Trainees
Predoctoral Trainees
Ryan Avenido, MPH
Ryan is an Epidemiology PhD student in the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. Ryan also holds an MPH in Epidemiology from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. He is interested in both the impact of physical activity and genetic factors on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Furthermore, he is interested in applying his research towards improving CVD prevention strategies. Before entering studies in public health, Ryan earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology and Bachelor of Music in Music Performance from the University of St. Thomas.
Ananya Dhanya, MPH
Ananya is a first-year PhD student in the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health at the University of Minnesota. He holds a Master’s of Public Health in Epidemiology & Biostatistics from the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy and a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (M.B.B.S.) from Sir Salimullah Medical College at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. His research interests focus on the role of genetics in the relationship between cardiometabolic risk factors and cardiovascular (CVD) diseases. He is also interested in evaluating the effectiveness of different types of medications used to prevent and manage CVD diseases.
Alex Rodriguez, MPH
Alex is a PhD student in the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health at the University of Minnesota. Alex holds a Master’s of Public Health degree in Epidemiology from Emory University and a BA in Biological Sciences from the University of Chicago. His research focuses on the relationship between cardiovascular disease and comorbid mental health conditions. He is passionate about promoting wellbeing and independence in older adults, which translates to research projects focused on discovering relationships between cardiovascular health, dementia, and psychosocial wellbeing.
Postdoctoral Trainees
Ethan Cannon, PhD, MPH
Ethan completed his PhD and MPH degrees in Epidemiology at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. He also holds a BS in Exercise and Wellness from Brigham Young University. He is passionate about improving population health by investigating modifiable factors that impact risk of cardiovascular disease, and to this end, he aims to use rigorous methods to perform research in the areas of pharmacoepidemiology and clinical epidemiology.
Meghan Crimmins, PhD, CLC
Dr. Crimmins earned her PhD in Interdisciplinary Biomedical Sciences, specializing in Cell Biology and Physiology, from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. She possesses extensive experience in basic science and clinical research and is certified as a Lactation Counselor (CLC). Her research concentrates on the relationship between breastfeeding and cardiovascular health outcomes and risk factors in both mothers and infants, with particular emphasis on maternal lifestyle factors. She is especially interested in examining the impact of breastfeeding and human milk consumption on infants with congenital heart disease, as well as investigating reproduction and lactation among adults with congenital heart disease.
Mia Vogel, PhD
Dr. Vogel joined the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health having earned her PhD in Public Health Sciences with a concentration in Systems Science for Health Equity at Washington University in St. Louis, and her MPH and MSW from the University of Washington. She studies how evidence-based health and social care reaches people and is sustained within complex systems. Her primary work is on multisector partnerships for hypertension control, and she has applied the same approach in pediatric neurocritical care and to the structural determinants of dementia risk. Her methodological work brings systems science into implementation science.
