The Center for Health and Wellbeing proudly announces the three recipients of the 2024 Beth N. Rom-Rymer, Class of 1973, Senior Thesis Prize in Global Health and Health Policy. This prestigious honor, which includes a $2,500 cash award for each recipient, recognizes the most outstanding theses written by students earning a GHP certificate.

The 2024 awardees are:

• Libby Blazes ’24 (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology) – “Measles in Madagascar: Assessing the State of Immunity and Disease Surveillance in the Post-COVID-19 World”
• Rachel Chen ’24 (Molecular Biology) – “Ketosis Enhances Murine Natural Killer Cells’ Anti-Breast Cancer Phenotype In Vitro”
• Kennedy Walls ’24 (Anthropology) – “Plea for Life: An Ethnography of Migrant Health and Militant Humanitarianism Under the Dublin III Regulation”

Four students received an honorable mention:

• Aisha Chebbi ’24 (Anthropology) – “Inoculating Belief: Tracing Vaccine Hesitancy and Decision-Making in Muslim America”
• Julia King ’24 (Politics) – “Against All Odds: Enacting Domestic Violence Firearm Bans in Conservative U.S. States”
• Brian Li ’24 (Comparative Literature) – “Acquired Tastes: The Social Discourse of Disordered Eating in Pre-Modern Chinese and European Literature”
• Leuna Sen ’24 (Molecular Biology) – “Novel Lipid Nanoparticle Formulations Co-encapsulating DNA and Polyamines for Global Health Applications”

The 2023 Beth N. Rom-Rymer, Class of 1973, Senior Thesis Prize in Global Health and Health Policy awardees are:

• Nannette Beckley ’23 (Public and International Affairs) – “Community Violence and Postpartum Depression: Associations and Potential Intervention Strategies”
• Nelson Chow ’23 (Molecular Biology) – “Transmural Pressure and Retinoic Acid Signaling in the Mouse Lung Mesothelium”
• Chloe Fox-Gitomer ’23 (Anthropology) – “Sharps Containers are Red, Tourniquets are Blue: Harm Reduction’s Abridged History and an Ethnography of Contemporary Programs”

Four students received an honorable mention:

• Naomi Frim-Abrams ’23 (Sociology) – “Social Prescribing in the UK: The Role of Organizational Networks and Implications for the US”
• Katherine Kopp ’23 (Ecology & Evolutionary Biology) – “Sexual Age-Mixing and HIV Transmission in Rural Uganda”
• Emily Schoeman ’23 (Molecular Biology) – “Examining the Role of Envelope Protein Mutations in Promoting the Dengue Viral Life Cycle”
• Sydnae Taylor ’23 (Anthropology) – “No Woman No Cry: An Ethnographic Exploration of Violence in Maternal and Child Care Experiences in Bolivia”

The 2022 Global Health and Health Policy Senior Thesis Prize co-recipients are Nathnael Mengistie (School of Public and International Affairs), Brooke Redwine (Molecular Biology), and Maddie Winter (History).

• Mengistie’s thesis is entitled “Telehealth and Health Equity: Analyzing the Impact of State Telehealth Policies on the Use of Telehealth Services among Vulnerable Populations during the COVID-19 Pandemic.”
• Redwine’s thesis is entitled “History is in Our Blood: Systemic Sclerosis in the Oklahoma Choctaw.”
• Winter’s thesis is entitled “The Unprotected Public: The Pertussis Vaccine Controversy from 1982-1986.”

Honorable Mentions

Samantha Bents (Ecology & Evolutionary Biology) – “The Impact of Covid-19 Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions on Future Respiratory Syncytial Virus Transmission in South Africa.”

Beata Corcoran (Anthropology) – “Life on Island Earth: A New Generation of Kānaka Maoli Perspectives.”

Sean Edling (Ecology & Evolutionary Biology) – “Disparities in Disease: An Epidemiological Analysis of Chile’s Public Health Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic.”

Mansi Totwani (Molecular Biology) – “Breaking the Species Barrier: Investigating the Host Proteins Involved in Human and Murine Hepatitis B Infection.”

The 2021 Global Health and Health Policy Senior Thesis Prize co-recipients are Isabelle Chandler (History), Chitra Parikh (Architecture), and Jonathan Wang (Molecular Biology).

• Chandler’s thesis is entitled “The Spirit of Xiaotangshan”: An Investigation into the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Use of the Xiaotangshan SARS Hospital as a Tool of Propaganda, 2003 - 2021.”
• Parikh’s thesis is entitled “Reclaiming the Corridor: Modulating Circulation and Air Transmission to Build Flexibility in Clinical Design.”
• Wang’s thesis is entitled “Examining Low-Barrier Buprenorphine Treatment during COVID-19 for Individuals Experiencing Housing Insecurity and Homelessness.”

Honorable Mentions

Katherine Leggat-Barr (School of Public and International Affairs) – “Responding from a Fractured Foundation: An Analysis of the COVID-19 Response on the Navajo Nation, to Explain Observed Elevated COVID-19 Mortality Rates.”

Toyosi Oluwole (Anthropology) – “The Label: Forging Meanings of a Rare Genetic Diagnosis.”

Kiersten Rasberry (Anthropology) – “More than a Sweet Tooth: Exploring the Role of the Built Environment in the South Side of Chicago Diabetes Epidemic.”

Kalil Shaw (Electrical Engineering) – “Non-invasive Glucose Monitoring: Miniaturization of an in vivo Glucose Sensor Based on Mid-Infrared Laser Spectroscopy.”

The 2020 Global Health and Health Policy Senior Thesis Prize co-recipients are Rachel Kasdin (Sociology), Elisabeth Slighton (Anthropology), and Alexandra Wilson (Molecular Biology).

• Kasdin’s thesis is “The Crisis of Stigma: Young Adults’ Negotiation of Racism and Homelessness in Trenton’s Health Care System.”
• Slighton’s thesis is “Organic Local Theorists: A Patient and Provider Ethnography of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.”
• Wilson’s thesis is “Establishing a Computational Model of the CO2-Concentrating Mechanism in Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii.”

Honorable Mentions:

Jasmin Capellan (Anthropology) – “Living on Wheels: An Ethnographic Account of Disability, Sanctuary, and Kinship in the Dominican Republic”

Gabriela Oseguera-Serra (Political Science) – “Are They Going to Support Us or Not? Mexico’s Seguro Popular Program and Its Effects on Indigenous People’s Trust in Political Institutions”

Natalia Roszkowska (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology) – “Improved Real-Time Disease Surveillance: Leveraging Google Search to Monitor Influenza and Measles Outbreaks in Madagascar and the United States”

Morgan Steelman (Princeton School of Public and International Affairs) – “On Bad Terms: The Effect of President Trump’s First Term on Preterm Birth and Prenatal Care Utilization Among Latina Immigrants”

The 2019 Global Health and Health Policy Senior Thesis Prize co-recipients are Samantha Chai
(Princeton School of Public and International Affairs), Carson Clay (Princeton School of Public and International Affairs), and Mateo Gilsilvetti (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology).

• Chai’s thesis is “Hit Me With Your Best Shot: An Analysis of Maternal and Household Demographics on Child Immunization Status in India.”
• Clay’s thesis is “We’re Closed, Call 911: Community Effects and Perceptions of Rural Hospital Closures.”
• Gilsilvetti’s thesis is “Toward Chagas Disease Eradication: Benznidazole Resistance in Trypanosoma Cruzi, Clinical Awareness in the United States, and the Rights of Migrants.”

Honorable Mentions:

• Maria Malik (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology) – “The Impact of Tropical Cyclones on Infectious Disease Incidence and Public Health Infrastructure in Madagascar”

• Claire Nussbaum (Princeton School of Public and International Affairs) – “Was Silver Loading Really the Silver Bullet? The Effects of CSR Non-Payment on Consumer Plan Selection in the ACA Individual Marketplaces”

• Jessica Sheng (Molecular Biology) – “Characterizing Outer Membrane Protein Biogenesis in Escherichia Coli Using a Small-Molecule Inhibitor of BamA and its Resistant Mutation”

• Tianyi Wang (Princeton School of Public and International Affairs) – “The Global Fight Against Antibiotic Resistance: An Analysis of Social and Health-Seeking Determinants in Antibiotic Use in Vietnamese Children under 5”

The Global Health and Health Policy Senior Thesis Prize is awarded in recognition of the most outstanding thesis written by a student earning a certificate in Global Health and Health Policy.

The 2018 Global Health and Health Policy Senior Thesis Prize co-recipients are Aaron Gurayah (Molecular Biology), Paulita Lara Mejia (Neuroscience), and Julia Song (Princeton School of Public and International Affairs).

• Gurayah’s thesis is “DNA Methylation as a Mediator of the Association Between Cognitive Ability and Neighborhood Air Pollution in the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study.”

• Lara Mejia’s thesis is “The Developing Brain Under Stress: Long-Term Consequences of Early Life Stress on Behavior and Neuroplasticity in the Hippocampus.”

• Song’s thesis is “Impact of Hospital Closures on Quality of Care in New York City: An Analysis of the New York State Commission on Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century.”

Honorable Mentions:

• Tigist Menkir (Ecology & Evolutionary Biology) – “An Integrated Approach to Evaluating the Patterns and Impacts of Vaccine Confidence on Meningitis Dynamics in Nigeria and the UK“

• Morgan Brewton-Johnson (Princeton School of Public and International Affairs) – “Redefining Investment in Health: A Comparative Analysis of the Relationship Between Social Service Expenditure and Population Health Across OECD Nations”

• Ricky Chae (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology) – “An Epidemiological Assessment of the Risk of Fatal Motor Vehicle Collisions with Benzodiazepine Use in South Korea”

• Tristan Lim (Chemical & Biological Engineering) – “Towards the Development of Accessible and Biocompatible Porphyrin Nanoparticles for Pet Imaging Applications”

Justine Hamilton (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology) - “Diet Selection and Parasite Infection in Peromyscus leucopus and P. maniculatus: Do wild mice alter foraging behavior to combat intestinal parasites?”

Kishan Bhatt (Princeton School of Public and International Affairs) - “Safeguarding American Patients, A National Regression Analysis and State-Focused Case Study of Health Insurance Coverage and Medical Bankruptcy.”

Nabil Shaikh (Politics) - “Global Access to End-of-Life Care: An Intrinsic Dignity-Based Theory of Holistic Health.”

Honorable Mentions:

• Isao Ansai (Molecular Biology) – “Knockout Sudoku: An Investigation of the Genetic Basis Behind Extracellular Electron Transfer in Shewanella oneidensis MR“

• Rachel Choi (Molecular Biology) – “The 100-Year Struggle: The Search for a New Vaccine for Tuberculosis”

• Zach Levine (Anthropology) - "Conspiracy & Sorcery, The Public & Expertise: Searching for Conceptualizations of Global Health in the Post-Truth Era"

• Janelle Tam (Molecular Biology) – “Take Your Telomeres to Church: The Association between Religiosity and Telomere Length in the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study”

Sanjay Rao (Ecology & Evolutionary Biology) -The Past, Present, and Future of Dengue Vector Control: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Download the full thesis.

Jamie Shenk (History) - Where Were You When They Killed Lara Bonilla? Politics of Drugs and Peace in Colombia (1982-1984) Download the full thesis.

Lena Sun - (Economics) - Technological Transformation in Health Care: The Impact of Electronic Medical Records on Quality and Cost of Care in California Download the full thesis.

Honorable Mentions

• Isabella Fernandez (Politics) - The Impact of Securitizing Aid on the Efficacy of Aid Development Programs in Post-Conflict Countries: A Case Study in Women’s Reproductive Health in Afghanistan

• Helena Hengelbrok (Anthropology) - WATER BELONGS TO THOSE WHO ARE THIRSTY: An Ethnography of Water, Political Belonging, and Health in Urubamba, Peru

• Kenny Hubbell (Chemical & Biological Engineering) - Construction of Fusion Lasso Peptides with Pharmaceutically-Relevant Sequences

• Melody Qiu (Princeton School of Public and International Affairs) - To Push or To Cut? Decision-Making in Childbirth Amid the Brazilian Cesarean Epidemic

Alexandra Junn (Princeton School of Public and International Affairs) - OPEN ARMS, CLOSED FISTS: An Ethnographic Analysis of Crack Treatment Programs in São Paulo, Brazil. Download the full thesis.

Michael Kochis (Molecular Biology) - Characterization of Rotavirus Strains in Ghana Before and After Vaccine Introduction. Download the full thesis.

Pavithra Vijayakumar - (Princeton School of Public and International Affairs) Adapting to the ACA: Risk-Assumption Across the Spectrum of Integrated Delivery Systems. Download the full thesis.

Honorable Mentions

• Charles Fortin (East Asian Studies) - Nurturing Life Amidst the Smog: The Air Pollution Experience in Contemporary China

• Emma Glennon (Ecology & Evolutionary Biology) - Climate, contact, and cholera: A discrete-time approach to revealing several patterns of Vibrio Cholerae O1 transmission in Dhaka, Bangladesh

• Alomi Parikh (Chemistry) - Novel Methods for Patterning Flat and Curved Soft Polymer Surfaces to Direct Cell Growth for Nerve Repair

• Fred Shaykis (Psychology) - Awareness is Power: Promoting Healthy, Mindful Eating for Trenton Middle Schoolers Through an After-School Partnership

Simone Sasse (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology) - Biological Control Of Dengue's Mosquito Vector.

Download the full thesis.

Naomi Zucker (Anthropology) - Visions of Health and Care in Sao Paulo Brazil.

Download the full thesis.

Honorable Mentions

• Sally Butler (English) - "The Puzzle Takes Over": Perceiving Disease in All Its Complexity. Download abstract.

• Seth Forsgren (Molecular Biology) - The Variola Virus: The Threat of Reintroduction and Our Capacity to Respond. Download abstract.

• Prihatha Narasimmaraj (Princeton School of Public and International Affairs) - "There Is No Other Food Besides the Breast": Challenges of Infant and Young Child Feeding in Rural Sierra Leone. Download abstract.

• Storm Portner (Anthropology) - Imagining Partnerships: An Ethnography of Community Health Workers in a Global Health Intervention in Sierra Leone. Download abstract.

Raphael Frankfurter (Anthropology) - Transience and the Lives Therein: An Ethnography of Global Health and Care in Sierra Leone. (Publication of the full thesis is withheld due to ongoing, sensitive and potentially recognizable issues regarding the individuals detailed in the thesis.) Download abstract.

Aaron Lin (Molecular Biology) - Proteomic Investigation of the HSV-1 Outer Tegument Protein pUL46: Interactions, Hyper-Phosphorylation, and Regulation by ICP0-Dependent Proteasomal Degradation. Download the full thesis.

Honorable Mentions

• Wynne Callon (Princeton School of Public and International Affairs) - Diabetes and China’s Modernization: A Three-City Study of the Perspectives of Patients, Providers and Policymakers. Download abstract.
• Dora Huang (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology) - Associations between typhoid mortality and municipal finances of water and sewerage systems in eighteen urban centers in the United States, 1888-1932. Download abstract.

Allison Daminger (Anthropology) - Known, Un‐known: An Ethnography of AIDS Care and Treatment Adherence in Guatemala.
Download the full thesis.

Joseph Anaya (Chemistry) - Design, Synthesis, and Biological Characterization of Novel Nucleoside Analogs Targeting Dengue Virus and Their Serendipitous Activity Against HCV
Publication is patent-pending.

Honorable Mentions

• Christine Blauvelt (Anthropology) - Economies of Survival: When Global AIDS Interventions Meet Local Communities in Kenya. Download abstract.

• Annette Dekker (Princeton School of Public and International Affairs) - “What is Killing Me Most” - Chronic Pain and the Need for Palliative Care in a Rural Community in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Download abstract.

• Caroline Pinke (Anthropology) - An Ethnography of Care: Reclaiming Dignity for Boston’s Chronically Homeless. Download abstract.

• Nisha Rao (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology) - Simplifying Surveillance Efforts: Modeling Causes of Heterogeneity in Dengue Fever Risk. Download abstract.

• Alana D'Alfonso (Psychology) - Seeing the Meaning: Higher-Order Neuroplastic Changes in the Time Scale of Processing within Early Visual Areas in the Congenitally Blind. Download the full thesis.

• Alyse Wheelock (Anthropology) - Maps of Rural Health: An Ethnography of Access to Care in Peru. Download the full thesis.

Honorable Mentions

• Joshua Oppenheimer (Princeton School of Public and International Affairs) - A Mexican Model for Insuring The Poor? Download abstract.

• Alex Rosen (Economics) - Hospital Ownership: An Empirical Study of Its Effect on the Quality and Cost of Medical Care in the United States. Download abstract.

• Sarimer Sanchez (History): Medicalizing Birth Control: The enovid Clinical Trials in Puerto Rico (1956-1960). Download abstract.

• John Torrey (Religion): Power Consecrated an Ethnographic Critique of Donor Engagement with Churches and Mosques on Aids in Tanzania. Download abstract.

• Alex Gertner (Anthropology) - Pharmaceutical Care, Public Experiments, and Patient Knowledge in the Brazilian Public Healthcare System. Download the full thesis.

• Alexa Glencer (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology) - Health Impact Assessment in Alaska: General Guidance, Project Application, and Sustainable Mitigation. Download the full thesis.