A graduate of UB’s Master’s of Public Health graduate of the University of Buffalo, Alfred Gary is interested in the role of social determinants on health equity, including the impact of the built and food environment on health outcomes. A native of Buffalo’s east side neighborhood, Alfred’s work in the Food Lab is focused on how the intersection of abolition and food sovereignty (through urban agriculture) can promote sustainable and equitable community food networks. In his free time, Alfred enjoys bowling, reading, and exercising.
Lorna M Georges is fascinated by the effect of design on how people interact in the built environment. She grew up in Haiti, where formal architecture, though well known, is not the primary driver of how the built environment or housing is designed. Lorna is currently an undergraduate student in environmental design (with a minor in architecture). She aims to pursue a graduate degree in architecture. With the Food Lab team, she shares a passion for using the food system as a lever for improving living conditions in communities. When not at school, she enjoys reading, cooking, writing, and painting.
As an immigrant and a student of history, William Gonzalez seeks to understand how historical politics, economics, and cultures affect the livelihoods of modern-day communities. William is a History BA from the University at Buffalo, and is preparing to pursue advanced study to prepare him for a career tied to museums or libraries. In the Food Lab, he brings a historical perspective to researching issues of food inequity and food justice among communities of color (he is currently documenting the ways in which Black leaders strengthened Buffalo’s food system in the 50s and 60s). Outside of work and school, William enjoys reading, hiking, and cooking.
Shireen Guru is interested in studying modern American history with a particular focus on post-World War II women’s history. She concentrates on domesticity and the private sphere in relation to resistance. Her current research with the Food Lab centers the stories of Black women in Buffalo and their lasting impact on the food system in East Buffalo as well as the impact of their childhood kitchen tables on their activism.
She is also interested in the historical implications of the research in the Food Lab, including but not limited to food equity, accessibility, and the gendered nature of food-related practices. Outside of academics, she can be found reading, baking, or in the nearest theatre stage managing. She graduated from Johns Hopkins University in 2021 with her Bachelor’s degree in History.
Eric Hughes is focused on advancing his knowledge of how Geographic Information Science can be applied in the field of sustainability. His interests include environmental activism, food systems, and social justice. In the Food Lab, Eric focuses on the use of GIS in strengthening food systems. Eric is currently pursuing a graduate degree in the Geographic Information Science program at the University at Buffalo. As an undergraduate student, Eric completed several sustainability courses which broadened his perspective on social and environmental topics. In his spare time, Eric plays music and runs an amateur recording studio.
Zachary Korosh is a graduate student within the Masters of Urban Planning program focusing on community development and revitalization efforts. He studied Environmental Design and Political Science at the University at Buffalo for his undergrad, earning a Bachelors of Arts for both. His interests include cooperative living, alternative economic solutions and making the planning process more accessible. Outside of this Zachary is the founder and current graduate advisor for doubleASAP, a club catering to African American Students of Architecture and Planning. Previously a research intern for the Food Lab under LSAMP he has returned in his graduate studies to continue research in the lab. In his spare time Zachary enjoys reading comics, playing video games and painting.
Atqa is interested in using artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics to create an efficient and effective healthcare system while promoting a positive social change in the health-tech industry. Atqa is a first-year Master of Engineering Science student with focus in Robotics at the University at Buffalo. Prior to working at the Lab, she worked as a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) engineer with General Electricals (GE) Ltd. in India. Outside of school and work, she enjoys gardening, painting, and hiking.
Rida Shams is interested in changing policy landscapes to enable more equitable, accessible, and affordable healthcare. Rida is a fellow at the Food Lab, where she is focusing on leveraging urban agriculture for protecting public health in conflict cities such as Srinagar, Kashmir.
Rida is also pursuing a Master’s of Science in Public Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, with a concentration in health policy. Previously, she earned her BS in Health Policy and Management at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Outside of academics, Rida enjoys digital art and painting, exploring coffee shops, and hiking.
Rose Thomas is a third-year graduate student in Public Health and Social Work with a focus in Health Services Administration and macro-level social work. They are interested in combating health inequities in both local and global communities by utilizing principles of co-production knowledge on an institutional level to achieve the liberation of marginalized groups of people.
In the past year as a UB Food Lab’s research assistant, they have coordinated the evaluation project based on healthy community stores on the East Side of Buffalo. Aside from being a research assistant, Rose is also the Student Ambassador for the School of Public Health and Health Professions, where they piloted a ‘students of color’ mentoring program to best enhance their academic and career experiences. Outside of school and work, Rose enjoys exercising, cooking, painting, and growing plants.
A third-year doctoral student in urban and regional planning and a Presidential Fellow at UB, Fuzhen Yin’s research interests lie at the intersections of spatial modeling, social network analysis, and machine learning. Her research investigates how the evolution of urban technologies challenges and enriches our understanding of space and place. Particularly, she aims to answer how people interact in hybrid spaces (e.g., physical, relational, and cyberspaces), especially as digital technologies increasingly permeate every aspect of daily life. She is interested in unpacking the implication of these interactions for urban planning.
At the UB Food Lab, Fuzhen is working on the Growing Food Policy from the Ground Up. She investigates the role of social networks (or social capitals) in the Buffalo Food System.
Before joining UB, Fuzhen earned two Master’s degrees, a Diplôme d’État de Paysagiste (DEP) from ENSAP Bordeaux, France, and a Master’s in Spatial Data Science and Visualization from UCL, UK. In her spare time, Fuzhen likes to play video games (welcome to #wildrift!). She also enjoys reading, swimming, and cooking.
