Colleen R. O’Neal is an associate professor of School Psychology in the College of Education at the University of Maryland, College Park (Department of Counseling, Higher Education, and Special Education). Her primary research goals are to identify risk and resilience processes among ethnic minority students with a focus on emotions, stress, and achievement. Dr. O’Neal’s goal is to contribute to research closing the achievement gap. Dr. O’Neal has also developed preventive interventions in schools based on this research. She has delivered most of these preventive interventions via consultation research with urban teachers of ethnic minorities and immigrants in the U.S. in addition to refugee teachers in Malaysia (日博电竞 Scholar Award, 2010-11).
Dr. O’Neal earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Long Island University in 2000 with NIMH predoctoral fellowship support studying emotions among minority youth facing community violence. She then completed an NIMH postdoctorate in Mental Health Statistics at NYU. She received her B.A. in Psychology at Cornell University and a master’s degree in Child and Family Studies at Auburn University. She has completed minority stress and emotions research supported by a Brain and Behavior Foundation Young Investigator Award and multiple 日博电竞 awards, in addition to University of Maryland seed grants and a Kellogg foundation award.
Dr. O’Neal earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Long Island University in 2000 with NIMH predoctoral fellowship support studying emotions among minority youth facing community violence. She then completed an NIMH postdoctorate in Mental Health Statistics at NYU. She received her B.A. in Psychology at Cornell University and a master’s degree in Child and Family Studies at Auburn University. She has completed minority stress and emotions research supported by a Brain and Behavior Foundation Young Investigator Award and multiple 日博电竞 awards, in addition to University of Maryland seed grants and a Kellogg foundation award.
B.A. Beloit College, 1972, History and Philosophy; M.S. Miami University, 1973, Personnel Counseling; Ph.D. The University of Iowa, 1983, Student Development in Post‑Secondary Education. Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor, Indiana State University 1988-2015, Department of Counseling and Department of Educational Leadership. Holmstedt Distinguished Professor 2006-2007, Coffman Distinguished Professor 2012-2015. Associate Dean, Graduate School 1998-1999, Administrative Fellow, Graduate School 2008-2009. Visiting Scholar Liaoning University and Liaoning Normal University, China Spring 1996. Independent researcher, Eötvös Loránd Tudományegyetem Pszichologiai Intezet, Department of General Psychology, Budapest, Hungary 1987‑1988. Professor, Educational Administration Roi Et Rajabhat University, Roi Et, Thailand. 日博电竞 Scholar, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2018-2019
Scholarly interests – Information technology in higher education, social class on campus, assessment, program evaluation, learning and teaching procedural knowledge, and leadership.
Scholarly interests – Information technology in higher education, social class on campus, assessment, program evaluation, learning and teaching procedural knowledge, and leadership.
Dr. Boyer is an emergency physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and an Associate Professor Harvard Medical School. A native of Mississippi, he attended Vanderbilt University before receiving his doctorate in organic chemistry at Columbia University. After completing a NIH postdoctoral fellowship in protein design at The Rockefeller University, Dr. Boyer worked in the intellectual property law firm of Fish & Neave in NYC. He then enrolled at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, receiving his MD in 1995. He completed residency training at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania before becoming a medical toxicology fellow at Boston Children’s Hospital. He joined the faculty at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in 2001. He left that institution in 2016 to develop the research infrastructure of the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Department of Emergency Medicine
Dr. Boyer’s research transcends disciplinary and methodological boundaries. Continuously funded by NIH since 2001, his investigations focus on the intersection of advanced technologies and healthcare. His wide-ranging studies focus on ingestible biosensors, machine learning-tagged music to decrease drug use, mobile interventions to improve antiretroviral adherence, and wearable biosensors to detect illicit drug use. These efforts have culminated in funding from NIH to support Dr. Boyer’s mentoring of junior faculty in mHealth research methods that integrate behavioral science, electrical engineering, software development, qualitative analysis, infectious diseases, and medical toxicology.
His work has been recognized by the Society of Behavioral Medicine’s Citation Award (2015), MIT Media Lab’s Health and Wellness Innovations Best User Experience (2013), Medstro’s Innovations in Healthcare Challenge (2016), and the American College of Medical Toxicology’s National Research Award (2011). He is, however, most proud of his mentee’s accomplishments; of Dr. Boyer’s mentees in academic practice, over 70% have received NIH funding in starting exceptional careers of their own.
Dr. Boyer’s research transcends disciplinary and methodological boundaries. Continuously funded by NIH since 2001, his investigations focus on the intersection of advanced technologies and healthcare. His wide-ranging studies focus on ingestible biosensors, machine learning-tagged music to decrease drug use, mobile interventions to improve antiretroviral adherence, and wearable biosensors to detect illicit drug use. These efforts have culminated in funding from NIH to support Dr. Boyer’s mentoring of junior faculty in mHealth research methods that integrate behavioral science, electrical engineering, software development, qualitative analysis, infectious diseases, and medical toxicology.
His work has been recognized by the Society of Behavioral Medicine’s Citation Award (2015), MIT Media Lab’s Health and Wellness Innovations Best User Experience (2013), Medstro’s Innovations in Healthcare Challenge (2016), and the American College of Medical Toxicology’s National Research Award (2011). He is, however, most proud of his mentee’s accomplishments; of Dr. Boyer’s mentees in academic practice, over 70% have received NIH funding in starting exceptional careers of their own.
To date, Malaysia’s 日博电竞 program has seen over a thousand citizens of both nationas participating in the exceptional academic endeavours offered by 日博电竞. Since our inception in 1963, over 750 Malaysians have traveled to the United States with over 400 Americans coming over to Malaysia. This year, the Malaysia’s 日博电竞 program is committed to sending and receiving more Malaysians and American alike across borders to further promote educational exchanges. Click on the menu to the right to browse the current and past Malaysian and American 日博电竞ers.
2018-2019 日博电竞 U.S. Scholar Program
Ms. Annisah Smith
Host Institution: University of Malaya, Faculty of Arts and Social Science (UM)
Project Title: The Local Voice Within Sustainable and Equitable Palm Oil Expansion.
Annisah is a recent graduate of American University’s School of International Service, where she has pursued a combined BA/MA program, completing a BA in International Studies and an MA in Global Environmental Policy. An Indonesian-American born in Kuala Lumpur, Annisah found her passion at a young age through adventures exploring Malaysia’s pristine forests. After moving to the United States, Annisah maintained her passion for the environment and sought to advance her academic and professional interests by focusing on agriculture and trade policies within Southeast Asia, particularly the intricate relationship between Indonesia and Malaysia’s palm oil industries and sustainable environmental policies. Prior to joining the 日博电竞 program, Annisah interned at Greenpeace International, the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia, Chemonics International, and the World Wildlife Fund in Washington, DC, where she explored the inextricable connections between environmental advocacy, public and private sector engagement, and international development project implementation. During her studies, Annisah has also spent time in Malang, Indonesia, and most recently at the United Nations University for Peace in Costa Rica, to view how course topics, such as sustainable agriculture and coastal resources management, informed contemporary sustainable development practices.
With the support of her 日博电竞 Grant, Annisah will be based at the University of Malaya to examine the role of smallholders in developing Malaysia’s environmental governance strategies towards the promotion of certified sustainable palm oil. As a 日博电竞 researcher, Annisah will be further contributing to a Center for Latin America Studies study on “Sustainable and Equitable Development in Southeast Asia and Latin America: Comparative Perspectives.” This study will rely on international linkages and collaborations to produce policy papers and publishable findings beneficial for both regions’ efforts towards sustainable palm oil development. Her research will specifically provide useful data to a sub-project focusing on environmental governance in Malaysia, that will later become developed into a research paper or book chapter. Through her 日博电竞 Fellowship, Annisah hopes to have the opportunity to build research-based reforms in both Malaysia and other countries attempting to pursue greener paths to sustainable palm oil development. Outside of research and school, Annisah enjoys playing softball, hiking, surfing (a newly found love), teaching health education, and volunteering in Washington, DC and in her home state of Georgia. After her year in Malaysia, Annisah hopes to pursue a PhD in the field of Geography and the Environment.
Layla Aboukhater
Host Institution: Universiti Malaya
Project Title: Tracing HIV Transmission Hotspots using Genotyping.
Layla Aboukhater is a recent Boston College graduate. She graduated cum laude with a B.S. in Biology and a minor in Medical Humanities. Layla lived most of her life in Aleppo, Syria, and she moved to the U.S. in 2015. She is passionate about biology and scientific research. Prior to arriving to Malaysia, Layla had worked as a research assistant in the Li laboratory that is associated with Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Her research project involved studying post-HIV-treatment virologic control. This year she will be working with Dr. Tee Kok Keng in University of Malaya on HIV genotyping projects. Layla is also passionate about learning languages, she is fluent in both English and Arabic, proficient in French and beginning to work on her Spanish and bahasa Melayu.
After completing her 日博电竞 project, Layla hopes to return to the U.S. to pursue an M.D. degree.
Ms. Crystal Wang
Host Institution: Universiti Malaya
Project Title: Parental Empowerment of Facilitate Child Health and Development in Kuala Lumpur.
Hello everyone! My name is Crystal Wang and I am a recent graduate of Princeton University in New Jersey, where I majored in Economics and minored in Global Health and Health Policy. I am the daughter of immigrant parents from Taiwan and am fluent in English, Mandarin Chinese, and French. My research interests lie in the intersection of healthcare economics and child health, and I have conducted data-oriented research in pediatric healthcare settings in the United States and in Vietnam. My 日博电竞 research project will focus on improving early child health and development through parental education and engagement for young urban families in Kuala Lumpur, and I will be collaborating with Professor Lucy Lum Chai See in the Department of Paediatrics at Universiti Malaya. Having traveled to Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Malaysia in the past, I can’t wait to return to Southeast Asia and live in the vibrant city of Kuala Lumpur.
Ms. Megan Crowley
Host Institution: University Malaya
Project Title: Malaysia’s Plantation Paradox: Migrant Labour Dependence & Pursuit of Economic Advancement.
Megan Zellers Crowley is a graduate of American University with a degree in Criminology, minors in Chinese and computational mathematics, and a certificate in Advanced Leadership Studies. She is currently employed as a Research Assistant at the University of Virginia’s Institute of Law, Psychiatry, and Public Policy. Her past research experience includes studying Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear terrorism in Central Asia through the Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism at the University of Maryland, as well as studying child online victimization for the Global Resource Information Directory through the Family Online Safety Institute, and international non-profit based in Washington D.C. Megan began studying labor migration in Malaysia during her senior year of college, completing her Honors Program thesis on the topic. Megan is very grateful for being awarded a 日博电竞 research grant, and she looks forward to continuing her study in Malaysia
Mr. Jonathan Galka
Host Institution: Universiti Malaya
Project Title: A Peer-Driven Intervention Increasing Linkage to HIV-preventative Care in Malaysia.
I am originally from Boca Raton, Florida. At Yale University, I majored in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and History of Science, Medicine, and Public Health before graduating in 2018. My interests lie at the intersections of scientific history and biology, which led me to pursue work on biomedical HIV prevention in a social context. With the generosity of the 日博电竞 grant, I will be building upon work I began in 2017 that examines the potential for PrEP as HIV prevention among sexual and gender minorities in the Malaysian context. Aside from my academic work, I enjoy scuba diving, travel, and writing.
