Faculty and Staff

Lucia Leone, PhD

Director
Lucia is an Associate Professor in the Department of Community Health and Health Behavior at the University at Buffalo  School of Public Health and Health Professions.  As Director of the Community Health Interventions Lab, Lucia works with community and small business partners to develop and test sustainable interventions to increase access to healthy, local and affordable food. She has expertise in evaluating community-based interventions to increase access to healthy food in lower-income and underserved communities. 

Leah Vermont, MA

Assistant Director of Partnership and Outreach
Leah has experience in clinical and community-based research focusing on substance use, mental health, and health behaviors.  She is interested in the social determinants that drive health outcomes and disparities, as well as the evaluation of community-based initiatives. Leah is happiest backpacking in the mountains with her family. 

Anne Lally, PhD

Assistant Director of Research and Evaluation
Anne received her PhD in cultural anthropology from the University at Buffalo in 2017; her research engages multispecies ethnography in food systems, agricultural and rural anthropology, and landscape and identity in field sites located in Iceland and the Allegany Territory of the Seneca Nation in the Southern Tier of New York. Anne has worked previously as a research director in the private sector healthcare market, served as a research assistant on a NIH-funded alcohol intervention study at the UB Center for Social Research, and coordinated non-profit public health programs serving women and children in New Jersey. Her background working at a vegetable farm and market in rural New Jersey, along with her dissertational fieldwork conducted on dairy, horse, and sheep farms in Iceland, further informs her real-world perspective on food systems and desire to work towards increasing access to fresh, local fruits and vegetables in all communities. 

​

Jill Tirabassi, MD, MPH

Faculty research collaborator
Jill is a K12 faculty scholar clinical assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine a board-certified physician in both family medicine and preventive medicine and public health. Her research looks to improve health outcomes through understanding, assessing, and utilizing interventions in food and physical activity environments. She also practices clinically at the ECMC Family Medicine Center, teaching family medicine residents and medical students. She enjoys hiking, gardening, and spending time with her family. 


​

Christina Kasprzak, PhD

PostDoctoral Associate
Christina is a post-doctoral associate in the Department of Community Health and Health Behavior (CHHB) at the University at Buffalo. She completed her PhD in the Fall of 2021 from CHHB. Prior to her doctoral work, she earned a Master of Science in Nutrition Science and worked in the public health nutrition field for nearly a decade. Her interest in designing and evaluating community-based interventions to improve the nutrition status of lower-income populations is rooted in her years of experience as a nutritionist for the Federal nutrition assistance programs WIC and SNAP. Although a mixed methods researcher, she has a particular expertise in qualitative methods and burgeoning expertise in dissemination and implementation science. She is also an active partner in school-based health initiatives in the local public school district. A native Buffalonian, Christina enjoys volunteering, hiking, concerts, spending time with her daughter and cat Tobey, and of course anything related to food! 

Sue Arnold

Assistant Director of Operations
Sue Arnold joined the Veggie Van Study in November 2018.  She is responsible for post award administration which includes personnel and account management, subcontracts, and consultants agreements for this program.  Sue brings her previous experience with the University at Buffalo’s Center for Assistive Technology and the NSF Industry/University  Center for Biosurfaces to our project.

 K. Cooper Rohan, MPH 

Research Partner coordinator

Cooper is an alumni of the University at Buffalo who holds two bachelor's degrees in Psychology and Biology, and has also obtained his Master's Degree in Public Health from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. His past experiences working with other Buffalo organizations to address localized food insecurity through student mentoring on community gardening and organizing has helped lead to his current role with us as a Research Partner Coordinator. Cooper is passionate about creating healthy and equitable communities through sustainable public health policy and community health interventions that focus on mitigating health disparities among local populations. His hobbies include hiking, gardening, plant-based eating and baking, and playing strategy board and card games.​

​Sam Lev

Community Partner Coordinator
Sam has experience working in food access and food system development. His work in southwest Virginia included launching and scaling a mobile produce market, leading a regional network of farmers markets offering SNAP incentives, opening a food hub, and operating a shared commercial kitchen. As a former pastry chef, Sam loves good food and believes in the power of food to bring people together and transform communities. When not working, Sam loves running, hiking, breadmaking, and exploring his new residence of Phoenix, AZ.
​

Alicia Claudio, MPH

Research Data Coordinator
Alicia, a native of Buffalo, recently graduated with her MPH from the Department of Community Health and Health Behaviors. Additionally, Alicia holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a concentration in Health and Wellness from the University at Buffalo. Her public health interest includes addressing health disparities among low income and underserved communities. Alicia has been part of the CHIL lab since 2018, working on various projects such as the DUFB program, The Healthy Corner Store Initiative, and is currently involved with data collection for the Veggie Van Study. She was hired full-time as Research Data Coordinator in the summer of 2021. In her free time, she enjoys farmer's markets, yoga classes, hiking, and music. ​

Alban Morina, MS

research coordinator/ data manager
Alban grew up in the Bronx and moved to Buffalo, where he earned a Master of Science in Applied and Computational Mathematics from SUNY Buffalo State College. His previous experience in Higher Education Anchor Mission analytics helped foster a strong understanding of quantitative analysis needed for improvements to social programs related to nutritional and community health. Alban discovered a passion for using his math background to advance his interests in community health and health behaviors. As an analyst, Alban provided applied research to the NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance to inform the implementation and design of programs to support best practices and strengthen community health interventions such as SNAP-Education, teaching people to shop for and cook healthy meals. On his time off, Alban enjoys exploring Buffalo, watching Liverpool games, and reading recommended books. 
​

​Angélica Tutasi, MPH

PhD Student
Angélica is a doctoral student in the Department of Community Health and Health Behavior. She is a public health and food science professional from Ecuador, holds an MPH from Columbia University, and has worked in the field of food policy and public health since 2011. Angelica developed and implemented interventions and policies to improve the nutritional status of low-income communities in her country, as well as, participated in several initiatives to combat overweight and obesity in Latin America. She is interested in being an active member of the Buffalo community, especially when it comes to healthy eating.

Research Assistants

Andy Canizares

Graduate Research assistant
Born in Havana, raised in Buffalo, Andy is a graduate student at the University at Buffalo pursuing his dual-degree in a Master of Public Health (with a concentration in Community Health and Health Behavior) and a Master of Social Work. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University at Buffalo. During his gap year, Andy interned for CAI (a public health non-profit organization) and gained experience in research and evaluation for projects including Community Approaches to Reducing STIs (CARS), HOPE Buffalo, and Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH). Andy’s public health interests involve the intersections of racial and LGBTQ+ health equity, community-based participatory research, transformative justice, addressing interpersonal/sexual violence and human trafficking, politics and public health, and systems change. In his personal life, Andy enjoys reading, creative writing, gaming, and trying new foods and restaurants.

Jessica Burke

Graduate Research assistant
Jessica is a first year MPH graduate student in the department of Community Health and Health Behavior at the University at Buffalo. Jessica holds a Bachelor’s of Arts in Health and Health and Human services with a concentration in Community Mental Health and a minor in Sociology. Jessica is from Putnam County, New York and is interested in studying nutritional health disparities and reproductive health. In her free time, she enjoys exercising, spending time outdoors and attending concerts.

Lianne Novak

Graduate Research assistant
Lianne is a first year MPH student (2020-21) in the Individualized Concentration.  She graduated Cum Laude from Michigan Technological University in Houghton Michigan with a  B.S in Mathematics and minors in Statistics and Leadership, though is originally from the Cincinnati Ohio area.  Her research interests lie in health disparities, access to healthcare and telemedicine, rural health, and improving opportunities to live a healthy lifestyle.  Outside of school, she enjoys crocheting, quilting and sewing, photography, watching volleyball and ice hockey, and playing music.

Rosmery Landaverde Deras

underGraduate Research assistant
Rosmery, a native from Long Island is currently an undergraduate at the University at Buffalo. She is currently pursuing a combined BS/MS in the field of Public Health while minoring in nutrition. She hopes to one day combine her Public Health knowledge and apply it to a nursing career in the future. She is always seeking ways to become more involved in the community and has participated in diversity programs within UB and is currently a research assistant for the Veggie Van Study. She enjoys volleyball, cooking, and trying new things that are challenging and exciting.​

Dhathri Srungaram

Undergraduate research assistant
Dhathri is an undergraduate student currently pursuing a bachelors degree in biotechnology and in public health. She is interested in gaining knowledge about community health interventions focused on nutrition to inform her premedical perspective. She is currently a research assistant in the Veggie Van Study and hopes that this will help her learn more about health disparities in the community.

Camrin Brown

Undergraduate research assistant
Camrin is an undergraduate student at the University at Buffalo and graduating in May.  She is one of the undergraduate research assistants in the CHILab working on the Veggie Van study. Her interest in public health stems from her passion for social justice, community engagement, and improving health in vulnerable populations. She is also a pre-med student pursuing a career as an orthopedic physician and currently loves working as an EMT.  She also enjoy working with the CSTEP program at UB as a Campus Health Educator to inform the public on service learning and organ donation. She has always had an interest in mentoring and learning about how she can make a difference in my community. ​
We also collaborate with partnering faculty on the Veggie Van Study.  To see all of our staff on the project, please click this link. 
We have many Alumni that have worked with our team.  To see the list of Alumni who have contributed to the Lab, please click here.