Postdoctoral fellows at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing engage in mentored research with our nationally and internationally recognized faculty. Key areas of research include: cardiovascular health; aging; disease prevention and risk reduction; women’s health; care at end of life; community-based health promotion; and health care for diverse populations. These early career scientists receive training in leadership within their respective fields of study while developing independent research programs. Learn more about our postdoctoral program.
Nana Ofori Adomako, PharmD, PhD
Dr. Nana Ofori Adomako is a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing’s Center for Cardiovascular and Chronic Care. Holding a Doctor of Pharmacy and a PhD in Clinical Pharmacy from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (Ghana), his research focuses on leveraging mobile health (mHealth) interventions to improve hypertension management, medication adherence, and access, ultimately aiming to reduce health disparities and enhance quality of life.
Diana Alvarez-Bartolo, PhD
Dr. Diana Alvarez-Bartolo is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. She earned her Ph.D. and M.A. in Quantitative Research Methods from Arizona State University and her B.A. in Psychology from the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Her research focuses on developing, evaluating, and applying advanced quantitative research methods—particularly causal inference techniques—to projects aimed at improving physical and mental health. Her postdoctoral work, conducted under the supervision of Dr. Laura Samuel and Dr. Bonnielin Swenor, involves the development and application of advanced statistical methods to evaluate the impact of a program that offers Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) outreach and enrollment assistance among low-income adults with disabilities.
Joyline Chepkorir, PhD, MSc, RN
Dr. Chepkorir is a Post-doctoral Fellow at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. She earned her doctorate in Nursing from Johns Hopkins University, a Master of Science in Global Health Policy from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Michigan State University.
Her research interests are centered around community-engaged research, digital and health literacy, chronic disease prevention and control, global health, and health equity. Her pre-doctoral dissertation examined the interplay of health literacy, health information access, and cervical cancer screening uptake among rural Kenyan women. Her post-doctoral fellowship research aims to prevent and manage diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and overweight among residents in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington D.C.
Youngmin Cho, PhD, MSN, RN
Youngmin Cho is a Post-doctoral Fellow at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. Dr. Cho earned his PhD in Nursing from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an MSN from Hanyang University in South Korea. His research focuses on how older adults with physical and cognitive decline manage self-care and maintain their daily living. Currently, Dr. Cho is exploring the social determinants that influence health behaviors in this population through a multi-level approach, investigating factors at the biomarker, individual, social, and environmental levels under the mentorship of Dr. Junxin Li.
Margaret Fitzpatrick, PhD, RN
Dr. Fitzpatrick is a postdoctoral fellow with the Neighborhood Nursing team, mentored by Dr. Sarah Szanton. She earned her PhD in Nursing from The Ohio State University and her BSN from the University of Connecticut.
Guided by a strong commitment to health equity and social justice, her research focuses on addressing structural barriers that impact the well-being of medically under-resourced youth, particularly those experiencing homelessness. Dr. Fitzpatrick uses a community- and strengths-based, multidisciplinary approach to examine how support systems and social determinants of health influence mental and physical health outcomes. Her work aims to inform policies and interventions that foster equitable, youth-centered care.
Getachew Kassa, PhD, MScN, BScN
Getachew Kassa is a Morton and Jane Blaustein Post-Doctoral Fellow in Mental Health and Psychiatric Nursing. He completed his Ph.D. in Reproductive Health at the PAN African University Life and Earth Science Institute (PAULESI), University of Ibadan, Nigeria. He also obtained his MSc in Nursing from Addis Ababa University and his BSc in Nursing from Arba Minch University, Ethiopia. Dr. Kassa is a 2018 Impact Evaluation Fellow of the East Africa Social Science Translation (EASST) Collaborative at the University of California, Berkeley, and he is one of the founding members of the Network of Impact Evaluation Researchers (NIERA) based in Nairobi, Kenya. He has published more than 80 research papers.
Kathryn Lee, PhD, RN
Kathryn Lee, PhD, RN, is a health services researcher and a recent PhD graduate in Nursing from the University of Michigan. Her research centers on the economic value of nurses, with a particular emphasis on nurse practitioners and their impact on patient care, healthcare organizations, and societal health outcomes. Under the mentorship of renowned health economist Dr. Olga Yakusheva, Dr. Lee explores the critical role that nursing plays in dynamic systems to deliver high-quality, equitable, person-centered care. She is committed to bridging the gap between nursing practice and health economics, making significant strides in illuminating the financial value of nursing and advocating for policies that recognize and invest in their essential role in our contemporary healthcare system.
Arum Lim, PhD, MSN, RN
Arum Lim is a postdoctoral fellow at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, where she investigates the complex connections between psychological health and cardiovascular well-being. She earned her PhD in Nursing from Johns Hopkins University and her BSN and MSN from Yonsei University in South Korea.
Her research focuses on understanding the biological mechanisms that link psychological symptoms—particularly those related to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder (MDD)—to cardio- and cerebrovascular diseases. By integrating blood biomarkers, imaging markers, and behavioral health measures, Dr. Lim aims to uncover pathways that can inform early detection and targeted interventions under the mentorship of Dr. Jessica Gill.
Faith Metlock, PhD, RN
Faith Elise Metlock, a Cleveland, Ohio native, graduated Summa Cum Laude with Research Distinction from The Ohio State University, earning a Bachelor of Science in Nursing with a minor in Pharmaceutical Sciences. She holds a PhD in Nursing from the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing and a certificate in Health Disparities and Health Inequality from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Dr. Metlock’s research focuses on the intersection of social determinants of health, psychological well-being, and cardiovascular disease prevention and self-management in underserved communities, particularly among women. She is committed to advancing cardiovascular health equity through culturally informed, community-engaged interventions. As a postdoctoral fellow, and under the mentorship of Dr. Yvonne Commodore-Mensah and Dr. Cheryl Himmelfarb, her work focuses on developing community-to-clinic interventions that leverage digital tools to support cardiovascular risk identification and management.
Yiqing Qian, PhD, MPH
Yiqing’s passion for caregiving science is driven by her training in public health and her lived experience. Yiqing received her PhD in Health Behavior from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2023 and her MPH in Epidemiology from the University of Michigan in 2016. Her research areas include health disparities, sociocultural aspects of caregiving, and stress coping. Yiqing’s current work will explore national datasets to examine unmet needs of homebound older adults, trajectories of caregiving activities, and the heterogeneities across illness contexts and socio-demographic backgrounds.
David Ryamukuru, PhD, MSN, BSN, RN
David Ryamukuru, PhD, MSN, BSN, RN, is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. He earned his PhD in Nursing from the University of Michigan, and both his Master and Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Rwanda.
His research interests focus on the nursing workforce, the economic value of nurse human capital, quality of patient care, and patient outcomes. His doctoral dissertation examined the impact of specialty registered nurse certification on patient outcomes and the cost of care under the mentorship of Dr. Olga Yakusheva.