Tiara C. Willie PhD, MA

Principal Investigator

Tiara C. Willie

As a social epidemiologist, Dr. Willie aims to understand the distribution, determinants, and health consequences of gender-based violence (e.g., intimate partner violence, reproductive coercion, child sexual abuse) in order to reduce the prevalence of violence and related comorbidities. Guided by the social ecological model, her research focuses on individual-, relationship-, community-, and societal-level determinants of gender-based violence and examines the health implications of gender-based violence in order to develop interventions to reduce violence and improve mental, sexual, and reproductive health.

Publications

Brenice Durosea MSN, APRN, FNP-C, RNC-OB

Medical Advocate

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Brenice Duroseau

Brenice Duroseau, MSN, FNP-C, RNC-OB, AAHIVS is a Haitian-American board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) with over a decade nursing experience. Throughout her career she has specialized in infectious diseases, women’s health (obstetrics), and community health. Currently, entering her 3rd year as a PhD student here at Johns Hopkins University, she is focused on community informed interventions to enrich the sexual reproductive health of Black women, while simultaneously ending the HIV epidemic through culturally appropriate treatment and prevention efforts.

Deja Knight, MPH, MA

Postdoctoral Fellow

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Deja Knight

Deja Knight is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. In 2024, she earned her PhD in International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg
School of Public Health. She earned a Master of Arts in Psychology, with a focus in behavioral and cognitive neurosciences, from the University of Iowa and a Master of Public Health, with a focus in social and behavioral sciences, from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Her research interests are HIV, PrEP, substance use, intimate partner violence, and social determinants of health in Black, low-income, and vulnerable populations.

Aashna Shah, MPH, BA

Research Coordinator

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Aashna Shah

Aashna Shah is a Research Coordinator in the MOCHA Lab at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She graduated from Case Western Reserve University, where she earned her Master of Public Health with a concentration in Health Policy and Management and a Bachelor of Arts in Medical Anthropology on the pre-medical track in 2021. Her research interests include women’s health, reproductive justice, health disparities, and food insecurity.

Mbachur Mbenga, MA

Healthy Relationship Coach

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Mbachur Mbenga

Mbachur earned her B.A. in Children and Youth Studies from CUNY Brooklyn College in 2016 and her M.A. in Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of the District of Columbia in 2022, with over 700 clinical hours. Specializing in mental health, she has worked with diverse populations, including children, adolescents, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and adults. Passionate about women’s advocacy and healthy relationships, Mbachur uses empathy, active listening, and empowerment to support her clients through their unique life experiences and challenges. With a decade of experience in human development, she is committed to helping individuals build strong, meaningful connections and navigate life’s ups and downs with confidence, resilience, and a deeper understanding of themselves.

Amina Antar, BS

Research Program Coordinator

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Amina Antar

Amina Antar is a Research Coordinator in the MOCHA Lab at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She graduated from Stevenson University with a B.S. in Psychology on the pre-medical track in May 2023. Her research interests include healthcare disparities, relational trauma, and mental health within the Black diasporan community.

Saisri Gussenhoven, MPH

Research Program Coordinator

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Saisri Gussenhoven

Saisri Gussenhoven graduated from Johns Hopkins, where she earned her B.A. in Public Health Studies and her MSPH in International Health. Her research interests include child and adolescent and global mental health, gender-based violence, humanitarian health, and adverse childhood experiences and trauma.

Shawnice Johnson, PhD

Qualitative Postdoctoral Fellow

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Shawnice Johnson

With a background in Human Development and Family Science, Dr. Johnson’s work takes an interdisciplinary approach to advancing knowledge of complex family structures, family functioning, and adolescent well-being. Her interests extend to community-based research and programming, qualitative methods, and addressing the experiences of underserved populations.

Mya Gray, BA

Research Assistant

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Mya Gray

Mya C. Gray is a third-year law student at North Carolina Central University (NCCU) School of Law. She received her a Bachelor of Arts in African American and African Diaspora Studies from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She is the recipient of the 2022-2023 Animal Legal Defense Fund HBCU Scholarship Program. She also completed a summer policy internship with Ujima, Inc. Her interested fields of law include animal law, personal injury, civil rights, and health law.