2026 Participants

2026 Emerging Leaders Institute Participants

Logan Bailey is a second-year master’s student in the Department of Population Health Sciences. As a first-generation student from rural South Carolina, he earned a bachelor of science in neuroscience and psychology from the University of South Carolina in 2024. His research interests focus on aging, epidemiology, and the ways environmental and structural factors influence health outcomes for older and underserved populations. Logan is particularly interested in research that informs policy and health system decision-making. Outside of his academic work, he enjoys hiking, golfing, traveling, and spending time with his loved ones.

Natasha Barahona is a first-year master’s student in global health, where she is building the research expertise she'll need to help improve health equity and expand access to specialized care. Her thesis work is focused on using geospatial analysis to map neurosurgical and neurological care facilities in Uganda and identifying areas of need for future resource placement. After completing her master’s degree, Natasha plans to go to medical school to pursue neurosurgery while continuing her global health research. Outside of academics, she enjoys hiking, travelling, and spending time with her husband and pets.

Elizabeth Boxer, M.P.H. is a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate in the Integrated Toxicology & Environmental Health Program (ITEHP) housed in the Nicholas School of the Environment. Her research focuses on how exposures to semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) impact the immune system during pregnancy. She is also interested in how environmental exposures during key periods of development, such as in utero, shape disease trajectories later in life. Elizabeth holds a bachelor’s degree from Northeastern University and an M.P.H. in environmental health sciences from UC Berkeley. Outside of the lab, she can often be found rotating between knitting, crochet, and cross-stitch.

Cierra Buckman, M.H.S. is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Population Health Sciences. Her research focuses on implementation science and pragmatic clinical trials, with an emphasis on food-as-medicine interventions, health system innovation, and improving care delivery for underserved populations. Prior to her doctoral training, Cierra spent nearly a decade in clinical research administration. At Johns Hopkins University, she led national and international research initiatives in child sexual abuse prevention. She later advanced from pediatric research to system-wide research leadership at ECU’s Brody School of Medicine and ECU Health, where she served as executive director of clinical research. Outside of her academic work, she enjoys running, reading, and climbing.

Mary Ann Fahmy is a first-year master's student in global health and is involved with the Center for Global Mental Health. She will travel to Moshi, Tanzania next summer to conduct qualitative thesis research focused on understanding the social environment following discharge from inpatient psychiatric care. Prior to coming to Duke, Mary Ann served in AmeriCorps at a medication-assisted treatment (MAT) clinic in Philadelphia, where she worked with patients experiencing substance-use disorder. These experiences shaped her interests in the intersection of social welfare and public health among underserved populations. She hopes to work in global health policy, with the goal of contributing to international institutions focused on advancing equity.

Mohsen Farshad, Ph.D. is a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science. He is a theoretical and computational physical chemist whose research focuses on modeling complex biological, chemical, and materials systems using multiscale simulations, statistical thermodynamics, and machine learning. His work spans free-energy landscape modeling, phase behavior, biomolecular condensates, ion transport, and self-assembly. Mohsen holds a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from the University of Maine and has held postdoctoral positions at the University of Notre Dame and Temple University. He is passionate about interdisciplinary research and applying computational methods to real-world scientific challenges.

Lei He is a first-year M.F.A. student in experimental and documentary arts. Her creative practice spans China and the United States and centers on memory, labor, mobility, and embodied experience across cultural contexts. Through documentary film and audio, her work examines and represents fishing communities, coal miners, East Asian women, New York-based immigrant communities, and families navigating migration and displacement, exploring how personal memory intersects with social and structural histories. Her current projects in North Carolina focus on Alzheimer’s disease and caregiving communities, developed as a documentary and podcast series. Lei looks forward to deepening her leadership practice through global, interdisciplinary collaboration while pursuing an artistic path grounded in public engagement and social responsibility.

Trisha Kibugi is a second-year M.S. candidate and Roothbert Fellow in the Duke Global Health Institute, where her focus is on cancer and vaccine epidemiology. Prior to Duke, she worked at a public health consulting organization on implementation programs across the United States, including health promotion, health insurance coverage for people living with HIV, substance use intervention, mapping health workforce shortage areas, and gun violence prevention programs. She is currently a member of Dr. Osazuwa-Peters' lab: Duke TORCHE. As an aspiring epidemiologist, she is passionate about using data to understand and inform evidence-based interventions.

Margaux J. Kreitman, Ph.D. is a postdoctoral associate in the Duke Eye Center. She completed her Ph.D. in chemistry and biochemistry at the Jules Stein Eye Institute of the University of California, Los Angeles. At Duke, her research focuses on cell biology of retinal photoreceptors and the role of actin dynamics in outer segment disc morphogenesis. Outside of research, she is an avid volunteer for eye health-focused programs and has conducted vision screenings, hosted cow eye dissection demonstrations, and taught eye anatomy, health, and safety to middle school students. She also plays violin in the Durham Medical Orchestra.

Anvita Kulshrestha is a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate in the University Program in Genetics & Genomics (UPGG). Working with Dr. Allison Ashley-Koch, she is investigating the genetic underpinnings of clinical heterogeneity in Sickle Cell Disease. Originally from Delhi, India, she completed undergraduate degrees in molecular & cell biology and nutritional sciences & toxicology from the University of California, Berkeley. In between her undergraduate and graduate studies, Anvita worked as a research associate at Yale School of Medicine. Beyond her research, she is actively involved with student organizations and serves on campus-wide committees. In her free time, she enjoys making art and doing calligraphy.

Kalina Larsen is a third-year Ph.D. candidate in pharmacology, working in the Donnelly Lab within the Department of Anesthesiology. Her research focuses on neuron-immune interactions in oral cancer, examining how stress signaling influences immune responses, chronic pain, and disease progression. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin - Madison with dual majors in genetics and life sciences communication. With interests at the intersection of biology, strategy, and therapeutic application, Kalina brings a strong translational mindset to her work and aspires to a career in medical affairs or medical strategy, bridging scientific discovery with clinical and organizational impact.

Cheyenne Lee, Ph.D. is a postdoctoral associate in Dr. Asiya Gusa’s lab studying the human fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans. Specifically, she studies how C. neoformans adapts to different stressors found within the human body to cause infection. She earned her Ph.D. from Emory University in 2024 where she studied sporulation and metabolism of the anaerobic bacterial pathogen Clostridioides difficile, and her B.S. in biotechnology from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke in 2019. Outside of lab, Cheyenne enjoys reading, practicing taekwondo, and volunteering in her local community. She is particularly passionate about mentorship and helping others navigate workplace challenges.

Colleen Mader is a first year M.S. candidate at the Duke Global Health Institute. Her goal is to become an effective leader in global health by reducing health disparities and developing equitable health policies and interventions grounded in the lived experiences of the communities most affected. She graduated from New York University Abu Dhabi in 2024 with a B.A. in social research and public policy, with concentrations in public health and peace studies. Outside of her academic work, she enjoys studying foreign languages, binge-reading library books, and long runs on weekend mornings.

Josette McLean is a Ph.D. candidate in the marine science and conservation program, where she is also completing a certificate in entrepreneurship and innovation. Her current research focuses on enhancing the resilience of global ecosystems to environmental stressors, with an emphasis on coral reef ecosystems. Josette has also held a variety of leadership roles in leading professional organizations, including the Ecological Society of America and The Oceanography Society. In the future, she aspires to merge her expertise in environmental science with her passion for business and technology to make meaningful contributions to the climate technology and sustainability sectors.

Emma Mew, Ph.D., M.P.H. is a psychiatric epidemiologist and postdoctoral associate at the Center for Global Mental Health at the Duke Global Health Institute. Dr. Mew has been working in the field of global mental health for over ten years, which includes professional public health experience in both government and research organizations. Her research focuses on the development and evaluation of psychosocial interventions to prevent adolescent suicide in resource-constrained settings. Dr. Mew earned her Ph.D. in epidemiology from Yale University and holds an M.P.H. in epidemiology from the University of Toronto.

Luz Saavedra-Sanchez is a Peruvian microbiologist and final-year Ph.D. candidate in molecular genetics and microbiology. Her research focuses on host-pathogen interactions in Shigella infection, integrating fluorescence microscopy and quantitative image analysis, and has been published in eLife. Luz is deeply committed to mentorship, leadership, and advancing equity in science. She serves as executive director of the nonprofit Research Experience for Peruvian Undergraduates (REPU), which connects Peruvian students with international research opportunities. Her professional interests lie at the intersection of translational science, global health, and building inclusive scientific communities.