Carina Mazariegos Zelaya, M.A., is a graduate research assistant in the Center for Health Equity Transformation and a PhD candidate in the Department of Communication at the University of Kentucky. Carina graduated from the University of Kentucky with a Bachelor degree in Communication with a focus in health communication. Following her undergraduate degree, she earned a Master of Arts in Communication with a focus on persuasion, message design, and health campaigns from the University of Kentucky. Carina is currently in her fourth year of her doctoral program and is working with faculty in the Department of Communication, Department of Behavioral Science, College of Public Health, and other CHET affiliates conducting research, developing publications, and conference presentations.

Her research focuses on how communication affects health behaviors, more specifically looking at how different persuasive strategies can better influence and improve the health of others. Her dissertation focuses on how conversations about contraceptive methods affect the decision-making process among females choosing birth control methods. Carina is also heavily involved in health equity research, she has worked in projects aiming at improving colorectal screenings among young African Americans, understanding the use of technology and sexual health communication among Black and Latinx women, and examining the feasibility of internet-based interventions in rural areas. Carina moved to the United States from Honduras when she was 16 to pursue her undergraduate degree, living in a developing country and then experiencing different healthcare systems when moving, inspired Carina to pursue health equity research to improve the health of underserved populations.

Carina joined CHET because she was inspired by how faculty members work closely in multi-disciplinary teams to address common goals. Through her work with CHET, Carina hopes to gain experience working with transdisciplinary research teams, learn various research methods and techniques, and be exposed to and work in different research projects tackling various disparities among underserved populations. She also hopes to bring her unique perspective as an international student and a health communication researcher to help those in other disciplines address health equity issues from a different point of view- one that focuses on the processes of how people communicate, react, and subsequently engage in health behaviors. Carina stated that CHET has allowed her to be part of many groups across different disciplines, which allowed her to learn about different perspectives and ways of working across disciplines. Carina believes that faculty at CHET passionately focus on collaborative, community-based research that will help advance the vision of health equity in Kentucky and beyond. Carina also noted that, “the faculty members have been very supportive through my process of navigating academia and have encouraged me to develop both professionally and personally.”

urton Burrows, MPH is a graduate research assistant in the Center for Health Equity Transformation and a first year PhD student in Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of Kentucky. Burton graduated from East Carolina University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. After graduating, he attended the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University and earned his Master of Public Health degree with a concentration in Epidemiology. While at the Brody School of Medicine, Burton worked as a graduate research assistant in a Nanotechnology and  Environmental Health Lab, where he fostered his interest in rural health and developed an electroconductive nanomembrane capable of removing nitrogen from drinking water for his master’s project. After earning his master’s degree, he worked at a rural academic medical center in eastern North Carolina and helped principal investigators from a wide variety of disciplines develop and implement their research projects. Burton’s personal and academic background propelled him to pursue work in health equity, as he has seen the impacts of health disparities and improper access to care first-hand. 

Burton became a graduate research assistant with UK’s Center for Health Equity Transformation because it gave him the opportunity to further develop his skills as a well-rounded graduate researcher and allowed him to become a part of an interdisciplinary team focused on a common goal. Also, because health problems in rural areas aren’t easily siloed into one specific discipline, he believes that it’s important to understand how to approach these issues from different perspectives in order to address them efficiently and effectively.  Through his work with CHET, Burton hopes to work with disciplines outside of his current field and expand his research to focus more on population-based health inequities, an approach that differs from his past work. He also hopes to help CHET make research more accessible to those who have very little research experience but can contribute great ideas when they are given the proper guidance and tools to do so. Burton believes that the support CHET provides to researchers and investigators allows them to focus on meaningful research, which will help to advance the vision of health equity at UK and beyond.

Will Bowling is a graduate research assistant in the Center for Health Equity Transformation and a third year PhD student in Psychology at the University of Kentucky. Will graduated from Berea College with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a minor in health and wellness. While at Berea, he became interested in health equity research because of his first-hand experience with health disparities while growing up in Appalachia. Will chose a doctoral program that allowed him to pursue his passion for both clinical psychology and health inequities in rural areas, which led him to the PhD program in clinical psychology at UK. Will began working with faculty researching cancer survivorship in Appalachia, and the normalized health inequities he witnessed while growing up in eastern Kentucky attracted him to the graduate research position at CHET. Will’s personal and research experiences inspired him to develop the mentality of “if I don’t do anything, who will?” in order to research and address health outcomes in Appalachia.

Will became a graduate research assistant with UK’s Center for Health Equity Transformation because it gave him the opportunity to explore areas of health equity research that are just as meaningful as his current research. He is interested in finding different ways to promote health equity within communities and, through his work with CHET, plans to participate in new research projects focused on public health policy and behavior, and non-Appalachian communities experiencing inequities. Will also hopes to contribute his unique perspective as a member of the LGBTQ+ community from Appalachia, and his experience with cancer survivorship research, to help ensure that CHET’s work with Appalachia is both beneficial and effective. He believes that because CHET gives researchers from different backgrounds the opportunity to come together and conduct meaningful research within communities, CHET will advance the vision of health equity at UK and beyond.

Will states, “We need people that are interested in changing health inequities to pour time and resources into research that can be used to make a real change, which is why the work CHET does is so important."

Maria Rockett, MA, is a graduate research assistant in the Center for Health Equity Transformation and a first year PhD student in Sociology at the University of Kentucky. Maria graduated from Northern Michigan University with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science, where she focused on environmental justice issues such as the Flint water crisis. After graduating from Northern Michigan University, Maria missed having a community connection and returned to her hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio. While in Cincinnati, she served in the AmeriCorps program, where she was placed in a high school counseling office. This allowed her to gain experience outside of her degree and inspired her to earn her Master of  Mental Health Counseling from the University of Cincinnati. After obtaining her master’s degree, Maria worked as a counselor for one year in a rural community outside of Cincinnati, all while continuing her research on environmental justice and community engagement in a lab at the University of Cincinnati. After working as a counselor for one year, Maria decided to bring together her interests and enter the Sociology PhD program at the UK. Maria has been interested in health equity since she began working on her undergraduate degree, and her experience working in underserved communities as a mental health counselor allowed her to see how health equity affects entire layers of community.

Maria became a graduate research assistant with UK’s Center for Health Equity Transformation because it gave her an opportunity to work with a collaborative, interdisciplinary team and create a network with various programs, organizations, and communities. Through her work with CHET, Maria hopes to gain experience working with researchers from different fields and backgrounds that can help her learn about new aspects of health equity research and participate in community-based health equity research initiatives. Maria also hopes to contribute her community engagement experience to help to bridge the gap that often exists between research and issues that are most important to members of the community. Maria believes that CHET will advance the vision of health equity at UK and beyond because the collaborative nature adopted by CHET researchers will put the mission statement into practice.

Maria states, “In academia, it’s easy to get siloed into our own specific field and focus. This is why it’s important to have a place like CHET, where like-minded, passionate people can come together for a common goal and create a network that has the ability to connect directly with communities.”