Broadly, my research focuses on health disparities and social determinants of health, with particular emphasis on the intersection between biology and culture. Bridging public health and anthropology, my mixed methods research has focused on the synergistic relationship between issues such as food and housing security, mental health, and HIV in the United States and abroad, including Haiti, Lesotho, and the Tampa Bay area. I have studied food security and hunger, dietary diversity, and urban gardens in a number of settings. My goal is to ground quantitative research findings in the lived experiences of vulnerable populations experiencing health disparities, to improve intervention design and implementation, health outcomes, and policy. In addition, I have worked for several years as a coordinator/analyst for programs that seek to build on assets of adolescents and early undergraduates. Most recently, I helped lead a federally funded maternal and child health pipeline training program that aimed to recruit, mentor, train, and guide underrepresented students into health-related graduate training and careers. Through didactic seminars, interactive training sessions, research mentoring, and professional and academic skills building, graduates from the training program successfully matriculated into medical school, graduate programs in public health, nursing, and international policy as well as into the MCH workforce. I am committed to helping students build the skills and confidence they need to be successful in their chosen careers.