Bridget Freisthler, PhD
Dr. Bridget Freisthler is a professor and Associate Dean of Research at The Ohio State University. Her work focuses on how health and social issues vary across geographic locations, identifying the locations that are at risk and examining the effect of local services in those areas. She is particularly interested in the relationship between sites of substance distribution (e.g., liquor stores and medical marijuana dispensaries) and harmful situations including crime and child maltreatment. Her work is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, the Public Children Services Association of Ohio, and private donors.
Jennifer Price Wolf, PhD
Dr. Jennifer Price Wolf is an Associate Professor in the College of Social Work at San Jose State University, as well as an Associate Research Scientist at the Prevention Research Center in Berkeley, California. Dr. Price Wolf studies how physical and social environments influence substance abuse and the well-being of children and families.
Gia Barboza, PhD
Dr. Gia Elise Barboza-Salerno is an Assistant Professor in the School of Public Affairs at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. She currently serves as the Statistical Associate Editor for the journal Child Maltreatment. Dr. Barboza’s scholarship focuses on the manifestation of violence across the lifespan from childhood to old age. Her work explores the multiple contextual influences of risk, including trauma, externalizing behaviors and substance abuse, on manifestations of interpersonal violence (e.g., domestic abuse, adolescent bullying), self-harm (e.g., suicide), and neglect in vulnerable populations (children, adolescents, LGBT individuals and the elderly). Dr. Barboza is also an attorney who has worked in the courts as an advocate assisting domestic violence victims navigate the legal and criminal justice system.
Dr. Barboza’s research utilizes big data, nationally representative datasets, quasi-experimental and longitudinal research designs and methodologies, such as Growth Mixture Modeling, Parallel Process Modeling, and Bayesian Space-Time techniques. Her work has recently appeared in Applied Spatial Analysis and Policy, Child Maltreatment, The Journal of Interpersonal Violence, and The Journal of Urban Health.
Yun Ye, MPH, PhD Student
Yun Ye is pursuing a PhD in Epidemiology at the Ohio State University. Her specialization is in study design and spatial analysis. She has been working with real-world data from multiple sources and is passionate about improving population health and well-being.
Karla Shockley McCarthy, MSW, LSW, FSW, PhD Student
Karla Shockley McCarthy is a doctoral candidate and graduate research associate in the College of Social Work. Her research focuses on risk and protective factors for family and child well-being, specifically relationships and belongingness, in the context of academic and financial systems.
Megan Allbright-Campos, MS, IMFT
Megan Allbright-Campos, MS, IMFT, is a first-year doctoral student at the College of Social Work. Before her doctoral studies, Megan attended Ohio State University, where she participated as an undergraduate research assistant for three years and graduated with her bachelor’s degree in psychology. Megan received her Master of Science from Purdue University in Marriage and Family Therapy following the completion of a quantitative thesis. Following graduation, she worked for four years as a mental health therapist with a foster care agency in Columbus and received her licensure as an Independent Marriage and Family Therapist. Megan aims to use her clinical practice working with families and children involved in the foster care system to guide her future research in foster care. Megan’s research interest centers around foster care reform, specifically related to a reduction in rates of placement of children in foster care through parental empowerment and systemic interventions. Megan was awarded a University Fellowship for her first year.
Joselyn Sarabia, BSW
Joselyn Sarabia is an ASAP MSW student and graduate research associate. Before her master’s studies, Joselyn attended The Ohio State University, where she graduated with her bachelor’s degree in social work and honors research distinction. During her bachelor’s studies, she was awarded the Outstanding Undergraduate Social Work Student Award, Outstanding Undergraduate Research Award, and second place in the public health category of the Denman Undergraduate Research Forum for her undergraduate thesis. Joselyn’s research interests focus on the mental health and well-being of first responders, specifically related to those in the fire service, and the biopsychosocial impact of cumulative stress and trauma exposure among this population.
Adam Adams-Grooms, MPA
Adam Adams-Grooms is a double Buckeye grad (MPA ’18, BA ’16) and serves as Fiscal Officer for the College of Social Work.