Research Team

Principal Investigator
Ushma Upadhyay,
PhD MPH
Loves soft chocolate chip cookies. As a kid, she wanted to be a cookie-maker. Not a baker. A cookie-maker.

Co-Investigator
Karen Meckstroth,
MD MPH
Taught the sex ed classes for her kids’ public middle school for 6 years

Project Director
Jennifer Ko,
MLIS
Has backpacked solo through the Canadian Rockies and Banff

Research Data Analyst
Leah Koenig,
MSPH
Likes to hike and dismantle capitalism in her spare time

Qualitative Researcher
Postdoctoral Fellow
Andréa (Dre) Becker,
PhD
Has a pomeranian named Tuna and her favorite food is a Tuna Melt

Black Experiences after Telehealth Abortion (BETA): A CHAT Study
Qualitative Researcher
Ashley Jeanlus,
MD
A true Bionic Woman - she has plates and screws in her jaw
Student Researchers

California University of Science and Medicine
Linda Shin
Medical Student
Stepped on a sea urchin her first time surfing in Hawaii

Louisiana State University
Courtney Williams,
MPH
Once jumped out of a plane at 13,000 feet

Johns Hopkins University
Sylvie Wilson
MPH Student
Loves yoga and completed a 200-hr Teacher Training from home in 2020

University of California, Irvine
Kalani Phillips,
MPH
Currently working on her 3rd degree program at UCI (BA, MPH, and now PhD)
Our Partners
California Latinas for Reproductive Justice (CLRJ) is a statewide organization committed to honoring the experiences of Latinas/xs to uphold our dignity, our bodies, sexuality, and families. We build Latinas’/xs’ power and cultivate leadership through community education, policy advocacy, and community-informed research to achieve reproductive justice.
At CLRJ we recognize that Latinas’/xs’ reproductive health and rights cannot be viewed in isolation. So we do our work using the reproductive justice framework that emphasizes the intersection with other social, economic and community-based issues that promote the social justice and human rights of Latina/x women and girls and the Latinx community as a whole.
CLRJ joins the CHAT study team to ensure that Latinas/xs have access to culturally and linguistically appropriate educational materials and findings of the CHAT study, to increase community awareness of existing telehealth abortion care services. CLRJ, in collaboration with Comunidades Indígena en Liderazgo (CIELO), supports the language access component of the study, translating and communicating the CHAT study findings in a way that is accessible, as well as culturally and linguistically appropriate.
The UC Global Health Institute (UCGHI) is a UC-wide initiative that stimulates, nurtures, and promotes global health research, education, and collaboration to advance health in California and worldwide.
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UCGHI’s Center of Gender and Health Justice (CGHJ) envisions a world in which equitable gender norms lead to healthy and empowered women and people — including UC students. The Center promotes research, education and community engagement both globally and locally to reduce gender and health inequities.

The UCGHI Student Ambassador Program with the CGHJ will have the opportunity to engage with CHAT to conduct outreach to student programs and healthcare providers to share information about the project as well as information about the telehealth model for abortion care, highlighting existing services. Student Ambassadors will primarily be working on:
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The development of creative materials: posters, informational graphics and/or videos
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Building connections with potential patients at campus clinics/health centers or other primary care providers through direct communication and social media
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Increasing awareness through education, including planning and hosting informational events, sessions, or lectures by students for students
CHAT Student Ambassadors
Summer 2023
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Kelly Song (Student Leader)
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Indira D'Souza
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Ashley Lopez
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Summer 2022
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Eniola Owoyele (Student Leader)
Community Outreach Committee
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Arezoo Kalan
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Eniola Owoyele
​ Education Committee
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Cecelia Eldridge
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Sara Moaddeli
Blog Committee​
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Kalani Phillips
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Nayeli Benitez Santos
Infographic Leader​
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Emily Nguyen




