Spotlights

As an undergraduate, Maggie Padek majored in history and considered going to law school. But she wound up as a grad student at the Brown School, first in social work and then in public health. Her change of heart wound up being a good thing for the PRC, where she is now a center manager. […]

Hometown: Hidaj, Iran Undergraduate Major/Minor: Architecture Program at Brown: MPH Anticipated Graduation Date: May 2021 Three things you have with you at all times: Phone, credit card, a mug filled with hot tea Hobbies/Activities: Walking, cooking, hanging out with friends, video chatting with family, and traveling What first made you interested in studying Public Health? […]

Cheryl Valko wears a lot of hats at the PRC. As the center’s associate director, she helps guide the administration of a variety of activities, from communications to strategic planning and the reviewing of grants. And like most everyone, she’s facing the challenges of balancing home-based work with household responsibilities, including caring for her 2-year-old […]

Hometown: St. Louis, MO Undergraduate degree: Nursing Brown School program: MPH Anticipated graduation: May 2021 Three things you have with you at all times: Mask, phone, existential dread What are your hobbies or activities when you aren’t studying or working? Most things outside–hiking, biking, running, and even taking my cat on a “walk”. What made […]

Hometown: Soweto, Namibia Undergraduate school and degree: St. Olaf College, Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) Brown School program: MPH/MSW Anticipated graduation: December 2020 Three things you have with you at all times: Nailclipper, floss, and driver’s license What are your hobbies or activities when you aren’t studying or working? Taking long walks and running in […]

Staff Spotlight: Linda Dix Shortly after you walk in the door to the PRC, you might notice a whiteboard with a written question above an answer hidden by a flap of paper. “Why don’t you iron 4-leaf clovers?” it says. You peek under the flap and see the answer (spoiler alert!): “You don’t want to […]

Angeline is a 1st year MPH student currently on sabbatical from the program for 2020 while she completes a Fulbright Fellowship in Malaysia. She will be teaching English and learning about their local public health initiatives. Hometown: Cleveland, OH Undergraduate Program: Villanova University: majored in Global Interdisciplinary studies Three things you have with you at all times: […]

The nameplate on Mary Adams’ desk proclaims her to be the “Chief Deliciousness Officer,” and few would contest that title. Adams plies the PRC with candy, cakes cookies, and the other tasty products of her longtime hobby as a baker extraordinaire. “I try to give everyone a little bit of happiness,” she says. When she’s […]

Maura Kepper’s research focuses in part on the connections between urban planning and public health, especially when it comes to parental decisions about letting their kids go out to play. What she learned in years of research gained new meaning about two years ago, when her first child was born. “It definitely brought a new […]

When she was growing up in North Carolina, Stephanie Mazzucca discovered an interest in food based on family. “We always cooked a lot,” she recalled. “I was often left to fend for myself and started watching the Food Network and mastering the family red sauce,” a legacy from her Italian heritage. So it wasn’t a […]

Ross Brownson is a huge baseball fan, so it’s not surprising to find birthday wishes to him written on outlines of baseball caps lining a wall in his office. “Make America Healthy Again,” said one.  “Amazing Mentor,” said another. Both are fitting sentiments for the nationally renowned professor, author and director of the Prevention Research […]

Kate Curoe MPH 2019 Hometown: Cincinnati, OH Undergraduate College & Major/ Minor: Saint Louis University; Majored in Public Health; Minored in Biology, Urban Poverty Studies, and Women’s and Gender Studies Three things you have with you at all times: My phone, water bottle, and headphones What are your hobbies or activities when you are not studying or working? I […]

Mackenzie Robinson MPH, 2019 Hometown: Eustis, FL Undergraduate College & Major/ Minor: University of Florida, Major in Anthropology and Minor in African Studies Three things you have with you at all times: chewing gum, perfume, and my phone What are your hobbies or activities when you aren’t studying or working? I love listening to music, especially Afrobeat, Reggae, Soca, […]

“I hate driving!” Deborah Salvo, the newest faculty addition to the PRC, rides her street bike to work from her University City home.  Growing up in Mexico City, she became accustomed to the social interaction that biking or public transportation can provide. The car culture of many American cities, including St. Louis, doesn’t lend itself […]

Who’s that guy zipping through the PRC on a scooter? That would be Rodrigo Reis Reis lives just a few blocks from the Brown School and often walks, bikes or scoots to his job as as a professor and researcher. Physical activity is an integral part of his work as well, as he looks for […]

Katie Bass, MPH, MSW Graduating 2020 Hometown: Sioux City, IA Undergraduate College & Major/ Minor: Concordia College. Major in Psychology with Neuroscience Minor Three things you have with you at all times: Gum, Chap stick and my college class ring What would people be surprised to know about you? I have been composing music on multiple instruments for the past […]

MPH Graduating May 2018Hometown: Omaha, NEUndergraduate Major: B.S. in Biology, Minor in Chemistry Three things you have with you at all times:A really nice pen, a really nice notebook and mailing stamps What are your hobbies or activities when you aren’t studying or working?Cooking and baking, working out and reading What would people be surprised to know […]

Peg Allen worked initially as a nurse before deciding she wanted to become involved in preventing disease rather than just treating it. “Working as a visiting nurse and seeing the tremendous suffering from the complications of diabetes in particular — people were suffering so much, from blindness, amputations …emphysema and had a poor quality of […]

Rachel Tabak’s research is focused on helping families become healthier through better eating and physical activity, with a central goal of preventing obesity. One barrier that she and other experts sometimes face is the perception that they’re more like nannies than nutritionists. In fact, Tabak said, savvy nutritionists know that blaming the individual isn’t just […]

Melissa Franco, MPH student (graduating Summer 2018) Hometown: Pasadena, CA Undergraduate school and major/minor: University of California, Davis; Chemistry Three things you have with you at all times…I have my headphones, laptop, and my keys, which I constantly misplace! What are your hobbies or activities when you aren’t studying or working?Growing up in California, I never had […]