2025 Dissertation Fellowship Recipients

Ganesh Acharya

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center

Acharya is a Ph.D. candidate at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, with a keen focus on bridging cutting-edge cancer research with real-world therapeutic applications. His research primarily revolves around DNA damage and repair signaling pathways, cancer cell metabolism, and immune response to identify novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets across various cancer models, including ovarian, triple-negative breast cancer, kidney, and colorectal cancers, ultimately aiming to overcome resistance.

Jasmine Chananna

Eastern Michigan University

Chananna is a Ph.D. candidate in clinical psychology at Eastern Michigan University. Her research explores the psychological impact of discrimination, barriers to healthcare access, and the intersection of medical and behavioral health conditions.

Krysten Cruz

Texas State University

Cruz is a Ph.D. candidate at Texas State University. Her research focuses on the human remains from within and around an Early Mycenaean cemetery structure from the archaeological site of Ancient Eleon, located in central Greece.

Elizabeth R. Goldberg

Texas Tech University

Goldberg is a Ph.D. candidate at Texas Tech University, focusing on curriculum and instruction with a specialization in STEM education. Her dissertation examines how teacher observers’ previous knowledge and experiences effect what they notice during their student teacher observation and how that influences the quality feedback they provide.¹

Sandra Richy John

Southern Illinois University Carbondale

John is a doctoral candidate in curriculum and instruction specializing in math education at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Her research interests include design thinking and integration of technology to support STEM education.

Enya-Kalia Jordan

Texas Woman's University 

Jordan is a doctoral candidate in dance studies at Texas Woman’s University. Her dissertation, entitled “Ebonic Bodies in Motion”, contributes to the field, the use of 'hood logic' to center Black Women’s embodiment and knowledge systems through African American Vernacular English.

Jiye Kwon

Yale University

Kwon is a Ph.D. candidate in infectious disease epidemiology at Yale University. Her research integrates pathogen genomics, epidemiology, and statistical modeling to better understand infectious disease dynamics. Her doctoral work focuses on population-level vaccine research for viral pathogens, including rotavirus, SARS-CoV-2, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

Kwaku Duah Oppong 

The University of Texas at Austin

Oppong is is a doctoral candidate at the University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing, where he is actively engaged in groundbreaking research on improving healthcare transitions for persons living with dementia (PLWD) and their family caregivers.

Naresh Sah

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
 

Sah is a Ph.D. candidate in biomedical sciences at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, where he focuses on cancer therapeutics and drug development. His research focuses on CF10, a second-generation nanoscale fluoropyrimidine polymer designed to overcome drug resistance in colorectal cancer while reducing systemic toxicity.

Ridwan Islam Sifat

University of Maryland, Baltimore County
  

Sifat is a Ph.D. candidate in public policy at the School of Public Policy, University of Maryland, Baltimore County. His research explores the healthcare experiences of intersex individuals in the United States using Andersen’s Behavioral Model of Health Services Use. It examines how contextual, individual, and systemic factors influence healthcare access and quality of care for intersex individuals.

Sonita Simelus

Mercer University

Simelusis a Doctor of Public Health candidate at Mercer University, specializing in diverse populations and health equity. Her dissertation focuses on understanding the barriers that Black or African Americans in Boone County, Missouri, face when trying to get quality healthcare, especially for managing chronic conditions like heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes.