Congratulations to our graduating students: Regan, Ken, and Jingquan Flora!

Regan is graduating with a Master of Public Health degree! She recently completed her Master’s thesis titled “Me Teaching Me: Utility and Cultural Fit of Mindfulness Training for Black Pregnant Women at Risk of Hypertension.”

My thesis evaluated an 8-week prenatal mindfulness training aiming to prevent gestational hypertension. Recommendations are offered for improving future trainings, especially related to cultural congruence and opportunities for empowerment. This work is being developed for publication in summer 2025! I’m grateful to have been a part of such important health equity work that combines my two interests: reproductive health and mindfulness.

After graduation, I will be pursuing work in complementary and integrative health spaces with the goal of advancing reproductive justice initiatives. I’m looking forward to completing doula training once I’m settled in North Carolina, as well as taking time to see loved ones and continuing my attempts to land Parsva Bakasana!

My thesis is about how different levels of stigma—including internalized homophobia, interpersonal discrimination, and structural stigma—affect PTSD symptoms and suicide risk. Using a cross-sectional survey of 286 sexual minority men, I found significant associations between all levels of stigma and mental health outcomes. Additionally, structural stigma moderated the relationship between internalized- and interpersonal stigma and mental health outcomes. These findings highlight the importance of future research that not only addresses individual and interpersonal stigma but also considers the broader structural factors that can exacerbate mental health challenges in marginalized communities.

I hope to continue working in research, focusing on the intersectional identities of race and sexual minority status, and I plan to publish my thesis and learn even more through that process. I’m also aiming to apply for a Ph.D. program in the coming years, so stay tuned for a future newsletter with news of my acceptance (fingers crossed)!

Jingquan (Flora) is graduating with a Master of Science degree in Social Data Analytics! She recently completed a research project titled: “Assessing Spatial Accessibility of Healthcare Facilities in Massachusetts: An 2SFCA and Spatial Regression Approach.”

This study assesses healthcare accessibility across 1,620 Massachusetts census tracts using the two-step floating catchment area (2SFCA) method based on population- weighted centroids and travel-distance catchments. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression was used to assess associations between accessibility and socio-demographic variables, including median household income, percentage of White residents, percentage of uninsured residents, and percentage of residents aged 65 and older. To capture local variations, Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) was applied. Results reveal significant disparities, with lower accessibility linked to tracts with lower income and higher shares of uninsured and older residents. GWR findings further demonstrate spatial variability in these relationships, highlighting the need for locally tailored health policy responses.

After graduating from the Social Data Analytics program, I plan to participate in a Kaggle machine learning competition to sharpen my modeling and data analysis skills in real-world scenarios. At the same time, I will continue actively searching for quantitative analyst positions to apply my statistical and programming knowledge in the professional setting. Outside of academics and career development, I also look forward to learning ice skating and watercolor painting as fun and challenging new hobbies.