Team

Lisa Marriott is an Associate Professor in the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health.  She studies biomedical workforce development and applied science education using health informatics approaches that support research and education.  She is Principal Investigator of a  Science Education Partnership Award that funds this work (R25 GM129840) as well as co-investigator on biomedical research training programs (i.e., BUILD EXITO, NCI YES Knight Scholars Program).  

Dr. Marriott also serves as Associate Director of Let’s Get Healthy!, an education and research exhibit at OHSU that uses health information technology to assess health behaviors and provide immediate, tailored feedback to individuals. The program earned the 2015 Technology Award from the Society of Public Health Education, has been an interactive health exhibit at museums and schools nationally, and is used internationally for health promotion and worksite wellness.  Dr. Marriott has won multiple teaching and mentorship awards. Her classes teach environmental health to public health graduate students, qualitative methods to health professionals, and biomedical research pathways to undergraduates.  More about Dr. Marriott's work can be found on her lab's website.

Teala (she/her) is an San Francisco native who relocated to Portland over a decade ago for less concrete and more green space! She is passionate about food and cooking, environmental stewardship, and equity based and focused research. Teala studied at Portland Community College before earning her BS in Community Health from Portland State, and recently completed her MPH in Public Health Practice at the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health (March 2022). Teala is currently a research assistant under Dr. Lisa Marriott, working to develop the START project. She also does research as a consultant for the Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition in Omaha, Nebraska, on how to better engage ethnic and racial minorities in evaluation research for Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) funded programs across the U.S.. And, she supports evaluation activities for the Friends of Zenger Farm's Community Supported Agriculture Partnerships for Health (CSAP4H) Program in Portland, Oregon.

Medina holds a Bachelor of Science in computer science. She first attended Clackamas Community College and later transferred to Portland State University to complete her Bachelor of Science. 

Following her graduation, Medina has worked with BUILD EXITO to support students by developing educational materials to support professional development, give students insight into research and academia, and build portfolios. 

In August of 2021, Medina joined Dr. Marriott's lab to develop the START website where she is focusing on the user experience of the website and supporting Teala to outline the data privacy and protections. 

Stephanie Paris graduated magna cum laude from Portland State University with a BS in Science and a minor in biology. While pursuing her bachelor’s degree, she became a BUILD EXITO Scholar and joined a Research Learning Community directed by Dr. Lisa Marriott. During her undergraduate research experience she studied the impact of stable housing on health outcomes for low-income individuals; statistically analyzed pre-post data to be used for presentation and future publication; supported development of Institutional Review Board protocols governing protections for human subjects; performed user testing of a health informatics platform (Let’s Get Healthy!) for global use; and contributed to a manuscript in preparation for peer-reviewed publication on the topic of epigenetics education for adolescents. 

One of the many things that Stephanie learned about herself as an undergraduate research trainee is that writing provides a meaningful overlap of her skills and what brings her joy. For this reason, in 2021 she began graduate school at Portland State University, pursuing a Master of Science degree in Professional and Technical Writing. She enjoys the challenge of coherently articulating complex concepts, and the potential to use a variety of dissemination methods for health promotion, particularly in populations that face barriers to the social determinants of health. Stephanie currently works as a Research Assistant in the Marriott Lab where she continues to foster her growing enthusiasm for advancing human health via biomedical research. 

Shanthia is a first-generation Pacific Islander-Mixed race transfer student from her hometown in Saipan, CNMI. As a recent Public Health graduate and BUILD EXITO scholar alumni,  Shanthia became one of the UCLA Public Health Summer Program recipients in Los Angeles. While in LA, she interned at one of the largest Board Districts of the LA Unified Schools under the Board District 7 office as a Family & Community Engagement intern. In addition, she participated in the 2022 CDC CUPS Research Conference, where she presented on "Intimate Partner Violence amongst LGBTQ+ & BIPOC individuals." After the program ended, she returned to Portland as a Senior Research Assistant at the Marriott Lab at OHSU-PSU School of Public Health.  

Currently, Shanthia is working on providing e-feedback for START focusing on motivational resilience and self-determination theory and understanding the barriers and supports for STEM high school and undergraduate students. In addition, Shanthia is excited and motivated about the research collaboration with her lab on Inclusive Demographics in STEM.  Shanthia loves how impactful mentoring and training can be and serves as a Research and Program Support at Roosevelt High School for Pacific Islander Mentoring. In addition, she also serves as a mentor for the NIH BUILD EXITO & URISE Scholars at Portland State University. She provides mentorship in PROA Pathways Program at the Northern Marianas College in Saipan, CNMI. 

Disability researcher with a passion for advocacy she prioritizes work that serves to benefit her community and other marginalized groups. Her research interests include; ADHD, PTSD, Autism, Sensory Processing Disorders, Resiliency and Motivation. She loves to utilize the principles of Community Based Participatory Research and Universal Design to research projects to increase accessibility to participants and researchers alike. 

Brandy is a MPH student at OHSU in the Health Systems and policy program. She hopes to work on policy changes that improve healthcare accessibility and increase protections for vulnerable populations as they navigate access to healthcare. 

Current lab project examines the positive aspects of impulsivity in STEM students using focus groups, motivational interviewing and qualitative analysis to investigate student perceptions of impulsivity.