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
Erin DeCou
Erin joined the Quality for All team as Project Manager in November 2021. She holds a Master of Public Administration (MPA) with a focus on Community Development from Rutgers University and a B.A. in Anthropology from Skidmore College. Before joining the Q4A team, Erin worked in community engaged research at Smith College and led a series of community organizations in Philadelphia, including Neighborhood Bike Works and Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens.
Berry Williams
Berry joined the Q4A lab as Project Coordinator in 2023. Berry graduated from Smith College with a B.A. in Geosciences and holds a Master of Science in Geosciences from UMass Amherst. Berry is an avid gardener, collector of rocks, and lover of pugs.
Charlotte Gilson '25
Charlotte Gilson '25 is a recent UMass grad and Q4A alum who majored in Sociology on the pre-med track in the Commonwealth Honors College. 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. During her time at UMass, Charlotte also served 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.
Current Students
Crystal Chen is a 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
Joyce Mogaka '28
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.
Willa is a Public Health major with a minor in Biology. 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, early childhood education, and integrating public health practices/education in the classroom. Willa hopes to pursue a Master of Education and eventually her Masters in Physician Assistant Studies to become a pediatrician. She also works on campus as a Peer Advisor for the Public Health major. In her free time, Willa enjoys spending time with friends, working with children, running, and reading books (especially fantasy)!
Willa Davis '26
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.
Lakshmi Doobay '27
Arni is a junior Public Health major in the Commonwealth Honors College. She joined the Q4A lab in Fall “25 with a passion for patient centered care and an interest in addressing health inequities through research. Arni is pursuing the pre-med track in hopes of going into emergency medicine in the future. Her past volunteer experiences and EMT training has shaped her understanding of the importance of empathy, communication, and equity in healthcare delivery. In her free time she enjoys tennis, swimming, lifting, and cooking.
