Graduate Students
Michelle Acevedo Callejas (M.A., Communication Studies, University of Iowa) is a doctoral student in the Communication Arts and Sciences Department at Penn State. Her program of research is at the intersection of supportive communication, health communication, and computer mediated communication. She specifically studies how individuals evaluate and respond to advice and other persuasive messages provided during supportive interactions. Specifically, how these evaluations and responses vary as a function of the affordances attributed to the channel in which the supportive episode takes place. Michelle also inquires how the evaluation and responses to these messages are shaped by the presence of multiple advice messages and/or multiple sources of advice. For the past two years, she has been actively engaged with the CSaAR research team. Michelle’s work has been published in Health Communication, and Computers in Human Behavior. Michelle enjoys going to dance, boat rides and swimming, and learning about algorithms in her free time.
Kasey A. Foley (M.A., Communication Management, John Carroll University) is a doctoral candidate whose research focuses on persuasive communication in health contexts, with an emphasis on strategic messaging to educate, motivate, and support public engagement in health issues. Kasey currently serves as a Social Scientist at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products — working to combat the youth-targeted advertising and labeling of vaping products. Kasey’s dissertation (in progress) examines the impact of primary care advising (i.e., argumentation, sequencing, and delivery) on emerging adult patient evaluations and behaviors. Her work has been published or accepted in academic outlets including the Journal of Language and Social Psychology, Medical Science Educator, and Media Psychology. Much of her work examines providers’ treatment advice, patient reception of such advice, and how to improve advice processes and outcomes. Over the past four years, Kasey has been actively engaged with the CSaAR research team, contributing to most of the completed and on-going projects. In addition to her work on antibiotic stewardship, Kasey has coordinated multiple studies testing the efficacy and feasibility of medical scribe interventions in outpatient pediatric and adult primary care. In her free time, Kasey enjoys dancing, embroidery, and scuba-diving.
Kathryn Simon (B.A., Canisius College) is an MA student focusing on interpersonal and health communication. While working toward her undergraduate degree, she worked as a research assistant on a study about former cancer patients’ perceptions of the term “survivor” and how this affected participation in survivorship services. She also completed her undergraduate thesis on co-rumination and its effects on gender, friendship qualities, and coping efficacy. In addition to working with the CSaAR research team, she is currently teaching undergraduate courses in public speaking and designing her MA thesis. In her free time, Kathryn enjoys running, hiking, reading, and hanging out with family and friends.
Yanmengqian (Alison) Zhou (M.Phil., Communication Studies & Gender Studies, Chinese University of Hong Kong) is a doctoral student in Communication Arts and Sciences at Pennsylvania State University. Her research program focuses on supportive communication. She studies supportive interactions across channels (e.g., face-to-face and technology-mediated channels) and relational contexts (e.g., friends, provider-patient, online communities). Specifically, her research examines how outcomes of social support—particularly advice and emotional support—are shaped by source factors, message features, and channel affordances. She is particularly interested in settings where multiple and potentially competing advice messages are presented. Over the past three years, she has also been actively engaged with the CSaAR research team. Her work has been published in Science Communication, Journal of Health Communication, and Health Communication. She has taught public speaking, quantitative methods for communication research, and interpersonal communication at Penn State. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, reading, and watching thriller movies and series.
Esha Kauravlla (B.S., Biology, Penn State) is a research assistant at the CSaAR lab. Esha graduated in 2019 with a B.S. in Biology and a minor in Psychology with the intention of obtaining a M.D. She joined the CSaAR lab in Fall of 2018 to broaden her perspective in healthcare and gain clinical experience. Since joining the lab, Esha has been involved in several CSaAR projects. In addition to working with the CSaAR team, Esha is applying to medical schools with the plan of matriculating in 2021. Outside of research, Esha’s interests include cooking, hiking, traveling and playing guitar.
Katie Maher (B.S., Biological Sciences and Health Professions, Penn State University) is a research assistant in the CSaAR lab. Katie is a rising senior minoring in Psychology and Global Health. She joined the CSaAr lab in Fall 2018 due to her interest in learning about Patient-Provider communication and expanding her knowledge within different realms of healthcare and has since worked on multiple CSaAR projects. Outside of lab, Katie serves as the Ritualist for the Delta Phi Epsilon Sorority on campus as well as a Gold Award Girl Scout Advisor for the Chesapeake Bay Council. After graduating in the fall, she plans on furthering her education by earning a Master’s in Global Health before pursuing medical school. In her free time, Katie loves reading, traveling and photography.
Isabelle Stull (B.S., Health Policy and Administration, Penn State) is an undergraduate research assistant in the CSaAR lab. Isabelle graduated in the spring of 2020 with a B.S. in Biology and a minor in Sociology. She joined the CSaAR team in the Fall of 2019 after participating in multiple research projects with Penn State’s Center for Health Care and Policy Research, interested in tackling health issues and research from a different perspective. Isabelle also conducted independent research and wrote an honors thesis, Examining the Consequences of Skin-Deep Resilience, which investigates the physiological repercussions that accompany surface level resilience (often characterized through socioeconomic success and mental health), frequently seen in disadvantaged minorities. Outside of research, Isabelle loves to read, bake, and spend time with her dog. Isabelle will be joining IQVIA as an Associate in their consulting branch in New York City in the fall.
George Sun (B.S., Premedicine, Penn State University) is an undergraduate research assistant at Penn State University where he is a part of the 7-year combined degree B.S./M.D. program and minoring in Economics. His interest in health and healthcare communication stems from his innate desire to help others and become a physician. George joined the CSaAR team in Fall of 2019 due to his interest in the intersection of healthcare and provider-patient communication and has since worked on multiple CSaAR projects. Outside of lab, George serves as the treasurer of the 7-year PreMedical-Medical Program, as an associate analyst for Penn State’s Asset Management Group, and as an volunteer for Council of Lionhearts. In his free time, George enjoys reading, cooking, fishing, playing piano, and playing tennis. In the fall, George will attend Sidney Kimmel Medical College in Philadelphia, PA.
Emma Urben (B.S., Health Policy and Administration/Master of Health Administration, Penn State) is an integrated undergraduate-graduate student at Penn State hoping to pursue a career in hospital strategy after she graduates in 2021. She joined the CSaAR team in Winter of 2019 to gain experience in research and expand her leadership qualifications. Emma has completed internships at UPMC (operations), Allegheny Health Network (health science), and a pediatric hospital in Ghana (public health), and is currently interning at Veralon, a healthcare consulting firm based in Philadelphia, PA. She is also active in the Penn State Navigators and the Master of Health Administration Association. In her free time, Emma loves to run, hike, and sip coffee with her roommate.
