Fantastic Five take DrPH during Spring ’24 Commencement

FAMU CoPPS, IPH faculty shown L-R eagerly awaiting the five candidates for their respective DrPH hooding during the Spring 2024 Commencement are:  Drs. C. Perry Brown, Tammie M. Johnson and Fran T. Close, along with President Larry Robinson presiding at the lectern, as candidate David Gbogbo humbly approaches. 

Tallahassee, FL – They may be referred to as “Five Alive” as they took their respective DrPH hooding at the 2024 Spring Commencement in the Al Lawson Multipurpose Center. Fabulous like family, the five are (L-R): Drs. David Gbogbo, Danetta Hooks, Jessica Saintibert and Donna R. Williams; Dr. Daphnie Elisha Loriston did not participate in the commencement exercise.  Respectively, the five (alive) alumni and their dissertation chairs and titles (specifics courtesy of Ms. Gloria O. James, Academic Support Services, FAMU CoPPS, IPH, Office of Graduate Programs). 

Spring Commencement 2024 Graduates:

Danetta Hooks, DrPH, Epidemiology and Biostatistics

➢ Dissertation Title: “The effects of sex education on adolescent and young adult risky sexual behaviors and health outcomes in the United States”
➢ Dissertation Committee: Gebre-Egziabher Kiros, PhD, Professor Directing Dissertation; Sarah Buxbaum, PhD; Sandra Suther, PhD; Rima Tawk, PhD; and, Marc Latta, DHSc, MHS, PA outside committee member.

David Gbogbo, DrPH, Epidemiology and Biostatistics

➢ Dissertation Title: “The effect of pre-existing depression on cancer among persons aged > 65 years in the United States: A retrospective study”
➢ Dissertation Committee: Gebre-Egziabher Kiros, PhD, Professor Directing Dissertation; Carlos Reyes-Ortiz, PhD, MD; Rima Tawk, PhD; Askal Ali, PhD; and, Soheyla Mahdavian, PharmD.

Daphnie Loriston, DrPH, Epidemiology

➢ Dissertation Title: “Understanding access to evidence-based resources and its impact on potentially preventable hospital events in Florida Medicaid patients 2015 – 2018”
➢ Dissertation Committee: Gebre-Egziabher Kiros, PhD, Professor Directing Dissertation, Sarah Buxbaum, PhD; John Luque, PhD; Kellie O’Dare Wilson PhD; Adrian Cooksey, DrPH outside committee member; and, Shamarial Roberson, DrPH, outside committee member.

Jessica Saintibert, DrPH, Epidemiology and Biostatistics

➢ Dissertation Title: Association between Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) risk, protective factors, and HPV associated cancers among adults in the United States. NHAMES 2011 – 2020
➢ Dissertation Committee: Tammie M. Johnson, DrPH, Professor Directing Dissertation; Sarah Buxbaum, PhD; Carlos Reyes-Ortiz, PhD, MD; Askal Ali, PhD; and, John Cooperwood, PhD.

Donna Williams, DrPH, Behavioral Science and Health Education

➢ Dissertation Title: Black women’s experiences of doula support during childbirth: Navigating  the healthcare system
➢ Dissertation Committee:  Sandra Suther, PhD, Professor Directing Dissertation; Fran Close, PhD; Sarah Buxbaum, PhD; Torhonda Lee, PhD; Amandla Shabaka-Haynes, PhD, outside Committee Member.

“They’re so vibrant, fluorescent lightbulbs are jealous!”

But wait, that’s not all, Summer Commencement 2024 is scheduled for Friday, August 2, 2024 | 6 P.M. and heralds two more DrPH candidates to be hooded by Dr. Fran Close, Behavioral Science and Health Education Professor 

Camillia Comeaux, Behavioral Science and Health Education

➢Dissertation Title:“Nutritional status and social determinants: Addressing racial disparities in maternal and child health outcomes”
➢Dissertation Committee: Fran Close, PhD, Professor Directing Dissertation; Sandra Suther, PhD; Patricia Boston, DrPH; Gwendolyn Singleton, PhD; Laurens Holmes, Jr., PhD, outside committee member

Afaf Qasem, Behavioral Science and Health Education

➢Dissertation Title: “Research-Based and practice-based food insecurity interventions in healthcare settings: An exploratory study”
➢Dissertation Committee: Fran Close, PhD, Professor Directing Dissertation; C. Perry Brown, DrPH; Sandra Suther, PhD; Patricia Boston, DrPH; Lauri Wright, PhD, outside committee member

**Please click Prospective Learners (famu.edu) for more on FAMU’s public health programs and how to apply, and thank you.***