Research Team

Amanda Ajrouche joined SEH as a Project Coordinator, supporting Dr. Margaret Hicken’s Work Life Study. Amanda is also working with Dr. Hicken on developing a manuscript that aims to further investigate the connnection between social inequities and environmental pollution. Amanda holds an MSW from the University of Michigan School of Social Work and is dedicated to increasing research around underrepresented communities and Arab Americans.

She currently oversees projects and staff within the ABI program. Her primary responsibilities are administrative oversight of study staff and working with the staff on study recruitment and data collection. She assists the director with grant budgeting, proposals and data presentations. She has worked in research at the University of Michigan for 14 years, all in the medical school until she came to ISR in June 2022.

Dr. Kira Birditt is a Research Professor and Director of the Aging and Biopsychosocial Innovations Program. Dr. Birditt’s program of research focuses on negative aspects of relationships, stress, and the implications of relationships and stress for health and well-being over time (using both self-reported and biological indicators of health). She is particularly interested in understanding how relationships differentially influence health and well-being depending on the context of stress. Most of her projects involve examining individuals and dyads either over time and or within families.

Neil J. Nakkash works as a research assistant for Dr. Margaret Hicken’s WorkLife Study. As an undergraduate student at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, his academic focus lies in Middle Eastern Policy Studies. He is interested in the influence of policies on public health, both at the national and global levels. During his free time, Neil enjoys writing book reviews on Goodreads, exploring nature, and participating in his local Iraqi-American community. He aspires to pursue a career in research and medicine.

Ben Culp is a research assistant for Dr. Margaret Hicken’s WorkLife Study. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience from the University of Michigan in 2023. Ben is particularly interested in social determinants of health outcomes and disparities.

Through her entire research program, Margaret Hicken is committed to clarifying the social causes and biological mechanisms of renal and cardiovascular disease.The major hallmark of Hicken’s research is the integration of scientific knowledge from diverse disciplines, as this transdisciplinary approach to research allows for creative and innovative insights into the root causes and mechanisms of seemingly intractable health inequalities. A significant portion of her research program falls at the intersection of sociology, geography, and environmental toxicology, examining the interrelated roles of residential communities, neighborhood characteristics, environmental hazards, and health.

Michael Elliott is a Professor of Biostatistics at the University of Michigan School of Public Health and Research Scientist at the Institute for Social Research. He received his PhD in biostatistics in 1999 from the University of Michigan. Prior to joining the University of Michigan in 2005, he held an appointment as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and prior to that as a Visiting Professor of Biostatistics at the University of Michigan School of Public Health and as a Visiting Research Scientist at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. Dr. Elliott’s statistical research interests focus around the broad topic of “missing data,” including the design and analysis of sample surveys, casual and counterfactual inference, and latent variable models. He has worked closely with collaborators in injury research, pediatrics, women’s health, the social determinants of physical and mental health, and smoking cessation research. Dr. Elliott has served as an Associate Editor for the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series C and the Journal of the American Statistical Association, and as an Associate Editor and Editor of the Journal of Survey Statistics and Methodology. He was Associate Chair of Academic Affairs for the Department from 2018-2021.

Dr. Dayna A. Johnson, PhD, MPH, MSW, MS is a sleep epidemiologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University in Atlanta GA. She also holds an academic appointment in the Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health at Emory. Dr. Johnson received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychological Sciences at Purdue University in 2004. She then attended the University of Michigan for graduate school and received a Master of Public Health and Master of Social Work in 2007. Upon graduation, she worked in Public Health research, and developed a passion for epidemiology. A few years later, she returned to graduate school to further refine her skills in research and completed a Master of Science as well as doctorate degree in Epidemiologic Science from the University of Michigan. Following graduation, she pursued and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Sleep and Circadian Disorders at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston MA. Dr. Johnson’s research is aimed at understanding the root causes of sleep health issues and their impact on health outcomes by:

1. addressing the social and environmental determinants of sleep disorders and insufficient sleep; and
2. investigating the influence of modifiable factors such as sleep disorders and disturbances in health outcomes (e.g., hypertension, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cancer, cognition).

She is funded by the National Institutes of Health to investigate associations of contextual factors and psychosocial stress on sleep and blood pressure. Her other research projects include a mindfulness-based stress reduction intervention to improve sleep and cardiovascular health and a study of sleep among high school students in rural Georgia. She utilizes large epidemiologic studies such as the Jackson Heart Study and the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis to conduct her research. Dr. Johnson is also engaged in community partnerships to investigate the effect of environmental exposures and housing on health among residents of Georgia. She has been featured in several magazines, podcasts and news programs including CBS for her expertise in sleep health and sleep disorders. Her mission is to increase awareness around the importance of sleep.

Bassey Enun is a Research Project Manager at Emory University. She is a US-trained physician with certified training in Advanced Clinical Research Project Management(ACR-PM), Pharmacovigilance and Drug Safety (PVDS), Advanced Clinical Research Coordination (ACRC), and Advanced Clinical Research Associate(ACRA). She is passionate about providing equity and diversity in clinical research, destroying barriers to equitable healthcare, and empowering patients to take control of their health. She is dedicated to providing an environment where all are welcome to participate in clinical research regardless of race or ethnicity; gender identity; sexual orientation; disability status; socioeconomic background; age; or religion. 

Raynesha Franklin is a Senior Research Interviewer at Emory University. She currently holds a master’s degree in physician assistant studies and clinical research from Morehouse School of Medicine. Her interest includes sleep medicine and continuing to promote health equity in her community. In her free time, Raynesha enjoys traveling, watching football or basketball games, and spending time with her family and friends.

Hedy received her PhD in Sociology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2009. After receiving her PhD, she was a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health & Society Scholar at the University of Michigan from 2009 to 2011. She holds a courtesy joint appointment at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at WUSTL and is a Faculty Affiliate in the Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. She currently serves on the research advisory board for the Vera Institute of Justice and the board for the Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Science. She is also a member of The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, Committee on Population. Her recent work examines the impact of structurally rooted chronic stressors on health.