Postdoctoral Research Associate, Knight Alzheimer Disease Research Center, Washington University in St. Louis
Araya Dimtsu Assfaw, originally from Ethiopia, received a competitive scholarship that allowed him to attend college in the United States. Upon completion of his bachelor’s degree from Northwestern College (Iowa), he received his MPH in Global Health from Oregon State University. He completed his Ph.D. in Health Promotion Sciences. Araya hopes to use his public health knowledge to develop, design, and manage public health programs and services that affect the health and social wellbeing of vulnerable populations.
Araya previously served as a Graduate Research Assistant for the department working on the Step-Up for Dementia Care project. He is currently involved in a project that provides Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) education to families, caregivers, and direct care workers in multiple settings. Araya’s involvement in research projects has allowed him to contribute to abstract/poster/oral presentations that have been presented at the Oklahoma Public Health Association, Oklahoma Partnership for School Readiness Annual Symposium, the Graduate College GREAT Symposium and the Harold Hamm Diabetes Center Research Symposium. Araya is currently a fellow/intern representing public health in the Oklahoma’s Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) program at OUHSC Child Study Center.