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Investigator Development Core

The Investigator Development Core is focused on providing interdisciplinary mentorship to students and early career investigators in the conduct of community-driven, health equity-related research via providing resources related to a range of research approaches and statistical methods, assistance with development of pilot projects, manuscripts and grant proposals, and other opportunities for professional development.

Student Research Opportunities

Are you a student who is interested in getting involved in community-based health equity-focused research?

We can help make connections to community collaborators and help mentor projects!

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Recent Student Projects

Summer 2024

Summer Student Research Projects
Mahmood Shah, M1 in the Chicago Medical School, will focus on identifying area-level measures of environmental toxins such as Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM 2.5) as well as proximity to Superfund sites and Risk Managed Plan facilities. He will 1) assess the spatial distribution of PM 2.5 levels in Lake County, IL and 2) conduct ecological analyses examining the mediating role of PM 2.5 levels and proximity to such sites in explaining race/ethnic and socioeconomic inequities in chronic lung diseases across census tracts in the county.
Stacey Kim, M1 in the Chicago Medical School, will assist with creating a report of the impacts of COVID-19 and specifically long-COVID on Latino populations in Illinois. This project entails identifying available data reports, data analysis, and drafting a white paper or policy brief to be used by the organization. Illinois Unidos is a consortium of over 150 Latino elected and appointed officials, health professionals, and community-based organizations. 
Ayesha Arif, P1 in the Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine, will assist our Center with 1) identifying and mapping locations of diabetes-related care providers within the county and  2) conducting an analysis examining whether density of and distance to providers explains socioeconomic and race/ethnic inequities in diabetes prevalence across census tracts in Lake County, IL. 
Ali Panahikarvand, M1 in the Chicago Medical School, will assist our Center with identifying area-level measures of heavy metals and Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Lake County, IL. He will 1) assess the spatial distribution of levels of heavy metals and PFAS across geographic areas in Lake County, and 2) conduct ecological analyses examining the role of these substances in explaining race/ethnic and socioeconomic inequities in cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and heart disease in the County.
Aditi Kumar, M1 in the Chicago Medical School, will assist our Center with analyzing public opinion polling data from the to 1) examine the association between race/ethnicity and ease of/satisfaction with accessing  health care, 2) the extent to which socioeconomic factors and/or those related to institutional and interpersonal racism explain these associations, and 3) whether these associations vary across geographic region and community type.
Selena Sanchez-Giancola, P1 in the Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine (left)  and Jessica Yunez, second year student in the Clinical Psychology PhD program in the College of Health Professions (right), will assist our Center with participant recruitment and data collection for a study aimed at assessing the acceptability among Interprofessional Community Clinic patients living with diabetes and experiencing food insecurity, of enrolling in a food delivery service operated by our community partner, .
Mariyah Abdurrahman (left), M1 in the Chicago Medical School and Kelly Bonk (right), M1 in the Chicago Medical School, will assist with assessing the impact of a trauma-focused, group-based intervention in nature led by community health workers in Highwood which aims to address the mental health needs of the Hispanic community in this area. Brushwood Center works with community partners, artists, healthcare providers and scientists to improve health equity and access to nature in Lake County.