Changemaker Series: COVID-19 Research

The Prez Paul Podcast changemaker series continues with professors Michael Chen and Lauren Brooks, along with research assistant Tatianna Trojnor-Hill '21, sharing their health policy research on COVID-19. They received a data access award from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to examine racial/ethnic disparities in access to laboratory testing and outcomes among more than 2 million patients across the U.S. They also found that geography and state-level political affiliations can predict individuals' risk of testing positive for COVID-19. 

Guests on the podcast:

• Michael Chen is an assistant professor in the Department of Nursing and Public Health. He received a bachelor’s degree in economics and public health from Brown University and a Ph.D. in health services research and policy from the University of Rochester. Michael's research interests include maternal and child health, father involvement, and the development of theory-based explanations to inform health practice and public policy. Michael was born in Taiwan, grew up in Toronto, and has lived in Rochester since 2010.
  
• Lauren Brooks is an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, primarily teaching courses in clinical laboratory science. She received degrees in biochemistry, biological sciences, and chemistry from Virginia Tech, a Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology from the University of Rochester, and completed her internship for clinical laboratory science at Rochester Regional Health. Lauren worked in the Serology and Microbiology clinical laboratory at the University of Rochester Central Labs before joining Nazareth full time. She was born and raised in the Washington, D.C. area and has lived in Rochester since 2009.
  
  
• Tatianna Trojnor-Hill graduated from Nazareth College in the spring of 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in Public Health and International Studies. She currently works as a project associate with JSI Research & Training Inc. and will be moving to New Hampshire for work at the end of this year. Tatianna’s interests include nutrition, food accessibility, and global health. She was born and raised in central New York and has lived in Rochester since 2017.