PhD Graduates Accept Significant Faculty and Research Positions 5/23/2017 Research; Students Share this Story: (From left) Lara Gerassi, Lailea Noel, Rachel Voth Schrag, Shanondora Billiot, Beth Prusaczyk, and Ericka Lewis were honored at the Brown School Recognition Ceremony, May 18. Not pictured: Huajuan Chen. The Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis is celebrating the successes of its newest PhD graduates. Seven graduates were honored at the Brown School Recognition Ceremony May 18, and an additional cohort will officially graduate in August. “We have an amazingly talented and diverse cohort of 2017 graduates,” said Renee Cunningham-Williams, associate dean for doctoral education. “They have centered their research in important areas of our nation and world such as cancer disparities, productive civic engagement, sex-trafficking and substance use, dementia, and child maltreatment, among others.” Those honored at Commencement have disseminated their work in over 20 peer-reviewed publications, two co-authored or co-edited books, and have made more than 70 presentations at national and global scientific conferences. As a result of their work, the graduates have accepted significant placements at universities or other research institutions. Their positions include: Shanondora Billiot: Assistant Faculty at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Lara Gerassi: Assistant Professor at the School of Social Work at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and an affiliate with the university’s Gender and Women’s Studies department Praveen Kumar: Assistant Professor at Boston College Ericka Lewis: Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore Hollee McGinnis: Assistant Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University Vithya Murugan: Assistant Professor at Saint Louis University Lailea Noel: Assistant Professor at the Silver School of Social Work at New York University Beth Prusaczyk: Postdoctoral Fellow for the Center for Clinical Quality and Implementation Research at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Raven Ross: Health Science Administrator at the Indian Health Service Brad Tucker: Assistant Professor at Case Western Reserve University Rachel Voth Schrag: Assistant Professor at the School of Social Work at the University of Texas at Arlington “We are thrilled that these exceptional students will be bringing the leadership and research skills they nurtured in our program as assets to their faculty and research positions at other highly respected institutions,” Cunningham-Williams said.