People Group Archives: Research Areas

Chitra “Chippy” Banarjee serves as a graduate research assistant in Dr. Ladda Thiamwong’s EMBRACE Lab at the UCF College of Nursing while pursuing a joint MD/PhD degree at the College of Medicine. She has a broad background in biochemical and biobehavioral research, with specific training and interest in using computational techniques to process and analyze […]

PhD candidate Eunice Ojo, DNP, RN, CV-BC, PCCN, researches technology-based fall risk assessment, fall prevention and health disparities among older adults as a graduate research assistant in Dr. Ladda Thiamwong’s EMBRACE Lab at the UCF College of Nursing. Through her work, she has contributed significantly to improving the recruitment of older adults for research, the […]

A graduate research assistant in the EMBRACE Lab under the mentorship of Dr. Ladda Thiamwong, Patria Marcano Maldonado is passionate about working with data — collecting, organizing and making sense of it. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in data analysis with the goal of using analytical tools to drive innovation and solve real-world […]

Kworweinski Lafontant is an NSCA-certified strength coach and an ACSM-certified exercise physiologist and personal trainer from Orlando, Florida. As a master’s student at the University of South Florida, he served as research coordinator for the Physique & Performance Enhancement Lab under the mentorship of Dr. Bill Campbell. Lafontant is currently completing his PhD in Kinesiology […]

Jethro Raphael Suarez is a Biomedical Engineering PhD student in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in UCF’s College of Engineering and Computer Science. As a Graduate Research Assistant in the College of Nursing, he manages all physical activity measurement devices in the EMBRACE Lab, overseeing their continuous operation and maintenance. Suarez’s research focuses […]

The first in his community to earn a PhD, David Asakitogum was originally educated as a nurse at the Bolgatanga Nursing Training College in his native Ghana. Over the next 15 years, he served as a nurse clinician and nurse educator in five rural districts in Ghana, advocating for prevention of malaria in pregnancy, prevention […]

Jenna M. Wheeler, PhD, RN, CBC, is a postdoctoral scholar at UCF’s College of Nursing under the mentorship of Professor and Associate Dean of Research Carmen Giurgescu. As a practicing registered nurse with 13 years of experience in the neonatal intensive care unit, Wheeler has witnessed firsthand the effect of preterm birth on families, especially […]

Dr. Dahee Kim is a postdoctoral scholar working with Professor Ladda Thiamwong. Her research interests include diversity and intersectionality in aging and older families; community-based prevention/intervention programs, stress-coping strategies, resilience, health literacy, emotional wellbeing, measurement development and the life course perspective. Education Selected Awards & Honors Selected Professional Activities

Nurse, researcher and educator Michael Joseph “MJ” Diño, who works under Professor Ladda Thiamwong in the EMBRACE Lab, specializes in health informatics, educational technologies, robotics, human-computer interaction, mixed reality, artificial intelligence and academic integrity. He is an Apple Distinguished Educator (ADE) and the first Asian to win the Nurse in the Limelight Innovator Award given […]

Dr. Kailei Yan is a postdoctoral scholar working with Professor Victoria Loerzel. Her research interests include symptom management among cancer populations, behavioral studies, and technology-based interventions. Education Selected Awards & Honors Selected Professional Activities