Program Alumni
Joshua Butler, M.D., M.H.I.
Visiting Lecturer in the Department of Information and Computing Studies
RIT/NTID
RPP Fellow 2019-2022
During his time in the RPP, Joshua Butler conducted research under the mentorship of Martin Zand, M.D., Ph.D., in the Rochester Center for Health Informatics at the University of Rochester Clinical and Translational Science Institute. Butler investigated the length of stay and readmission rates in deaf/hard-of-hearing (D/HH) patients who were hospitalized for treatments. Through this study, he aimed to identify causal relationships to explain healthcare inequalities in the D/HH population.
Michelle Carr, Ph.D.
Research Professor in the Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine
University of Montréal, Canada
RPP Fellow 2019-2022
Michelle Carr studies sleep psychophysiology, disturbed dreaming, and dream engineering - the application of technology to manipulate sleep and dreams to benefit memory, creativity, wellbeing, or physical health and rehabilitation. During her time in the RPP, Carr worked in the Sleep and Neurophysiology Research Laboratory under the mentorship of Wilfred R. Pigeon, Ph.D., using polysomnographic recording during overnight or nap periods, and quantitative analysis of EEG to assess sleep and dream psychophysiology, particularly in the Deaf.
Wyatte C. Hall, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Public Health Sciences, Pediatrics, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Neurology and Center for Community Health and Prevention
University of Rochester Medical Center
RPP Fellow 2015-2018
Wyatte Hall’s research program focuses on language acquisition as a social determinant of deaf population health. Dr. Hall is part of an emerging generation of young Deaf academics working to prevent and reduce the social epidemic of language deprivation.
During his time as an RPP fellow, Dr. Hall explored the relationship between early childhood language experiences and subsequent life outcomes of Deaf people. He performed qualitative work with local deaf Rochester community members, published several highly-cited papers, and co-edited the first-ever academic text focusing on the role of language deprivation in the deaf mental health field.
Geo Kartheiser, Ph.D.
Adjunct Faculty and Post Doctoral Scholar at the NTID SPACE Center
RIT/NTID
RPP Fellow 2019-2020
As a fellow in the Rochester Postdoc Partnership program, Geo Kartheiser conducted research in the DeafxLab under the mentorship of Matthew Dye, Ph.D., an associate professor at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. Together, they conducted a large-scale research study of neuroplasticity as a result of cochlear implant and sign language in Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing college students. True to his background as an Educational Neuroscientist, Kartheiser aims to make his findings accessible to parents, medical professionals, and policymakers so that they may make research-informed decisions.
Sarah Latchney, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Biology and Neuroscience
St. Mary's College of Maryland
RPP Fellow 2016-2019
During her time in the Rochester Postdoc Partnership program, Sarah Latchney worked under the mentorship of Ania Majewska, Ph.D., professor of Neuroscience. With scientific training in environmental toxicology, Sarah’s postdoctoral research focused on how the environment influences health and disease. In particular, she studied how gestational exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals interferes with microglial behavior and function in the brain. During her postdoc, Sarah also participated in mentored teaching opportunities at the University of Rochester Medical Center and Rochester Institute of Technology where she taught courses in toxicology and scientific communications.
David Meek, Ed.D.
Visiting Assistant Professor in the Masters of Science in Secondary Education Program
RIT/NTID
RPP Fellow 2019-2021
David Meek conducted his postdoctoral fellowship in the Sensory, Perceptual and Cognitive Ecology (SPaCE) Center under the mentorship of Matthew Dye, Ph.D., an associate professor at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. Meek’s doctoral research focused on the experiences of dinner table conversations among Deaf adults. His postdoctoral research focused on how the lack of communication for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing children from hearing families can affect academic growth and language.
Tiffany Panko, M.D., M.B.A.
Director of the Deaf Health Laboratory in the Center for Culture and Language
RIT/NTID
RPP Fellow 2017-2020
As a fellow in the Rochester Postdoc Partnership program, Tiffany Panko studied access to health care and women’s health issues such as unintended pregnancies and breastfeeding under the mentorship of Ann Dozier, Ph.D., professor and chair of Public Health Sciences and Timothy D. Dye, Ph.D., professor and associate chair of research of Obstetrics and Gynecology at URMC. Panko’s work aims to identify facilitators and barriers to effective contraception, particularly in deaf women. She aims to promote family planning with the use of more effective contraception, such as long-acting reversible contraceptives like IUDs and implants, with the goal of reducing unintended pregnancies and the associated negative health consequences.
Shazia Siddiqi, M.D., M.P.H.
Staff Scientist in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
University of Rochester Medical Center
RPP Fellow 2018-2021
Shazia Siddiqi conducted her postdoctoral fellowship under the mentorship of Eva Pressman, M.D., and Tim Dye, Ph.D., in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at URMC. During her postdoc, she conducted community-based participatory research with Deaf populations worldwide. She focused on analyzing relationships between trauma and health outcomes in Deaf communities and exploring barriers in Deaf people’s access to health care, especially in the field of maternal and child health. Her professional interests include global Deaf health, health disparities, preventive medicine, gender-based violence, trauma-informed care, and maternal and child health.
Mariam Paracha, Pharm.D., R.Ph.
Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Science and Mathematics
RIT/NTID
RPP Fellow 2019-2021
Mariam Paracha conducted her postdoctoral fellowship in the Center of Health and Technology and Department of Neurology at the URMC under the mentorship of clinical pharmacologist Charles Venuto, Pharm.D. During her postdoc, she developed clinical pharmacology expertise in HIV antiretrovirals and anti-Parkinson medications, with a focus on drug-drug interactions caused by inflammation and polypharmacy. Her postdoctoral research aimed to identify factors of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic variability in order to develop safer strategies of medication administration in populations vulnerable to drug-drug interactions.