IPH - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Director of the SDSU Institute for Public Health
Dr. McDaniels-Davidson is the Director of the SDSU Institute for Public Health (IPH), Associate Director of Public Health Practice for the SDSU School of Public Health (SPH), and Assistant Professor of Public Health in the division of Health Promotion and Behavior Science. She represents SDSU as the Deputy Associate Director for Community Outreach and Engagement for Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health and serves as the Evaluation Director for the Indian Health Council's Native American Research Center on Health. She holds a PhD in Epidemiology from the Public Health Joint Doctoral Program from University of California, San Diego and San Diego State University, a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology from San Diego State University, and a Bachelor of Science in Community Health Education from Ithaca College in New York.
Her research focuses broadly on cancer disparities and COVID-19 inequities, with special emphasis on HPV and community health worker-led interventions. She has expertise in curriculum development, research and evaluation design, data analysis, and health education in diverse social service and public health settings. As the Director of the IPH, Dr. McDaniels-Davidson oversees a staff of Research Scientists, Health Writers, and Public Health Professionals who collaborate on public health research and service projects with community-based and governmental agencies in and around California. She is a first-generation college student who is passionate about training the next generation of cancer researchers and public health practitioners.
Job Titles:
- Emeritus Faculty Associate
- Faculty Associate
- Associate Professor of Epidemiology
Dr. Suzanne Lindsay is an Emeritus Associate Professor of Epidemiology. Also, she had served as the Executive Director of the Institute for Public Health (IPH) until June, 2017. Dr. Lindsay has directed and participated in the design and implementation of applied research and evaluation studies in a wide variety of content areas including breast and cervical cancer screening and diagnosis, violence, homelessness, perinatal health, HIV/AIDs prevention, and chronic disease prevention. Dr. Lindsay's community-based activities have focused on health disparities across cultures, and culturally competent interventions designed to address those disparities.
Job Titles:
- Administrative Staff Member
- Administrative Analyst With a
Elsa Rodriques serves as Administrative Analyst with a BA in Economics from San Diego State University and an MBA from George Washington University. She comes to IPH having served at a variety of federal and non-profit organizations.
Job Titles:
- Research Staff Member
- Web Application and Database Manager
Kanako Sturgis is a Web Application and Database Manager for the Quality Assurance Project (QAP), an IPH contract with the California Department of Health Care Services. Her primary interests involve the design and development of interactive distance learning tutorials. Ms. Sturgis also serves as a data analyst. In this role, her main focus and responsibilities involve quality assurance and program evaluation.
Her undergraduate degree is pharmaceutical science from Showa Pharmaceutical University in Tokyo, Japan and she holds Japanese Pharmacist License. Prior to earning a Master of Public Health from Graduate School of Public Health at San Diego State University, she worked for Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd. She played a major role on clinical trials and regulatory submission to obtain the first magnetocardiography (MCG) permission and also magnetoencephalogram (MEG) permission from Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.
Ms. Sturgis' areas of expertise include:
Database management
Distance and online learning
Website design and development
Web data collection application design and development
Technical writing, technical assistance and providing training on web applications
Program evaluation
Job Titles:
- Research Staff Member
- Senior Evaluation Specialist and Principal Investigator
Lisa Kwizera Asmus is a Senior Evaluation Specialist and Principal Investigator at the IPH, coordinating many of the Institute's community-based evaluation projects. Ms. Asmus joined the IPH in 1997 and currently holds an adjunct faculty appointment at the Graduate School of Public Health, San Diego State University.
Ms. Asmus' areas of experience and expertise include:
Evaluation design to meet project needs
Data collection tools and surveys
Tailored evaluation reports
ACCESS database design
Statistical analysis
Consultation for new grant development
Project staff training (computer use, data collection and analysis, presentation of data, and report production)
Job Titles:
- Research Staff Member
- Researcher
- Research Staff
Martha Crowe is a Researcher for the Quality Assurance Program. Martha's primary responsibility is to develop web-based professional education resources related to breast and cervical cancer. Martha holds a Master's degree in Applied Child Development from Tufts University and earned her Bachelor's degree in Anthropology from Boston University.
Prior to joining the staff, Martha worked as an organizational and resource development consultant for nonprofit organizations. In addition, she served as the Vice President of Programs at Voices for Children for 14 years, the San Diego Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program. She has also worked as a policy analyst for a think-tank in Washington, D.C., as a researcher at Harvard University, and as a social worker with abused and neglected children.
Job Titles:
- Emeritus Faculty Associate
Job Titles:
- Emeritus Faculty Associate
- Faculty Associate
- Emeritus Associate Professor of Public Health
Dr. Seidman is an Emeritus Associate Professor of Public Health. Dr. Seidman's primary areas of interest include health economics, program evaluation, public health workforce development and training, and web-based dissemination of health information.
Areas of expertise include:
Job Titles:
- Administrative Staff Member
Tanya Penn is an Epidemiologist with her Master of Public Health in Epidemiology from San Diego State University and her Bachelor of Art in Sociology from the University of Santa Barbara. Ms. Penn also holds a nationally recognized Certification in Public Health from the National Board of Examiners. Her expertise includes statistical analysis, data management and manipulation, managing multifaceted projects, and interfacing with community partners. Her primary research interests include health disparities in underserved populations, health education, and community based participatory research.
Currently, Ms. Penn holds an adjunct faculty appointment at the Graduate School of Public Health, San Diego State University. She was project lead on the 2013 HASD&IC Community Health Needs Assessment Phase I and co-Principal Investigator on Phase II. Additionally Ms. Penn has been Principal Investigator on projects with local San Diego hospitals. Before joining the Institute of Public Health, she was part of a team that started one of the first free Diabetic Clinics serving indigent patients in Wilmington, North Carolina. As Clinic Director, Ms. Penn successfully implemented the clinic's mission to serve the most vulnerable populations while interfacing with community partners, volunteer medical staff and pharmaceutical companies.