Amy Jessop, PHD, MPH, is Director of Research and HepTREC. Dr. Jessop has extensive experience designing and conducting community-based research and service projects. Prior to joining HepTREC at PPP, she served on PPP’s Board of Directors for more than 15 years and developed its Research Committee. She also served on or chaired IRB committees within several universities. These experiences may be helpful to external researchers as they plan projects with PPP.
Dr. Jessop’s research has been concerned with adult immunization, viral hepatitis prevention and treatment, and adaption and implementation of prevention and care guidelines. She received her BS in Microbiology from Penn State, and MPH in Epidemiology/Quantitative Methods from UMDNJ/RWJ Medical School, and PhD in Health Studies from Temple University.
Rachel Holbert, MPA, MPH, is HepTREC’s Health Equity Research Specialist. She is an experienced evaluator and project manager, specializing in health, education, and human services programs. Previously, she served as the evaluator of Delaware’s CDC-funded Overdose Data to Action grant, where she worked with the State to develop and monitor indicators and progress toward prevention, response, and surveillance goals. She has also served as an evaluation consultant to numerous organizations.
As part of her Temple University MPH fieldwork completed in Spring 2021, Ms. Holbert recruited and interviewed women who inject drugs and use services at Prevention Point Philadelphia for an intervention study designed to improve PrEP uptake and adherence. In addition to her Temple University MPH, Ms. Holbert also has a Master’s in Public Administration from Syracuse University.
Madison Scialanca (she/her), MPH, is HepTREC’s Health Equity Research Assistant. She has experience in health education, risk communication, and community-based research. Prior to her role at PPP, Scialanca served as a teaching assistant in Temple’s Social and Behavioral Sciences Department, where she led lectures on areas of interest — substance use in LGBTQ+ communities, HIV prevention and treatment, cannabis, and sexual education. While at Temple, she also worked as a research assistant for Temple’s Risk Communication Laboratory, where she served on several projects related to COVID-19 vaccination and PrEP uptake and adherence in at-risk women.
Ms. Scialanca received her MPH in Social and Behavioral Sciences from Temple University and her BS in Biology from Messiah College. As part of her MPH fieldwork, Ms. Scialanca developed and conducted a survey on fentanyl perceptions among people who use drugs (PWUD) at Prevention Point to assess fentanyl knowledge and understand current fentanyl use patterns, barriers to protection and treatment, and attitudes around overdose prevention to help inform the development of opioid overdose prevention programs.