Congratulations to Dr. Ricky Camplain on receiving the Outstanding Junior Faculty Award from the Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington. This prestigious honor recognizes Dr. Camplain’s impactful research, dedication to student mentorship, and commitment to advancing health equity. Her work continues to make a meaningful difference in communities and exemplifies the excellence of SPH-B faculty.
Isabella Simons, a graduating Epidemiology student, was recognized with a Dean’s Recognition Award at this year’s commencement ceremony—an honor that reflects her academic excellence and dedication to the field of public health. Isabella earned her degree in Epidemiology and plans to continue her journey at Indiana University Bloomington, where she will pursue a Master of Science in Biostatistics. She is eager to apply her skills in applied biostatistics and make a meaningful impact through data-driven solutions to public health challenges.
Hao Fan’s dissertation tackles one of the most persistent challenges in public health: understanding who is most at risk for stroke, a condition that claims approximately 146,000 American lives each year. Her work centers on endothelin‑1, a small blood protein that researchers have long suspected might serve as an early warning signal for stroke. Yet the scientific literature has been inconsistent—some studies suggest high endothelin‑1 levels worsen outcomes, while others report the opposite. This contradiction motivated Hao to take a deeper, more rigorous look.
Her dissertation approached the question from two complementary angles. First, she conducted a comprehensive meta‑analysis of all published studies examining endothelin‑1 in acute stroke patients. By applying corrections for publication bias—the tendency for studies with dramatic results to be published more often than those with modest findings—she discovered that the evidence supporting endothelin‑1 as a harmful risk marker was significantly overstated. Once adjusted, the supposed link between high endothelin‑1 and poor stroke outcomes became far less convincing.
Hao then turned to a large, long‑term dataset: the Jackson Heart Study, which follows thousands of African American adults over many years. Analyzing more than a decade of data from nearly 5,000 participants, she became the first researcher to examine endothelin‑1 and stroke risk in this population over time. The results were striking. Among men, higher baseline endothelin‑1 levels were actually associated with lower stroke risk. Among women, there was no measurable relationship at all.
Her findings suggest that endothelin‑1 may not be a universal risk factor but rather a context‑dependent biomarker whose meaning varies by sex and potentially by other cardiovascular characteristics. Hao’s work underscores the importance of nuance in biomarker research and highlights the need to consider biological, social, and demographic context when evaluating predictors of disease.
SPH‑B Assistant Professor Indrakshi Roy has been awarded a two‑year, $50,000 Early Career Research (EC‑READ) grant from the National Bureau of Economic Research to build the first centralized database of state Medicaid policies related specifically to Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD). The project will help researchers better understand how state‑level differences in Medicaid eligibility and long‑term care services impact the quality of life for patients and caregivers. Roy’s work will also develop a “generosity index” to compare state policies and evaluate whether Medicaid truly supports the needs of individuals living with dementia.
SPH‑B Ph.D. candidate Maria Klein has been awarded a prestigious two‑year CTSI T32 Post‑Doctoral Training Award to advance early detection of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias. Her work will help train a passive digital marker algorithm to identify early risk patterns in electronic health records—an exciting step toward earlier intervention and improved outcomes for aging populations.
Doctoral candidate Charles Opondo is advancing global health research through an innovative study of a microfinance farming program in Western Kenya. Supported by IU Global grants, Opondo is conducting primary fieldwork to examine how community‑based agriculture can improve dietary diversity and mental health among low‑income households. His findings aim to inform future health and economic policies in both Kenya and Indiana, reflecting the impactful work emerging from the Epidemiology & Biostatistics Department.
School of Public Health-Bloomington
1025 E. Seventh Street, Suite 111
Bloomington, IN 47405-7109
Phone: 812-855-1561
Fax: 812-855-4983
