Graduate Students
París DaSilva
Major: Molecular Biology & Spanish Linguistics, BS/BA 2019, Epidemiology, MPH 2022
Role: Graduate Research Assistant (2019-2022)
Current Role: LGBT Health Disparities Research Coordinator, UC Santa Barbara Gevritz Graduate School of Education, Department of Clinical Psychology
The ARCHES Lab was one of the best parts of my grad school experience. I struggled a lot in my classes, but working with the folks at ARCHES was always fun and rejuvenating for my spirit.
Currently, I’m working on a state-funded evaluation project called the CA LBTQ Health Equity Initiative, a $17 million fund approved by the California State Legislature and entrusted to the California Department of Public Health. This funding is being distributed among a diverse cohort of community-based organizations across the state. It aims to address the unique health needs of Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer individuals, with an emphasis on feminine-identifying people, youth, elders, and BIPOC community members.
For more information, check out our website and the evaluation manual we put together: https://www.intersectionaljusticeca.com/about-1
Saanjh Boyani
Major: Health Promotion & Behavioral Science, MPH 2019
Role: Graduate Research Assistant (2019)
Current Role: Senior Analyst, The Walt Disney Company
My time at ARCHES set the standard for the kind of community based research I wanted to do and believed in. After feeling fairly lost as a grad student, ARCHES was a place that quickly became home and I’m glad to still call my lab mates my friends. Since graduating, I’ve moved to corporate research and analytics. Finding work as an alternative to academia has been a journey that I’ve really enjoyed.
Hannah Reynolds
Major: Health Promotion & Behavioral Science, MPH, 2024; Public Health, BS, 2022
Role: Graduate Research Assistant (2023-2024)
Current Role: Project Coordinator, SDSU Research Foundation
My time with ARCHES formed and solidified my interest in community based research. I met so many amazing students, mentors, and community members! I use the skills I learned in my time at ARCHES as a project coordinator for a cross-site implementation trial with autistic youth and their providers. I love using a community-focused lens and applying it to my new role.
Sally Windisch
Major: Health Promotion and Behavioral Science, MPH, 2020
Role: Graduate Research Assistant (2019-2020)
Current Role: Researcher, SHRM
I met my favorite besties at ARCHES and miss the lab so much! After leaving the ARCHES Lab, I worked with local and state agencies to create public health campaigns. More recently over the last 2 years, I’ve been working in the industrial-organizational psychology space on studies related to skills-first hiring and inclusive employment practices.
Undergraduate Students
Talia Kieu
Major: Public Health, BS, 2020; Health Behavior, MSPH, 2022
Role: Undergraduate Research Assistant (2018-2020)
Current Role: PhD Candidate, Department of Health Behavior at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health; Predoctoral Trainee, Carolina Population Center
Fun fact—as an OG member of the lab, I helped name the ARCHES Lab. You wouldn’t believe the other ideas we came up with before we landed on ARCHES!
After officially departing from the ARCHES Lab in 2020, I entered the MSPH-PhD program in Health Behavior at the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health. I’m now a PhD Candidate and a T32-funded Biosocial Predoctoral Trainee at the Carolina Population Center.
My research focuses on LGBTQ+ mental health across the life course, with a growing emphasis on LGBTQ+ aging. I’m currently seeking postdoctoral opportunities to begin after my dissertation defense in April 2026. Want to chat? Feel free to email me at talia.kieu@unc.edu ! 🙂
Aona Shigemori
Major: Public Health, BS, 2024
Role: Undergraduate Research Assistant (2023-2024)
Current Role: MPH in Epidemiology student at UCLA
I had an incredibly meaningful and rewarding experience as a research assistant at the ARCHES lab. I gained a variety of research skills, and had the opportunity to conduct qualitative research as part of the Puff Break Study. My mentor, Dr. Calzo, and my peers inspired me to become an impactful public health researcher and to continue pursuing my interests in public health research.
I am currently pursuing a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, and expect to graduate in June 2026.