People

Research Educator

Dr. Shane McCarty is the Research Educator for the Community & Global Public Health research stream. As a research scientist, he blends psychology and community health to examine conceptions of social issues, prosocial motivation, and strategies for health promotion and prevention. His work as a practitioner is rooted in Participatory Action Research, guiding student-led and community-driven initiatives for mental health and violence prevention. He has developed and delivered team-based programs that increase resilience among youth after a school shooting, enhance school climate for school administrators and educators, improve school disciplinary practices for school-based law enforcement, and build interprofessional competencies among healthcare professionals. In his role as a Research Educator, he empowers students to take a population health perspective, examining the sociostructural determinants of health. As a mentor, Dr. McCarty has inspired and guided high school and undergraduate students who are passionate about becoming the next generation of public health scientists and leaders.

Stream Collaborators

Student research teams collaborate with faculty members at Binghamton and Buffalo.

Jennifer J. McGrath, PhD MPH

Professor, Department of Psychology, Binghamton University

Dr. McGrath, a clinical psychologist, takes a pathways-to-policy approach to untangle the psychosocial determinants of child health inequalities, leading to insights into the pathophysiology of chronic disease precursors and their socioeconomic gradients in childhood and adolescence. She is an expert in psychophysiology research methods, psychometrics, and other advanced quantitative methods. She is supporting team #2 to examine lifestyle mental health using MUSE S and fitbits.

Barrett Brenton, PhD

Faculty Engagement Associate, Center for Civic Engagement

Professor, Department of Anthropology, Binghamton University

Dr. Brenton, a nutritional anthropologist, is an expert on food security and justice, supporting student teams examining food and nutrition.

Miesha Marzell, PhD

Associate Professor, Public Health Division, Binghamton University

Dr. Marzell is a substance use researcher with a background in social work and prevention science. Her research focuses on harm reduction and the mental health of racially minoritized people.

Heather Orom, PhD

Associate Dean for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

Associate Professor, Department of Community Health and Health Behavior, University at Buffalo

Dr. Orom conducts research on risk perception and communicating risk information. Specifically, she examines how health information avoidance undermines health behaviors, such as screening for colorectal cancer. She is supporting the health promotion and disease prevention team.

Peer Mentors

Course TAs

Simon (Lead PM for ANTH306)

  • Major: Biological Sciences

  • Hobbies/Interests: Reading, playing chess, president of the Albanian Student Association.

  • Peer Mentor Superpower: Literature Review guidance

  • FRI Final Project: Assessing Behaviors that Promote Brain Health

  • What was the highlight of your FRI experience as a student? I really enjoyed collaborating with my peers and tackling new academic challenges. Research is nothing like your average class, so exposure to research as a freshman was a very interesting and unique experience

Michela (Lead PM for HARP170)

  • Major: Integrative Neuroscience

  • FRI Final Project: Public Knowledge and Attitudes Related to Substance Use and Family Health

Qualitative Track (in NVivo)

Aashia

  • Major: Biology

  • Hobbies/Interests: I love curling up with a good book, catching up on my favorite shows, and discovering new music!

  • Peer Mentor Superpower: zero-sum beliefs

  • FRI Final Project: Voting Behaviors and Health Perceptions Regarding Incarcerated People

  • What was the highlight of your FRI experience as a student? The highlight of my FRI experience was definitely getting to explore real-world problems that I found genuinely interesting. I also loved building strong connections with my peers and mentors, which really enriched my learning. Plus, I gained so many invaluable skills that I know will help me in the future!

Ishaan

  • Major: Biology

  • Minor: Digital & Data Studies (DiDa)

  • Hobbies/Interests: Soccer, Formula 1, cooking, movies

  • Peer Mentor Superpower: Measure Design and Measure Review

  • FRI Final Project: Modifiable Factors in Cognitive Function - Socioeconomics, Mental Health, Substance Use, & TBIs

  • What was the highlight of your FRI experience as a student? The highlights for me were the ability to attend multiple poster sessions and conferences with my team’s poster, and meeting all of the people in my group. I also really enjoyed getting to learn about the whole process of researching, putting together a poster, and communicating findings to peers in the scientific community.

Parvathi

  • Major: Integrative Neuroscience

  • Hobbies/Interests: Multimedia chair of Indian International Student Union (IISU)

  • Peer Mentor Superpower: Qualitative data coding with nvivo

  • FRI Final Project: Assessing Voting Behaviour on the Rights of Incarcerated Women

  • What was the highlight of your FRI experience as a student? Being able to have over 200 research hours as a freshman and i found some of my bestest friends through FRI. I loved being able to have expert assistance and freedom to work on a research project I wanted to investigate which i appreciated.

Alicia

  • Major: Global Public Health

  • Hobbies/Interests: Kappa Kappa Gamma, BAH

  • FRI Final Project: Voting Behaviors and Health Perceptions Regarding Incarcerated People

  • What was the highlight of your FRI experience as a student? I love being able to work on a project I am passionate about. It allowed me to grow as a researcher and a student.

James

  • Major: History

  • Minor: Public Health

  • Hobbies/Interests: President of the Newman Association. I love theology, history, and the Buffalo Bills! In my free time I enjoy reading and cooking.

  • Peer Mentor Superpower: Developing a Qualtrics Survey

  • FRI Final Project: The Effect of an Educational Intervention on Vaccine Attitudes

  • What was the highlight of your FRI experience as a student? Working with fellow students in my third semester of FRI and getting to do community outreach via surveying with them and PMs. Developing a greater sense of holistic health and the challenges that face public health today. Meeting professionals in the field helped me feel confident in pursuing a career in Public Health.

Quantitative PMs (in R)

Zihan

  • Major: Statistics

  • Minor: Digital & Data Studies (DiDa)

  • Hobbies/Interests: I like photography, video editing, R&B music, skiing, swimming, and cooking. I am interested in animals, especially dogs and horses (I have tried riding a horse before, it was cool), any place with the sea, and anything related to matcha.

  • Peer Mentor Superpower: data visualization in R using tools like Plotly, ggplot2, and Quarto
    FRI Final Project: Public Knowledge and Attitudes on Vaccinations and Reproductive Health

  • What was the highlight of your FRI experience as a student? The most exciting experience I had while studying at FRI was presenting our research results at a poster presentation. This was my first time sharing a project in a formal setting, and I felt very fulfilled to be able to explain our research results on vaccine hesitancy to everyone. Especially working closely with the team throughout the semester to design the study, analyze the data, and come up with meaningful conclusions.

Jeff

  • Major: Biological Sciences and Environmental Science

  • Hobbies/Interests: guitar, the gym, origami, painting, and crocheting

  • Peer Mentor Superpower: Social Network Analysis

  • FRI Final Project: The Effect of an Educational Intervention on Vaccine Attitudes

  • What was the highlight of your FRI experience as a student? My favorite part of FRI was tabling and actually discussing the issue of vaccination with people. I also liked learning more about data analysis.

Allison

  • Major: Biology

  • Clubs: Pre-Physician Assistant Society, Binghamton Aiding Hearts

  • Hobbies: Cooking/Baking, Graphic Design, Sewing, Skiing

  • Peer Mentor Superpower: Regressions in R

  • FRI Final Project: Public Knowledge & Attitudes on Vaccinations & Reproductive Health

  • What was the highlight of your FRI experience as a student? My highlight of FRI was presenting my team’s research at the poster session. It was a great completion of the program and I got to see that all our hard work paid off!

Gavin

  • Major: Data Science and Statistics

  • Hobbies/Interests: Philippine-American League (PAL), Volleyball, Piano

  • Peer Mentor Superpower: Machine Learning in R

  • FRI Final Project: The Effect of an Educational Intervention on Vaccine Attitudes

Methods Track

Ainsley

  • Major: Biological Sciences

  • Hobbies/Interests: Running, hiking, baking, guitar, watching football and baseball

  • FRI Final Project: Public Knowledge and Attitudes Related to Substance Use and Family Health

  • What was the highlight of your FRI experience as a student? Presenting our research at Binghamton and Cornell! It was great to discuss our findings with faculty on campus who are passionate about our research topics.

Michael

  • Major: Psychology, Pre-Law Concentration

  • Hobbies/Interests: Binghamton Law Quarterly editor, Binghamton Pre-Law Education Organization, Moot Court Club. My academic research focus is on the intersection of psychology, neuroscience, and law, particularly by judges in adjudication.

  • Superpower: Legal, political, and public policy knowledge from working for a congressman, lawyers, and prosecutors.

  • Current Project: Semantic Quantification of Judicial Impartiality via LLM’s

  • What was the highlight of your FRI experience as a student? What was the highlight of your FRI experience as a student? Learning about the intricacies and effects of neurochemicals on OCD behavior.