TEAM BIOS
Primary Investigator
Marian (Emmy) Betz, MD, MPH
Marian (Emmy) Betz, MD, MPH
marian.betz@ucdenver.edu
Dr. Emmy Betz is a board-certified emergency physician who works clinically at the University of Colorado Hospital Emergency Department (ED) and also conducts research in injury epidemiology and prevention. She is currently a Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, and she received her medical degree and Masters in Public Health degree from Johns Hopkins. Dr. Betz's areas of research expertise are provider-patient communication about difficult topics in injury prevention, including "lethal means safety" (i.e., limiting access to guns and other lethal methods for those who are suicidal) and older driver safety. She also conducts work related to care of suicidal patients in EDs. She has worked with numerous organizations on issues of suicide prevention, including the Colorado Suicide Prevention Commission, the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. She co-founded and leads the Colorado Firearm Safety Coalition, a collaborative effort between public health and medical professionals and firearm retailers to reduce firearm suicides. Her research has received funding from the National Institutes of Health and numerous foundations. Her prior work has included publications and presentations related to ED provider attitudes towards lethal means restriction for suicide prevention, suicidality among older adults, public opinion about firearm safety discussions, and strategies for enhancing provider-patient communication about sensitive topics, and in 2015 she gave a TEDxMileHigh talk on firearm suicide.
Research Staff
Emily Greenway, MPH
Research Services Program Manager emily.greenway@cuanschutz.edu Emily will be the Program Manager for the Betz lab, providing oversight of projects and staff and supporting growth. Emily is originally from Anderson, South Carolina. She received her bachelor’s in Public Health from the College of Charleston. She obtained her Master’s in Public Health with a focus in health behavior theory from the Medical University of South Carolina. Emily’s experiences range from non-profit program management to trauma recovery research, with her published work focusing on emotional regulation, trauma recovery, and alcohol and drug use.
Jessica Buck-Atkinson, MPH
Research Project Lead jessica.buck-atkinson@cuanschutz.edu Jessica joined the Research Team in August 2021 and serves as the Project Lead for two projects funded by the U.S. Department of Defense. Prior to joining the team, Jessica worked at the University of Colorado Boulder on a variety of violence prevention implementation and evaluation research projects. Originally from the Midwest, Jessica decided to make Denver home in 2016. She holds a Master of Public Health degree from Saint Louis University and a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Justice and Peace Studies from Marquette University. Her intersecting research passions include firearm violence prevention, mental health promotion, translational research, and community-based participatory research.
S. Kat Foley, MA
IVP Research Coordinator kat.foley@ucdenver.edu Kat Foley (she/her) is a research coordinator at the Colorado School of Public Health. Kat graduated with a M.A. in International Disaster Psychology from the University of Denver in June of 2020. Since then, she has been working as a program manager in the non-profit sector, working on various psychoeducation programs. Most recently, Kat has focused on international capacity-building through psychoeducation and positive youth development within child welfare, while also accumulating hours as a Licensed Professional Counselor Candidate A life-long advocate for global mental health, Kat's professional interests include organizational capacity building through resiliency programs, psychoeducation, and community-defined evaluation. Kat is working with Dr. Betz on the Project Safe Guard Training and Evaluation.
Megan Johnson, MBA
Research Intermediate Professional megan.6.johnson@cuanschutz.edu Megan joined the Department of Emergency Medicine in June 2021. She grew up in Delaware and received her Master of Business Administration from Texas A&M University while she was serving in the military. Megan served over 6 years on Active Duty as a Marine Corps Officer (Logistics) and continues to serve in the Reserves. Megan has a passion for the Armed Services and Veteran community; she hopes to continue her education to one day assist within the areas of mental health, suicide prevention, trauma and depression as a Clinical Psychologist to aid current DoD health initiatives.
Megan McCarthy
Research Intermediate Professional megan.k.mccarthy@cuanschutz.edu Megan joined the research team in November 2020. Megan grew up in Kentucky and graduated with a Bachelor of Public Health degree in 2018 from the University of Kentucky. Megan has previously worked on violence prevention, surveillance systems, and occupational safety. She worked for the Kentucky Violent Death Reporting System (KYVDRS) for 3 years, tracking suicide, homicide, unintentional firearm, and undetermined intent deaths in the state of Kentucky. Megan has a passion for suicide prevention and hopes to complete a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology and continue to work in the field of injury prevention.
Kayla Meza, MPH
Qualitative Research Professional
kayla.meza@cuanschutz.edu Kayla Meza joined the research team in June 2022. She obtained her MPH from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and her B.S. from the University of California, Davis. She has over six years of experience working on various research topics, including type II diabetes, food systems, antimicrobial use policy in agriculture, veterinary medicine, and conservation genetics. Her research interests include qualitative research, health equity, and mental health promotion.
Faris Omeragic
Research Intermediate Professional
faris.omeragic@cuanschutz.edu Faris Omeragic joined the Department of Emergency Medicine in June 2019. He is working on a study aiming to learn more about the decision-making process of older drivers, as well as firearm safety among caregivers of people with dementia. Originally from Bosnia, Faris grew up in Colorado. He received his Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Colorado - Denver. His interests include older driver research, firearm safety, and database development.
Mirella Castaneda
Bilingual Research Intermediate Professional
mirella.castaneda@cuanschutz.edu Mirella Castaneda joined the Department of Emergency Medicine in October 2022. She grew up in Kansas and graduated from Metropolitan State University of Denver with a Bachelors in Biochemistry and a focus in Mathematics and Computer Science. She is a bilingual research professional working on Dr. Betz’s Safety in Dementia grant. Her previous research experience encompasses many topics from gene silencing to bedside stem cell treatments. She enjoys solving problems, learning from people, and is passionate about helping make science more inclusive for the Spanish speaking community.
Graduate Students, Postdoctoral Research Fellows, and other Trainees
Leslie Barnard, MPH
DrPH Research Assistant leslie.barnard@cuanschutz.edu Leslie Barnard is a first year DrPH student in the Epidemiology program. She received her MPH in Epidemiology from Tulane University and her BA in Biology from the University of Vermont. Leslie’s previous work as an epidemiologist in state and local health departments included various injury and violence prevention programs; specifically firearm injury, suicide and opioid overdose research, surveillance, and response. Leslie is working with Dr. Betz on several projects to understand firearm safety and prevent firearm injuries and suicide.
S. Rachel Kennedy, MPH, RN
Research Intermediate Professional; Incoming Postdoctoral Research Fellow rachel.kennedy@cuanschutz.edu Rachel is an East Coast native who moved to Colorado and joined the Betz team in the Department of Emergency Medicine in July 2021. She is a Registered Nurse with over five years of experience helping to implement large mixed methods developing mHealth decision aid tools to support survivors of intimate partner and dating violence, both in the US and Kenya. She received a Masters in Public Health and Nursing (MSN/MPH) from Johns Hopkins University, where she is currently finishing her PhD in Nursing. Her research interests include violence and suicide prevention, developing sustainable resources for vulnerable populations, and community-based, gender-inclusive research.
Ginny McCarthy, MPH, MDiv
DrPH Research Assistant virginia.mccarthy@cuanschutz.edu Ginny McCarthy is a first year DrPH student in the Department of Community and Behavioral Health. Prior to beginning doctoral studies, Ginny completed her Master of Public Health at Loyola University Chicago and her Master of Divinity from Boston College. During her time in Chicago, Ginny worked in student-facing administration at Loyola’s Health Sciences Campus while also working closely with the Public Health Sciences and Emergency Medicine departments on topics of community engagement with a specific focus on firearm injury and prevention and social enterprise. Ginny is working with Dr. Betz on the Safety in Dementia project.
Brandon Josewski
Undergraduate Research Assistant brandon.josewski@ucdenver.edu Brandon is currently a pre-medicine student at the University of Colorado Denver. He has assisted in conducting clinical research on two different studies since October 2020. Previously working on the LongROAD study, Brandon joined the AUTO study with the goal of better understanding the social, emotional, and physical safety needs of older adult drivers; continuing to expand upon his life’s mission of serving the underserved. Brandon intends on applying to medical schools and eventually serving as a physician with a holistic approach to healthcare.
Mikayla Viny, BS
MPH Research Assistant mikayla.viny@cuanschutz.edu Mikayla Viny is a first year MPH student at the University of Colorado and joined the research team in August 2022. Originally from Utah, she received her BS in Public Health from Westminster College of Salt Lake City. Prior to her time in Colorado, Mikayla worked on various research projects focused on chronic disease in rural communities, post-traumatic epilepsy among Veterans, and caregiver health outcomes. Her research interests include dementia safety and understanding how to best support caregivers. Mikayla is working with Dr. Betz on the Safety in Dementia project.
Caitlin K. Robinson, MPH, CRA
MD Candidate Research Assistant caitlin.k.robinson@cuanschutz.edu Caitlin joined the research team in June 2022. She is originally from California, a graduate of UC Berkeley with a bachelor's degree in Molecular Environmental Biology and George Washington University with a Master of Public Health. Caitlin has worked on violence and injury prevention programs at the University of California, San Franciso, San Francisco General Hospital, and Denver Health and Hospital Authority. Additionally, she has worked as a research coordinator and manager for clinical trials in severe trauma, traumatic brain injury, and general surgery before beginning medical school in 2021 at University of Colorado School of Medicine. Caitlin is passionate about reducing gun violence and working on a project exploring Extreme Risk Protection Orders.