At the PRC-RH, students don’t just learn about public health—they apply it, often transitioning their academic success into professional impact.
We are thrilled to congratulate Olivia Caldera on her recent graduation! After successfully completing her MPH program, Olivia is transitioning into a new role as an hourly staff Research Assistant, where she will continue supporting our project Partners Engaging to Advance Quitline Iowa (PEAQ).
Her path to the PRC-RH began with an interest in tobacco/nicotine and e-cigarette use in young adults. She initially joined the research team of Dr. Shannon Watkins to study videos about e-cigarettes on TikTok, where she collected data, coded vaping videos, led the research team in designing a new study protocol for an additional social media platform, and helped the team expand their research to include cannabis.
Her interest in tobacco cessation and how health information circulates in digital spaces, particularly in rural communities, helped lead her to her current role with the core research project. Olivia is now collaborating with the team led by Drs. Mark Vander Weg and Aaron Seaman in connecting micropolitan communities with Quitline Iowa as a low-pressure, accessible option for young adults exploring nicotine reduction.
In particular, she has been using an ethnographic approach to examine social media conversations on platforms such as Reddit and Facebook, aiming to better understand the challenges rural young adults face when considering tobacco cessation. This analysis shows that many young adults view cessation resources as “crisis-only” interventions rather than tools for everyday support.
Reflecting on her work with the PRC-RH, Olivia notes that the collaborative, inquiry-driven environment has been especially meaningful.
"I’ve been so grateful to be integrated into this community of faculty and staff," she says. "It has exercised my curiosity and my problem-solving skills, and I really hope to continue this work for the rest of my life."
Looking ahead, Olivia is pursuing a PhD in Community and Behavioral Health to further her expertise in mixed-methods research. She hopes to learn how to integrate her quantitative epidemiology training with qualitative community-engaged research to more effectively address health disparities.
To find out more about the faculty, staff, and students of the PRC, view our People page.