Fellows

Madison is a doctoral student at Columbia University School of Social Work exploring the intersections of intimate partner violence (IPV), illicit drug use, and criminalization. Her research explores the multi-level impact of substance use coercion among women who use drugs, aiming to understand the survival and care strategies they engage in when traditional paths to safety are unavailable. 

Currently, Madison is a fellow in the NIH T-32 Predoctoral Training Program on HIV and Substance Use in the Criminal Justice System, under the mentorship of Dr. Victoria Frye. Her goal is to develop a syndemic-focused intervention to enhance safe drug use and reduce health-related risk factors associated with substance use coercion, such as overdose and intimate partner homicide. 

Prior to her doctoral studies, Madison worked as a counselor and legal advocate for criminalized survivors detained at Rikers Island. She also served as a case manager for incarcerated men in Detroit, MI. In her personal time, Madison runs a community mutual aid initiative providing survivors of IPV and sex trafficking with free tattoo cover-ups. Madison earned her BA from Rutgers University, New Brunswick, and her MSW from Columbia University School of Social Work

Katie is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the NIH T32 Training Program on HIV and Substance Use in the Criminal Justice System. Her research focuses on using community-engaged approaches to understand the syndemic intersections of substance use, violence, and health among urban women. During her doctoral training at the Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health, Katie validated a traumatic life events index tailored for women who use drugs and examined how trauma shapes HIV risk. She also contributed to the evaluation of community-based drug treatment programs and trauma-informed mental health interventions aimed at reducing HIV risk among women who inject drugs. Prior to her doctoral training, Katie worked as a Program Coordinator at Johns Hopkins University, supporting peer-based interventions to increase access to infectious diseases testing and treatment for individuals living with HIV, Hepatitis C, and substance use disorders.

Katie has been recognized for excellence in mentorship at Drexel University and has co-authored multiple peer-reviewed publications in journals such as Clinical Infectious Diseases, Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports, and International Journal of Drug Policy. She has presented her work at national and international conferences and was recently awarded a fellowship with the International Network on Health and Hepatitis in Substance Users (INHSU), aimed at strengthening the capacity of professionals working with women who use drugs. Her work is grounded in a commitment to reducing stigma surrounding substance use and infectious diseases and advancing evidence-based harm reduction strategies that improve health equity for people who use drugs.

Emily Vinson is a postdoctoral research fellow in the School of Social Work. She earned her PhD in Health Promotion and Behavior from University of Georgia in May of 2026, where her research focused on substance use recovery, digital health interventions, and relapse prevention. Her work centers on understanding how behavioral, psychological, and environmental factors influence recovery. She has particular expertise in digital recovery support services and the development of eHealth interventions. Emily’s methodological training spans both quantitative and qualitative approaches, with extensive experience in applied mixed-methods research. She is especially interested in leveraging technology to expand access to recovery support and improve long-term outcomes. Originally from Georgia, Emily enjoys creative and active pursuits outside of her research. In her free time, she enjoys painting, practicing Muay Thai, and listening to music, particularly anything from the 60s and 70s

Davey Liu, MPhil, is an incoming doctoral student at the Mailman School of Public Health, pursuing a Ph.D. in Sociomedical Sciences in the Anthropology track. His research primarily investigates the relationship between critical healthcare organizations and the communities they serve during times of acute crisis or major social restructuring. 

Mr.Liu is an NIH T-32 Predoctoral Fellow on the HIV and Substance Use in the Criminal Justice System Training Program. He is interested in investigating the changes in care delivery for the vulnerable population that interacts with the criminal legal system in New York City, impacted by the closure of the Rikers Island jail complex.

Prior to his doctoral studies, he led a national survey analysis of healthcare providers' HIV testing patterns across clinical settings in the United States. For his Master's, he conducted fieldwork in South Africa, examining the impact of the 2025 PEPFAR funding withdrawal on HIV/AIDS non-governmental organizations. Davey received his BA in Medical Humanities, with a concentration in Biological Sciences, from Columbia University, and earned his MPhil with Distinction from the University of Oxford.

Daria is a doctoral student at Columbia University School of Social Work on the Advanced Practice track. Their research focuses on gentrification, social determinants of health, and the impacts of racism and discrimination on mental health, self-determination, and self-worth. As their research takes a community-focused approach to systems of oppression, Daria intends to improve policy that disproportionately criminalizes and incarcerates communities of color by leveraging data that amplifies the voices of the communities directly impacted by these policies with the goal of identifying actionable and equitable recommendations. As a Fellow in the NIH T32 Predoctoral Training Program on HIV and Substance Use in the Criminal Justice System, Daria hopes to focus their work on those incarcerated who have been impacted by substance use, housing insecurity, and other social determinants of health.

Prior to coming to Columbia, Daria was a therapist at the Valley Youth House Achieving Independence Center, where they empowered clients to achieve wellness goals through individual solution-focused brief therapy and group therapy. Daria earned their Master of Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice in 2022, where they had rich clinical experiences at the Anti-Violence Partnership of Philadelphia where they conducted trauma-focused therapy sessions, and at Delaware County Memorial Hospital where they facilitated substance use therapy sessions with individuals and groups. Daria graduated with her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Michigan in 2020, where they assisted with research on methods and sex differences, facilitated dialogues for high school students on power and privilege, and researched implicit gender stereotypes in parents and children using open source software. 

Dr. Garrett is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the NIH T32 Training Program on HIV and Substance Use in the Criminal Justice System. She recently earned her doctorate within the Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior in the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina. In her time as a doctoral student, she contributed to a variety of projects that (1) explored the psychosocial wellbeing and lived experiences of people living with HIV in the Deep South, (2) investigated the organizational resilience of AIDS Service Organizations, and (3) documented the lifecycle of electronic health record data utilized in big data HIV studies. Her dissertation work explored naloxone acceptability, as expressed on social media (i.e., X/Twitter and TikTok), and examined associations of state-level Good Samaritan Law parole protections with county-level opioid overdose mortality. Overall, Camryn's work is rooted in health equity. She is interested in further exploring the ways in which substance and HIV criminalization contribute to health disparities, particularly as experienced by people living with HIV or people who have interacted with the criminal justice system.

Prior to her doctoral studies, Camryn attended the University of Virginia for her undergraduate studies, where she majored in global public health and sociology, and Master of Public Health. Outside of research, she enjoys reading, crafting, and getting outdoors.