BASTA LAB PAST MEMBERS
ANGELICA CHEN, AB COMPUTER SCIENCE
PHD STUDENT
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
Angie is a PhD Candidate currently studying deep learning for natural language processing at NYU.
BETHANY CHENG, MSCPH
EPIDEMIOLOGIST
PUBLIC HEALTH AGENCY OF CANADA
Bethany currently works as an Epidemiologist at the Public Health Agency of Canada on the COVID-19 Surveillance Team. She graduated from the Master of Science in Public Health program at McGill University in 2021. Her research interests include childhood vaccination guidelines and infectious diseases. In her free time, she enjoys swimming, trying new restaurants, and travelling.
BRIDGET GRIFFITH, PHD
RESEARCH ASSOCIATE
CLINTON HEALTH ACCESS INITIATIVE
Bridget was a PhD Student and a Postdoctoral Researcher at the lab.
GIORGIA SULIS MD PHD
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA
Dr. Giorgia Sulis is an Assistant Professor in the School of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Ottawa, an Associate Scientist in the Clinical Epidemiology Program of the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and a Member of the McGill International Tuberculosis Centre. After receiving her medical degree (2011) and specializing in infectious and tropical diseases (2017) in Italy, she obtained a PhD in Epidemiology from McGill University in 2021, followed by a postdoctoral research fellowship in the same institution. Dr. Sulis' research interests span across various areas of infectious disease epidemiology of utmost global health relevance.
KATIE GRAVAGNA, MSC
PHD STUDENT
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL
Katie Gravagna, MSc, is an infectious disease epidemiologist completing her PhD in Epidemiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her research areas of interest include vaccine uptake and infection prevention in healthcare settings.
KATIE TASTAD, MPH PHD CANDIDATE
EPIDEMIOLOGIST
US CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION
Katie is completing her PhD at the University of Minnesota. Her dissertation is based in part on research conducted at the Minnesota State Fair, surveying women about knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding cytomegalovirus screening. She also works as an Epidemiologist conducting domestic surveillance for influenza.
KAYLA HANSON, MPH
EPIDEMIOLOGIST
MARSHFIELD CLINIC RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Kayla is an infectious disease epidemiologist. She currently works on studies of vaccine safety and effectiveness.
KIM BONNER, PHD MPA
EPIDEMIOLOGIST
US CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION
Kim Bonner is an epidemiologist on the Demand for Immunization team, in the CDC's Global Immunization Division. Kim previously worked at the Oregon State Public Health Division as an EIS officer where she focused on Oregon’s COVID-19 response, along with preventing other acute and communicable diseases. Kim has previously worked with Doctors Without Borders from 2012-2016 in roles ranging from communications officer to research associate, and she was embedded in the Tanzanian Ministry of Health supporting the national roll-out of insecticide-treated bed nets as a Scholars in the Nations Service Fellow from 2008-2010. Kim holds a PhD in Epidemiology and Community Health and a Master of Public Affairs in public policy.
MIRANDA HORN, MSCPH
EVALUATION ANALYST
CATHEXIS CONSULTING
Miranda is an MScPH graduate from McGill University who worked as a Research Assistant with Basta Lab on a number of projects related to vaccination policies and COVID vaccines. She has now moved into the field of program evaluation as an Evaluation Analyst for Cathexis Consulting.
ROBERT VALERIS-CHACIN, DVM MS PHD
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
Born and raised in Venezuela, I came to the USA in 2016 for a PhD in Veterinary Medicine with a minor in Epidemiology at the University of Minnesota. During my PhD, I worked primarily on the interactions between Campylobacter and the microbiome (cecal and environmental) in poultry. My current research focuses on the molecular epidemiology of bacterial pathogens and the microbiome in food animals, especially cattle.
MARIA SUNDARAM, PHD MSPH
ASSOCIATE RESEARCH SCIENTIST
MARSHFIELD CLINIC RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Dr. Sundaram is an infectious disease epidemiologist and Associate Research Scientist in the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Population Health at the Marshfield Clinic Research Institute. Her research focuses on topics of respiratory pathogen transmission in communities, vaccine effectiveness, maternal and child health, and vaccine promotion and policy. Her work primarily focuses on respiratory viral pathogens, including influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, and SARS-CoV-2.
SANDRA CHYDERIOTIS, PHD MPH PHARMD
POLICY ANALYST
PUBLIC HEALTH AGENCY OF CANADA
Sandra holds a PhD in epidemiology from Sorbonne Université using discrete choice experiments to optimize vaccine communication. She is interested in evidence-based interventions and policies to increase vaccine uptake and vaccine confidence, notably using communication science, social marketing and behavioural sciences principles and methods.