Musaad Lab Members

Primary Investigator

I am currently an associate professor of pediatrics and biostatistics in the Children’s Nutrition Research at Baylor College of Medicine. My research focuses on understanding the environmental, molecular, and behavioral risk factors that influence the development of unhealthy weight gain and chronic disease progression including immune dysfunction and cardiovascular disease risk. I am particularly interested in developing contextual and other data-driven methods to determine how the risk factors differ across racial/ethnically diverse populations and the effect of behavioral interventions on improving outcomes.

I also mentor fellows in the Department of Pediatrics and find my role as a statistical reviewer for the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior a rewarding experience.

Statistician

I am currently a statistician in the Department of Pediatrics-Nutrition in Children’s Nutrition Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine. I received my M.S. in Sustainable Biomaterials and M.S. in Statistics from Virginia Tech. I have worked in the chemical industry as a statistical consultant and an online tutor for graduate students in statistics before joining Dr. Salma Musaad’s group. I am interested in utilizing statistical models and methods to analyze healthcare and industrial data. 

Assistant Research Coordinator

I graduated from the University of Houston in May 2023 with a B.S. in Public Health and a double minor in Management Information Systems (MIS) and Data & Society. Under Dr. Musaad’s lab, I explore the impact of social determinants on obesity and assist with data analytical tasks using R and SAS. Currently, I’m a master’s student in UTHealth’s dual MPH/MS Biomedical Informatics program, with an expected graduation date in May 2026. I hope to pursue a career at the intersection of healthcare, business, and data. In my free time, I enjoy writing food reviews on Yelp, photography, shopping, and bullet journaling!

Statistician

I earned a Master’s degree in Applied Statistics from the University of Delaware, after completing my Bachelor’s degree in Statistics from the University of Minnesota. I am interested in addressing topics such as data missingness to find the appropriate methodology to reduce biases introduced into the data after performing an imputation, appropriate advanced experimental design techniques in research, and Bayesian approach to research problems. 

During my Master’s degree I completed a research project about the impact of obesity in the US among adolescents and children between the age of 3 and 15 years by using multinomial logistic regression technique. I believe my findings from my thesis, coupled with my interest in solving the many health challenges generated by obesity, especially on children’s health, will be tremendously helpful to my work in the Department of Pediatrics-Nutrition. During my free time I enjoy jogging. 

Intern

I am currently an intern at Dr. Musaad’s Lab, where I explore the social determinants of health, focusing on obesity and food insecurity. I am pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Health at the University of Houston, with an expected graduation in May 2025.
I am passionate about addressing health disparities and working toward equitable solutions to improve the health of underserved communities. Outside of my academic work, I enjoy spending time with my family, learning new things, and experiencing new opportunities.

Intern

I am currently a student at the University of Houston, expecting to graduate in May 2025 with a B.S. in Public Health and a minor in Nutrition. Through my experiences translating in clinics for the uninsured, volunteering with non-profit organizations, and assisting Houstonians from various backgrounds and cultures, I have witnessed firsthand the challenges faced by low SES communities in accessing adequate healthcare, resources, and education necessary for optimal health. My aspiration is to support underserved populations by participating in research initiatives aimed at fostering positive health outcomes through the integration of proper nutrition and healthy behaviors.

Visting Learner

I am a currently a pre-med student at the University of Texas at Austin, majoring in public health. My coursework in biostatistics and nutrition inspired my interest in research, particularly in children’s health and nutrition. I am currently working on a systematic review, which has given me valuable insights into critical analysis, and the synthesis of scientific literature. Since joining Musaad lab I have expanded my skills further by being able to gain hands-on experience in data interpretation, literary analysis, and scientific communication. These skills will be instrumental as I pursue medical school and aim to make impactful contributions in public health and patient care.