Sameera Talegawkar, PhD

I am a nutritional epidemiologist by training and focus broadly on diet and chronic disease linkages. My areas of research include: (1) dietary assessment methodologies in diverse populations; (2) studying the role of diet in the risk for chronic diseases in minority populations in the U.S.; and (3) understanding the role of dietary factors in age-related functional declines.

My goal through the MASALA study is to understand the reasons for health disparities experienced by South Asians with respect to diabetes and heart disease. To this end, my research focuses on: 1) the associations of acculturation and length of residence in the U.S. with diet and nutrient intakes, and 2) associations of lifestyle related behaviors and health factors with subclinical atherosclerosis in the cohort.

Unjali Gujral, MPH, PhD

Unjali Gujral, MPH, PhD, is a postdoctoral fellow at the Hubert Department of Global Health at Emory University. Dr. Gujral’s research area of interest lies primarily in comparing the pathophysiological mechanisms of cardiometabolic disease development between South Asians and other ethnic groups, as well as examining factors of cardiometabolic risk associated with migration. Dr. Gujral has done research assessing the relative contributions of insulin sensitivity and beta-cell function on baseline glycemic status and incident glycemic progression on a sub-sample of participants from the MASALA study. She has also compared the prevalence of diabetes and prediabetes in a cohort of migrant Asian Indians from the MASALA study with a cohort of non-migrant Asian Indians living in an urban city in South India.       

Jeannette M. Beasley, PhD, RD, MPH

Jeannette M. Beasley, PhD, RD, MPH is an Assistant Professor in the Division of General Internal Medicine and Clinical Innovation at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Her research focuses on understanding the role of nutrition in chronic disease prevention, particularly in furthering the understanding of the role of nutrition in the prevention of cardiovascular disease in diverse populations and refining recommendations regarding the protein needs of older adults. , She trained in biology at the College of William and Mary (BS), nutrition at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (MPH, RD) and epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (PhD).

Shinu Mammen, MPH, Senior Project Coordinator

Shinu Mammen is a Senior Project Coordinator at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Her work includes implementing lifestyle and behavior change interventions for the South Asian community that focus on diabetes prevention and management. She works closely with community-based organizations serving New York City South Asian communities to establish partnerships and support culturally tailored health programming.

She previously worked at Northwestern University where she conducted MASALA Visit 2 exams and currently oversees NYU staff conducting data collection. She is passionate about advancing health equity for underserved immigrant communities and providing communities the resources needed to manage their health. Shinu holds a BS from Loyola University Chicago and a MPH from Benedictine University.

MD Taher, MPH, Senior Project Coordinator

MD Taher, MPH, is a Senior Project Coordinator at NYU Center for the Study of Asian American Health (NYU CSAAH) where he provides research support for the studies designed to reduce the burden of diabetes, hypertension, and other chronic illnesses among the members of the South Asian and Arab American communities living in New York City through education and empowerment. MD is a passionate community health advocate. He is well connected to the South Asian and Arab American community groups in New York City. MD has over 10 years of experience working at NYU CSAAH where he plays a key role in building and fostering partnerships with diverse community and faith-based organizations. MD earned his Bachelor of Science in Community Health Education from Hunter College of the City University of New York, and MPH with a concentration in Community and International Health from New York University.

Shahmir H. Ali, BA Clinical Research Coordinator

Shahmir is a doctoral student at the New York University School of Global Public Health. He received his Bachelor's degree in public health and political science from Johns Hopkins University, and has conducted research in the US, China, Australia, and Pakistan on various social and behavioral contributors to health.  His current research focuses on interpersonal and community level factors involved in the eating behaviors of young and second-generation Asian Americans, and how these factors can be integrated into innovative intervention designs to address non-communicable disease disparities. Within the MASALA study, Shahmir is involved with overseeing data collection within New York City, as well as exploring the complex cultural, interpersonal, and community level experiences related to the health of South Asians.

MD Jalal Uddin, Research Data Associate

MD Jalal Uddin is a Research Data Associate in the Department of Population Health within the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. He graduated with a Masters degree in Data Science from the CUNY School of Professional Studies in 2019. He holds a Bachelors degree in Statistics from Hunter College. In his role, he provides health education and coaching in Bengali/English as part of a community health worker intervention to improve diabetes prevention and management in the South Asian community. He works closely with primary care practices participating in the intervention, and assists with data collection and technical assistance for optimizing use of electronic health records (EHR). Within the MASALA Study, he will be recruiting individuals for the NYU site and will conduct MASALA Visit 1B exams.

As a fellow immigrant himself, Jalal uses his understanding of the South Asian community and community resources to assist community members to achieve their goals for a better life. He enjoys motivating community members to change their food and physical activity behaviors to improve their health, as well as assisting community members with unemployment, health insurance and immigration processes. In his free time, he enjoys listening to music, reading and playing badminton.

Sabiha Sultana, BSW, Community Health Worker

Sabiha Sultana, BSW, is a community health worker at the NYU Center for the Study of Asian American Health (CSAAH), within the NYU Langone Department of Population Health. Sabiha is fluent in Bengali/English and is dedicated to serving her community. Within her role at NYU, she works closely with the New York City (NYC) South Asian community. She has experience helping patients from NYC primary care practices to prevent and manage cardiovascular diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension, by providing in-language and culturally-appropriate health education and lifestyle coaching. She has also built strong relationships with women’s groups in the Bangladeshi community in Brooklyn and Queens for the NYU Community Service Plan. Sabiha is also a certified health navigator and assists in enrolling patients into health insurance plans. Within the MASALA Study, she will be recruiting individuals for the NYU site and will conduct MASALA Visit 1B exams. Sabiha graduated from the City University of New York (CUNY) at York College with a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work and a Bachelor’s degree in Social Welfare from National University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, and thus, has extensive experience and skill providing social services. Previously she’s worked as a case work liaison and outreach services specialist, providing services within New York City. In her free time, Sabiha enjoys doing Arts and Crafts, Gardening and cooking up healthy Bangladeshi dishes! 

Haroon Zafar, Research Data Associate

Haroon Zafar is currently working as a Research Data Associate in the Department of Population Health at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. He received his Bachelor's degree in Biomedical sciences from Brooklyn College and Master’s in Biomedical Informatics from SUNY Downstate Medical Center. He aspires to further his education with a PhD in Biomedical Informatics. 

He is passionate to bridge the health literacy and equity gap in the South Asian community and promotes health education and a healthy lifestyle for community members. His work focuses on diabetes prevention and management within the South Asian community.

Belinda Needham, PhD, MA

Belinda Needham is currently Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Michigan.  Her research focuses on health disparities.  In general, members of socially disadvantaged groups have worse mental and physical health than those who have higher social status.  Belinda’s work seeks to identify, explain, and reduce gender, socioeconomic, racial/ethnic, and sexual orientation health disparities.  Using data from the MASALA study, she has authored or coauthored papers on (1) sex steroid hormones and cardiometabolic health and (2) acculturation and symptoms of depression.

Andrew J. Cooper, Statistical Analyst/Programmer

Andrew J. Cooper is a statistical analyst/programmer in the Division of General Internal Medicine & Geriatrics at Northwestern University.  He has more than 15 years of experience inpublic health and health services research, filling a variety of roles in data management, data architecture, application development and statistical analysis.  While he has worked on a range of research studies and topics, much of his experience is in diabetes and cardiovascular health.  He completed a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology at the University of Illinois at Chicago and is currently working on a Master of Science in predictive analytics.  Andrew is a statistician on the MASALA study.  

Morgana Mongraw-Chaffin, PhD, MPH

Dr. Morgana Mongraw-Chaffin is an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Prevention at the Wake Forest School of Medicine. Her research focuses on the etiology and prevention of obesity and cardiometabolic disease with particular interest in metabolically healthy obesity, glucose dysregulation, and ectopic fat. Her complementary work has investigated the role that reproductive and pregnancy factors play in women’s lifetime risk for cardiovascular disease. Dr. Mongraw-Chaffin’s work in MASALA has concentrated on her specific interest in elucidating differences by sex and race/ethnicity in the distribution and resulting risk from ectopic fat.

Yichen Jin, MSPH

Yichen Jin is a Research Associate in the Department of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University. She has a Master of Science in Public Health (specializing in Nutrition) from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and her research interests are in examining the role of dietary determinants of health and wellness. In the MASALA study, Yichen has focused on the role of diet and other lifestyle factors with cardiometabolic health.

Nicola Lancki, Statistical Analyst

Nicola Lancki is a statistical analyst in the Division of General Internal Medicine & Geriatrics at Northwestern University. She completed her Master of Public Health in Epidemiology in 2010 from the University of Illinois at Chicago and has worked in applied public health as an epidemiologist with the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the Illinois Department of Public Health.  She has several years of experience in health research with roles in data management, database design and development, and statistical analysis.  She is excited to be a part of this important study to inform the treatment and prevention of heart disease in South Asians.

Meredith Anne Rathert, MPH, Research Project Manager

Meredith is the Research Project Manager for the MASALA studies at Northwestern University.  She earned her BA in Psychology from University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2006 and her MPH in Epidemiology at UIC in 2012, where she investigated the lack of representation of African American populations in HIV-AIDS research trials.  She brings to the team a 15 year career in research, 7 of those at Northwestern University, where she was involved in infectious diseases, cancer, and stroke projects.  Meredith has dedicated her personal and professional efforts to reducing health disparities in Chicago area communities and she’s excited to now focus her attention on South Asian communities under Dr. Namratha Kandula. 

B'Joe Mammoottil, M.Sc., Research Study Coordinator

B’joe is a Research Study Coordinator for MASALA studies in the Center for Community Health at the Institute for Public Health and Medicine (IPHAM), Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois. He earned his M.Sc. in 1999 from Medical College Baroda, M.S University, Baroda, India. His previous research work focused on Diabetes Mellitus, Cardiovascular disease, and Dementia in the Indian population. His earlier assignments include being a Junior and Senior Research fellow at Cardiac Care Center, SRMC&RI in Chennai, India. He is very excited to be a part of South Asian Studies in America, the MASALA Exam 3 and MASALA 2G Studies at Northwestern University.

Afshan Rehman, Clinical Research Coordinator

Afshan is a recent graduate of DePaul University where she received her Bachelor's of Science in Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience with a minor in Biology. She is grateful to be part of a predominately South Asian research team that focuses on studying and preventing the prevalence of cardiovascular disease and risk factors in the South Asian community .

Afshan is also passionate about being a mental health advocate for the South Asian community and implementing a culturally sensitive approach to healthcare. Her research interests include health disparities and exploring somatic conditions of mental illnesses pertaining to immigrant communities. In her free time, Afshan enjoys reading books, crocheting, and spending time with her cat Neko.

Munazza Ahmad, Research Study Assistant

Munazza is the Research Study Assistant for MASALA study at Center for Community Health at Northwestern University. After graduating from medical school in 2016, she practiced Family medicine and focused on the prevention of Diabetes Mellitus and Cardiovascular diseases in pregnant women. Her several years of experience in medical research allowed her to develop practical strategies to improve patient compliance in a low-resource setting. She worked with the patients affected by COVID-19 before joining the MASALA team in 2023. She is now excited to focus on the prevention of cardiovascular disease burden on the South Asian population residing in Chicago.

Rency Roy, MBBS, Research Study Coordinator

Rency is a research study coordinator at Northwestern University. She earned her M.B.B.S. degree from Manipal, India. Rency is also a certified group fitness instructor and enjoys teaching exercise classes that encompass cardiorespiratory, strength, and resistance training. 

She is passionate about preventive medicine and engaging the South Asian community by promoting healthy lifestyle to improve the outcome of their health and well-being. Rency finds it fulfilling in helping the South Asian community and contributing to the work involved with the MASALA Study. 

Hema Naik, MPH, DLO, MBBS, Research Project Coordinator

I am a Research Project Coordinator at Northwestern University. I completed my Masters in Public Health from Benedictine University. My passion to work for Public health was driven from my past experience of working in medicine. It gives me immense satisfaction to work for the South Asian community as they are very often underrepresented in the field of research. In my free time, I like to read, listen to music and spend time with my family.