UM Social Work/Nursing
Bridges to the Doctoral Program
Bridges Trainees
Bridges cohorts 3 and 4 with Lorraine Gutierrez in February 2015 (From left to right; Back row: Philip Danquah, Leonel Aguilar, Sue Shin, Lorraine Gutierrez, Kose Ikenasio. Front row: Gabriella Carrillo, Brenda Morales, Amy Balian, Linda Natarajan,)
Current Trainees
Gabriela Carrillo, BA
Enrolled in the MSW Program at California State University, LA
Gabriela and her mentor, Dr. Bill Sanders, are investigating how the use of social media (e.g., Facebook or Twitter) shapes the relationship between incidents of intimate partner violence and the reportage of such victimization.
Kose Ikenasio, BA
Enrolled in the MSW Program at California State University, LA
Kose and his mentor, Dr. Nnenna Weathers, are investigating factors contributing to challenges in researching male to female transgendered persons, a difficult-to-reach population.
Brenda Morales, BA
Enrolled in the MSW Program at California State University, LA
Brenda and her mentor, Dr. Sofya Bagdasaryan, are examining how changes since the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act have affected access to health care and utilization among U.S. immigrant populations.
Sue Shin, BA
Enrolled in the MSW Program at California State University, LA
Sue and her mentor, Dr. Tasha Willis, are exploring mental health disparities and underutilization of mental health services among Asian American elderly.
Alumni
Leonel Aguilar, BA
Leonel aims to pursue a PhD in social work and conduct research on the impact of the Affordable Care Act on healthcare access and utilization.
Eunjoo An, BS, MSN
Eunjoo has completed the second year of the PhD program in the School of Nursing at UCLA.
Research Interests: Factors associated with lower birth weight babies among underrepresented populations.
Amy Balian, BA
Amy aims to pursue a PhD in social work and conduct research on mental health disparities in the correctional system, particularly with juveniles.
Joanna Barreras, BA, MSW
Joanna has completed the third year of the PhD program in Social Welfare at UCLA's Luskin School of Public Affairs.
Research Interests: Health care access and utilization among immigrant populations.
Robert Coley, BSW, MSW
Robert is practicing as a social worker in Michigan.
Research Interests: Attitudes of health professionals towards underserved and underrepresented populations; homelessness and substance abuse.
Philip Danquah, BSW, MSW
Enrolled in the MSW Program at California State University, LA
Philip has enrolled in the PhD program in public health at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Research Interests: Behavioral, sociological and economic determinants that contribute to mental health disparities in disadvantaged communities.
Lia Marshall, BA, MSW
Lia has completed the third year of the PhD program in Social Welfare at UCLA's Luskin School of Public Affairs.
Research Interests: Older immigrant populations and health disparities.
Teresa Melendrez, BA, MSW
Teresa is practicing as a social worker and administrator in California.
Research Interests: Health disparities as they relate to reproductive decision making.
Linda Natarajan, BA
Linda aims to pursue a PhD in social work and conduct research on education and health disparities.
Davita Pollock, RN, BSN, MSN
Davita is working full-time as a practicing nurse in Michigan.
Research Interests: The HPV vaccinne and adolescents, and why African American parents are less likely to vaccinate despite their higher rate of infection.
Debora Pond, BS, MSW
Debora has completed the third year of the PhD program in the School of Social Work at Michigan State University.
Research Interests: Health disparities among the homeless, LGBTQ, and Native American populations as it relates to chemical dependency and mental health.
Tinnikka Robertson-Jones, RN, BSN, MSN
Tinnikka is employed as an instructor in the School of Nursing at Hampton University in Virginia.
Research Interests: Health disparities among African American Women; HPV and cervical cancer.
De'Shay Thomas, BSW, MSW
De'Shay has completed the second year of the PhD program in the School of Social Work at Arizona State University.
Research Interests: Health Disparities among African American populations as they relate to mental health care utilization and reintegration from incarceration.
Markus Whitehead, BA, MSW
Markus has completed the second year of the PhD program in the School of Social Work at Wayne State University.
Research Interests: Factors contributing to poor mental health outcomes among female combat veterans.
