As another academic year wraps up, we want to take a moment to recognize our outstanding group of students who worked with us at the Center for Thriving Communities on different research projects. Our students learned about various parts of the research from community engagement to SOP development to literature reviews and more. They all balanced pursuing their degrees while taking their time to learn about our work and helping projects move forward. They all recently graduated from their respective programs at UNC-Chapel Hill this May.
- Karenna Barmada supported CommunityRx-Kidney Health throughout the Spring 2026 semester for her Karen M. Gil internship. She supported regulatory maintenance, performed database testing, and helped develop standard operating procedures for key study activities. Check out her reflections on her internship experience.
- Adriana Gaona joined NC CEAL two years ago as a Graduate Research Assistant. She served as a pivotal support to multiple projects, primarily in the evidenced based intervention taking place in Anson County, North Carolina. Adriana has worked to assist with the recruitment of 44 participants and enroll them into our study. She has worked to develop a presentation a poster to be presented at our annual meeting.
- Rachel Moon began supporting CommunityRx-Kidney Health as a Graduate Research Assistant in October 2025. In this time, she has directly applied the theories and frameworks she has learned through her Master’s curriculum toward analyzing qualitative data, conducting literature reviews, co-designing the study’s trial recruitment procedures, and supporting multiple scholarly manuscripts.
- Aditi Yerra joined in 2024 supporting the Co-LEARN team. She significantly contributed to the study conducting literature reviews that informed the use of validated survey measures and carefully managed study data entry, among other responsibilities. She brought tremendous energy, thoughtfulness and positivity to the team and truly a joy to work with.
Thank you to our staff and faculty supervisors and mentors supporting the journey for each and every one of our students. Join us in celebrating and thanking Karenna, Adriana, Rachel and Aditi for their energy and fresh perspectives to our teams and the work.
