Faculty/Staff Spotlights
Faculty/Staff Spotlights
Changemakers in and out of the classroom
Parkinson faculty are thought leaders and educators, collaborators and change makers. Their impact is felt at the Parkinson School but extends far beyond our campuses.
In promoting new knowledge, advocating for policy revisions or more effective protocols, and working in local communities to launch new health initiatives, our faculty translate insights into action to improve health outcomes and address longstanding health disparities. Their passion for entrepreneurial problem-solving makes them life-changing role models and mentors for our students. And their passionate devotion to be “persons for others” reflects Loyola’s Jesuit mission while helping to uplift lives and communities.
Frances Weaver
A research career scientist at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) Center of Innovation for Complex Chronic Healthcare, Weaver’s prolific research career includes well over 200 peer-reviewed publications and impactful research on neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s and spinal cord injuries.
She is co-principal investigator for one of the VA’s national Evidence-Based Practice Centers, the Evaluation to Practice Evaluation Center for Veterans, which is examining exposure to toxins in the water at Camp Lejeune and assessing the impact of military toxins legislation on Veterans’ use of VA healthcare services. Weaver chairs the VA’s Scientific Merit Review Board panel on health care informatics research and directs educational efforts in the Institute for Translational Medicine on implementation science.
Lucia Garcia
As director of student affairs and registration at Parkinson, Garcia works closely with faculty and students to create a supportive and engaging experience for the school’s undergraduate and graduate students. A native Chicagoan and Loyola alumna, Garcia’s scholarly interests include global health education, gun violence prevention, and community engagement. She has been an active member of the Loyola Stands Against Gun Violence committee since her days as an MPH graduate student in 2019, helping to lead the group’s annual Community Advocacy and Violence Prevention Summit and, more recently, steering the committee’s fellowship program as a Parkinson staff member.
“I integrate my lived experience, dedication to higher education access, and passion for public health into everything I do. My goal is to inspire the Parkinson community of students to learn from the communities they serve and become innovative change agents who collaboratively tackle challenging health inequities.”
Abigail Silva
A Loyola alumna and an associate professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences, Silva is director of the Master of Public Health (MPH) program’s Epidemiology Track and a research health scientist at the Hines VA Center of Innovation for Complex Chronic Healthcare. In the earliest weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, Silva played a key role in the launch of the COVID Equity Response Collaborative: Loyola (CERCL), which provided wide-ranging supports to vulnerable communities in Chicago’s near western, including a free and publicly available contact tracing training program and free community-based testing.
“As a health equity researcher, I’m looking to engage with community partners in capacity-building initiatives and projects that help address the social determinants of health.”
Kristen Pesavento
With lab results driving much clinical decision-making, medical laboratory scientists like Pesavento play a critical, though often unseen role in health care. Pesavento has worked to elevate the field of laboratory medicine in numerous ways, through mentorship, partnerships with hospitals, advocacy, and volunteer outreach, including talks about laboratory science to elementary, high school, and college students. She has also worked with the American Society for Clinical Pathology and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on its OneLab initiative, an effort to build capacity and training among the laboratory workforce so it can contribute to improved public health and patient outcomes.
“In the classroom and with my external advocacy efforts, I seek to increase awareness of the importance of equitable and timely access to accurate laboratory testing.”
Maggie Ozan-Rafferty
As an assistant professor in the healthcare administration program, Ozan-Rafferty leverages her diverse background as a senior-level health care executive and registered nurse to significantly enhance course development and student engagement. Passionate about personal connections, she emphasizes problem-based learning to prepare students for today’s dynamic health care environments. As a member of the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award Board of Examiners, she applies leading frameworks for organizational innovation and performance excellence to all of her courses, while she is also completing a Master’s in Instructional Design at Loyola to further enrich her teaching skills.
I am dedicated to fostering a learning environment that emphasizes empathy, equity, and excellence and I aim to equip future leaders with the skills and compassion necessary to make a meaningful impact on healthcare.
— KRISTEN PESAVENTO, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, GRADUATE PROGRAM DIRECTOR, MEDICAL LABORATORY SCIENCE
Frances Weaver
A research career scientist at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) Center of Innovation for Complex Chronic Healthcare, Weaver’s prolific research career includes well over 200 peer-reviewed publications and impactful research on neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s and spinal cord injuries.
She is co-principal investigator for one of the VA’s national Evidence-Based Practice Centers, the Evaluation to Practice Evaluation Center for Veterans, which is examining exposure to toxins in the water at Camp Lejeune and assessing the impact of military toxins legislation on Veterans’ use of VA healthcare services. Weaver chairs the VA’s Scientific Merit Review Board panel on health care informatics research and directs educational efforts in the Institute for Translational Medicine on implementation science.
Lucia Garcia
As director of student affairs and registration at Parkinson, Garcia works closely with faculty and students to create a supportive and engaging experience for the school’s undergraduate and graduate students. A native Chicagoan and Loyola alumna, Garcia’s scholarly interests include global health education, gun violence prevention, and community engagement. She has been an active member of the Loyola Stands Against Gun Violence committee since her days as an MPH graduate student in 2019, helping to lead the group’s annual Community Advocacy and Violence Prevention Summit and, more recently, steering the committee’s fellowship program as a Parkinson staff member.
“I integrate my lived experience, dedication to higher education access, and passion for public health into everything I do. My goal is to inspire the Parkinson community of students to learn from the communities they serve and become innovative change agents who collaboratively tackle challenging health inequities.”
Abigail Silva
A Loyola alumna and an associate professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences, Silva is director of the Master of Public Health (MPH) program’s Epidemiology Track and a research health scientist at the Hines VA Center of Innovation for Complex Chronic Healthcare. In the earliest weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, Silva played a key role in the launch of the COVID Equity Response Collaborative: Loyola (CERCL), which provided wide-ranging supports to vulnerable communities in Chicago’s near western, including a free and publicly available contact tracing training program and free community-based testing.
“As a health equity researcher, I’m looking to engage with community partners in capacity-building initiatives and projects that help address the social determinants of health.”
Kristen Pesavento
With lab results driving much clinical decision-making, medical laboratory scientists like Pesavento play a critical, though often unseen role in health care. Pesavento has worked to elevate the field of laboratory medicine in numerous ways, through mentorship, partnerships with hospitals, advocacy, and volunteer outreach, including talks about laboratory science to elementary, high school, and college students. She has also worked with the American Society for Clinical Pathology and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on its OneLab initiative, an effort to build capacity and training among the laboratory workforce so it can contribute to improved public health and patient outcomes.
“In the classroom and with my external advocacy efforts, I seek to increase awareness of the importance of equitable and timely access to accurate laboratory testing.”
Maggie Ozan-Rafferty
As an assistant professor in the healthcare administration program, Ozan-Rafferty leverages her diverse background as a senior-level health care executive and registered nurse to significantly enhance course development and student engagement. Passionate about personal connections, she emphasizes problem-based learning to prepare students for today’s dynamic health care environments. As a member of the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award Board of Examiners, she applies leading frameworks for organizational innovation and performance excellence to all of her courses, while she is also completing a Master’s in Instructional Design at Loyola to further enrich her teaching skills.
I am dedicated to fostering a learning environment that emphasizes empathy, equity, and excellence and I aim to equip future leaders with the skills and compassion necessary to make a meaningful impact on healthcare.
— KRISTEN PESAVENTO, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, GRADUATE PROGRAM DIRECTOR, MEDICAL LABORATORY SCIENCE