Esprene Liddell-Quintyn, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow

Esprene received her B.A. from University of Guyana W.I., an M.A. from Penn State Harrisburg, and a doctorate in Community Psychology from the University of Miami. As a GVRC Postdoctoral, her research will focus on gun violence, with an emphasis on intimate partner violence (IPV) among Black, Caribbean, and immigrant populations. Dr. Liddell-Quintyn is intentional about moving beyond traditional approaches that rely on intrapsychic treatment models. Instead, it focuses on partnering with communities to co-create systemic solutions that target intimate partner violence among people of color. As a Community-Engaged Scholar (CES), she employs qualitative methodologies to examine intimate partner violence and grounds her research in Community Based Participatory (CBPR) research. CBPR is a philosophical paradigm that emerged from recognizing the limits of conducting research on communities instead of with communities. It includes principles of working with community partners on matters they identify as relevant and salient to their needs.

Research interests: Intimate partner violence, Black women, Caribbean, and immigrant women.

Current projects: Esprene's is working with the Newark Community Street Team (NCST) on illicit firearm in the Newark community. She is also working in the Caribbean community, where she is invested in contributing her service to the Caribbean region. Internationally, she currently serves as the co-chair of the Early Scholars Committee for the Caribbean Regional Conference of Psychology (CRCP). In this role, she plans workshops, mentoring sessions, and social events for Caribbean students and early career professionals living in the Caribbean and across the diaspora. > View Esprene's CV

Nazsa S. Baker, PhD, MA

Postdoctoral Fellow

Nazsa Baker recently earned her Ph.D. in Urban Systems with a concentration in Urban Health from Rutgers University, School of Nursing in October 2021. She also holds a Master of Arts in Health Advocacy from Sarah Lawrence College and a dual Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and Psychology from Bates College. As a GVRC postdoctoral fellow, her research will focus on community violence, with an emphasis on firearm violence survivorship and adverse childhood experiences among Black males and hospital-based violence intervention programs (HVIPs). Dr. Baker is passionate about bringing the voices of those overlooked to the forefront in her research and she does this by employing qualitative methodologies. In addition, she grounds her research in community-based participatory research (CBPR) to ensure she is partnering with communities.

Research interests: Black male firearm violence survivorship, Culturally Congruent Health Questionnaires, Adverse Childhood Experiences, Hospital-based Violence Intervention Programs, Community-based Participatory Research, and Community Violence.

Current projects: Nazsa is invested in understanding the lives of Black male firearm violence survivors who are inpatients in Level I trauma centers. > View Nazsa's CV

Jayna Moceri-Brooks, PhD, RN

Postdoctoral Fellow

Jayna Moceri-Brooks recently earned her PhD in Nursing from Duquesne University. She also holds a Master of Nursing from the University of Washington and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Seattle Pacific University. As a GVRC postdoctoral fellow, she will primarily work on the portfolio of Department of Defense funded grants focused on firearm suicide prevention across the Services. These projects include collecting large nationally representative samples of firearm owners to better understand their storage preferences and adapting the GVRC’s lethal means counseling intervention (Project Safe Guard) to fit the needs and cultures of different military communities. She will also be involved in New Jersey based firearm suicide prevention projects. With a background as an Emergency and Trauma Nurse and military advocate, Dr. Moceri-Brooks is committed to working with civilian and military communities to identify and employ effective suicide prevention interventions.

Research interests: Research interests: Risk for and prevention of suicidal behaviors in military service members and Veterans; combat-related traumatic brain injuries; impact of Army culture on suicidal behaviors. > View Jayna's CV

Jennifer Paruk, PhD, MPH

Postdoctoral Fellow

Jennifer Paruk received her BS from the University of Michigan, her MPH from Boston University, and her PhD in Criminal Justice from Michigan State University. Her research focuses on the intersection of intimate partner violence, suicide, and firearm injury prevention. In her research, she cares about collaborating across disciplines and experiences and implementing trauma-informed research practices.

Research interests: Intimate partner violence prevention, Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs). > View Jennifer's CV

John F. Gunn III, PhD

Rutgers University Alumni

John received a B.A. from Stockton University, an M.A. from Rutgers University – Camden in Psychology, and a Ph.D. in Family Science & Human Development from Montclair State University. John joined the GVRC from May 2019 to July 2021 as a postdoctoral associate, where his research focused on gun violence with an emphasis on suicide behavior. John joined the faculty of Gwynedd Mercy University as an Assistant Professor of Psychology in Fall 2021.

Research interests: Risk & Protective Factors for Suicidal Behavior (such as access to a firearm); Social Connectedness and Suicide; Theoretical Models of Suicidal Behavior; Impact of Media on Suicide.

Center projects: While at the center, Dr. Gunn III worked on exploring the impact of firearm regulations on gun death rates (homicide & suicide), the role of gun retail workers in identifying and preventing suicide, the impact of firearm regulations on youth gun carrying behavior, and a number of non-firearm related research projects (e.g., the role of peer victimization in suicidal thoughts and behavior). > View John's CV

Shelby Bandel, M.S.

Fourth Year SEDL Doctoral Student at Rutgers University

Shelby's interests include firearm suicide prevention, credible messengers, non-suicidal self-injury, emotion dysregulation, and the association between sleep and suicide. > View Shelby's CV

Allison Bond, M.A.

Fifth Year Doctoral Candidate in Clinical Psychology at Rutgers University

Allie's research interests include the ideation-to-action framework, method selection, and safe firearm storage for suicide prevention. > View Allison's CV

Jordan Costa, M.A.

Sixth Year PhD Candidate at Rutgers School of Criminal Justice

Jordan's research interests centers on the intersection of public health and public safety with a specific focus on structural violence, community-led and trauma-informed violence reduction strategies, as well as hospital-based violence intervention programs. > View Jordan's CV

Taylor Rodriguez, M.S.

Fourth Year SEDL Doctoral Student at Rutgers University

Taylor's research interests focus on how individual differences influence mental health treatment seeking, engagement, and outcomes. > View Taylor's CV

Devon Ziminski, M.S.

Devon is primarily interested in program evaluation; urban/rural gun violence; community gun violence; firearms policy; social policy analysis; mobility from poverty; economic inequities. > View Devon's CV

Brielle Savage, M.A.

Brielle’s research interests include firearm violence exposure, youth firearm carrying, youth violence, and the association between homicide and coping mechanisms. > View Brielle's CV