Our Staff

Ashley Dunn, MPH

Senior Research Associate

(she/her/hers)

San Jose, CA

Area of Expertise: Program Design and Evaluation, Community Partnership Building, Strategic Planning, Translational Health Sciences

With a focus on strategy and programmatic development, Ashley Dunn, MPH advances the translation of biomedical discoveries into interventions that improve health for mission-oriented organizations. As a collaborative team member, she works closely with stakeholders to design and evaluate innovative approaches to deliver programs that provide measurable and impactful outcomes. Ashley is passionate about developing impactful solutions for increasing diversity in clinical trials and across the biomedical workforce. She also promotes research rigor and reproducibility principles by developing education and training aimed at ensuring high-quality research.  She received her Bachelor of Science degree from SCU and her Masters of Public Health degree from the University of Southern California.  

Zainab Shipchandler, MPH, MCHES

Research Associate

(she/her/hers)

Dallas, TX

Area of Expertise: Health Literacy, Maternal and Child Health, Qualitative data analysis

Zainab Shipchandler, MPH, MCHES is a Public Health Consultant at ZRF Group Inc. Her company partners with healthcare and community-based organizations to promote health literacy and public health best practices through research, training, and strategic planning. Zainab’s projects include collaborating with Smith Research & Consulting LLC and the Center for Urban Transformation to conduct a mixed-methods community-driven health assessment for the Fifth Ward in Houston. Zainab is interested in developing connections across sectors and utilizing data-driven approaches to advance health equity for minority populations. She holds an MPH degree in Health Promotion from the University of Texas School of Public Health and a BA in Asian Studies from Rice University.

Current Intern

Maham Sewani (SHE/HER/HERS)

Area of Expertise: Social Policy, Advocacy

Maham Sewani is an undergraduate student at Rice University, pursuing a B.S. in Biosciences (with a Cell Biology and Genetics concentration) and a B.A. in Social Policy Analysis on a pre-med track. She is currently an Emergency Medical Technician with Rice Emergency Medical Services. She is also a research assistant at Wang Lab at McGovern Medical at UT Health, studying the pathology of atrial fibrillation. In the past her research on a rare genetic anomaly has been published in the American Journal of Medical Genetics. Maham also enjoys working with Plan International, a girls rights organization. She has coordinated their Youth Leadership Academy, a yearlong program where high school students learn about the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and implement projects to work toward these goals in their communities. Additionally, Maham has helped develop Plan’s 3-year advocacy strategy and their sexual and reproductive health campaign. Maham aspires to merge her interests in medicine and social justice by incorporating patient advocacy into her future career as a pediatrician. 

Past Interns