This cohort consists of three students conducting environmental health research in three different Northeastern University labs. Since the co-op began in early July, the scholars have been working on a full-time basis with faculty mentors, graduate students, and postdocs to complete high-level research.
Read more about each of our scholars and their respective projects below:
Morgan Hines
Mentor: Dr. Emily Zimmerman
My name is Morgan Hines, and I am a 4th-year Biology and English student from Louisville, Kentucky. I am a member of both the University Scholars Program and Honors Program. I first encountered topics in public and environmental health through “Epidemiology of Pandemic Diseases and Health Disparities in the African Diaspora,” a course taught by Dr. Richard Wamai. Since then, I have had a strong interest in public health and was drawn to the ROUTES program because of its offer of exposure to and understanding all aspects of environmental health through clinical, social, and biological investigations. During my time as a ROUTES co-op in the neurodevelopment lab of Dr. Emily Zimmerman, I plan to collect and investigate Non-Nutritive Suck data in order to understand the connections between environmental exposures and neurodevelopment. Prior to my ROUTES experience, I worked as a co-op in the Sabatini Lab at Harvard Medical School, assisting with projects aimed to perfect behavior training paradigms and understanding basal forebrain connectivity and activity in mice. In the future, I hope to earn an MD-MPH and engage in both clinical practice and public health research.
Biruk Mulaw
Mentors: Dr. Akram Alshawabkeh and Dr. Ljiljana Rajic
My name is Biruk Mulaw, and I am a fourth-year Chemical Engineering student. I am doing a co-op with the ROUTES program regarding research on groundwater remediation. The field of environmental remediation was a particular interest of mine, which has now become a reality under the ROUTES program. I believe, despite mankind’s technological advancement, the biggest provider of life for humans and other species is the natural environment. Therefore, I hold a strong stance in actively preserving and remediating our natural world. The research I am working on is about degrading trichloroethylene (TCH) and other pollutants by means of oxidation facilitated by electrolysis.
Rachel Domond
Mentor: Dr. Sharon Harlan
My name is Rachel Domond, and I’m a third-year Sociology student from Boston, MA. I’m most interested in the intersections between racial and socioeconomic inequities, environmental justice, and food, and I’m striving to better understand disparities through research, community organizing, and advocacy. I was drawn to the ROUTES Program because it provides an opportunity to work with Dr. Sharon Harlan on the Urban Water Innovation Network research project. This project addresses the challenges that threaten urban water systems through a sociological lens and works to create sustainable solutions to assist marginalized communities in increasing their resilience in the face of climate change. In addition to working on the UWIN project, I’m the vice president of Students Against Institutional Discrimination (SAID), a politically educative racial and social justice group on campus, and a project leader on SAID’s anti-gentrification and housing justice campaign.
Please visit our Previous Scholars Page to read the bios of ROUTES students from past cohorts.