Dr. Marissa Seamans, PhD, MSPH, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology. Dr. Seamans’ research focuses on the intersection of social epidemiology and pharmacoepidemiology to address substance use and mental health. Her work explores the use of large healthcare databases to examine prescription drug use in families and the effectiveness of treatments for mental health and substance use disorders. Methodologically, Dr.
Education
- Postdoctoral, Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
- PhD, Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
- MSPH, Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
- BA, Comparative Literature and Society, Columbia University, Columbia College, New York, NY
Michael Ong, MD PhD, is a Professor in Residence of Medicine & Health Policy and Management at UCLA. He is currently the Associate Chief of Staff for Research and Development, and was the Hospitalist Chief from 2018-2022, at the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System. Dr. Ong is the inaugural co-recipient of the VA Office of Research & Development's Field Research Leadership Excellence award in 2025, for his work as Associate Chief of Staff for Research and Development.
Center Affiliations
Education
- PhD, Health Services & Policy Analysis, University of California, Berkeley, CA
- MD, University of California, San Diego, CA
Dr. Keller is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management. Her primary appointment is in the Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Dr. Keller's research focuses on the use, prescribing, and deprescribing of high-risk medications such as opioids, benzodiazepines, and antipsychotics in older adults. Dr.
Education
- PhD, Health Policy and Management, University of California, Los Angeles, CA
- MPH, Health Policy and Management, University of California, Los Angeles, CA
- BA, Human Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Dr. Burt Cowgill is an associate professor-in-residence who resides in the UCLA Kaiser Permanent Center for Health Equity and Center for Cancer Prevention and Control Research in the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. He is also a Pod Leader for the Research Well Pod at the UCLA Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center. Dr.
Center Affiliations
Education
- PhD, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, CA
- MPH, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, CA
- BA, Political Science, University of California, Los Angeles, CA
As an infectious disease epidemiologist, my research focuses on the syndemics of substance use, mental health, and infectious diseases. I have led and collaborated on diverse projects examining vaccine-preventable diseases, hepatitis C, tuberculosis, and sexually transmitted infections with a particular emphasis on the intersecting epidemics of HIV, substance use, and mental health. Further, much of this work is grounded in Southern California, providing me with a nuanced understanding of the region’s unique public health challenges and health disparities.
Center Affiliations
Education
- PhD, University of California, Los Angeles
- MPH, Yale University
- BA, University of California, Santa Barbara
Dr. W. Scott Comulada, DrPH, is Professor-in-residence in the UCLA Departments of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and Health Policy and Management, Director of the Semel Institute Center for Community Health, a statistician, and a public health researcher. His work focuses on the development and evaluation of AI-enhanced digital health interventions that incorporate chatbots and virtual reality.
Semel Institute Center for Community Health
Education
- DrPH, Biostatistics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 2006
- MS, Biostatistics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 2000
- MPH, Biostatistics, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, 1998
- BS, Biophysics, Pacific Union College, Angwin, CA, 1993
Sung-Jae Lee, PhD, is a Professor-in-Residence in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, with a joint appointment in the Department of Epidemiology, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. He is the Director of Research and Evaluation at the Nathanson Family Resilience Center, Division of Population Behavioral Health. Dr.
Education
- PhD, Epidemiology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA
- MPH, Epidemiology, Yale University, New Haven, CT
- BA, Social Psychology, Tufts University, Medford, MA
I joined UCLA in 2009 and am an Associate Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology and a member of the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. Prior to coming to UCLA I completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the International Agency for Research on Cancer, an agency of the World Health Organization.
Education
- PhD, Epidemiology, Columbia University, New York, NY
- MPH, Boston University, Boston, MA
- AB, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
Elizabeth D'Amico is an adjunct professor in the Department of Community Health Science. She is a senior behavioral scientist at the RAND Corporation and a licensed clinical psychologist. D'Amico is nationally recognized for her work developing, implementing, and evaluating interventions for adolescents. She is a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT) and the interventions she has developed all utilize motivational interviewing (MI).
Education
- PhD, Clinical Psychology, University of Texas, Austin, TX
