People

Jaime Madrigano (she/her), ScD, MPH, Principal Investigator, is a Bloomberg Associate Professor of American Health in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where she co-directs the track in Exposure Sciences and Environmental Epidemiology. She is also the Chair of the Environmental Challenges Steering Committee within the Bloomberg American Health Initiative. Jaime’s research uses epidemiologic methods to inform policy in the areas of climate and health, air pollution, and the built environment. Prior to joining Johns Hopkins, she was a policy researcher at the nonprofit research organization, RAND. Jaime received her Sc.D. in epidemiology and environmental health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and was an Earth Institute postdoctoral fellow at Columbia University. She is a first-generation college graduate and enjoys sharing her circuitous route to academia with trainees. Outside of work, Jaime loves being a mom, practicing yoga, hiking in nature, and traveling around the world.

Shifali Mathews is a PhD candidate in Environmental Health and Engineering at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, on the Exposure Sciences and Environmental Epidemiology track. Her research interests are in social vulnerability to climate-related stressors and extreme weather, with an emphasis on structural determinants of health. She received her undergraduate degree in Public Health Science and MPH in Environmental Health Sciences from the University of Maryland, College Park. She has held several federal internship positions such as a Health Equity Fellow at the U.S. EPA and a Junior Health Services Officer at the U.S. Public Health Service. Shifali was a Social Performance and Resilience Scientist at the engineering company, AECOM, where she conducted environmental justice assessments. Her hobbies include yoga, traveling, and reading/ watching murder mysteries.

Rashida Callender is a PhD student in the Environmental Health program, Exposure Sciences and Environmental Epidemiology track at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Her research interests are in the cumulative effect of environmental and social stressors on health outcomes, particularly through the lens of climate change, disasters, and environmental justice. Rashida received her Master of Public Health in Biostatistics from the UTHealth School of Public Health and her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She brings over 10 years of professional experience in clinical and public health research to the program. She most recently worked as a research associate in the Children’s Environmental Health Initiative where she studied the health and economic impacts of Hurricane Harvey. Rashida enjoys baking, reading, spending time in nature, and visiting museums.

Erin E. Bennett is a PhD student on the Exposure Sciences and Environmental Epidemiology track in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Her research interests include the health effects of exposures related to industrialization (including air pollution, heavy metals, and aspects of climate change) and using epidemiology methods (like causal inference methods and quasi-experimental study designs) to answer policy-relevant research questions. Erin graduated with a BA in 2016 from Northwestern University, where she majored in Anthropology, and earned her MPH in Epidemiology from the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. She remained in the Epidemiology department at GWU for four years as a Research Associate and Instructional Assistant. In her free time, Erin enjoys rock climbing, biking, cooking from her garden, and obsessing over the NYT crossword.

Charlie Nguyễn (he/him), MHS, is a Senior Research Program Coordinator at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. His research interests include novel measures of structural racism and epidemiologic methods for assessing health injustice and oppression. Charlie earned his BA in Public Health Studies from the Johns Hopkins University and his Master of Health Science in Epidemiology from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Prior to his current role, he worked at the Baltimore City Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, leading Asian American community engagement initiatives and managing COVID-19 cash assistance and multilingual emergency communications. In his free time, Charlie loves to bake, review new food and coffee spots around town, and discover new music.