Meet the Team

Community Advisory Board

A group of local leaders, the Community Advisory Board members offer research insights and drive our community-centered work.

Roxanne Mirabal-Beltran

Principal Investigator

Roxanne Mirabal-Beltran, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at the Georgetown University School of Nursing. Her research interests include women’s health inequities with a focus on patient-provider communication. She is particularly interested in the use of Community-Based Participatory Research to facilitate access to health and health education in underserved communities. She first moved to DC in 1995 and worked at the Medstar Washington Hospital Center as a women’s health registered nurse for 20 years.

Research Assistants

Our team is made up of both graduate and undergraduate students with backgrounds in health and health inequities.

Undergraduate Research Assistants

Part of the Georgetown Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (GUROP), the Undergraduate Research Assistants share interests in research and equitable maternal healthcare in D.C.

JOHN KATIAL is a rising senior at Georgetown University studying Human Health and Climate Science, a self-designed research degree that examines how changing climate and environmental conditions influence human health. Spurred by the centrality of healthcare access and disparities to all realms of global health, he sought to increase his depth of knowledge and experience around his degree through research into equitable maternal health. He is thrilled to parallel this interest with the growth that comes from working alongside D.C. community members. Outside of research, John is a residential assistant, dancer in Rangila, GED tutor, and clinical volunteer.

CLAIRE AUSLANDER is a rising junior at Georgetown University studying nursing. She is an aspiring nurse-midwife and hopes to dedicate her career to advancing reproductive freedom through healthcare delivery, research, and advocacy! She is excited to engage her interests in family planning, maternal health, and public health equity as a member of the research team! Outside of research, Claire is involved with the nursing legislative action group, Jewish student association, French cultural association, and serves as an NHS peer mentor.

ROMA JHA is a rising junior at Georgetown University studying Healthcare Management and Policy. She is excited to be involved with community-based participatory research and is passionate about reproductive health justice! Outside of being a Research Assistant, she is involved with Georgetown's Moot Court team, Hoyas for Human Rights, and the International Relations Association. After college, she hopes to attend law school and apply her research skills to her work!

Study Mentors

Researchers from universities across the country offer their valuable insights and expertise.

LAURA LINNAN, at the Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina

LINDA GALLO, at San Diego State University

ALEJANDRA DE MENDOZA, at the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University

Research Team Alumni

Meet a few research team alumni who have contributed to the project over the years.

NANDI DUBE graduated in 2024 from Georgetown with a degree in Psychology. She was excited to apply her interest in maternal health and racial health disparities as a Research Assistant. Outside of research, Nandi was involved in the Center for Social Justice and also works as a researcher in the Georgetown Medical School's Department of Psychiatry. She is now working as a full-time Research Assistant before obtaining a PhD in Clinical Psychology.

KELLY BRINKMAN graduated in 2024 from Georgetown with a degree in Nursing. She is thrilled to be learning more about public health and health inequity while working as a member of the research team. Kelly is passionate about public health and serving others and hopes to eventually work as a humanitarian nurse. Kelly has now begun her nursing career as a registered nurse at the Edward Hines Veterans Association Hospital in Chicago, Illinois.

KELSEY RONDINI is graduated in 2024 from Georgetoen with a degree in Biology. She was thrilled to be involved in community-based participatory research in DC while applying her interests in reproductive health and health equity. Kelsey now plans to continue conducting biomedical research as a postbaccalaureate fellow at the National Institutes of Health Undiagnosed Diseases Program.

JANE FALL-DICKSON, at the School of Nursing, Georgetown University.

Project Mentor July 2020 through May 2023. — JANE FALL-DICKSON, at the School of Nursing, Georgetown University. Project Mentor July 2020 through May 2023.

IZZY SEDDON (Student Videographer/ Photographer; Research Assistant) is a recent graduate of the Clinical Nurse Leader Masters program at Georgetown University. Izzy conducted psychology research and worked on a biomedical research team while earning her undergraduate degree at Rollins College. However, after producing a documentary about the impacts of organic farming on human and environmental health during her study abroad experience in Vietnam, she went on to pursue a MFA in Film Production from Full Sail University. She spent three years working with over 20 non-profits in Central Florida to tell their stories through media before her passions for public health, research, and advocacy led her to nursing. She hopes to pave her own path and create digital content that elevates the work of both healthcare and filmmaking communities.

AISLINN TREJO is a junior at Georgetown University studying Biology on the pre-med track. She is excited to apply to be applying her interests in public health as an Undergraduate Research Assistant. Aislinn also enjoys being a Student Academic Assistant for the Biology department and leading Incorporado, the Corp's affinity group for Latine individuals.

SABREEN MOHAMMED is a senior at Georgetown University studying Global Health and Medical Humanities on the pre-med track. She was super excited about applying her interests in health inequities as an Undergraduate Research Assistant. Sabreen is involved in GERMS on campus and helps out with MSA (Muslim Student Association) events.

MAKAELA BOURNAZIAN (Research Assistant) is a graduate of the Clinical Nurse Leader Master's program at Georgetown University. Makaela worked on three different research projects while in undergrad at Boise State University and immediately fell in love with research. These research projects ranged from community health to looking at the circadian cycle in squirrels. Makaela has a Master's in Public Policy & Gender Studies from George Washington University where she focused on health care disparities, LGBTQ issues & gender discrimination. When Makaela is taking a study break, you can find her spending time with loved ones and trying the newest restaurants in DC.

KATE MONOGUE-RINES (Research Assistant) recently earned her BSN from Georgetown University. She has been part of the team since 2020. Before coming to nursing, Kate was a professional ballerina with Oregon Ballet Theater from 2012-2019. A passion for healthcare, advocacy for vulnerable populations, and holistic medicine brought her to nursing. Since graduating from Georgetown University, Katherine is beginning her nursing career as a registered nurse at Dayton Children's pediatric intensive care unit in Dayton, Ohio.

AANYA AGARWAL is a senior majoring in Biology of Global Health. She joined the Mirabal-Beltran research team because of her passion for maternal health and to help address health disparities in the local D.C. area. Aside from research, Aanya is involved in the South Asian Society, Chemistry Club, and Blue and Gray.

JOSEPH MULINGE (Research Assistant) is a Master's student in Global Health at Georgetown University, certified in the nursing and public health profession. Joseph is a strong advocate of peer learning and practical, innovative solutions in health focusing on improving the quality of primary healthcare services, strengthening health systems, and universal health coverage.

JENNIFER MARTINEZ-SANCHEZ (Research Assistant) recently graduated from Georgetown University, where she studied Sociology, English, and Public Health. Given her experience with healthcare, Jennifer believes that medicine is a form of social advocacy. She aims to study how social and institutional contexts, such as employment, housing, food security, and/or immigration, influence the quality of health among vulnerable populations. Since graduating, Jennifer has completed the Latina Leadership Fellowship at Esperanza United, where she researched interventions for intimate partner violence, more specifically those tailored to immigrant couples and families, and produced a literature review.