GCH Students

The opportunity to conduct research is fueling this community health student to discover life-saving cancer treatments

Taylor Thomas — Tue, 13 May 2025 13:18:27 +0000

The opportunity to conduct research is fueling this community health student to discover life-saving cancer treatments Taylor Thomas Tue, 05/13/2025 - 09:18

During her sophomore year at George Mason �鶹��, College of Public Health student Paris Stephens sought to gain more experience as a research assistant, but knew not just any project would suffice.

Paris Stephens, BS in Community Health with a concentration in Clinical Science student. Photo provided.

Stephens, who was working on a Bachelor of Science in Community Health with a concentration in Clinical Science, was adamant her work not only contribute to her growth as a researcher, but also aligned with her desire to create meaningful impact. After speaking with her professors about the array of opportunities available, she found her perfect fit with Associate Professor Michelle Williams’s research, developing a culturally relevant breast cancer education intervention for young African American women.

“I felt compelled to be part of research that educates, advocates, and drives change,” Stephens said. "The focus on breast cancer awareness and disparities deeply resonated with my passion for advancing health equity, especially among young Black women. I wanted my efforts to matter."

Black women, at any age, are more likely to die from breast cancer than any other race or ethnic group. Stephens’s work included conducting comprehensive literature reviews, identifying key gaps in research, data collection and analysis, participating in community education campaigns, and communicating with survey participants.

“I’ve gained valuable learning the ins and outs of research protocols, such as how to work ethically with human research participants,” Stephens said. "I also learned how to collect, organize, and publish data—skills that have made me more confident and capable as an aspiring public health professional. Overall, this experience has allowed me to support evidence-based practices that promote community health and drive real-world impact."

Stephens presenting her research at the 2025 National Conference on Undergraduate Research. Photo provided

Stephens was thrilled by the opportunity to work with Williams, absorbing an abundance of knowledge from her as a cancer prevention and control expert. Stephens presented her work at the 2025 National Conference on Undergraduate Research in Pittsburgh.

“Working with Dr. Williams has been an incredible experience. She is a brilliant researcher and she’s helped me grow into a more thoughtful and skilled researcher myself. Her mentorship has been both inspiring and transformative,” she said.

Stephens was the recipient of the Undergraduate Award for Excellence in Research at the 2025 College of Public Health Degree Celebration.

Stephens recently accepted a position with Shady Grove Fertility as a patient service representative, where she will deliver patient support by resolving concerns, coordinating with departments, guiding patients on insurance and financial options, and ensuring compliance and data accuracy while maintaining confidentiality and professionalism. Following her graduation in spring 2025, she intends to pursue a Master of Science in Management.

Stephens aspires to continue pursuing breast cancer research as a clinical research coordinator or work within hospital or pharmaceutical settings focused on breast cancer treatments, ensuring that new drugs and medical devices are safe, effective, and beneficial for communities.

Her ultimate goal is to serve in roles that allow her to contribute to life-saving innovations and clinical advancements.

“I want to be part of the team that makes sure we are not only innovating—but doing so responsibly and ethically,” Stephens said.

In This Story

Michelle S. Williams, PhD, MSPH

Research at George Mason

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals found in menstrual products including tampons, pads, and liners

Mary Cunningham — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 16:18:54 +0000

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals found in menstrual products including tampons, pads, and liners Mary Cunningham Fri, 12/15/2023 - 11:18

In This Story

Anna Pollack, PhD, MPH

Joanna Marroquin, a Mason PhD in Public Health student

The average menstruator will use more than 11,000 tampons or sanitary pads in their lifetime. Vaginal and vulvar tissue that touch pads and tampons is highly permeable. Through this permeable tissue chemicals are absorbed without being metabolized, which makes endocrine-disrupting chemicals potentially dangerous when found in menstrual products. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals can interfere with human hormones and cause medical issues, including gynecological conditions such as endometriosis and uterine fibroids.

George Mason �鶹�� researchers Joanna Marroquin, a PhD in Public Health student, and Anna Pollack, an associate professor in the College of Public Health, reviewed studies conducted since 2103 that measured chemicals in menstrual products and that measured human biomarkers of chemical exposure and determined that endocrine-disrupting chemicals were found in menstrual products including tampons, pads, and liners.

“Identifying chemicals in menstrual products that menstruators regularly use is important because exposure through these products can impact menstruators’ reproductive health,” said Marroquin, the paper’s first author.

Associate Professor Anna Pollack

The study found that menstrual products contain a variety of endocrine-disrupting chemicals including phthalates, volatile organic compounds, parabens, environmental phenols, fragrance chemicals, dioxins and dioxin-like compounds.

This issue is even more relevant thanks to the Robin Danielson Menstrual Product and Intimate Care Product Safety Act of 2023, which was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in October 2023. The Act would establish a program of research regarding the risks posed by the presence of dioxins, phthalates, pesticides, chemical fragrances, and other components in menstrual products and intimate care products.

This literature reviewed 15 papers published between 2013 and 2023 that tested menstrual products in the United States, Japan, and South Korea. The researchers note that there are few publications available that measure chemicals in menstrual products.

Additionally, though forever chemicals (PFAS) have been found in menstrual underwear, there is a lack of peer-reviewed research on menstrual underwear and other newly-popular-in-the-U.S. products such as menstrual cups and discs.

Chemicals in menstrual products: A systematic review was published in BJOG, an international journal of obstetrics and gynecology in September 2023. Additional authors include Marianthi-Anna Kiomourtzoglou from Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia �鶹�� and Alexandra Scranton from Women's Voices for the Earth.

The research was supported by Pollack's National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences R01ES31079 award.

Topics

Women's Reproductive Health

Endocrine disrupting chemicals

New graduate sees opportunities for social justice through community health

Mary Cunningham — Mon, 05 Jun 2023 19:34:14 +0000

New graduate sees opportunities for social justice through community health Mary Cunningham Mon, 06/05/2023 - 15:34

Samantha Harrison knew she wanted to pursue a career that advanced social justice when she enrolled in George Mason �鶹��. When she discovered the community health major at a Mason event, her interest was piqued.

“Then I took Global Health, and I instantly fell in love with it,” she said. “This is definitely my career.”

Harrison, who is graduated this spring with a bachelor’s degree in community health with a global health concentration, said that discovering the community health degree provided her with a comprehensive way to achieve her ambitions to bring equity to communities through well-being.

She first got involved in community health while in high school in New Jersey. Having grown up in a county that is a food desert, she began volunteering with a community garden program to bring fresh produce to the area. Her passion for helping others continued at Mason. Harrison, who was scheduled to complete an overseas internship in 2020, found her program cancelled at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. So, instead she helped at COVID clinics and with vaccination education efforts in Northern Virginia.

In addition to her work during the pandemic, Harrison worked with an area nonprofit on a comprehensive sex education curriculum and as a social services intern in the Mason and Partners (MAP) Clinics to connect uninsured and low-income patients with needed services.

“The thing I love about public health is that it’s so diverse and holistic,” she said. “You really get to collaborate with different people to create programs that meet so many different needs.”

For her many efforts during her undergraduate career, Harrison was recognized at the College of Public Health Student Awards Ceremony with an Overall Excellence Award from the Department of Global and Community Health.

"Samantha Harrison has been an excellent student and is always looking for learning opportunities,” said Brian Gillette, director of student success for the Department of Global and Community Health. “Samantha has demonstrated outstanding leadership, service to her community, academic excellence, and there are no words to describe her value as a person.”

After graduation, Harrison will begin the AmeriCorps and Centers for Disease Control Public Health Informatics Training Program. She will again work with the MAP Clinics, this time to help create interactive dashboards to give providers better data to improve patient care. She will also be deployed to the Fairfax County Health Department for similar work.

While she’s participating in the informatics training program, Harrison says she will also expand her current part-time role as a patient access associate with Inova Health Systems to a full-time position. Eventually, Harrison hopes to become a public health analyst working on programs for uninsured and underrepresented populations.

Harrison credits Mason and the College of Public Health faculty for the many opportunities she’s had as a student. “When I was in high school, I was told that [faculty at college] would be hard on you, that they wouldn’t care. That’s been the furthest from the truth about the faculty here at Mason,” she said. “Their number one priority is to see you succeed, and they will help you in any way possible.”