Avery Collier, OTD Student
Avery is a third year Occupational Therapy Doctorate student from Atlanta, GA. Prior to coming to WashU, Avery attended the University of Georgia and received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. Her interests include working with children with cancer and other chronic diseases to enable them to participate, despite the barriers. Additionally, she is interested in occupational therapy research in pediatric cancer and chronic disease, and adverse childhood events. Avery’s work in the HOPE lab focused on understanding the extent of the literature on the effects of pediatric asthma on occupational participation in the domains of ADLs, IADLs, rest and sleep, education, play, leisure, and social participation.
Coumba Tall, Graduate Research Assistant
Coumba Tall served as a student research assistant in the HOPE Lab from September 2020 to July 2021. Currently, she is a first year student pursuing an occupational therapy clinical doctoral at George Washington University. She also occasionally works as childcare provider for kids dealing with various disabilities.
Aakarsh Rai, Undergraduate Research Assistant
During his time in the HOPE lab, Aakarsh worked on multiple projects pertaining to environment injustice within the greater St. Louis area. Such projects included how COVID-19 affected families with asthmatic children in school and the relationship with factory emissions and adolescent asthma rates. His time in the HOPE Lab offered him valuable insight into the thorough process of public health research. As he completes his senior year at WashU and applies to medical school, he hopes to use this insight into his future career as a medical professional.
Kiarra Womack, B.A., Graduate Research Assistant
Kiarra’s personal mission is to reduce the gaps from social disparities that are caused by non-sustainable practices in underserved communities. She strives to mitigate the negative impact of these disparities on the academic success of students. In her hometown of Sarasota, Kiarra currently serves as the Scholarships and Special Projects Manager at the William G. and Marie Selby Foundation where she oversees all scholar-related activities, data tracking, and college success progression as well as special projects related to the advancement of the Selby Foundation mission.
In 2021, Kiarra served as the Program Director for the Sunrise Scholars Foundation, a local non-profit focused on college access and success. Here she created, supervised, and coordinated the mentorship program and all scholar events. She was recently selected as a Gulf Coast Leadership Institute 2023 Participant. She served as the 2022 Executive Chair of her WashU Alumni Reunion Committee. She is a proud alumni of Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida and the Multicultural Health Institute and currently volunteers at the Suncoast School for Innovative Studies.
Kiarra is a recent graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, where she earned a B.A. in Psychology with Honors and a focus in Pre-Medical Studies and the Praxis Leadership and Organizational Development Program. At WashU, Kiarra consulted for, managed, and supported students through their development of leadership skills, worked in operations and coordinator roles, as well as carried out numerous Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives. Her most impactful activities are listed as, but not limited to, working in 2020-21 at the WashU School of Medicine HOPE Lab as a Research Assistant, The Leadership Engagement and Development Project as Executive Chair, WashU Residential Life as a Resident Assistant and The Association of Black Students as a Social Chair. She had a notable commitment as a scholar in the Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholars Program as a 2020 Unilever Legacy of Leadership Award Recipient, the Ron Brown Scholars Program, Enterprise Holdings Scholars Program and Deneb STARS Scholars Program. Kiarra is a native Floridian that was raised in Sarasota. In her free time, she enjoys helping with her 8-year-old twin brothers, taking fun yoga breaks, kayaking, and decorating baked goods!
Nana Boateng, Graduate Research Assistant
Nana Abena Ago Boateng, who goes by Nana, is from Maryland and has routes in Ghana. She has a psychological science background with a focus on pediatrics and therapy. She is currently a Behavior Technician working with children on the autism spectrum. In a span of five years, she has invested time in the field of pediatric autism as this is a personal focus because growing up she got to see the stigma and neglect people on the spectrum faced in her route country Ghana. All the above drove her to pursue her current degree as a Doctor of Occupational Therapy. Some fun facts about her are she loves cooking, singing and is an ASL interpreter and love working with the mute community. She is excited to explore and network with her new found home Missouri. She is looking forward to her continued opportunities and experience at Washington University School of Medicine. She assisted with research initiatives in the HOPE lab primarily focused on chronic disease, specifically asthma.