Pipelines Into Biostatistics Annual Symposium
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Thursday, July 13, 2023
Marcello Pagano
Professor of Statistical Computing and Principal Investigator, HSPH
John Quackenbush
Henry Pickering Walcott Professor of Computational Biology &
Department Chair of Biostatistics, HSPH
Summer Program in Biostatistics and Computation Biology Research Project Presentations in Kresge G3
10:00 – 10:20am Exploring the Causal Effect of Wildfire Exposures on School Performances in USA
There are an estimated 7.4 million children in the United States affected bywildfire smoke
annually. In parts of the USA, up to 20% of the fine particulate matter to which children are
exposed, results from wildfires. Literature suggests that TRAPs exposure can lead to cognitive
and socioeconomic decline. We obtained a copy of the publicly accessible data published by
Wen & Burke (2022) in which they quantified the impact of wildfire-smoke-attributable PM2.5
exposure, a rapidly growing source of particulate exposure throughout much of the United
States. We analyzed the data with the application of a novel method utilized in the publication
by McGrath et al. (2022); that allows the use of causal inference frameworks when working with
spatiotemporal data. Linear regression models were used to identify the relationship between
smoke exposure alongside Math and ELA scores for school districts in the United States; while
also incorporating exploratory data analysis that allowed us to develop conclusions and
suggestions after we measured the strengths and reliability of this methodology.
Sophia C. Delgado Astacio, University of Puerto Rico
Luis Bonilla, Salem State University
Cade McManus, Harvard College
Faculty mentor:Dr. Rajarshi Mukherjee, Assistant Professor of Biostatistics and
Assistant Director of Graduate Studies, HSPH
Graduate Student Mentor:Sean McGrath, HSPH
10:25 – 10:45am Is Preoperative Malnutrition Associated with Poor Surgical Outcomes in Young Children Undergoing Ventricular Septal Defect Closure in Low-Resourced Settings?
A ventricular septal defect (VSD) is an opening in the wall of the heart separating the right and
left ventricles that affects approximately 3 out of every 1000 live births. When left unrepaired,
VSD may lead to severe cardiovascular disease. However, certain patients face a greater risk of
poor outcomes after congenital heart surgery than others, especially those in low to middle
income countries (LMIC), where access to the surgery is limited. In addition to previously
determined risk factors, the current study aims to determine whether the nutrition level of VSD-
inflicted patients in LMICs is also a risk factor for adverse surgical outcomes. Using data from the
registry for the International Quality Improvement Collaborative for Congenital Heart Disease
(IQIC), the study conducts tests on contingency tables and employs regression modeling to
establish a potential relationship between malnourishment indicators defined by the World
Health Organization (WHO)—stunting, being underweight, and wasting—-and post-operative
complications—in-hospital mortality, major infections, and length of stay in the intensive care
unit (ICU). Results suggest that, in general, malnourished patients are significantly more likely to
encounter adverse surgical outcomes than non-malnourished patients, even after adjusting for
age, pre-existing illness, and oxygen saturation.
Brandon Causing, University of Florida
Jaiann Caton, Spelman College
Faculty Mentor:Dr. Kimberlee Gauvreau, Associate Professor in the Department of Biostatistics,
HSPH, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, HMS
Graduate Student Mentor:Jenny Lee, HSPH
10:50 – 11:10am Classifying Ethnicity with SNP Scoring Algorithms
What are the genetic underpinnings of ethnicity? Phenotypic data has been historically used to
classify people, but remains insufficient because many differences are too subtle to show up
with simple measurements. Genotypic data, specifically single nucleotide polymorphisms
(SNPs), can accurately predict the genetic ancestry of any given individual by measuring the
levels of the major and minor alleles for each base pair. Motivated by this, we explored a dataset
of 88 million SNPs from 2000 people with 26 labeled ethnicities, which was collected by the
1000 Genome Project. Our exploratory analysis used principal component analysis to visualize
genetic variance, and a SNP scoring algorithm to accurately predict ethnicity for an individual in
a homogenous population. Between several clusters of genetically isolated populations were
swathes of intermediate, or admixed, populations. Taking inspiration from the 23andMe
ethnicity composition algorithm, we used a linear regression model to transform the binary
choice of a single ethnicity label into percentages of each region an individual originated from.
This spectrum of possibilities paints a more nuanced picture of ethnic diversity within an
individual.
Maya Abdalla, Emmanuel College
Adam Genda, B.S. in Biology, University of Northwestern
Selma Chamime Skiba, Simmons University
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Rafael Irizarry, Professor of Biostatistics, DFCI, HSPH
Graduate Student Mentor: Madhav Sankaranarayanan, HSPH
Fostering Advancement & Careers through Enrichment Training in Science (FACETS) Research Project Presentations in Kresge G3
11:15 – 11:25am Identifying social environmental stressors that increase risk for preeclampsia in Black and Hispanic birthing people
Gene Pozas, University of Florida
Research Mentor: Dr. Brittney Francis
Group Leader: Heather Alexis Olden
11:30 – 11:40am Evaluating a Risk Assessment Tool for Metals In Personal Care Products as Endocrine Disruptors
Monika Malaka-Kajangu, North Carolina Agricultural & Technical University
Research Mentor: Dr. Tamarra James-Todd
Group Leader: Heather Alexis Olden
11:45 – 11:55am From Choice To Crisis: Examining Racial Differences In Responses To Fentanyl Use In Healthcare
Serenity Greene, Clark Atlanta University
Research Mentor: Dr. Marie Plaisime
Group Leader: Heather Alexis Olden
Keynote Speaker and Lunch in FXB Atrium
12:00 – 1:00pm
Monica L. Wang, ScD
Associate Professor of Community Health Sciences
Boston University School of Public Health
Fostering Advancement & Careers through Enrichment Training in Science (FACETS) Research Project Presentations Continued in Kresge G3
1:15 – 1:25pm Community Engaged Research: An Evaluation of an Environmental Justice Workshop on Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals in Personal Care Products
Humza Irfan, University of Michigan
Research Mentor: Dr. Tamarra James-Todd
Group Leader: Anusha Venkatesh
Kahini Patel, New York University
Research Mentor: Dr. Brittney Francis
Group Leader: Anusha Venkatesh
1:45 – 1:55pm Mindfulness: The Influence of Meditation Practices to Address Perceived Stress and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease Among Black Women
Camila Maldonado, University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras
Research Mentor: Dr. Marie Plaisime
Group Leader: Anusha Venkatesh
2:00 – 2:10pm Invisible and Overlooked: Barriers undocumented African immigrant patients face in accessing healthcare services
Rofiat Olasunkanmi, New York University
Research Mentor: Dr. Marie Plaisime
Group Leader: Azariah Boyd
2:15 – 2:25pm Cost Analysis of Preeclampsia Disparities Among Black Women
Braulio Gonzalez, University of Pennsylvania
Research Mentor: Dr. Brittney Francis
Group Leader: Azariah Boyd
2:30 – 2:40pm Good Hair or No Hair: An Examination of the Impossible Hair Choices Black Women Adversely Face
Shana Grant, Spelman College
Research Mentor: Dr. Tamarra James-Todd
Group Leader: Azariah Boyd
2:45 – 3:00pm
Amarildo “Lilu” Barbosa
Chief Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging Officer, HSPH
3:00 – 5:00pm
