Research Staff
Johanna Dezil
Project Coordinator, Mentoring and Health Study Team
Johanna joins the Foundations of Health Research Center after graduating from DePaul University with a B.A. in Community Psychology.
During her time at DePaul, Johanna served as a peer mentor for students of color, a Jumpstart Corps member, and a research volunteer in
DePaul’s Center for Community Research and Center for Access and Attainment. Johanna’s research interests are rooted in issues affecting
African American girls, who are often underrepresented in research. In her free time, she enjoys writing poetry. Johanna is excited to serve as a full-time research assistant on a team so focused on helping empower underrepresented populations.
Shanti Gallivan
Research Assistant, On the Rise Study Team
Shanti graduated from Northwestern University in 2024 with a B.A. in Sociology and Global Health Studies with a minor in Anthropology. She is from Maine and loves to enjoy the outdoors by going on hikes or reading by the lake. During her undergraduate studies, Shanti conducted research on how social media influences college students’ sexual health education. She is currently completing her MPH at Northwestern with a focus on maternal and child health studies.
Robin Hayen
Project Coordinator, On the Rise Study Team
Robin received a B.A in psychology and history from the University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA. Prior to joining the research team at Foundations of Health Research Center, she gained over 8 years of experience working with parent and child research participants in studies of early-onset depression at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. At Foundations for Health Research Center, she helps to coordinate a variety of Dr. Edith Chen’s projects including: On the Rise, Mentoring and Health, Family Asthma Study, and conduct study assessments.
Jungwon Kim
Research Technologist III, Wetlab Team
Hee Moon
Research Technologist III, Wetlab Team
Hee graduated from Northwestern University with a B.A. in Psychology and Biological Sciences. She first joined FHRC lab as a student research assistant and contributed to our three on-going studies. She decided to join our lab as a full-time research technologist during her gap year. In her free time, she enjoys napping with her pets.
Vanessa Obi
Senior Research Study Coordinator, On the Rise and Mentoring and Health Study Teams
Vanessa Obi graduated from Northwestern University in 2022 with a B.A. in Psychology with minors in Sociological Studies and Critical Theory. She is a Kansas City native and an avid plant person. Throughout her time at Northwestern, Vanessa conducted various independent research projects on the topic of Black mental health and wellness. Her research interests focus mainly on the intersection of social identity and multicultural psychology.
Veronica Passarelli
Senior Research Technologist, Wetlab Team
Veronica graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a B.Sc. in Integrative Biology. Her previous research focused on the environmental and socioeconomic conditions influencing mosquito-borne disease in Central Illinois. At the Foundations of Health Research Center, she contributes towards multiple studies including On the Rise and Stress, Pregnancy, & Health.