, as a Special Education Teacher at Valley High School in California, and as a Research Assistant at the SDSU Center for Behavioral Epidemiology & Community Health. In the Division, she is assisting Dr. Kenneth Griffin.
Abigail Claflin is a part-time Research Aide in the Division of Prevention and Health Behavior. She is currently pursuing a Masters in Public Health in Health Promotion at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. She also holds an MA with First Class Honours in Linguistics from the University of Edinburgh and she took additional undergraduate courses at the Ohio State University. Ms Claflin has experience as a Research Assistant at the Cognitive Development Lab at the Ohio State University, in the Linguistics Department at the University of Edinburgh, and at the Lab for Developmental Studies at Harvard University. At Cornell, she is assisting with the Division’s study of enhancing implementation fidelity of its school-based drug abuse prevention program. She is also currently training to be an advocate with the Domestic and Other Violence Emergencies program at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.
Sonia Rupcic is a part-time Research Aide in the Division of Prevention and Health Behavior. She is currently pursuing both a Masters in International Affairs and a Masters in Public Health at Columbia University. She previously earned an International Studies BA degree with Honors from the University of Chicago. Ms Rupcic served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in South Africa, where she worked with the Thohoyandou Victim Empowerment Programme to develop research, monitoring and evaluation systems. She also worked as an Education Assistant at the Museum of Science and Industry, for which she conducted research for public health programming. With the support of the Kyoto Center for Japan Studies Summer Research Grant, she conducted her own ethnographic research on Japanese Organic Farms. This research was the basis of her undergraduate thesis, which received the University of Chicago East Asian Studies Department’s Asada Eiji Research Award. She has written and contributed to several publications on HIV and gender-based violence. At Cornell, she is assisting with the Division’s study of implementation fidelity of its school-based drug abuse prevention program.
Carlos Salinas is the Patient Coordinator for the Midtown Center for Treatment and Research of the Division of Community and Public Health Programs. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Public Relations from Long Island University C.W. Post in May 2008. While pursuing his degree, he was a Media Relations Intern for the National Football League, specifically for the New York Jets.
Joshua Henninger has joined the Department as the Grants Administrator for the Division of Health Policy. Mr. Henninger comes to Weill Cornell Medical College from the Fund for Public Health in New York where he was responsible for the fiscal and administrative aspects of various federal and private grants. He has also been a Fiscal and Program Officer for Friendship Ambassadors Foundation in White Plains, NY; a Budget Analyst for the New York City Office of Management and Budget; and a Volunteer Policy Analyst for New York Council Member Gale Brewer. Mr. Henninger earned a BA (Major: Government, Minor: Economics) from Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Christine Chacko, B.S., is a Summer Research Analyst in the Division of Health Policy. She works on a variety of cost-effectiveness analysis projects pertaining to the diagnosis and treatment of Hepatitis C. Ms. Chacko graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a B.S. in 2008 and is currently pursuing an M.S., both in Industrial and Systems Engineering. From 2004 to 2008, she worked as a research assistant at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health on clinical trials related to Alzheimer’s Disease. From 2008 to 2009, she worked as a research assistant at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics and the William S. Middleton Veterans Affairs Hospital on system-wide initiatives involving process improvement, quality improvement, and patient safety.
