"The CSCD team fosters and conducts collaborative and trans-disciplinary research through the lens of systems science and design thinking."
Our Team
Terry Huang, PhD, MPH, CPH, Director
Professor of Community Health at the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy and Director of the CUNY Center for Systems and Community Design.
Focus: Systems-oriented prevention strategies and translational systems science.
terry.huang@sph.cuny.edu
Karen Florez, DrPH, Deputy Director
Assistant Professor of Environmental, Occupational, and Geospatial Health Sciences at the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy
Focus: Sociocultural determinants of diet and diet-related diseases
karen.florez@sph.cuny.edu
Resident Fellows
RESIDENT FELLOWS of the Center are current faculty within the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy.
NON-RESIDENT FELLOWS from both academic and practice-based settings outside of the CUNY, are invited to join the CSCD based on their unique areas of specialization in order to fill expertise gaps and create new collaborations.
Nevin Cohen, PhD, MCRP
Associate Professor of Health Policy and Management and Research Director of CUNY’s Urban Food Policy Institute.
Focus: Urban planning, food policy, and design
nevin.cohen@sph.cuny.edu
Marie Aline Sillice, PhD
Research Assistant Professor at the Center for Systems and Community Design
Focus: Behavioral Health Prevention Intervention and Technology Applications
marie.sillice@sph.cuny.edu
Nasim Sabounchi, PhD, MS
Research Associate Professor of Health Policy and Management
Focus: Systems science methodologies, systems engineering and data analytics
nasim.sabounchi@sph.cuny.edu
Sergio Costa, PhD
Lecturer in Community Health and Social Sciences and Director of Online Learning
Focus: Digital innovation in pedagogy and educational technology
sergio.costa@sph.cuny.edu
Katarzyna Wyka, PhD, MA
Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Focus: Mental health, quantitative methods, and evaluation research
katarzyna.wyka@sph.cuny.edu
Ghada Soliman, MD, PhD, RD, LMNT, CDN
Associate Professor of Environmental, Occupational, and Geospatial Health Sciences
Focus: Nutrition assessment, diagnoses and interventions, and translational research
ghada.soliman@sph.cuny.edu
Diana Romero, PhD, MA, MPhil
Associate Professor of Community Health and Social Sciences
Focus: Mixed-methods study designs and Maternal, Child, Reproductive and Sexual Health
diana.romero@sph.cuny.edu
Sean Haley, PhD, MPH
Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Management
Focus: Substance use, policy systems research, and healthcare performance evaluation
sean.haley@sph.cuny.edu
Glen Johnson, PhD, MA, MS
Associate Professor of Environmental, Occupational, and Geospatial Health Sciences
Focus: Geo-spatial analysis, ecological health, and quantitative community health needs assessment
glen.johnson@sph.cuny.edu
Sheng Li, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Systems Science and Epidemiology
Focus: Infectious disease epidemiology, systems modeling, and machine learning.
sheng.li@sph.cuny.edu
Chris Palmedo, PhD, MBA
Associate Professor of Media Marketing, & Communications
Focus: Communications, social marketing, public health nutrition
chris.palmedo@sph.cuny.edu
Non-Resident Faculty Fellows
Teresa Chahine, ScD
Lecturer in Social Entrepreneurship at the Yale School of Management and Innovation Advisor at Alfanar
Focus: Social entrepreneurship and public health
teresa.chahine@yale.edu
David W. Lounsbury, PhD
Associate Professor of Epidemiology & Population Health at Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Focus: Community psychology and systems science
david.lounsbury@einsteinmed.org
Melissa Fuster Rivera, PhD, MS
Assistant Professor of Health and Nutrition Sciences at Brooklyn College
Focus: Implementation and systems sciences, food policy, and public health nutrition
m.fusterrivera54@brooklyn.cuny.edu
Emily M. D'Agostino, DrPH, MEd, MA
Assistant Professor of Family Medicine and Community Health at Duke University
Focus: Cardiovascular epidemiology and community-based interventions
emily.m.dagostino@duke.edu
Margrethe Horlyck-Romanovsky, DrPH
Assistant Professor of Health and Nutrition Sciences at Brooklyn College
Focus: Mixed methods research examining intra-ethnic risk
margrethehr@brooklyn.cuny.edu
Lorna Thorpe, PhD, MPH
Vice Chair of Strategy and Planning in the Department of Population Health at NYU Langone Health
Focus: Chronic disease prevention and public health surveillance
lorna.thorpe@nyumc.org
Christopher Walker, MPA
Social Innovations Director at Mercy Corps and Lecturer at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service
Focus: Impact investing and innovative finance
cwalker@mercycorps.org
Research Associates
Hanish Kodali, MD, MPH
Research Associate, The Physical Activity and Redesigned Community Spaces (PARCS) Study
Hanish.Kodali@sph.cuny.edu
Javier Otero Peña, PhD candidate
Research Associate, PARCS
javo01@gmail.com
Hind Kasem, MPH
Project Manager, PARCS
Hind.Kasem@sph.cuny.edu
Michael Crawley, MPH
Project Coordinator, PARCS
Michael.Crawley@sph.cuny.edu
Ewelina Swierad, PhD, MA, MS, EdM
Postdoctoral Research Scientist, Center for Systems & Community Design
Ewelina.Swierad@sph.cuny.edu
Mahdi Najafabadi, PhD, MPA, MBA
Postdoctoral Research Scientist, Center for Systems & Community Design
Mahdi.Najafabadi@sph.cuny.edu
Weanne Myrrh Estrada, MPH
Research Assistant, Center for Systems & Community Design
Weanne.Estrada@sph.cuny.edu
Priscila Lutete, MPH Candidate
Research Assistant, Center for Systems & Community Design
Priscila.Zito87@sphmail.cuny.edu
Alessandro Ciari, MPH
Assistant Director, Center for Systems & Community Design and Firefly Innovations
Alessandro.Ciari@sph.cuny.edu
Pui Ying (Polly) Chan, MPH
PhD candidate & Research Associate, NYC Health Justice Network (HJN) of the NYU-CUNY Prevention Research Center (PRC)
Puiying.Chan47@sphmail.cuny.edu
RECENT ASSOCIATES
Matthew Cato, MPH
HEOR Research Associate at Pfizer
Matthew.Cato@sph.cuny.edu
Emily Ferris, MPH
Senior Project Manager, The Physical Activity and Redesigned Community Spaces (PARCS) Study
Emily.Ferris@sph.cuny.edu
Olivia Barata-Cavalcanti, DrPH(c), MIA
Senior Project Manager at the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy
Olivia.BarataCavalcanti94@sphmail.cuny.edu
Megi Gogishvili, DPH
COBATEST Network Coordinator at the Centre for Epidemiological Studies on HIV/AIDS and STIs of Catalonia (CEEISCAT), Spain
Focus: Systemic barriers to health care access, health disparities, HIV testing and care
mgogishvili@hotmail.com
Tailisha M. Gonzalez, MPH, MS
Instructor of Public Health & Health Services Administration at Lehman College
Focus: Structural determinants of diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease
Tailisha.Gonzalez59@sphmail.cuny.edu
Carlos Devia, MA, PhD(c)
Senior Clinical Quality Manager, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
Focus: Community-engaged research, chronic disease prevention, and health information technology
Carlos.Devia49@sphmail.cuny.edu