Margie Skeer (she/her) – Director
Weiner Hailey Family Professor
Sc.D, Social Epidemiology & Intervention Research; Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
M.P.H., Social & Behavioral Sciences; Boston University School of Public Health
M.S.W., Clinical Social Work; Boston University School of Social Work
B.A., Psychology; Rutgers University
Dr. Margie Skeer has been teaching at Tufts University School of Medicine since 2011, where she is currently a professor and the Population Health Promotion (formerly Behavioral Science and Health Communication) Concentration Leader for the MPH program. Dr. Skeer leads several research studies focusing on interventions related to substance use and prevention and serves as an active member in a local substance use prevention coalition. Due to her impressive contributions to the field, she has been interviewed by various media outlets, including Chronicle, The New York Times, and Time Magazine. Dr. Skeer is passionate about the research that she and her incredible team are engaged in and looks forward to seeing the impact of this highly important work.
Rachael Sabelli (she/her) – Projects Manager
M.Sc., Epidemiology; The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
B.A., Biochemistry; Indiana University Bloomington
Rachael is the Projects Manager of Dr. Margie Skeer’s laboratory and has been working with Dr. Skeer since 2018. She received her Master’s of Science in Epidemiology from The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in 2018. Prior to working with Dr. Skeer, Rachael lived and worked in Malawi as a project manager for programs focused on providing comprehensive HIV care to families and served in the Peace Corps (Malawi, 2010-2012). Rachael loves working in the Skeer lab because of her very fun and very efficient team.
Grace Hajinazarian (she/her) – Research Assistant
MPH, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, ’23; Tufts University School of Medicine
BSN, ’21; American University of Beirut
BSEc ’18; Lebanese American University
The Skeer Lab projects consider public health impact in all the interventions developed and tested, and ensure inclusivity is applied on all levels
What aspects of this research do you enjoy?
Jacqueline Powers (she/her)
B.A. in Community Health, ’24; Tufts University
MPH, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, ’25; Tufts University School of Medicine
Research Assistant
I love working with individuals who are passionate, supportive, and motivated towards reaching the collective goal of expanding knowledge about substance use interventions.
What do you love about your position?
Sophi Schneider (she/her)
B.A. in Community Health, ’25
I am a Senior at Tufts studying Community Health and Child Studies & Human Development (on the pre-medical track). For my Community Health internship, I am interning with the Tufts Skeer Lab. Long term, I am interested in pursuing a career in healthcare (most ideally combining a blend of research and clinical aspects). I am particularly interested in the intersection between education, public/community health, and clinical interventions.
Vivi Dang (she/her)
B.S. in Biopsychology, ’23; Tufts University
Research Assistant
I aspire to be a Neurologist or Psychiatrist specializing in Addiction Medicine
What are your goals?
Past Lab Members
Emma Crowley Ryan (she/her) – Senior Research Assistant & Special Projects Manager
M.P.H., Environmental Health Sciences; Yale School of Public Health
B.A., Environmental Studies; Yale University
Emma Crowley Ryan, MPH (she/her/hers) is the Senior Research Assistant and Special Projects Manager for The SUPPER Project in Dr. Skeer’s lab. She received her B.A. in Environmental Studies from Yale University and MPH in Environmental Health Sciences from the Yale School of Public Health. Her areas of research interest include how to create environments, both physical and societal, that promote health and equity.
Katherine M. Rancaño (she/her) – Graduate Student Researcher
Ph.D Candidate, Nutrition Intervention, Communications, and Behavior Change; The Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University
M.S., Nutrition Epidemiology; The Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University
B.S., Dietetics & Family and Child Sciences; Florida State University
Katherine M. Rancaño, MS (she/her/hers) is a Graduate Student Researcher for the SUPPER Project in Dr. Skeer’s lab. She is also a Doctoral Candidate in the Nutrition Interventions, Communications, and Behavior Change program at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. Her dissertation research focuses on familial sources of weight stigma. She received her M.S. in Nutritional Epidemiology from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy and received dual B.S. degrees in Dietetics and Family and Child Sciences from the Florida State University. Her other research interests include obesity and health promotion in underserved and minority populations and in youth with developmental disabilities.
Nikita Bhatnagar (she/her)
B.S. in Biology & Community Health, ’25; Tufts University
Qualitative Coder for Iowa Family Interaction Rating Scales (IFIRS) for SUPPER Project
Understanding how public health interventions are implemented and studied, and learning about prevention in different areas of health
What do you love about your position?
RaiAnn Bu (she/her)
B.A in Community Health & Mathematics, ’24
FAsTask Coder
I like the goal of the project to improve substance abuse prevention especially with younger children and starting the conversation between adults and children about the use of substances to decrease stigma on talking about important topics.
What aspects of this research do you enjoy?
Dorcas Johnson (she/her)
Ph.D. Student at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Qualitative Coder for Iowa Family Interaction Rating Scales (IFIRS) for SUPPER Project
I enjoy the flexibility and independence of the coding position
What do you love about your position?
Rucha Kadam (she/her)
B.S. in Cognitive and Brain Science, ’23; Tufts University
Qualitative Coder for Iowa Family Interaction Rating Scales (IFIRS) for SUPPER Project
I hope to pursue a career in the intersection of medical and computer science, focusing on either cognitive science or child studies
What are your goals?
Lucy Morrison (she/her)
B.S. in Biology & Community Health, ’23; Tufts University
Qualitative Coder for Iowa Family Interaction Rating Scales (IFIRS) for SUPPER Project
I really enjoy connecting what I’ve learned in my classes about research methods and implementation with how the SUPPER Project was designed and functions currently
What aspects of this research do you enjoy?
Jinan Moumneh (she/her)
Master’s of Public Health, ’23
Research Assistant and Interventionist
I enjoy the ability to learn the different parts of a study, delving into literature and being able to speak to different participants and personnel within the research team and the study itself.
What do you love about your position?
Karina Panjawi (she/her)
B.A. in Community Health & Food Systems and Nutrition, ’24
IFIRS coder
I hope to go into the field of public health, working in either policy or epidemiology!
What are your long term goals?
Hailey Stephens (she/her)
B.A. in Psychology & English, ’23
Research Assistant / NIDA Intern
I feel very fortunate to be learning so much from such accomplished, dedicated, and creative individuals
What do you love about your position?
Luis Suarez (he/him)
B.S in Computer Science & Philosophy, ’26
Primary FasTask Coder
As an international student, I feel this is a great opportunity to have an impact in my new community.
What aspects of this research do you enjoy?
Chelsea Wong (she/her)
B.A. in Community Health & Biotechnology, ’23; Tufts University
Qualitative Coder for Iowa Family Interaction Rating Scales (IFIRS) for SUPPER Project
I love being an IFIRS coder because of the mix of independent work and collaboration with my teammates, and I think the study’s focus on the quality of family meal interactions is an interesting angle to explore child behavior outcomes
What do you love about your position?
Nellie Harvey (she/her)
B.A. in Community Health, ’18; Tufts University
Qualitative Coder for Iowa Family Interaction Rating Scales (IFIRS) for SUPPER Project
I really appreciate the environment set up by our team to foster questions, discussions and curiosity
What do you love about your position?
Evan Robinson (he/him)
M.P.H., Epidemiology and Biostatistics; Tufts University School of Medicine
Research Assistant
I love working in a research environment that supports my growth as a person and a professional
What do you love about your position?
Christian Senecal (he/him)
B.S. in Biology & Community Health, ’22; Tufts University
Senior Research Assistant
Working with down-to-Earth, smart people
What do you love about your position?
Jier Yang (she/her)
M.A., Sociology & Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies + East Asian Studies; Brandeis University + Stanford University
Research Assistant
I love knowing that our research will have a meaningful impact on people’s health
What aspects of this research do you enjoy?