Current Members
Hannah received her master of public health with an emphasis in health behavior and health education from the University of Michigan in April 2018. Her previous research and career experience has addressed vulnerable population health and wellness, health disparities, and chronic disease self-management and health across the lifespan. She joined the Wu research team in August 2020 to assist in delivering behavioral interventions for melanoma prevention in family and school settings. Hannah is passionate about health education and prevention, particularly as it pertains to creating lasting behavior change to promote lifelong health in all dimensions.
Dr. Chan is a nurse scientist (PhD, University of California, Irvine) whose research focuses on mobile health technologies and mental health in young adult and student populations. She has previous experience working in student affairs and higher education and is excited to combine her practitioner and researcher experiences. Dr. Chan joined the Wu research team in February 2022 as a research associate working primarily on the SUNRISE study.
Sam will graduate in the Fall of 2022 with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a minor in Spanish from the University of Utah. He is very interested in research involving cancer prevention and improving cancer patient outcomes. He is in the process of applying to medical school and is currently working as a Lab Supplies Rep while he is in the application process. Sam is a former EMT as well as a phlebotomist. He joined the Wu research team in September 2022 as a research assistant.
Malynne received her Master of Public Health from Brigham Young University in April of 2021, and joined the Wu research team in October 2021 as a Health Navigator for the SCALE-UP Counts study. Her previous research and public health experience include COVID contact tracing for the Utah Department of Health, researching the impact of COVID on family life, and dental care coordination for underinsured individuals. Malynne is also passionate about health equity and minimizing disparities through education and policy change.
Johanna got her Bachelors in Business Management from Southern Utah University. She has been with the Wu team since December 2019. She helps with all administrative needs for Dr. Wu and her team.
Sarah received her Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics from UNC Greensboro in 2018 and then her Master of Public Health from UNC Chapel Hill in 2020, where my concentration was in nutrition. Her public health experience to this point has focused in community nutrition and food security, but she is passionate about anything and everything related to public health, especially rural health and health equity. She enjoys being on the implementation end of the research process where she can interact directly with the public and build relationships in the community. Sarah joined the Wu research team in November 2021 a Health Navigator for the SCALE-UP Counts study.
Kylie is a second year undergraduate at the University of Utah studying Civil Engineering while pursuing the pre-med track. Apart from being a research assistant, she is a Connect2Health Volunteer, member of the ASCE student chapter, part of the Delta Gamma Sorority and Maui Rotary Club back home. Over the past couple of years, she has worked with elementary school students to help spread awareness about the benefits of sunscreen as well as how to minimize sun exposure now. She is very excited to work on skin cancer prevention with the Wu research team.
Sam graduated from Brigham Young University in 2021 with a bachelor's degree in psychology and has been with the Wu team as the FLARE study coordinator since May 2022. He came to the team with a passion for and prior experience with working with children and young adults and plans to matriculate into a developmental psychology PhD program after his tenure with the Wu team.
McKenna received her Bachelor of Science in Health Promotion from the University of West Florida in May 2020 and is currently working on a Master of Science degree in Public Health. Her previous experience has been working with disease prevention in vulnerable populations; she is passionate about health equity and preventative care. She will be working on school- and family-based melanoma prevention studies. She is excited to be joining the Wu research team in December 2021.
Caroline is a fourth year undergraduate at the University of Utah studying psychology and political science. Caroline joined the Wu team SUNRISE and FLARE project as an undergraduate research assistant since October 2022. She is interested in health and biopsychology and has been researching the role of national identity in young adults from various cultures for the past two years. Caroline is passionate about health psychology, specifically how early experiences and health habits impact the probability of chronic illnesses in the future. She hopes to continue pursuing health psychology in graduate school and is very excited to be working on the Wu team.
Leighann received her Master of Public Health from Northern Illinois University in December 2017. Her previous career experience includes working in hospital administration and as a public health administrator. She joined the Wu research team in September 2021 as a programs manager working primarily on the SCALE-UP Counts study.
Mackenzie received her Master of Science in Health Promotion degree from the University of Delaware in May 2018, and is currently working as the study navigator for the Population Sciences Trials Office (PSTO). She has worked with the Wu research team since the summer of 2018, and has been involved with preparing federal grant submissions, creating intervention manuals, and developing study-related curriculum and materials.
Nic received their master of education in clinical mental health counseling from the University of Utah in May 2020. They have four years of prior research experience involving behavioral science, criminal justice, male sexual trauma, and shame and religious trauma in LDS LGBTQ+ individuals in Utah. They joined the Wu team in November 2020 and will be working on school- and family-based melanoma prevention studies.
Cameron received his Bachelor of Science in Public Health from Brigham Young University-Idaho in December 2021. He is currently working on his Master of Science in Public Health degree here at the University of Utah. His previous work experience has been as a Disease Investigator working with COVID-19 and other communicable diseases. He is passionate about research and infectious diseases. He plans to continue to pursue a career in Epidemiology. Cameron joined the Wu team in August 2022 and will be working primarily on the SHINE study, focused on improving sun protection and awareness in high school students.
Dr. Stump is a social and health psychologist (PhD, University of Utah, 2016) whose research focuses on health promotion among populations with an elevated risk of cancer. She seeks to develop and test mobile health interventions that are guided by a nuanced understanding of the multiple factors that influence behavior, including the interplay among health behaviors (e.g., sun protection and outdoor physical activity). Dr. Stump’s research also applies implementation science models and methods to broaden the reach, sustainability, and overall impact of cancer prevention interventions. After spending five years as a researcher at Northwestern University, Dr. Stump recently returned to Utah and joined Dr. Wu’s team in Fall 2021.
Will graduated from the University of Utah Honors College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology with a minor in Substance Use Disorder Counseling. Will joined the Wu research team in August 2021 as a Study Coordinator assisting with all of the studies in the lab. Will is interested in how academic research can be utilized to benefit members of different marginalized communities. Will plans to attend graduate school to get his PhD in clinical psychology studying childhood trauma in adulthood as well as psychopathology in sexual minorities.
Mack received his Bachelor of Science in Anthropology at the University of Utah in the spring of 2022. He began a Master of Public Health program in the fall of 2022. Mack is passionate about preventative healthcare, community involvement, and rural health. He joined the Wu team in August 2022 and will be working on the SHINE study, focused on improving sun protection and awareness in high school students.
Liberty received her Bachelor of Science in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Michigan in 2020. She has research experience in disease ecology, evolutionary trade-offs, and cancer research studying immune evasive mechanisms of tumor initiating stem cells. She cares about research on cancer prevention and treatment, women’s health, mental health, and environmental sustainability. Liberty joined the Wu lab in October 2022 as a Clinical Research Coordinator for the RISE-UP study, and she is really excited to work with this awesome team.
Former Members
| Name | Former Title |
|---|---|
| Elizabeth Nagelhout, MPH | Research Assistant |
| Angela Zhu | Research Assistant |
| Kelsey Zaugg, BS | Research Volunteer |
| Riley Lensink | Research Volunteer |
| Heloisa Caputo , BS | Research Volunteer |
| Rachel Forrest, BS | Research Volunteer |
| Tara Austin, MPH | Research Volunteer |
| Linda Barton, BS | Research Volunteer |
| Brynn Fowler, MPH | Research Coordinator |
| Patsaporn Kanokvimankul, BPhar | Research Volunteer |
| Bridgid Mariko Conn, PhD | Research Assistant |
| Ryan Mooney, BS | Research Assistant |
| Ayesha Patil, BS | Research Assistant |
| Mahasen Samhouri | Research Assistant |
| Jessica McPhail, MPH | Research Assistant |
| Tim Michaelis | Medical Student |
| Ryan Ring | Administrative Assistant |
| Brantley Scott | Research Coordinator |
| Monique Tulley-Bahe | Research Intern |
| Andrew Wilson, MSTAT, PhD Candidate | Graduate Student |
| Katy Nottingham, BS | Research Analyst |
| Christy Chapman, BS | Health Interventionist |
| Kade Kofford | Research Assistant |
| Andrea Rivero | |
| Bridget Parsons, MSPH | Clinical Research Coordinator |
| Braden Cunningham | Research Assistant |
| Natalie Flores | |
| Ali Palmer, BS | Research Assistant |
| Heather Smith | |
| Elise Brunsgaard, MD | Postdoc Research Associate |
| Sanga Mohmand | Research Assistant |
| Emily Ballard | Research Assistant |
| Marina Khan, MPA | Research Assistant |