Mental Illness, Addiction, Health Promotion, & Primary Care Fellowship

Kira Nightingale, PhD, MS, MBA

Bio: Dr. Kira Nightingale (she/her) received her PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Pennsylvania, where her dissertation research focused on addressing complexities relating to the implementation of the revised infant feeding guidelines for perinatally HIV-exposed infants. She also holds a BS in Biology (Gettysburg College), an MS in Clinical Research (New York University), and an MBA (New York University). Prior to embarking on her PhD, she served as Director of Clinical Research Operations at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, where she worked with faculty to operationalize research projects starting with funding applications all the way through study close-out. Dr. Nightingale's primary research focus is improving care and clinical outcomes for women living with HIV, particularly during pregnancy and postpartum. She is also interested in research aimed at reducing the burden of sexually transmitted infections in women.

Kaitlyn Eck, PhD, RDN

Bio: Kaitlyn Eck, PhD, RDN, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at Thomas Jefferson University. She completed her dietetic internship and earned her MS and PhD in Nutritional Science from Rutgers University.

Dr. Eck’s research focuses on developing healthcare interventions that support optimal nutrition and health-related behaviors. Her current work focuses on integrating evidence-based behavioral and lifestyle interventions into healthcare settings, with an emphasis on primary care and weight management. Her research interests include shared decision-making in weight management, weight stigma, and the experiences and health behaviors of patients using GLP-1 medications for weight management. She uses behavioral intervention development, mixed methods, and implementation science to understand patients’ needs and preferences and develop approaches that can be integrated into clinical workflows to support sustainable behavior change and improve health outcomes.

Jacelyn Biondo, PhD

Biography:  Jacelyn Biondo (she/her) completed her Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, Doctoral degree, and Master’s degree at Drexel University in the Creative Arts Therapies department. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from California Institute of the Arts with a dual major in Dance and Photography. 

Dr. Biondo has worked clinically as a dance therapist and psychotherapist for over a decade at an inpatient psychiatric facility. Informed by this clinical practice, she is focused on developing and facilitating equitable, embodied research to inform holistic treatment options for people who are often societally dehumanized. Her research interests are rooted in the concepts of embodiment, community, intimacy, and belonging particularly as they relate to communities that have been historically excluded, specifically, people experiencing schizophrenia.  

Meghan Gannon, PhD

Biography: After graduating with a BA in Biology from Drexel University, Dr. Gannon went on to earn her Masters in Public Health (2005) and her PhD in Population Health (2015) from Thomas Jefferson University. Prior to starting her fellowship training, Dr. Gannon worked extensively in mindfulness based intervention research at the MATER Program at Thomas Jefferson University, where she is a Mindfulness-Based Parenting Instructor and research faculty. Her primary focus of research is working with pregnant and parenting women with substance use history, specifically attachment, social support, and trauma related research. She has extensive training in evaluation research, qualitative methodology and mindfulness-based intervention work. Dr. Gannon is also the Director of the Health Policy Systems Track of the Scholarly Inquiry Program at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College.

Shané Gill, PhD

Biography: Dr. Shané (Sha-nay) Gill is a T32 fellow from Portland, Oregon. After completing her undergraduate degree in biology and psychology at George Fox University, Dr. Gill went on to pursue a master's in counseling from Regent University. While in the master's program, Dr. Gill developed an interest in equitable and inclusive practices in behavioral health and research disparities in behavioral health for marginalized persons. She went on to complete her doctoral degree in counselor education and supervision at Capella University to develop additional skills in teaching and supervision. She is a licensed professional counselor in Georgia and Pennsylvania with over 10 years of experience in behavioral health and five years of experience in professional counseling. Prior to beginning her fellowship, Dr. Gill worked as a counselor at Pyramid Healthcare for men with co-occurring disorders and as an adjunct faculty in the counseling program at Barry University. Dr. Gill's research interests are disparities in screening and assessment of behavioral health issues in primary care and emergency medicine in Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. It is her goal to conduct research that will inform providers across disciplines of culturally sensitive and responsive practices to improve health outcomes.  

Rachel Ludeke, PhD

Biography: Rachel Ludeke (pronouns: she/they) holds a PhD in Social Work from New York University, a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree from Rutgers University School of Social Work, as well as a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in English and History/Political Science from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick. She is also pursuing a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree at Thomas Jefferson University. Currently, she is a T32 postdoctoral research fellow (Jefferson Mental Illness, Addiction, & Primary Care Fellowship) at the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University. She has worked in the child welfare field as an administrator for transitioning foster youth programs in New Jersey and has also served as a program coordinator for various programs related to homelessness, disaster relief, and nonprofit management and governance. Her research examines the educational and employment disparities of child welfare involved minority youth using egocentric social network analysis and mixed methods.