Alison Miller, PhD
Lab Director
Sara Stein, PhD, LMSW
Research Assistant Professor
Sara is a Research Assistant Professor. The central aim of her research is to identify mechanisms of trauma-related risk transmission across generations to increase effectiveness of evidence-based treatments and mitigate detrimental long-term physical and mental health outcomes in families and children. Sara is also currently a fully licensed, practicing clinical social worker in the State of Michigan with expertise in the treatment of complex trauma.
Olivia Halabicky, PhD, RN
Postdoctoral Fellow
Olivia is a postdoctoral fellow in the Environmental Toxicology and Epidemiology training program at the UM School of Public Health, with previous training in nursing and child health and wellbeing. The overarching goal of her research is to explain the mechanisms and co-exposures that contribute to differential vulnerability in health and neurocognitive outcomes resulting from early life lead exposure, so that improved strategies can be developed to mitigate long-term adverse health effects. In short, she seeks to understand what social, contextual, and biological factors influence the effect of lead on health and neurocognitive outcomes as children age.
Hurley Riley, MPH
Lab Manager
Hurley received his MPH in Health Behavior and Health Education from the University of Michigan School of Public Health in 2019. Prior to graduate school, Hurley received his BS in Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience from the University of Michigan. Hurley is interested in promoting health equity among youth.
Cassie Kearney
Research Assistant
Cassie is a current MPH student in Health Behavior and Health Education at the University of Michigan. She joined the lab in September 2022. She graduated from Middlebury College in 2022, majoring in Psychology and minoring in Global Health. Cassie is interested in maternal and child nutrition, youth, and adolescent mental health, and community prevention efforts and health education initiatives for children. Outside the classrooms at SPH and the lab, Cassie is a cross country and track and field athlete at the U of M as well.
Zihui Adams, MS, OTR/L
Graduate Student Intern
Zihui (pronounced Zoo-way) earned her master’s in Occupational therapy and minored in African Diaspora Studies in the Center for the Study of Culture, Race and Ethnicity at Ithaca College. She was a Martin Luther King Scholar at Ithaca College, which allowed her to do a number of research projects related to early education outcomes and policing in Black communities, Chicanx student movements, and environmental racism in international contexts. She has also done research on assistive technology and animal assisted therapy with a neurodivergent pediatric population. She did a Fulbright English teaching assistantship in rural Taiwan with Indigenous communities. She is now at the University of Michigan earning a dual degree in Public health with a concentration in health behavior, health education and social work with a concentration in community change and program evaluation. She is passionate about researching and co-creating programs at the intersections of historical and complex trauma, early childhood education, improving parent-child interactions, nutrition and cultivating cultural pride within BIPOC communities. She believes these will help prevent adverse childhood experiences, promote health equity and provide opportunities for upward mobility and quality of life.
Annie Clark
Graduate Student Intern
Annie is a current MPH student in Health Behavior and Health Education, and MSW student in Community Change, at the University of Michigan. She joined the lab in May 2023. Prior to graduate school, Annie graduated from Marquette University in 2019 where she majored in Psychology and Social Welfare & Justice. Annie is interested in community health and program development, specifically surrounding health promotion for youth and adolescents.
Wadad Itani
Graduate Student Intern
Wadad is a second year MPH student in Health Behavior and Health Education. She is interested in child health, health advocacy and finding innovative solutions for a more just and equitable world. She is also an active member of Public Health Awakened and the Public Health Action Support Team. Prior to that, she did her undergraduate studies in Biology and Education at the American University of Beirut (AUB) in Lebanon. She worked at AUB empowering refugee girls in Lebanon to pursue higher education and coordinating nongovernmental organization work. Outside of public Health, she is a mom to an 11-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy.
Sydney Strunk
Graduate Student Intern
Sydney is a current MPH student studying Health Behavior and Health Education at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. She joined the CHD Lab in May 2023 and holds a bachelor’s degree with majors in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Spanish from Cornell College.
Prior to graduate school, Sydney was a teaching assistant through The Fulbright Program and later an educator and instructional coordinator for STEM Center USA. With over seven years of combined experience in education and public health, Sydney is passionate about applying her skills and knowledge to promote health equity. She is also committed to turning theory and research into actionable practice and has particular interests in creating accessible health communications and improving health and well-being among LGBTQ+ youth.
Julia Plawker
Research Assistant
Julia is a current MPH student in the Department of Health Behavior and Health Education at the University of Michigan. In 2023, Julia graduated from University of Michigan with a B.S. in Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience. Julia is passionate about promoting health equity and addressing root causes of public health issues. She is interested in the communal level risk, protective, and promotive factors that influence childhood development. Currently, she works for the Michigan School Safety Initiative within the National Center for School Safety in the Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention. Previously, she worked with families in a clinical psychology lab, and worked with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Izza Ahmed-Ghani
Research Assistant
Izza is a graduate student at the University Michigan School of Public Health pursuing her Masters of Public Health and Masters of Healthcare Services and Administration. Izza was born in the Bay Area, but raised in Flint, Michigan, where her passion for health equity was nurtured. Izza embraces her intersectional identities and experiences as a female Muslim Pakistani American and child of immigrants in her discussions and advocacy for community well-being and social justice. She hopes to utilize her multidisciplinary background in strategizing solutions in healthcare access, services, and inclusivity within children, women’s and ultimately family health services through leveraging knowledge in both Health Behavior and Health Education & Health Management and Policy. Her ultimate goal is a lifelong commitment to proactively address health inequities and champion anti-racist pedagogy in healthcare, making health a human right for all. When she’s not studying, Izza can be seen cracking jokes with friends, showing off her cat, pretending to read, and binging Suits.
Chris Giang
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Chris is an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan who plans on majoring in Public Health. He joined the lab in April 2021. His interests center around behavioral responses to grief, loss, and coping seen particularly in children and families.
Isabella Stuart
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Bella is an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan. She is majoring in Biomolecular Sciences and minoring in Business. Bella works closely with the eating disorder recovery community as a peer support group leader for the national non-profit, ANAD. In her role as support group leader, she has become much more aware of the contributing factors that instigate and sustain eating disorders. She is now eager to better understand the social determinants of eating disorder development through scholarly research.
Ruchisree Garuda
Behavioral Coder
Ruchi is a rising senior majoring in Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience (BCN) and minoring in Quantitative Methods in Social Science (QMSS). Ruchi joined this lab because of her passion toward better understanding child development, and has had a great learning experience quantifying behaviors through behavioral coding. She hopes to eventually apply to the Clinical Psychology PhD program and specialize in the neurodevelopment in ASD and apply these data to create more effective and accessible interventions.
LuzElena Molina-Medina
Behavioral Coder
LuzElena is an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan pursuing a dual-major in Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience (BCN) and Spanish. She joined the lab in May 2022 because she is interested in understanding and addressing health disparities among multicultural communities. Specifically, the effect that this has on early home experiences of Latinx children and their developmental health.
Gillkaitlyn Palao
Behavioral Coder
Kaitlyn is an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan. She is majoring in Public Health Sciences. She joined the lab in August 2022. Her passion for maternal and child health stems from her experiences in Hawaii, where she was born, and the Philippines, where she grew up. She is interested in integrating public health and medicine to advocate for preventative and quality health care for families.
Gilkevyn Palao
Behavioral Coder
Kevyn is an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan pursuing a degree in Psychology. He joined the lab in February 2023. Kevyn is passionate about child development and mental health. He works closely with pediatric patients diagnosed with chronic illness. He is interested in providing children with psychosocial support and therapeutic free play.
Milena Stepanova
Behavioral Coder
Milena is an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan pursuing a double-major in Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience (BCN) and Cognitive Science. She joined the lab in November 2022, because she is interested in Child and Developmental Psychology. Her passion for studying child behavior and development stems from her experiences of working in summer camps in Russia, where she was born and grew up.