Sophia Vallandingham - Research Assistant

Sophia Vallandingham is a senior at the University of Maryland pursuing a dual degree in Public Health Practice and Psychology. She is passionate about increasing access to evidence-based prevention, education, and treatment programs for individuals struggling with substance use disorders through health education and health policy. In January 2026, she joined CESAR/GMAP and works on a variety of substance use research projects. After graduation, she plans to pursue a Master of Public Health in Health Policy and work in governmental public health in the future.

Education:

University of Maryland, College Park  
B.A. Psychology (Expected May 2026)
B.S. Public Health Practice (Expected August 2026)

Maria Lukz - Research Assistant

Maria Lukz is an Undergraduate Research Assistant at the University of Maryland pursuing a dual degree in Public Health Science and Geospatial Data Science. She is passionate about disease prevention, health equity, and epidemiology and will be working primarily with the Emergency Department Drug Surveillance (EDDS) project under CESAR. Maria has experience working in tobacco prevention, occupational health, GIS, and additionally works as a science communications intern at the Moore Lab.

Education:

University of Maryland, College Park 
B.S. Public Health Science (expected May 2027)

B.S. Geographical Sciences -- Geospatial Data Science Specialization (expected May 2027)

Meghna Krishnan - Research Assistant

Meghna Krishnan is an Undergraduate Research Assistant at the University of Maryland (UMD) pursuing a degree in Public Health Science with a minor in Science, Technology, Ethics, and Policy. She is passionate about equitable health access, environmental health, and health education. She will be contributing to projects including Advancing Addiction Research and Treatment through Engagement with Rural Marylanders Impacted by PolySubstance Use (ARTEMIS) and Peer Behavioral Activation Utilization to Address Structural Racism and Discrimination and Improve HIV Outcomes in High-Risk, Substance-Using Populations (PUSH) under CESAR. Meghna has experience working at the National Cancer Institute with tobacco prevention research and at UMD’s School of Public Health’s Office of Public Health Practice and Community Engagement (OPHPE).

 Education:

 University of Maryland, College Park
 B.S. Public Health Science (expected May 2026)

Nicole Fortune Hernandez - Graduate Research Assistant

Nicole Fortune Hernandez graduated with a BS in Public Health Science from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2021 and with a MSPH in Health Policy and Management from the Bloomberg School of Public Health in 2023. She joined CESAR in the Summer of 2025 as part of the MPower UM Scholars Summer Research Program. She is currently a medical student pursuing her MD at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. After graduation, Nicole hopes to become a physician advocate in her field of practice.

Education:

University of Maryland, College Park
B.S. in Public Health Science

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
MSPH in Health Policy and Management

University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
M.D. (expected May 2028)

Ushna Saeed - Graduate Research Assistant

Ushna Saeed is a Project Manager with the ARTEMIS project at the Center for Substance Use, Addiction & Health Research (CESAR) at the University of Maryland. She is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Maryland, College Park, where her research examines how governing institutions shape and regulate legitimacy among refugee and asylum-seeking women in the DMV, particularly how these women navigate bureaucratic systems to access care, protection, and stability. Ushna has experience supporting forensic evaluations with asylum seekers, working within structured medico-legal frameworks to document trauma for legal proceedings. This work informs her commitment to trauma-informed, ethically rigorous research in interdisciplinary settings alongside clinicians and legal professionals. She also has a background in harm reduction and public health research, contributing to the implementation and evaluation of a large-scale intervention in Washington, D.C. In her role with ARTEMIS, she supports multidisciplinary research coordination, qualitative design, and stakeholder engagement.

Education:

Skidmore College
B.S. Human Physiological Sciences

University of Maryland, College Park
M.A. Applied Anthropology (Medical Anthropology)

University of Maryland, College Park
Ph.D. Anthropology (Expected May 2028)

Melia Carswell - Graduate Research Assistant 

Melia Carswell is a Graduate Research Assistant pursuing a degree in Clinical Psychological Science. She is passionate about improving treatment accessibility, reducing mental health stigma, and supporting those in underserved communities. Upon graduation, she hopes to gain further hands-on experience and eventually earn a PhD in Clinical Psychology and serve rural areas as a clinical psychologist. 

Education:
 
Appalachian State University 
B.S. Psychology, 2025 

University of Maryland, College Park 
Master of Professional Studies in Clinical Psychological Science (Expected November 2026)

 Zena K. Coronado - Graduate Research Assistant

 Zena K. Coronado is a Project Manager for the Rapid Ethnographic Assessment component of the PUSH study at CESAR. She is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Behavioral and Community Health at the University of Maryland, College Park. Her research explores how shifts in public policy impact substance use patterns and overdose vulnerability for urban Black and Latino/a/x populations.

Zena has seven years of experience conducting complex, multi-sited qualitative research with people who use drugs and people experiencing homelessness. Her background includes serving as a Project Coordinator for the Statewide Ethnographic Assessment of Drug Use and Services (SEADS) in Maryland, and as a Qualitative Project Manager for the University of California, San Francisco Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative, where she contributed to the landmark California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness (CASPEH). Most recently, she worked as an ethnographer on a longitudinal study examining polysubstance use among people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco (POLY-HOME).

In her current role, Zena manages study operations, coordinates data collection, analysis, and dissemination activities. She is dedicated to engaging in ethically rigorous, community-based, and trauma informed approaches to research.
 

Education:

University of Maryland, College Park
B.S. Anthropology (Medical Anthropology), Certificate in Latin American Studies, 2018

University of Maryland, College Park
Ph.D. Behavioral and Community Health (Expected May 2030)