Who We Are: Current HCSA Officers

Heather Olden, of Durham, NC, is a Doctor of Public Health student. She earned a Bachelor of Science from Hampton University and a Master of Public Health from the University of Michigan—Ann Arbor. Heather specializes in patient and community engagement, strategic planning, program development and management, and qualitative data collection and analysis. Her research interests are centered largely on the impact of social justice on maternal health outcomes and utilizing patient engagement methodology to authentically translate research into clinical practice and policy. Heather is an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She is an entrepreneur, and enjoys traveling, dancing, and spoiling her chihuahua, Ziggy.

Anna Rothenberg is a first-year student in the MPH-65 Health Policy program, with a concentration in Maternal and Child Health. Her policy interests are in improving access to- and quality of care for at-risk populations. She completed her undergraduate degree at Vassar College, and afterwards worked at Boston Children’s Hospital conducting clinical research at the Clinical Effectiveness Research Center. Outside of school, Anna loves cooking, raising plants, and exploring in and around the city of Boston.

Shayan “Sean” Hashemi is a first-year Master of Science in Epidemiology student. Originally from Iran, he is a graduate of Haverford College, where he majored in biology, conducted research on neurodegenerative disease, and served as Co-Vice President of Students’ Council. After graduating from Haverford, he worked as a research assistant at the Center for Outcomes Research at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) for three years. At the Chan School, he is pursuing his interests in epidemiology of aging and health services research with plans to attend medical school.

Lilia is a Master of Public Health candidate in the Health and Social Behavioral Sciences Program (MPH-65). She was born and raised in Pacoima, CA, a neighborhood in Los Angeles County. She completed her bachelor’s degree in Public Health and Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley. She is currently an HSPH Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Fellow, and works as a Program Specialist in Adolescent Health at the Rhode Island Department of Health. Her research interests are rooted in exploring voting rights and government accessibility as social determinants of health. 

Gabriela Rosa is a naturopathic doctor and fertility specialist who graduated with a Master of Public Health (Clinical Effectiveness) from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in 2022 and is currently pursuing the Doctor of Public Health program.

As the founder and director of The Rosa Institute, since 2001, together with her team of 42 staff in 7 timezones, Gabriela has educated and treated over 140,000 couples in more than 110 countries worldwide through various programs. Gabriela’s MPH practicum project entailed a seven-year analysis on the relationship between a proprietary complementary and alternative medicine-based method delivered via telehealth and fertility outcomes in 544 patients recruited worldwide. The study showed that her method was associated with participants having a 78.8% live birth rate.

Gabriela believes in eating chocolate daily, is currently learning to paint in watercolor, and has been a committed bodybuilding weightlifter since 2017.

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Bukhtawar Azhar, from Rawalpindi, Pakistan, is a Master of Public Health student at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health with a concentration in Global Health. After doing her Bachelor in Dental Surgery from the University of Health & Sciences, Lahore, she started working for the advocacy of hygienic dental practices in the country. During the pandemic, she extensively worked for the improvement of Infection Prevention and Control in dentistry in Pakistan – co-founded the Program of Safe Dentistry in association with the Infection Prevention and Control Foundation, Chicago. This sparked her interest in improving healthcare delivery and health policies in Pakistan for which she focuses on understanding Improvement and Innovations in Health Systems during her time at Harvard. As the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advocate 22-23 at Chan, she takes a keen interest in understanding the context in which discrimination unfolds itself and how we can move forward as a community to be more sensitive, inclusive, and supportive in fostering an environment that not only holds space for people from all cultures and backgrounds but rather celebrates it. She’s an extrovert and loves so to socialize.

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Teguo is a DrPH student and the founder of Global Organization of Health Education (GOHE), a non-profit organization that promotes healthcare education in developing nations with a focus on rural areas. GOHE supports local Neurotechnologists and physicians by training them on testing procedures to diagnose epilepsy. Teguo has worked as a Neurodiagnostic Technologist for the University of Colorado in the city of Aurora, Colorado for a decade. He is credentialed in both electroencephalography testing (EEG) and intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM) procedures by ABRET the Neurodiagnostic Credentialing and Accreditation (ABRET). Teguo co-founded Purple Point Neurodiagnostic (PPN), a “fair-profit” health diagnostics company that provides affordable neurologic diagnostics worldwide. PPN’s mission is to generate profits from diagnostics services, research, and Neuro-AI innovation to fund the epilepsy awareness work of GOHE, thus the term “Fair-Profit.”

Teguo worked with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) to organize COVID-19 awareness events for Colorado’s Refugees Immigrant and migrant Communities.

This year, as your Health and Wellness Coordinator, Teguo aims to introduce public health students to health and wellness activities such as golfing and Yoga. Teguo enjoys running, dancing, and making motivational videos that he will often share with his friends and family.

Khushi Desai is a Master of Science student in the Environmental Health department. She grew up in Mumbai, India and earned her Bachelor of Arts in Economics from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai. Having worked on urban sanitation policy in India, Khushi is passionate about the intersection of public health, WSH, infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance – and how these critical challenges can be solved through social innovation and health systems transformation. Khushi also co-leads the Arts Club at Chan. She is a trained performing artist in the classical Indian art form of Bharatanatyam, loves board games, travel, food and fiction – and is always up for a conversation over ice cream! 

Idongesit Sampson is a first-year student in the MPH-65 program, with a concentration in Health and Social Behavior. She holds a BSc. in Biological Science and worked in Consulting/health development prior to her time here at Harvard. Idongesit is interested in the intersection of social determinants of health and health outcomes in LMICs, as well as innovations targeted at addressing climate change and promoting environmental sustainability. Outside of school, Idongesit loves traveling, exploring new places and food, running, and listening to podcasts.

Shady Abohashem, MD, is currently a student in the Master of Public Health- Epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health, and the Academic Program Representative of MPH-EPI (May ’24). Born and raised in Egypt where he completed his medical degree. He is currently a Researcher in Cardiovascular Imaging at Massachusetts General Hospital and an Instructor in Radiology at Harvard Medical School. Prior to joining MGH, Abohashem worked in the capacity of a research assistant at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center and MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas. Shady served as an invited speaker, and moderator at several internationally recognized meetings including AHA2019/2020, ACC2019/2020/2021, ESC/EAPC, and ASNC 2020-2022. He has been honorably selected for the ASNC future leaders and leadership development programs as well as the RSNA-Cardiothoracic imaging trainee editorial board. Abohashem’s research is dedicated to studying the intersection of advanced non-invasive imaging and cardiovascular medicine, with a special focus on the brain-heart connection. His current projects are focused on investigating the interplay between genetic risk, psychosocial stressors, environmental pathogens, lifestyle factors, imaging indices, and their contributions to cardiovascular disorders, in general, and within marginalized populations. He received the Young Investigator Award from the American College of Cardiology and the European Association of Preventive Cardiology and was named the 2nd place winner of the research project competition at the annual ACC-Massachusetts Chapter meeting. Besides being an advocate for climate justice, health equity, and mental health, he enjoys traveling and drone cinematography. Twitter: @ShadyAbohashem. LinkedIn: @ShadyAbohashem.

Rebecca Kunau is pursuing an MPH in Health Policy (Expected: ‘23). Born and raised in Minneapolis, MN, she earned a BA at St. Olaf College (‘17) with majors in Economics and Political Science. Upon graduation, Kunau conducted health policy analyses at the state and federal-level at UnitedHealth Group and in the U.S. Senate, and then joined United States of Care–a nonpartisan nonprofit working to improve access to quality, affordable health care across the U.S. At Harvard, Kunau has continued to focus on improving access to MH/SUD care and coverage for low-income populations; she now works for GlobalMentalHealth@Harvard and the WHO on Countdown Global Mental Health 2030, an independent platform to track global mental health indicators for researchers and advocates. She also loves volleyball, sculling, and decaf coffee.

Ahmed Elmoursi, MD, is currently enrolled in the Master of Public Health, Quantitative Methods program. He received his medical degree from Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt. Before joining Chan, Ahmed was a clinical researcher at the University of Kentucky, where he conducted clinical research on gastrointestinal and inflammatory bowel diseases. His findings have been presented at national and international meetings, as well as in multiple publications. Ahmed’s interest in public health was fortified while traveling between countries to implement different projects and interventions for underserved communities in Africa and Asia. With the growth of his network, he was able to present these projects to larger audiences, through television and radio episodes, as well as national and international newspapers and magazines. He was elected twice as the youngest board member of one of the largest organizations in the Middle East, where he implemented numerous projects focused on human and health development. Ahmed is a bronze and silver holder of the Duke of Edinburgh International Award. He enjoys traveling, swimming, and table tennis.

Katie Sonnefeldt (she/her), of Chicago, IL, is a MPH-45 student in Global Health. In 2014, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, and in 2022 earned a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy degree from the Fletcher School at Tufts University. In between, she served as a community health extension agent with the United States Peace Corps, provided program quality support for Catholic Relief Services/Togo, and worked in pharmaceutical marketing. At the Chan school she focuses on issues of global health politics, health system strengthening, and access to medicines and vaccines.

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Valencia Lambert is a Master of Science (SM 80-credit) candidate in the Global Health and Population department. She was born and raised in Tanzania and in 2020, earned her bachelor’s degree in Global and Public Health Sciences from Cornell University. Upon completion of her bachelor’s degree, she worked as a research assistant for the Center for Global Health at Weill Cornell Medicine based in Mwanza, Tanzania for 2 years. There, her research primarily focused on female genital schistosomiasis and family planning. She enjoys listening to music (from various genres), listening to podcasts, and watching K-dramas.

Octavious Smiley, of Chicago, IL, is a Biostatistics doctoral student. He earned a Bachelor’s from Morehouse College in Mathematics and received his Master’s degree from Harvard University in Biostatistics. Octavious specializes in network science and is a member of the Onnela lab within HSPH. His research interest is mainly centered on utilizing Approximate Bayesian Computation methodology to perform likelihood free inference on mechanistic networks. He also loves joking around with fun people, talking trash at game nights, traveling as much as he can, and watching anime.

Dr. An Na is a Doctor of Public Health student at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She trained as a gynecological oncology specialist, worked at Peking University Cancer Hospital as an attending physician, and earned an MPH degree from Johns Hopkins University. Dr An Na has worked in the field of humanitarian aid for more than a decade. She acts in various roles as a physician, project coordinator, and country representative for international humanitarian organizations in different LMICs. Her research interests are maternal and child health, sexual and reproductive health, and health system reforming and strengthening in conflict/post-conflict zones. Throughout her career, she has been promoting global humanitarian work by presenting her field experience to medical professionals and the public in China.

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