Deepti Chittamuru, Ph.D.
Email: dchittamuru@ucmerced.edu
Dr. Chittamuru is a behavioral scientist and mixed methods researcher whose research is at the intersection of information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D) and public health with an emphasis on social justice and health equity. Her current research examines how technology might be leveraged to improve health outcomes for marginalized and underserved populations both globally and locally. Before joining UC Merced, she was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Program for Sexuality, Technology, and Action Research (PSTAR) in the Department of Family and Community Health, School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Chittamuru earned a Ph.D. in Communication from the Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania, a Masters in Information Management and Systems from the School of Information, University of California Berkeley and a Bachelors in Computer Science and Systems Engineering from Andhra University. She has extensive experience in designing, deploying and evaluating technology-based interventions in a wide variety of contexts such as public health, public education and agriculture.
Jaapna Dhillon, Ph.D.
Email: jdhillon5@ucmerced.edu
Jaapna Dhillon is a Post-Doctoral Researcher in the School of Natural Sciences at the University of California, Merced. She has a Ph.D. in Nutrition Science with a focus in Ingestive Behavior. Prior to acquiring a Ph.D., she received a Masters of Science degree in Nutrition Science with a focus in Community Nutrition and an undergraduate degree in Bioinformatics. Her current research examines 1) the effects of functional foods on health in minority populations, 2) pre-ingestive controls of nutrition, and 3) development of computational models to predict metabolic risk.
Steven Ramondt, Ph.D.
Email: sramondt@ucmerced.edu
Dr. Ramondt earned a Ph.D. in Health Psychology at UC Merced in 2018. His dissertation research aimed to characterize news coverage of air pollution and health and its effects on health beliefs including fatalism, protective health behaviors, and support for environmental issues. Steven is particularly interested in reducing the adverse health effects of air pollution in the San Joaquin Valley. Steven earned a Bachelor of Science in Communication from the University of Amsterdam in The Netherlands. His published research has examined media exposure and fatalism and perspectives of environmental health risks.