Marie Lynn Miranda, Ph.D. -- Director
Dr. Marie Lynn Miranda, an associate research professor in Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, serves as the founding Director of CEHI. Dr. Miranda's educational background is rooted in economic and mathematical modeling; her professional experiences integrate environmental health sciences with sound social policies. She has taught courses and conducted research on children's environmental health, with a particular emphasis on reproductive and developmental toxicants, childhood lead exposure, and allergen and asthma triggers. Dr. Miranda has over twelve years of experience in spatial analysis across a wide range of environmental issues. She serves as the principal investigator on several GIS-based research projects and is proficient in GIS and statistical analytic techniques. Dr. Miranda serves on the North Carolina Ad Hoc Lead Advisory Committee, the Asthma Alliance of North Carolina, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Children's Health Protection Advisory Committee. She maintains a lifelong personal and professional interest in issues of environmental justice.
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mmiranda@duke.edu
(919) 613-8023
LSRC Room A134
Aislinn Affinito -- Research Assistant
Aislinn Affinito is finishing up her final year at Duke as an undergraduate studying Environmental Science and Policy with a focus on energy resources and technology. At CEHI she works as a field technician and has been helping with data collection for the Built Environment project.
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aislinn.affinito@duke.edu
(919) 613-8736
LSRC Room A121
Rebecca Anthopolos -- Associate in Research
Rebecca Anthopolos, Associate in Research, serves as a statistical analyst at CEHI. Her research and statistical analysis at CEHI focuses on determining social and environmental factors contributing to disparities in birth outcomes in the South. She completed her Master's in Economics from Duke University in May 2007 and also holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations with an emphasis on international development from Connecticut College.
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rebecca.anthopolos@duke.edu
(919) 613-8723
LSRC Room A133
Anne Beaubrun -- Research Assistant
Anne C. Beaubrun serves as an undergraduate research assistant who will be graduating in 2009. She is a prospective Public Policy major and Chemistry minor. Ms. Beaubrun is interested in determining preventive measures to tackle environmental justice issues and health disparities.
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acb21@duke.edu
(919) 613-8722
LSRC Room A133
Veronica Berrocal -- Associate in Research
Dr. Veronica J. Berrocal is a NRC (National Research Council) Post-Doctoral Fellow at the National Exposure Research Laboratory of the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and is affiliated with the Department of Statistical Sciences at Duke University. Her research at CEHI is focused on developing and applying Bayesian spatial statistical methods to relate air quality to health outcomes, in particular, birth outcomes. Dr. Berrocal holds a B.S. in Mathematics from the University La Sapienza of Rome (Italy), a M.Sc. in Mathematics from the University Joseph Fourier of Grenoble (France), a M.Sc. in Statistics from Michigan State University (2002) and a Ph.D. in Statistics from the University of Washington (2007). When not busy working, Dr. Berrocal likes to listen to live music, dance, watch movies, and work on craft projects.
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veronica.berrocal@duke.edu
(919) 613-8136
LSRC Room A133
Marteh Bowen -- Associate in Research
Marteh Bowen works with the Clinical Obsterics Study at CEHI. She holds a B.S. in Health Education with a concentration in Community Health from North Carolina Central University. Her research interests include maternal and child health and teen pregnancy prevention programs.
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mmb10@duke.edu
(919) 613-8728
LSRC Room A135a
Rebecca Yates Coley -- Associate in Research
Yates Coley, Associate in Research, graduated from Duke University in 2006 with a degree in Environmental Science and Policy. Her primary responsibility at CEHI is the coordination of a neighborhood assessment project in Central Durham involving both data collection and GIS analysis. Ms. Coley's academic interests include using statistics and geospatial analysis to understand and address health disparities.
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ryc@duke.edu
(919) 613-8088
LSRC Room A131
Andrew Cook -- Research Assistant
Andy Cook has been an undergraduate research assistant at CEHI since 2004. He is majoring in environmental science with a concentration in toxicology and minoring in biology and chemistry. He will graduate in 2008 and plans to pursue a career in medicine. Mr. Cook's other interests include spatial analysis and global health.
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agc@duke.edu
(919) 613-8136
LSRC Room A133
Jeff Davis -- Outreach Coordinator
Mr. Jeff Davis, Associate in Research, serves as Outreach Coordinator for CEHI. His responsibilities also include project management of the Outreach Core of Duke's Superfund Research Center, as well the Community Outreach and Education Program (COEP) in Duke's Center for Comparative Biology of Vulnerable Populations. Mr. Davis graduated from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2002 with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Sciences. His interests lie in the intersection of primary health care, environmental change, and policy development. Mr. Davis is fully trained in ArcView and ArcGIS analysis and has also received training in indoor air quality.
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davisja@duke.edu
(919) 613-8708
LSRC Room A133
Sharon Edwards -- GIS Analyst
Sharon Edwards, Associate in Research, serves as a GIS Analyst. She graduated from Duke University in 2004 with a degree in Environmental Sciences and Policy, and is currently pursing a Master's in Statistics with a concentration in environmental statistics at North Carolina State University. As GIS analyst for the Center for Geospatial Medicine, Ms. Edwards' research at CEHI primarily focuses health disparities and birth outcomes. Her research interest lies in the application of computer science, data management and spatial analysis to address issues of public health and environmental justice.
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se@duke.edu
(919) 613-8088
LSRC Room A131
Kurt Englemen -- Consultant
Mr. Kurt Engleman serves as CEHI's graphics and web design consultant. Mr. Engleman graduated cum laude from Duke University in 2001 with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Public Policy Studies. Mr. Engleman is fully trained in ArcView GIS analysis and previously worked as a CEHI Research Assistant. He continues to contribute to CEHI by designing web pages, graphics, and presentations.
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(919) 613-8136
LSRC Room A133
Christopher Fresco -- GIS Analyst
Christopher Fresco, Associate in Research, serves as a GIS Analyst. He graduated from the University of Washington at Seattle in 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography. His research interests include web-based map application development and GIS analysis. At CEHI, his work and responsibilites include GIS training, database management, map production, and web design.
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cjf13@duke.edu
(919) 613-8137
LSRC Room A132
Melvin Gaddy, IV -- Research Assistant
Melvin Gaddy is a high school intern working with the Built Environment project and is part of the CEHI Field Sampling team. He is currently a junior at JDC-Clements Early College High School. His research interests include the effects of different environments on human health. In his free time he likes to relax and be with friends.
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mgaddy4@hotmail.com
(919) 613-8736
LSRC Room A121
Simone Gray -- Associate in Research
Simone Gray is a PhD student in the Department of Statistical Science at Duke University. She assists in statistical analysis work at CEHI. Her research interests include genetic epidemiology and minority health.
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simone@stat.duke.edu
(919) 613-8723
LSRC Room A133
Douglas Hastings -- Research Assistant
Doug Hastings in an undergraduate research assistant and will graduate in 2009. He is majoring in Environmental Science and minoring in Earth and Ocean Sciences and Psychology. At CEHI, Mr. Hastings is interested in examining the health effects of anthropogenic toxins in the environment.
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dah19@duke.edu
(919) 613-8722
LSRC Room A133
Marcy Hirsch -- Business Manager
Marcy Hirsch, Associate in Research, serves as the Business Manager for CEHI. Her responsibilities include financial oversight for CEHI's grants and programs, grant proposal preparation, and support for research and programs. Marcy has a B.A. in journalism and an M.Ed in Counseling Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has 15 years of grants management experience at Duke and has worked in the Department of Clinical Pharmacology and the Center for In Vivo Microscopy.
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marsha.hirsch@duke.edu
(919) 613-8137
LSRC Room A132
Andy Hull -- GIS Analyst
Andy Hull, Associate in Research, graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2003 with a Bachelor of Arts in Geography. He is currently pursuing a Master's in Information Science from UNC Chapel Hill. His research interests include database design and management, web development, web-based map applications, GIS analysis, interface design, and information architecture.
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andyhull@duke.edu
(919) 613-8058
LSRC Room A133
Amber Ingram -- Associate in Research
Amber Ingram, Associate in Research, is a study coordinator for CEHI's Clinical Obstetrics Study and field research assistant for the Community Assessment project. Ms. Ingram graduated from Duke University in 2006 with a BS in Environmental Science with focus on Biogeochemistry and a Sociology minor. She is broadly interested in the complex relationships between social inequality, environmental exposures and conditions, and quality of health.
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ami@duke.edu
(919) 613-8058
LSRC Room A133
Jill Kahane -- Research Assistant
Jill Kahane serves as an undergraduate research assistant. She will be graduating in 2009, majoring in both Psychology and Sociology. Ms. Kahane is interested in data collection and analysis, as well as community outreach at CEHI.
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jhk10@duke.edu
(919) 613-8722
LSRC Room A133
Martha Keating -- Associate in Research
Martha Keating is an Associate in Research at CEHI where her work focuses primarily on community outreach and research translation. She holds a B.S degree from the University of New Hampshire and a M.S. in Environmental Science and Engineering from the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina. Martha's career includes 10 years as an environmental scientist with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency where her work dealt with hazardous air pollutants and regulatory authorities of the Clean Air Act. She was the project director and a principal author of the EPA's Mercury Study Report to Congress, for which she was awarded the EPA's Silver Medal. In 1998, Martha founded Keating Environmental, a consulting firm whose work focused on power plant environmental impact issues, including mercury and other air toxics, and power plant combustion waste. Clients included numerous national, regional and state environmental advocacy groups. Martha joined CEHI in October 2006 where her current interests are addressing health disparities and environmental justice issues through policy and regulatory change.
Return to topContact:
mhk12@duke.edu
(919) 613-8736
LSRC Room A121
Dohyeong Kim, Ph.D. -- Research Associate
Dr. Dohyeong Kim is a Research Associate and Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Children's Environmental Health Initiative (CEHI) in the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences at Duke University. Dr. Kim's research at CEHI includes statistical, mathematical, and economic modeling for a variety of environmental health data, such as lead, arsenic, and asthma. His Ph.D. research in the Department of City and Regional Planning at UNC-Chapel Hill ('07) focuses on spatial immunization planning in developing countries, and he also holds a B.A. and M.S. degrees in public administration from Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea ('96 and '99). His main research interests focus on addressing environmental and public health policy issues by using quantitative and spatial analytic methods. His previous research includes GIS-based environmental health modeling, econometric policy evaluation and cost-benefit analysis, community health planning and public administration, and development of optimization-based decision-making tools. He has a keen interest in international research, in particular on global health, and has worked in the U.S., Republic of Korea, Vietnam, China, and Indonesia.
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dohyeong@duke.edu
(919) 613-8088
LSRC Room A131
Gretchen Kroeger -- Research Assistant
Gretchen Kroeger is a first year MEM student at the Nicholas School concentrating in Environmental Health and Toxicology. She is just beginning a research assistantship with CEHI working on the Built Environment project. She is interested in the relationship between urban and rural development and its effects on human and environmental health. Gretchen is from Virginia (Go
Hokies!) and received her B.S. in Biology at Samford University in Alabama. In her free time she loves to chill with her dog, play volleyball, and be in the woods (preferably all at the same time).
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gretchen.kroeger@duke.edu
(919) 613-8736
LSRC Room A121
Patrick Mahoney -- Research Assistant
Pat Mahoney is a graduate research assistant for CEHI's Built Environment project. He is in his first year of the Nicholas School's MEM program, and is interested in conservation and land use planning. He grew up in Connecticut and completed his undergraduate degree in Environmental and Latin American Studies at Bowdoin College. Since graduation, he has found employment as a Ridge Runner in Acadia National Park, an environmental consultant in CT, and a forest policy advocate in Washington, DC.
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patrick.mahoney@duke.edu
(919) 613-8736
LSRC Room A121
Pamela Maxson, Ph.D. -- Research Associate
Dr. Pamela Maxson is Project Manager for the Southern Center on Environmentally Driven Disparities in Birth Outcomes (SCEDDBO) and the research coordinator for CEHI's Clinical Obstetrics study. She has been teaching at Duke since 1995 for the Human Development Certificate Program and the Psychology Department focusing on child, adolescent, and lifespan development. Her interests lie in maternal and child health and health disparities including the societal, familial, and individual influences on outcomes.
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pm12@duke.edu
(919) 613-8728
LSRC Room A135a
Emily Lynne Modlin -- Research Assistant
Emily Modlin serves as an undergraduate research assistant. She is currently a sophomore, double majoring in English and Psychology with a concentration in Human Development. She is also minoring in Spanish. Ms. Modlin's work responsibilities at CEHI include assisting with data entry, compilation, and organization.
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emily.modlin@duke.edu
(919) 613-8728
LSRC Room A135a
Maria Nayfa -- Research Assistant
Maria Nayfa serves as an undergraduate research assistant. She will be graduating in
2011 and is interested in both Environmental Science and Psychology. Her work at CEHI involves data entry and file organization for the Clinical Obstetrics study.
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maria.nayfa@duke.edu
(919) 613-8728
LSRC Room A135a
Alicia Overstreet -- Data Manager
Ms. Alicia Overstreet, Associate in Research, serves as CEHI Data Manager, overseeing technical tasks and data analysis. Ms. Overstreet graduated from Duke University in 1999 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology. A native of Nicaragua, she possesses a keen interest in environmental justice and disparate social and environmental risk. Her research interests include environmental toxicology and risk analysis with a special focus on maternal and child health. She is fully trained in ArcView and ArcGIS analysis and has received indoor air quality training.
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mao1@duke.edu
(919) 613-8088
LSRC Room A131
Shannyn Piper -- Research Assistant
Shannyn Piper serves as an undergraduate research assistant. She is a junior, majoring in Public Policy Studies with a concentration in Environmental Policy. Her interests include health impacts of living in urban environments and how groups negatively affected by urban environments can improve their environments as a community.
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sap12@duke.edu
(919) 613-8722
LSRC Room A133
Ben Strauss -- GIS Analyst
Ben Strauss, Associate in Research, graduated from Knox College in 2006 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Studies and completed a Masters of Forestry Degree at Duke University in 2008. As a GIS Analyst, his role at CEHI includes database management, GIS training and spatial analysis. His research interests include information technology and the development of new and practical GIS applications.
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benjamin.strauss@duke.edu
(919) 613-8088
LSRC Room A131
Joshua Tootoo -- GIS Analyst
Joshua Tootoo, Associate in Research, serves as a GIS Analyst. His work and responsibilities involve the preparation, management and analysis of geospatial data. He completed his Masters in Environmental Planning from the University of Rhode Island in 2005, and also holds Bachelor of Science degrees in Botany and Forest Ecology from North Carolina State University.
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jltootoo@duke.edu
(919) 613-8137
LSRC Room A132
Tami Tuck -- Research Program Coordinator
Tami Tuck, Associate in Research, serves as Research Program Coordinator. As chief research assistant to Dr. Miranda, she manages the manuscript submission process and coordinates CEHI's research agenda. Tami has been at Duke University since 2001 working with the Duke School of Medicine in the Office of Student Affairs and with the Department of Pediatrics in the Office of Pediatric Education.
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tuck0012@duke.edu
(919) 613-8723
LSRC Room A133
