
University of Massachusetts - Amherst
Sarah L. Goff, MD, PhD
Q4A Lab Founder & Principal Investigator
Sarah earned her M.D. at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, her PhD at UMass Amherst, and her B.S. in Neurobiology at Yale University. Early in her career as a primary care pediatrician and internist, she recognized deep inequities in the health care system that contributed to health disparities. She returned to Yale for research training in the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program and worked as a clinician-scientist at Baystate Medical Center until 2019 when she joined the UMass Amherst faculty. Her PhD focused on organizational studies and implementation science. When she is not working, she loves to hike, run, bike, cross-country ski, play board games, bake, and hang out with her family, including Max and Leo, the cats.

Staff
Current Students
Charlotte Gilson is a Sociology major on the pre-med track in the Commonwealth Honors
College and is pursuing a certificate in Medical Humanities. Her passion for studying health care
disparities and connecting society to medicine drove her interest in qualitative research in the Q4A lab. She was selected as a Rising Researcher for the Fall ‘23 semester. Outside of research, Charlotte serves as a peer mentor in the Honors College and the vice president of the Black Women in Medicine club. In her free time, Charlotte loves distance running, cooking, and walking on the beach with her dog.

Charlotte Gilson '25

Joyce is a Ph.D. student in Public Health, focusing on Health Policy and Management. She has over 15 years of experience in public health through implementing and supporting community-driven initiatives in Africa and the United States. Joyce holds a Master of Science in Global Health Policy and Management from Brandeis University and a Master of Arts in Community Development from Daystar University in Kenya. In addition, she received a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Psychology Major from the University of Nairobi and a Bachelor of Science in Medical Laboratory Sciences from the Technical University of Kenya. Her research interests include health and healthcare disparities, infectious diseases epidemiology, women and children’s health, immigrant health, community-based participatory research, and result-based monitoring and evaluation. She also loves taking nature walks, cycling, and catching sunsets.
Joyce Mogaka '28
Willa is a junior Public Health major with a minor in Biology, pursuing the Physician Assistant track. She is passionate about health care equity and finding solutions to ensure communities have the resources to be, and stay, healthy. Her primary interests are in community-level public health, LGBTQ+ representation in health care, encouraging young women to pursue the STEM field, and investigating the environment's impact on human health. Willa hopes to pursue a Master of Public Health degree with a concentration in Environmental Health Sciences through UMass Amherst's 4+1 program. In her free time, Willa works as an EMT on campus and is a member of the UMass Dissenters Club, which works to promote anti-militarism and anti-racism at UMass. Beyond school, Willa loves to knit and crochet, sing, spend time with her friends, and listen to true crime. She is from Jamaica Plain, Boston, and loves to spend time trying new food or taking walks whenever she is home.

Willa Davis '26

Tarunima is a senior Public Health major at UMass Amherst. Passionate about addressing health care inequities, she focuses on how these disparities manifest in ethnic and immigrant populations and young women. As President of the UMass Amherst Public Health Club and as a member of the SPHHS Dean’s Student Advisory Board, she is dedicated to promoting overall student well-being within the School of Public Health and loves to connect with new people. In her free time, Tarunima enjoys photography, experimenting with new coffee recipes, and cooking. An international student from New Delhi, India, she loves to explore new creative outlets in both her academic and personal life.
Tarunima Agarwal '25
Crystal Chen is a sophomore Public Health major on the pre-med/pre-health track in the Commonwealth Honors College. Her interest in learning more about health policy mixed in with her devotion in advocating for women and children’s health let her find her way to the Q4A lab, where she is eager to get involved in impactful studies. Crystal hopes that she can make a positive contribution within the healthcare industry and be able to help people of all backgrounds. She works at the Honors Residential Service Desk, is the secretary of the Public Health Club, and volunteers on the weekends. When she’s not busy with school, Crystal enjoys cooking, playing video games, window shopping, and visiting her family in New York.

Crystal Chen '27

Lakshmi Doobay is a sophomore Public Health major in the Commonwealth Honors College. She joined the Q4A lab in Fall '24 and she is excited to be involved in researching health inequities in order to provide quality healthcare. Her primary interests are in global health and health administration to ensure that underdeveloped countries are able to get quality access to healthcare. She is involved in multiple STEM clubs on campus, such as the Public Health Club and Association of Women in Science. In her free time she enjoys playing tennis, reading, and spending time with her friends and family.