Director:
Sarah Bauerle Bass, PhD, MPH
(she/her/hers)
Contact Information: sbass@temple.edu
Hometown: Omaha, Nebraska
Biography: Dr. Sarah Bass is a Professor in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences in the College of Public Health and Director of the Risk Communication Laboratory at Temple University. Her over thirty years of experience focuses on health and risk communication and how public health messages are crafted for audiences. With expertise in health literacy, message development, and working with underserved and vulnerable populations, she is using new technologies to develop, target and test messages for their impact on patient/public self-efficacy, behavior intention, and behavior. Use of these technologies is then applied to community or clinical-based interventions using mHealth, eHealth, social media and other communication channel strategies. She has conducted research on a variety of public health topics, with emphasis on cancer, infectious diseases (HIV, HPV, HCV, smallpox, SARS-CoV-2), and emergency preparedness. With a background in communication, she has also been a state spokesperson and worked in developing state-wide media campaigns around HIV/AIDS early in the pandemic. She has provided training in risk and crisis communication and is widely published in the area of health and risk communication. She was named the 2021 winner of the American Public Health Association’s Everett M. Rogers Award, a national honor for outstanding contribution to public health communication.
Favorite Quote: “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” – Dr. Seuss
Senior Research Associate:
Katie Singley, MPH
(she/her/hers)
Contact Information: katie.singley@temple.edu
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
Biography: Katie recently graduated from Drexel’s Dornsife School of Public Health Community Health and Prevention Program. She received her undergraduate degree from Loyola University Maryland where she majored in Psychology and minored in Statistics. Her research interests include substance use, urban health, health disparities, and public health ethics. She previously worked for the Health Equity Advancement Lab (HEAL) where she was involved in various research projects that examine the role of harm reduction interventions in alleviating the opioid epidemic. Her goal is to conduct community-based research that can be used to empower individuals in their health-decision making and create equitable and transformative policy.
Favorite Quote: “Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly now, love mercy now, walk humbly now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.” – The Talmud
Community Outreach Coordinator and Graduate Research Assistant:
Erin Mraz, BSPH
(she/her/hers)
Contact Information: erin.mraz@temple.edu
Hometown:Bucks County, PA
Biography:Erin is a Master of Public Health (MPH) student at Temple University with a concentration in Social and Behavioral Sciences. Her professional interests include food justice, nutrition education, health equity, and community engagement. She has experience working with local organizations to increase access to healthy foods, deliver nutrition programming, and support families experiencing food insecurity. Erin is passionate about disseminating evidence-based, accessible health information to community audiences and is eager to apply her skills across diverse areas of public health to promote empowered communities.
Favorite Quote: “We live by each other and for each other. Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much” – Helen Keller
Doctoral Student:
Imani Wilson-Shabazz
(she/her/hers)
Contact Information: Wshabazz@temple.edu
Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia
Biography: Imani Wilson-Shabazz is a doctoral student in the Social and Behavioral Sciences Department at the College of Public Health at Temple University. She is a recent graduate of the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, earning an MPH in Community Health Sciences with a certificate in Population and Reproductive Health. She completed her undergraduate studies in Cognitive Science (BA) and Gender Studies and Human Sexuality (BA) with honors from the University of Southern California. Her previous research projects have focused on the negative effects of abstinence-only sex education programs on black girls in the South, BDSM community engagement as self-care practices for women of color, and unintended pregnancy prevention in trans-masculine individuals. More broadly, Imani’s research centers on transforming family planning systems and institutions to empower queer individuals of color to make informed and affirmed reproductive choices.
Favorite quote: “You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time.” – Angela Davis
Doctoral Student:
Scout Silverstein, MPH
(they/them)
Contact Information: scout.silverstein@temple.edu
Biography: Scout creates necessary changes in the healthcare landscape by building inclusive programming and strengthening policy. A specialist in gender-affirming eating disorder care with a Master of Public Health, they provide training to health care professionals, consultation to clinicians, and coaching to parents of transgender youth. Scout has an ever-growing research portfolio focused primarily on eating disorders in transgender and intersex populations, including resilience strengths and protective factors. They also have published papers focused on eating disorders in neurodivergent populations, early intervention for eating disorders, the use of standardized patients to train early career physicians in culturally specific care, subjective definitions of recovery, care pathways for medical aid in dying, and gender-affirming care in medical subspecialities. They have an 8 year history of leading health equity focused legislative efforts. Scout’s passion is in clinical program development with a focus on adaptations for identity-affirming care delivery.
Favorite quote: “Everything worthwhile is done with others.” – Moussa Kaba
Doctoral Student:
Rose Marcelin, MPH
(she/her/hers)
Doctoral Student:
Caro O’Brien, MS
Contact information: obrien@temple.edu
Hometown: East Fishkill, NY
Biography: Caro is a doctoral student in the Social and Behavioral Sciences Department in the College of Public Health at Temple University. After completing her MS in Social Policy at the University of Pennsylvania, Caro spent 3 years as a qualitative researcher in UPenn’s Mixed Methods Research Lab. Through this work, she developed an interest in infectious diseases, and how people are able or unable to access to medical care for those conditions. Caro is especially interested in HIV prevention, and how PrEP is changing the landscape of HIV.
Favorite Quote: “There is no frigate like a book” – Emily Dickinson
Doctoral Student:
Katie Greene, MPH
Contact information: katherine.greene@temple.edu, katherine.greene@fccc.edu
Hometown: East Fishkill, NY
Biography:Katie Greene is currently the Disease Site Research Manager for GI Oncology at Fox Chase Cancer Center, part of the Temple Health system. She obtained her MPH in Health Behavior from the University of Alabama Birmingham, and her BS in Mass Communication from Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. She has worked previously as a lab manager for the Chirinos Lab at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine facilitating clinical research on heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, and as a qualitative market research manager for Sago (then 20|20 Research) based in Nashville. By working in the Research Communication Lab, Katie aims to continue to bridge the gaps between communication and clinical spaces, making research more accessible and understandable for all.
Favorite Quote: “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom. — Victor Frankl
Graduate Research Assistant:
Matthew T. Dewhurst, BSPH
(he/him/his)
Contact Information:
matthew.dewhurst@temple.edu
Hometown: Washington, DC
Biography:Matthew is a graduate Master’s in Epidemiology student at Temple University and a current Research Assistant at the Risk Communication Lab. His research interests include global health, substance use, health education, health disparities, and infectious disease. He has experience designing and implementing health interventions for communities overseas as well as various volunteer experiences in both Philadelphia and Washington, DC. His goal is to contribute toward sustainable and impactful safeguards for underserved communities.
Favorite Quote: “To love well is the task in all meaningful relationships, not just romantic bonds.” – bell hooks, All About Love: New Visions
Undergraduate Research Assistant:
Catherine Lane
(she/her/they/them)
Contact Information: catherine.lane0002@temple.edu
Hometown: Lawrenceville, GA
Biography: Catherine is a junior studying advertising and media studies and production at Temple University. Catherine has been with the lab since her sophomore year and has loved every minute with the lab. She is passionate about advocating for health education, particularly in LGBTQ+ health and gender disparities in health. Her passion comes from her own place in the LGBTQ+ community, as well as her parents who instilled in her a strong sense to push for what is right, driving her dedication to spreading accurate, helpful, and accessible health information. She is especially focused on proving reliable resources and combating misinformation and knowledge gaps through social media messaging.
Favorite Quote: “While it is always best to believe in oneself, a little help from others can be a great blessing.” – Andrew Huebner
Undergraduate Research Assistant:
Jean Rivera
Contact Information: jean.rivera@temple.edu
Hometown: Ocotal, Nicaragua
Biography: Jean is a senior majoring in Health Professions at Temple University’s College of Public Health. He is dedicated to improving healthcare for underserved populations by combining clinical insight with public health research. Jean views healthcare as more than just treating symptoms. He believes it means understanding each patient’s story and advocating for their needs with compassion and respect. This drives his commitment to reducing health inequities and building strong, trusting relationships with patients. He gained valuable clinical experience across multiple specialties during his medical training in Nicaragua. Through his work at the Risk Communication Lab, he has contributed to research that aims to improve healthcare access and support decision-making for vulnerable populations.
Favorite Quote: “No matter when you start, just trust, believe, and succeed. Never give up.”
Undergraduate Research Assistant: Joselyn Ayala
Contact Information: joselyn.ayala@temple.edu
Hometown: Bucks County, PA
Biography: Joselyn is an upcoming junior who is majoring in Public Health with hopes of concentrating on environmental policy in the future. She hopes to find ways to push for environmental change and justice for communities and ecosystems being negatively impacted due to pollution, climate change, and so forth. She took the Public Health Beyond Borders class, where she created activities for Peruvian citizens and went to Peru to share. Specifically, she focused on mental and menstrual health. This pushed her out of her comfort zone and gave her skills she will use in future work. She is currently a Research Assistant at the Risk Communication Lab. Besides schoolwork and work, she enjoys hanging out with her family, likes to bake, and is always up for trying new things and exploring new places.
Favorite Quote: “To accomplish great things we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe” – Anatole France
Undergraduate Research Assistant: 
Kiara Maldonado
Contact Information: kiara.maldonado0003@temple.edu
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
Biography: Kiara is an upcoming sophomore at Temple University, majoring in Biology on the pre-med track and minoring in Public Health. Growing up between Honduras and Philadelphia, she developed an in-depth awareness of the health disparities and barriers to care faced by underserved communities in both places. These formative experiences have inspired her commitment to advancing health equity. Kiara’s interest in tobacco prevention policy and public health advocacy began while working with the Advocacy Institute, a program of the Health Promotion Council. She is driven to pursue medicine because she believes prevention is just as important as treatment, and that those most affected by health disparities deserve advocates who truly understand their lived experiences. Her research interests include health communication, tobacco prevention and policy, and health equity. Through her work at the Risk Communication Lab, Kiara hopes to further develop her skills and foundation as a future physician dedicated to serving her community.
Favorite Quote: “Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” — Desmond Tutu
Graduate Research Assistant: Joshua Rudolph, BA
Contact Information: joshua.rudolph@temple.edu
Hometown: Scranton, PA
Biography: Joshua is pursuing an MPH in Social and Behavioral Science and an MS in Health Informatics at Temple University. He works as a Communications Associate at The Hope Center for Student Basic Needs at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine. His work at The Hope Center includes creating public-facing research communications, conducting qualitative research, and coaching colleges as they create ecosystems of basic needs security for students. His research interests include: public health messaging to areas with poor health outcomes, nutrition science literacy, and effective science communication. He graduated from the University of Scranton in 2021 with degrees in Communications and Philosophy. Ultimately, he wants to create communications strategies that deliver accurate, accessible, and high-quality health information in an increasingly information-dense world.
Favorite Quote: “The ultimate, hidden truth of the world is that it is something that we make, and could just as easily make differently.” — David Graeber