The Healthy Regions and Policies Lab (HeRoP) at the Center for Spatial Data Science is delighted to welcome six talented and passionate Spatial Data Science (SDS) Fellows this summer. These students will spend their summers collaborating closely with HeRoP Lab research staff on a variety of projects integrating GIScience, public health, and statistical approaches for public good.
Join us in welcoming the 2021 SDS Fellows! Learn more below about these students and their research projects this summer.
Data Engineering Fellow: Spatial Infrastructures
Jinfei Zhu is a student in the Master of Arts Program in Computational Social Science (MAPSS) at the University of Chicago. Her recent research interests include analyzing and visualizing COVID-19 geospatial data and optimizing data solutions for transferring and utilizing time-series geospatial data.
Jinfei will work with HeRoP lab engineers on developing solutions for the US COVID Atlas, including enabling in-browser geospatial analytics and optimizing data management, compression, and loading processes.
Data Science Fellow: Social-Spatial Networks
Javier Andres Rojas Aguilera is a student in the Master in Computational Analysis and Public Policy (MSCAPP) at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. Javier previously worked as an econometrician at the Colombian National Planning Department, where he developed a passion for data-driven policy-making and data visualization. He holds a B.A. in economics from Universidad Nacional de Colombia.
Javier will work with HeRoP lab researchers to examine how social networks and social geography affect HIV and HCV risks among young persons who inject drugs from suburban and rural areas.
Data Science Fellows: Measuring Accessibility
Ally Muszynski is a recent graduate of the College and holds a B.A. in Environmental & Urban Studies and Public Policy. In August she will graduate with an M.A. in Social Sciences with a concentration in GIS (MAPSS). She is interested in environmental equity and sustainability and hopes to pursue a PhD in this area of study in the future.
Rachel Vigil is a rising fourth-year student in the College majoring in Environmental and Urban Studies. She has a particular interest in the intersection of access to transportation and other health and safety metrics and is excited to explore those avenues with HeRoP this summer.
Ally and Rachel will work with HeRoP lab researchers to refine spatial access measures to medications for opioid use disorder providers (MOUD), integrate other dimensions of access including structural social, economic, and built environment factors, and identify associations of access across various regions.
Data Science Fellow: Built Environments
Clyde Schwab is a recent graduate from the University of Chicago with a BA in Geographical Sciences. He is interested in leveraging spatial data to generate better insight into urban phenomena and more effectively shape public policy using tools such as spatial data modeling, regression analysis, causal inference, and cluster analysis in the fields of public health, housing, and social justice.
Christian Villanueva is a third-year student in the College majoring in Environmental and Urban Studies and minoring in Biology and Creative writing. He is interested in studying the spatial components of contemporary issues and learning new methods of analysis. In his free time, Christian likes to drink tea and watch terrible movies.
Christian and Clyde will work with HeRoP lab researchers to investigate intersections of opioid use disorder and the neighborhood built environment (BE) in New Jersey, identify associations with overdose hotspots over time, and decompose how BE factors change across rural, urban, and suburban regions.
Healthy Regions & Policies Lab 