Meet the Team: Rafia Tasnim

Rafia Tasnim is currently pursuing her PhD in Public Health at Purdue University. Her research focuses primarily on child abuse, violence prevention and mental illness. Through her work, she aims to contribute to a future in which youth can grow up in a world free of violence. Rafia’s extensive and diverse research endeavors are dedicated to addressing the psychological needs of young individuals. She strongly advocates for a non-violent environment and believes that such environments are key to the happiness and well-being of every child. Learn more about Rafia by reading the interview.

Q: What motivated you to pursue a role in public health research?

My academic journey began in my home country, Bangladesh, where I pursued a bachelor’s degree in public health & informatics at Jahangirnagar University. As an undergraduate student, I came to know of the importance of public health research in addressing community health problems on a wide range of issues and got an opportunity to expose myself to the research world. There, I found myself most enthusiastic about the psychological needs of the youth and understanding their lived realities through research. Influenced by personal experiences of child maltreatment, I feel that it is important that all young people have a safe and healthy environment to grow up in. This has led me to envision joining a research lab where I can continue my work and make a difference in this area. As soon as I came across Dr. Schwab Reese’s lab, I was intrigued by her work and the progress it is already making in the areas of violence prevention and child abuse. This led to my joining the VISTA research lab, strengthening my interest in public health research.

Q: How did you become involved with the VISTA research lab?

I joined the VISTA research lab in August 2022. While conducting an online search for a research lab that aligns with my interests, I came across Dr. Schwab Reese’s lab, and her research immediately resonated with me. I found her work fascinating and closely aligned with my research interests, which led me to reach out to her to learn more.   

Q: Can you describe the current project or projects you’re working on in the lab?

My journey with the VISTA research lab consists of several research projects in which I am directly contributing to project management, data collection, data analysis, and dissemination of those findings at different conferences. Presently, I am working on a project under my supervisor Dr. Schwab Reese, where I am exploring the role of social media in the lives of maltreated children.

Another project I worked on was to understand the perceptions of community members regarding community paramedics – paramedics who are trained to provide services beyond traditional emergency response roles.

I am also a part of a larger intervention project focused on road safety around farm vehicles. This project is helping me learn about implementing interventions in real-world settings. Alongside this, I am working on my dissertation proposal that focuses on child abuse and neglect.

Q: What does a typical day look like for you in the lab?

Normally, the weekly goals and tasks guide the priorities of our lab’s work each day. Broadly speaking, I usually work on assigned weekly tasks that involve the generation of research ideas, conducting literature reviews, paper writing for publication, data collection and its analysis, and preparation of abstracts or posters to be submitted for conferences. Dr. Schwab Reese supervises the activities and provides instructions/guidelines to fulfill the assigned tasks. I also attend meetings with external collaborators as well as with lab members.   

Q: What kind of tasks and responsibilities do you have?

While my tasks and responsibilities vary depending on the projects I am working on, generally, my role involves the development of qualitative research guidelines, generating codebooks for content or thematic analysis, developing questionnaires for quantitative data collection, writing the results, and presenting the research findings at conferences. Moreover, I have also worked on submitting IRB protocols for different projects during my first year.

Q: What valuable skills and lessons have you learned from working in the lab?

While I learned several valuable skills while working in the lab, one of the most important was conducting qualitative research, from idea generation to writing for publication.

The most valuable skills I developed in the lab were tool development for qualitative research and the development of codebooks used for analysis, using different analysis tools such as MAXQDA. I also had many opportunities to develop strong communication skills when working on various projects with partners from different outside institutions.

Attendance at conferences outside my institution taught me to present the results of research, to listen to different opinions of people either from the same or from other research backgrounds, and to tune my communication skills to respond to an audience.

Q: How has mentorship from senior researchers influenced your experience and growth?

The supervision of senior researchers has made a positive impact on my experience, and I feel that the lab provides me with an environment where I can grow my knowledge and skills without any hesitation.

Research experience in VISTA has been wonderful due to the helping mentality of senior researchers. I am learning a lot from the feedback and guidance of senior researchers in the lab. This will ultimately help me to reach my career goals of conducting independent research in the academic environment and developing interventions for young individuals to mitigate adverse childhood experiences.

You can follow Ms. Tasnim’s work on her LinkedIn page.