PhD Student Profiles

PhD students group 2017.

Meet our PhD students and candidates.

Meet our PhD students and candidates:

Lillian Agyemang

Lillian Agyemang.

Education

  • MSW, University at Buffalo
  • MHA, Utica College
  • BS, Virginia Commonwealth University

Research Areas

  • racial/ethnic oral health disparities experienced by older Black adults in access to and utilization of oral health services
  • ethnogeriatrics: the intersection of health, race/ethnicity, and aging
  • examining the structural barriers that cause disparities in oral health outcomes of Black older adults residing in dental/health professional shortage area
  • policies that impact aging services available in communities with predominantly Black residents 

Megan Bailey

connor walters.

PhD Candidate

Dissertation Topic: Exploring refugee youths' experiences and the role of psychosocial support activities (Chair: Wooksoo Kim)  

Education

  • MSW, University at Buffalo
  • MA, Union University
  • BA, Union University

Research Areas

  • refugee and immigrant communities
  • barriers to integration and community inclusion
  • program evaluation

Sara Campbell

Sara Campbell.

Education

  • MSW, University at Buffalo
  • MDiv, Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School
  • BS, Prescott College 

Research Areas

  • trauma
  • secondary traumatic stress
  • moral injury

Nicole Capozziello

Nicole Capozziello.

PhD Candidate

Dissertation Topic: Exploring East Side Residents' Visions of Nature and Vacant Land: A Community-Based Case Study (Chair: Elizabeth Bowen)  

Education

  • MSW, University at Buffalo
  • BA, Lawrence University

Research Areas

  • criminal justice policy change
  • nature-based interventions, including gardening and cooking
  • community-based participatory research

Emily Chambers

Nicole Capozziello.

Education

  • MSW, Binghamton University
  • BA, Binghamton University

Research Areas

  • reproductive justice, including barriers to healthcare access and factors influencing contraceptive decision-making
  • narcissistic abuse and dark triad personality traits in intimate partner relationships

Jennifer Elliott

Jay Kim.

Education

  • MSW, University at Buffalo
  • BS, Canisius College

Research Areas

  • intimate partner violence in the Black community
  • culturally responsive services for Black women survivors of intimate partner violence
  • trauma-Informed Interventions

Min Hu

Min Hu.

Education

  • MSW, Washington University in St. Louis
  • MSW, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
  • LLB, Independent City College, Dongguan University of Technology

Research Areas

  • financial capability and asset building of low- and moderate-income households 
  • resilience and its building for dealing with challenges caused by economic difficulties
  • service design and delivery and program evaluation

Vanity Jones

Vanity Jones.

Education

  • MSW, University at Buffalo
  • BS, SUNY Brockport

Research Areas

  • influence on intimate relationships in the Black community
  • interventions to break down barriers preventing healthy relationships in the Black community
  • preventing unhealthy relationships/identifying what a healthy relationship looks like for adolescents

Ogechi Kalu

Ogech Kalu.

Education

  • MSW, CRM University
  • BA, Kogi State University

Research Areas

  • exploring appraisal and coping mechanism of children witnesses of IPV
  • infant and maternal mental health
  • intervention research
  • gun violence

Kavya Kathpalia

Ogech Kalu.

Education

  • MSW, Washington University in St. Louis
  • BA LLB (Honours), Hidayatullah National Law University 

Research Areas

  • collective and community trauma experiences
  • school-based manifestations of community trauma
  • organizational behavior theory as applicable to schools
  • role of schools in community organizing and addressing trauma

Jay Kim

Jay Kim.

PhD Candidate

Dissertation Topic: Experiences of 'illegality' and health and mental health access of the undocumented Asian immigrants in Orange County, CA (Chair: Dr. Isok Kim)

Education

  • AM (MSW), University of Chicago
  • BA, Seoul National University

Research Areas

  • undocumented immigrants (Asians) and health access
  • immigrant health and mental health
  • community organizing and social movements

Charles LaBarre

Charles LaBarre.

PhD Candidate

Dissertation Topic: Assessing the Relationships Among Sexual Minority Stress, Recovery Capital, and Alcohol Recovery Outcomes Among Sexual Minoritized Populations (Chair: Clara Bradizza)

Education

  • MSW, PennWest Edinboro Universit
  • BA, Binghamton University

Research Areas

  • substance use recovery
  • recovery capital
  • social determinants of health and health inequities

Meschelle Linjean

Meschelle Linjean.

Education

  • MSW, University at Buffalo
  • MA, New Mexico State University
  • BA, University of California, Santa Barbara

Research Areas

  • historical and generational trauma healing in Indigenous communities
  • relationality and belonging in family and community wellbeing
  • culture-centered and land-/place-based healing approaches

Sare Martin

Meschelle Linjean.

Education

  • MSW, University at Buffalo 
  • BA, Nazareth University

Research Areas

  • impact of sociopolitical climate on marginalized communities
  • accessibility of support structures for sexual and gender minority young people
  • young people's experiences of joy and resistance

Jessica Mencia

jessica mencia.

PhD Candidate

Dissertation Topic: Examining the omission of sexual risk-taking in young women and girls of marginalized identities (Chair - Patricia Logan-Greene)

Education

  • MSW, University at Buffalo
  • BA, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Research Areas

  • abortion access in the United States South
  • access to sexual rights and healthcare in young women and girls
  • sexual risk-taking of young women with marginalized identities

Mary Milnamow

Mary Millnamow.

Education

  • MSS, Bryn Mawr College
  • BA, Temple University

Research Areas

  • family caregivers for older adults with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias
  • family caregivers' work productivity loss and economic well-being, system-level change and policy implications
  • secondary data analysis, mixed methods, implementation science

Tiffany J. Nhan

Rebecca Rasnake.

Education

  • BA, Clark University

Research Areas

  • historical and intergenerational trauma in refugees and immigrants
  • racial-ethnic identity and critical consciousness development
  • collective liberation, interminority solidarity and social action

Honour Odigie

Honour Odigie.

Education

  • MSW, University at Buffalo
  • BA, SUNY Old Westbury

Research Areas

  • precarious labor experiences of trafficked migrant women
  • discrepancies between the stated goals of trafficking prevention schemes, policies, interventions, and trafficked migrant women's account of their experiences 
  • critical analysis of anti-trafficking discourse, policies and interventions

Rebecca Rasnake

Rebecca Rasnake.

Education

  • MSW, Savannah State University
  • BA, Bellevue University

Research Areas

  • structural violence and determinants of health in rural Appalachia and Indigenous populations
  • structural facilitators of suicide disparities and the cumulative impact of intersectional higher-risk identities
  • mixed methods and community-based research

EunSook Seong

Rebecca Rasnake.

Education

  • MSW, University at Albany
  • MSW, Seoul Women's University
  • BSW, Daejeon University

Research Areas

  • mental health, trauma, parenting, and child’s developmental outcome
  • interrupting the intergenerational transmission of interpersonal trauma and mental health issues
  • immigrant communities, particularly Asians

Samantha Williams

Samantha Williams.

PhD Candidate

Dissertation topic: Transformative Learning in Social Work Education: Addressing Health Disparities in the Black Community (Chair: Mickey Sperlich)

Education

  • MSW, University at Buffalo
  • BA, Buffalo State College

Research Areas

  • university-community partnerships
  • social work education and experiential learning
  • underdeveloped Black and Brown neighborhoods

Shu-Yun Yang

Shu-Yun Yang.

Education

  • MSW, National Taiwan University 
  • BSW, National Taiwan University 

Research Areas

  • help-seeking behaviors among immigrant and refugee populations
  • acculturation pressures faced by immigrants and refugees in resettlement cities
  • application of inclusive perspectives in resettlement policy

Qi Zhou

qi zhou.

PhD Candidate

Dissertation Topic: Exploring trust and accountability in a contract-based cross-sector collaboration at the street level in child welfare (Co-Chairs: Annette Semanchin Jones & Jangmin Kim)

Education

  • MSW, Peking University
  • BA, Nanjing University of Finance and Economics

Research Areas

  • human service management
  • child welfare workforce development
  • cross-sector collaboration in child welfare