Tanya Penn, MPH
Evaluation Team
Ms. Tanya Penn is a Senior Research Scientist at the Institute for Public Health, Adjunct Professor at SDSU, and Director of HealthDAT San Diego, a web-based portal that enables collaboration between researchers and practitioners to address health disparities. As a researcher, Ms. Penn leads the evaluation of the NCI-funded U54 SDSU/UCSD Cancer Partnership and manages the evaluation of an NIH-funded center grant, the NIMHD-funded U54 SDSU HealthLINK Center for Transdisciplinary Research. Ms. Penn’s research focuses on population health, health disparities, and developing, implementing, and evaluating community based participatory research.
See Ms. Penn’s profile for details on publications and projects.
Carlos Sanchez-Rojas
Research Assistant, Research Project: GOALS/Metas
Mr. Carlos Sanchez-Rojas is an undergraduate research assistant for the Research Project: Goal Oriented Activity for Latinos with Spine Pain (GOALS/Metas). He is currently majoring in kinesiology (pre-physical therapy) and minoring in interdisciplinary studies through the Weber Honors College at SDSU. Mr. Sanchez-Rojas aspires to become a physical therapist as his passion for physical therapy came from his own personal experience with rehabilitation. One of his main goals is to work in the area of pediatrics and hopes to assist clinics serving underrepresented and economically disadvantaged communities.
See Mr. Lopez’s profile for details on publications and projects.
Rebecca Pierce
Research Assistant, Research Project: GOALS/Metas
Ms. Rebecca Pierce is currently an undergraduate student at SDSU studying kinesiology with an emphasis in pre-physical therapy. She loves learning about exercise and health sciences and hopes to attend graduate school to become a physical therapist in the future. As a Research Assistant on the Research Project: Goal Oriented Activity for Latinos with Spine Pain (GOALS/Metas), she conducts participant assessments using spine movement sensors and physical activity monitors to capture data for the project. She also works on data processing, managing references, and testing custom sensors and apps.
See Ms. Pierce’s profile for details on publications and projects.
Cassandra Rodriguez, DPT
Research Physical Therapist, Research Project: GOALS/Metas
Ms. Cassandra Rodriguez is a Physical Therapist who received her doctorate in physical therapy from New York University and is currently working at FHCSD at an outpatient rehabilitation clinic serving the underserved population. She received her Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from SDSU prior, and is excited to work with her alma mater. She is currently the Physical Therapist that is assisting in developing and implementing the intervention in the Research Project: Goal Oriented Activity for Latinos with Spine Pain (GOALS/Metas).
See Dr. Rodriguez’s profile for details on publications and projects.
Kristin Archer, PhD, DPT
Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery & Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Collaborator on the Research Project: GOALS/Metas, SDSU HealthLINK Center
Dr. Kristin Archer is an Associate Professor and Vice Chair of Orthopaedic Surgery and Associate Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She has extensive clinical and research experience in assessing and managing psychological risk factors in patients with muscle, ligament, tendon, and bone injuries. She is a principal investigator on studies involving physical therapy for patients following lumbar spine surgery and to identify active duty service members who might be at risk for poor rehabilitation outcomes. She collaborates with the Research Project: GOALS/Metas at the SDSU HealthLINK Center.
See Dr. Archer’s profile. for details on publications and projects
Mikella Robinson, PhD
Lab Technician, Research Project: Excessive Body Weight and Ovarian Cancer
Dr. Mikella Robinson is the Lab Technician assisting the Research Project: Excessive Body Weight and Ovarian Cancer at the SDSU HealthLINK Center. She leads the vivarium research projects, runs basic lab experiments and bioinformatic analyses, mentors students, and coordinates new studies.
See Dr. Robinson’s profile for details on publications and projects.
Luis Miquirray
Research Assistant, Research Project: GOALS/Metas
Mr. Luis Miquirray is a Research Assistant for the Research Project: Goal Oriented Activity for Latinos with Spine Pain (GOALS/Metas) at the SDSU HealthLINK Center. In his role, Mr. Miquirray conducts a variety of surveys as well as placement of back sensors and movement monitoring devices on participants in the study. He has been with the SDSU Research Foundation for more than 10 years, working in different projects mainly located in Imperial Valley.
See Mr. Miquirray’s profile for details on publications and projects.
Katrina Maluf, PT, PhD
Co-Leader, Research Project: GOALS/Metas
Dr. Katrina Maluf is a Professor of Physical Therapy in the School of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences at SDSU. As Director of the Applied Sensorimotor Research Laboratory, her long-term goal is to translate physiologic discoveries into innovative clinical strategies to assess and manage stress-related chronic pain. Her current research aims to address the prevention and management of chronic spine pain. Dr. Maluf is a co-leader for the Research Project: Goal Oriented Activity for Latinos with Spine Pain (GOALS/Metas) to study the efficacy of a culturally adapted tele-rehabilitation program for Latinos with chronic low back and neck pain.
See Dr. Maluf’s profile for details on publications and projects.
