BSPH capstone symposium
In an exciting culminating event on April 13, 46 Bachelor of Science in Public Health (BSPH) students presented academic posters to the Pitt Public Health community during the annual BSPH Capstone Symposium.
In a mix of group and individual projects, students presented work either stemming from their practicum or a three-credit, community-partnered course. "They serve as consultants on real-world public health challenges, showcasing how they integrate and apply the knowledge and skills developed throughout their program," explained Mara Koperwas, director of undergraduate curriculum.
The BSPH program launched with in 2022 in response to growing interest in public health careers and our previous graduates have been transfer students. Many of the students presenting during the symposium will graduate in a few weeks. Other presenters are in the school's 4+1 accelerated master's/bachelor's program.
“This is the first year we are graduating students who began with us as freshmen, so we’ve had the privilege of watching them grow over all four years,” said Koperwas. “I taught many of them in Fundamentals of Public Health as first-year students, and now seeing them as seniors presenting their capstone work is incredibly rewarding. I’m so proud of all they’ve accomplished and how much they’ve grown.”
- 2026 Capstone Symposium Presentations
- Humane Animal Rescue Project Data Analysis and Human Resource Improvement
Sierra Wilson, Rachel Dickerson, Abby Herbert, Angela Chen - Addressing Vaccine Questioning Through Targeted Communication: A Toolkit for Pitt's Vaccine & Health Connection Hub
Niveta Bharath, Guillermo Cruz, Paige Kehler, Jarieu Mansaray, Sareena Nat - Polarization, Misinformation, and Disinformation: How Increasing Partisanship is Shaping Belief in Public Health and Science at Large
Abby Favorito, Vivian Greenwood, Camille Marshal, Ellie Schafer - Advancing Health Equity through Medicaid Expansion: Evaluating Coverage and Fiscal Outcomes in Partnership with Families USA
Tarin Boohar, Ridgeway Case, Caitlyn Noll, Kouki Uemura - Culture to Care in Suriname and Senegal: A Comparitive Analysis of Global Public Health Concerns
Michael Krajcovic - Understanding Organ Donation Perceptions and Misinformation Among Gen Z: A Survey and Social Media Analysis
Holly Anthony, Ally Lutz, Diya Nadig, Gia Romano - Evaluation of the Allegheny County AED Registry and CPR Education
Evan M. Heffelfinger, Aiden T. Malone, Sadie N. Schrader, Ella B. VonCzoernig - Access to Pre-Hospital Emergency Care: Impacts of Ambulance and Rural Hospital Closures
Melena Mastrostefano, Krista Olson, Matigan Kirk, Samantha Alexander - Tick-Host Pathogen Dynamics Among Passerine Birds in Northwestern Pennsylvania
George Yialamas, Paulina Matzkin, Cassandra Ziegler, Brady A. Porter, Danielle M. Tufts - Vaccine Approval Rates and Hesitancies Among University of Pittsburgh Students
Lauren C. Grossman - Prescribing Pain: The Physician’s Role in Postoperative Opioid Use
Sabina Shah - Tick Density, Socioeconomic and Weather Factors as Predictors of Lyme Disease Incidence in Pennsylvania
Helen Farnham, Leah Lind - Assessing the Prevalence of Four Tick-Borne Pathogens in Small Mammals of Western Pennsylvania
Samuel Malay, Emily Bache, Raye Palko, Danielle M. Tufts - Nephrotoxic Metal Mixtures on Human Primary Renal Proximal Tubule Epithelial Cells and Pathways for Mitochondrial Dysfunction
Rachel E. Turkington, Zachary Zimmerman, Natalie Price, Alison P. Sanders - Meal Kits that Live: Establishing Market Partnerships and Healthy Deliverables with Community Kitchen Pittsburgh
Mary Aker, Swechya Baral, Cristina Cortes-Caronell, Kaylah Flemming, Nysa Gohil - Enhancing Public Health Engagement: A Three-Pillar Strategy for the Pitt Vaccination and Health Connection HUB
Coco Reed, Katherine Welton, Kira Kollmeier, Isabel Fisher
- Humane Animal Rescue Project Data Analysis and Human Resource Improvement
Dean's Day graduate student & postdoc research competition
April 7-9 we held our 28th annual student and postdoc research competition, Dean’s Day. A huge turnout, this year’s
six poster sessions featured around 100 graduate students from all seven departments as well as ten postdoctoral trainees. The Pitt Public Health community came out to learn about work on the carceral footprint, emphysema severity and lithium exposure, skeletal muscle adiposity, Parkinson’s disease and fairness in AI-driven health care, to name a few, studying populations in Pittsburgh, Appalachia, Suriname, Tobago, Samoa.
“The presentation feedback I received from judges and audience members was nothing short of amazing,” said Mike Dolinger, Director of Student Services. “Being able to effectively talk about one’s research is a needed skill out in the field,” Dolinger said in thanks to the faculty that supported students as judges that the time they spent “will add up to years of help” for presenters.
Sarah O’Connell, MS student in the Department of Human Genetics, won first place in the master's category and Camille Boufford, also from the Department of Human Genetics, took first among doctoral students.
"The Dean’s Day competition is one of my most favorite events of the year. From ticks in birds to dissecting misinformation, and genetic predisposition as a risk factor in disease outcome, I learned how our students are turning research into action," indicated Dean Lichtveld.
Full list of presenters and awardees
-Caitlin McCullough