CHHS Students Honored for Groundbreaking Research at 2025 Student Symposium

Congratulations to all of the 2025 College of Health and Human Services Student Symposium Awardees! Nine of our CHHS students received various awards for their outstanding achievements in research, scholarship, and creative activities.

The SDSU Student Symposium, a two-day event that occurs every spring semester, showcases student innovations and discoveries. Students Cleo Spencer, Kara Howard, Samantha Sidline, Sudha Singh, Raina Davis, Mia Gault, Irish Rhea Edusada, and Leticia Camacho all received accolades for their respective projects.

Samantha Sidline, a Master of Social Work student who collaborates with faculty from the School of Public Health, received the President’s Award for her outstanding project titled, “Between Violence and Resilience: Depression and Anxiety in Pregnant and Postpartum Asylum-Seekers at the U.S.-Mexico Border.” She stated, “My project explores mental health and resilience in pregnant and postpartum asylum-seekers who are living in precarious conditions in Tijuana while waiting for asylum.” She expressed her excitement for being recognized as this awardee. Samantha is mentored by Drs. Dianne Ciro, David Engstrom, and Shira Goldenberg.

Raina Davis, an undergraduate Public Health major won the Provost's Award for Health & Human Services for her outstanding project titled, “Confronting Prejudiced Responses (CPR): Addressing Implicit Biases and Disparities in Cardiac Arrest Survival for Women and People of Color.” She noted how important this project became to her because of her personal stance as a certified Basic Life Support instructor. Her project explored how implicit biases impact bystander CPR and AED intervention rates for women and people of color during out-of-hospital cardiac arrests. Her passion for advocating for equitable emergency training is highlighted in her receipt of the award. Raina is mentored by Dr. Jennifer Felner.

Mia Gault and Kara Howard were both honored with the CHHS Dean’s Award. Mia Gault, a graduate research assistant and current MPH student in the School of Public Health’s Environmental Health Division, won for her research titled, “Evaluation of Urinary Biomarkers Linked to Acute Kidney Injury in Firefighters Exposed to Occupational Hazards.” She stated, . Receiving this acknowledgement reinforces the importance of occupational health research to continue efforts in support of first responders.”

Kara Howard, a MPH student in the Epidemiology Division, won for her outstanding project titled, “Precipitation Shifts and the Seasonality of Coccidioidomycosis in San Diego Regions from 2004-2023.” Her mentor is Dr. Richard Shaffer. Her project is described as analyzing, “how hydroclimate volatility has impacted the seasonality of Coccidioidomycosis (also known as Valley Fever), specifically in San Diego. Valley Fever is a fungal respiratory infection increasing in occurrence in San Diego County, but studies on how local weather impacts the disease are limited.” She expressed how grateful and proud she is to have been recognized for exemplary research that she challenged herself.

Two students were honored with the Research Award for Diversity, Inclusion and Social Justice: Cleo Spencer and Irish Rhea Estrada. Cleo Spencer, student in the Health Promotion & Behavioral Sciences MPH program received the award for her outstanding project conducted as part of Dr. Erik Storholm’s lab titled, “Anti-Trans Abuse in Intimate Partner Violence and Its Impact on Transgender and Nonbinary Health.” She stated, “Given the current attacks on trans rights and research . . . it is especially meaningful for this work to be recognized.”  Irish Rhea Edusada, an undergraduate Public Health major, was honored for her project titled, “Exploring the Relationship Between Socialization and Substance Use Among Youth Experiencing Homelessness (YEH).” Her project analyzed the relationship between socialization and substance use among unhoused youth in San Diego; this work was overseen by mentors Drs. Jenn Felner and Jerel Calzo. Irish described being hopeful that her project could, “create a program in order to help unhoused youth have a healthier relationship with substances from a harm reduction approach.” She acknowledged the honor she felt for being recognized for this award, and mentioned that she hopes that her work can be used by other organizations to benefit their community.

            Having worked with Dr. Gretchen Bandoli from UCSD, Dr. Yu Ni, Dr. Karen Ferran from the School of Public Health at SDSU, Leticia Camacho was awarded with the Library Award for her excellent project. Titled, “En Busca de Provecho: Exploring the Relationship Between Food Deserts and Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Among Latinas in California (2015–2019),” Leticia’s project explores “the relationship between food deserts and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) among Latinas in California from 2015 to 2019.” Her personal experience as a Latina first generation graduate student makes her research particularly meaningful.

Having worked on her project titled, “A Program Evaluation of SDSU's Health Expo”, Sudha Singh also won a Library Award for her outstanding research. Sudha notes her gratitude for interacting with Dr. Margaret Henderson, the Health Sciences librarian. “She helped with research for the literature review section of my paper and helped me find articles related to my topic. I encourage students to take advantage of the available resources available to them.” She stated that her project evaluates the impact of the San Diego State University Health Expo to educate the student population about available health-related resources. She noted that her project, “...highlights the importance of investing in interactive and resource-driven events to engage and support students' well-being. Future research should explore the long-term impact of Health Expo events on service utilization and overall student health outcomes.”

Finally, undergraduate student Charlize Chu won the Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) Award for her exemplary research, which she conducted with the support of Dr. Shira Goldenberg. Her project is titled, “Impact of Asylum-Deterrence Policies and Other Socio-Structural Factors on Sexual and Reproductive Health Outcomes for Asylum-seeking Women in Transit to the United States: A Systematic Review.” Her project examines, “how asylum-deterrence policies and sociostructural factors such as gender-based violence, discrimination, and limited access to care shape sexual and reproductive health outcomes for asylum-seeking women in transit through Latin America to the United States.” Her passionate goal of becoming an OBGYN enhances her understanding of how different social and political factors can affect reproductive health. She hopes to advocate for change as a medical professional, and recognizes her gratitude for being recognized for this project.