Our Students

Graduate students from all walks of Emory University have participated in the work of the Religion and Public Health Collaborative. For some, the RPHC has funded their research or participation in seminars abroad. For others, a close association with our researchers and administrators has given them a new insight into the relationship between the disciplines of religion and public health. For all, their work with the RPHC has inspired and encouraged them to better understand how religion and the health of a community can work together for the common good. Here are the students who are helping to further this new field of inquiry.



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Ayanna Abi-Kyles, MA (Candler School of Theology)
Ayanna Abi-Kyles studied at Candler School of Theology, where she was active in the Black Church Studies program. She participated in the African Travel Seminar, a three-week trip to Ghana, where she explored the idea of an African spiritual identity and its potential effect on African American women's health. Click here to see Ayanna's poster "The Role of Identity Awareness as a Potential Health Asset: The Ghana Sojourners Study, Summer 2007."

Alison Amyx, MTS (Candler School of Theology)
Alison Amyx is an MTS candidate at Candler School of Theology (expected graduation May 2010). Her work for RPHC has consisted of maintaining the communications structure of the RPHC, through the website and the RPHC newsletter. Alison is not only passionate about religion, but also about the environment, and is currently furthering this passion through a 2009 summer internship with the Beatitudes Society's Regeneration Project in San Francisco.

Estelle E. Archibold, MA, MDiv(Candler School of Theology)
Estelle E. Archibold studied at Candler School of Theology, graduating with her MDiv in May 2009. Click here to see Estelle's posters "Seeking Alternative Approaches for Addressing Sickle Cell Disease in Ghana: Integrating Indigenous Traditional Healing Practices" and "African-American Faith-Based Mobilization in Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Efforts to Address African American Health Disparities in Georgia."

Matthew Bersagel-Braley, MA, PhD candidate (Emory University, Graduate Division of Religion)
Matthew Bersagel-Braley is a PhD candidate in Emory University's Graduate Division of Religion. Matthew has been a core member of the African Religious Health Assets Programme (ARHAP) team for many years.Click here to see Matthew's poster "More than JUST Health: Embracing an Ethic of Decent Care in an HIV-Infected World."

Adrian Bowie, MDiv (Candler School of Theology)
Adrian Bowie graduated from Candler in 2010.


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Stephanie Doan, MPH (Rollins School of Public Health)
Stephanie Doan studied global health at Rollins School of Public Health, graduating with her MPH in 2007.

Brooke Dodson-Lavelle, MA, PhD candidate (Emory University, Graduate Division of Religion)
Brooke Dodson-Lavelle is a PhD candidate in Emory University's Graduate Division of Religion. Click here to see Brooke's poster "Study to Develop and Assess the Emory Meditation Practice Tradition and Experience (EMPTE) Scale."

Laura Ellis, MPH expected 2011 (Rollins School of Public Health)
Laura Ellis is an MPH candidate at Rollins School of Public Health (expected graduation 2011) studying global health. She spent the summer of 2008 in Potchefstroom and Eldorado Park, both suburbs of Johannesburg, South Africa, with the ARHAP researchers at the University of Witwatersrand studying the ways in which religion and the sexual health of young people work together or in opposition to one another. Both young people aged 18-24 and religious leaders were interviewed, and the ways in which the two groups communicated about the issue was explored. Click here to see Laura's poster "Religion and the Sexual Health of Young People in Potchefstroom and Eldorado Park, South Africa."

Audrey Flak, MPH (Rollins School of Public Health)
Audrey Flak graduated in May 2010 from Rollins School of Public Health, where she studied epidemiology. She worked with the Religion and Reproductive Health project researching the roles of religion and spirituality in reproductive health decision making in low-income African-American women. Audrey presented her research at the CityMatCH conference in New Orleans in August 2009. Click here to see Audrey's posters: "Religion and Reproductive Health in Partnership: Surveying the Literature" and "The Role of Faith in Family Planning for African-American Women."

Kyndra Frazier, MDiv (Candler School of Theology)
Kyndra Frazier graduated from the Candler School of Theology in May 2010. Click here to see Kyndra's poster "The Intersections of Healing and Health Amid African Traditional Religions and the Black Church: The Ghana Travel Seminar, Summer 2008."

Annie Hardison-Moody, MTS, PhD candidate (Emory University, Graduate Division of Religion)
Annie Hardison-Moody is a PhD candidate in the Person, Community and Religious Life program in Emory University's Graduate Division of Religion. She worked with the Religion and Reproductive Health project, doing ethnographic work on the meaning of pregnancy to African-American homeless women in Atlanta. This work influenced Annie's dissertation, which focuses on care-giving, both in a religious and public health sense, for women experiencing gender-based violence. Click here to see Annie's poster "Choosing Unintended Pregnancy: Women's Agency, Spirituality, and the Discourse of Public Health."

Viji Kannan, MPH (Rollins School of Public Health)
Viji Kannan studied health policy and management at Rollins School of Public Health, graduating with her MPH in May 2009. She worked with the Religion and Reproductive Health project where her research examined the roles of state women's health policies, religiosity, and conservatism in predicting teen birth rates. Click here to see Viji's poster "Are conservative states creating more teen moms? The role of religion and policy."

Natasha Prudent, MPH (Rollins School of Public Health)
Natasha Prudent studied global environmental health at Rollins School of Public Health, graduating with her MPH in May 2008. Natasha did research in Malawi studying the efforts of a faith-based program in maintaining shallow wells. Her project used quantitative methods, such as GPS identification of water-points, and qualitative methods, such as interviewing program officers and well users, to gauge the functionality of wells built by the program. Click here to see Natasha's poster "Maintaining Shallow Wells and the Role of Faith-Based Organizations in Malawi."



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Michael Ritter, MPH (Rollins School of Public Health)
Michael Ritter studied global health at Rollins School of Public Health, graduating with his MPH in May 2008. Michael has concentrated his safe water work in Haiti, where his NGO, Deep Springs International has a base. Click here to see Michael's posters "Mountains, Motos, and Mules: Strengthening a Faith-Based Safe Water Project in Rural Haiti," "Assessing and Leveraging Religious Health Assets For Safe Water Projects in Rural Haiti," and "Assessing and Leveraging Religious Health Assets For Safe Water Projects in Rural Haiti."


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Kelly Rook, MPH (Rollins School of Public Health)
Kelly Rook studied global health at Rollins School of Public Health, graduating with her MPH in Spring 2008. Click here to see Kelly's poster "Church-Based Networks Assisting People Living with HIV/AIDS and Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Southern Mozambique."



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Charity Starr, MSW, MDiv (Candler School of Theology)
Charity Starr graduated from Candler School of Theology with her MDiv in May 2009. Click here to see Charity's poster "Infectious Theology: A Critical Analysis of Religion, Health, and Culture Negation."


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Cait Unites, MPH (Rollins School of Public Health)
Cait Unites studied global health at Rollins School of Public Health, graduating with her MPH in May 2008. Click here to see Cait's poster "Refining the Referral System: An Internship at the Aga Khan University Hospital (Nairobi)."

Gretchen Van Ess, MDiv/MPH (expected May 2011 (Candler School of Theology and Rollins School of Public Health)
Gretchen Van Ess is one of the first MDiv/MPH candidates at Candler School of Theology and Rollins School of Public Health. Click here to see Gretchen's posters "Assessing and Leveraging Religious Health Assets For Safe Water Projects in Rural Haiti" and "Assessing and Leveraging Religious Health Assets For Safe Water Projects in Rural Haiti."


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Karla Vogel, JD, MDiv, ThM (Candler School of Theology)
Karla Vogel graduated with her MDiv from Candler School of Theology in May 2009, and her ThM in 2010. Click here to see Karla's poster "African Religious Healing Traditions: A Ghanaian Model of Health and Well-Being for African-American Congregational Care."


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Cheryl Wilcox, MBA, MDiv (Candler School of Theology)
Cheryl Wilcox graduated with her MDiv from Candler School of Theology in May 2009. Click here to see Cheryl's poster "From Physical Health to Material Wealth: Healing in the African Tradition."


Amy Williams, MPH (Rollins School of Public Health)
Amy Williams studied global health at Rollins School of Public Health, graduating with her MPH in May 2009. Click here to see Amy's poster "A Community Health Needs Assessment for Health Planning in the Motipur Area of Uttar Pradesh, India."