Meet Our Team
Cinnamon S. Bloss
Center Director
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Marla Sklover
Finance & Operations Manager
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Cynthia Triplett
Research Program Manager
Cynthia Triplett, MPH, MA | Cynthia manages a diverse research portfolio on behalf of Dr. Cinnamon Bloss, including projects related to health data privacy, genetic modification of disease vectors, and emerging biomedical technologies such as microbiome science and genomic medicine. She is responsible for managing several aspects of the research programs driven by the Center, managing student interns, and coordinating synergistic research activities with the T. Denny Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion. Cynthia received a dual Master's degree in Public Health (emphasis: health promotion and behavior science) along with an MA in Latin American Studies from San Diego State University, and is fluent in English and Spanish. Her research interests include medical trust and advancing health equity for underserved communities.
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Ramya Rajagopalan
Associate Director, Training, Evaluation, and Qualitative Research
Ramya Rajagopalan, PhD | Dr. Rajagopalan holds a PhD in genetics from MIT and has over 12 years of experience conducting conceptual and applied research in genome ethics. Dr. Rajagopalan is an expert in bioethics and has examined the intersections of genomics and social categories of identity, the emergence of precision medicine and the role of “omics” and “big data” in clinical diagnosis and treatment, and the dynamics of interdisciplinary collaboration in the life sciences. Some of her current projects investigate ethical issues in genome editing and gene drive, and the impact of emerging tools in precision medicine on medical research and health care practices.
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Taylor Berninger
Genetic Counselor
Taylor Berninger, MS, MA, MEd | Taylor is a board-certified genetic counselor who collects and interprets genetic family histories; assesses the risk of disease occurrence or recurrence; identifies interventions to manage or ameliorate disease risk; educates about inheritance, testing, management, prevention, ethical issues, resources, and research; and counsels to promote informed choices and adaptation. Taylor is also Assistant Program Director of the Augustana-Sanford Genetic Counseling Graduate Program.
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Melissa Karnaze
Postdoctoral Scholar
Melissa Karnaze, PhD | Dr. Karnaze received her Ph.D. in Psychological Science from UC Irvine. She has over 10 years of experience conducting laboratory and survey studies. She is interested in emotional experience and emotion regulation, especially in the context of adversity and resilience, and how beliefs about emotion relate to these processes. She is also interested in physiological and health correlates of emotional responses to stressful life events. She is currently working on projects that investigate the role of empathy and compassion in the context of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, with a focus on health behaviors, social connectedness, and wellbeing.
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Caryn Kseniya Rubanovich
Doctoral Trainee
Caryn Kseniya Rubanovich, MS | Caryn earned her undergraduate degree in anthropology and has a Master’s degree in Narrative Medicine from Columbia University. Caryn is currently a doctoral student in Clinical Psychology at UCSD and SDSU where she has already made extensive contributions to the empirical literature with studies on physician education, consumer genetic ancestry testing, and genetics in the clinical encounter. Caryn is passionate about utilizing technology to: (1) bridge gaps in clinical care; (2) improve research and access to care; (3) and encourage effective clinician-patient relationships. She is also the founder of @MedEmpathy, a Twitter handle with an aim of “connecting clinicians, patients & caregivers, one story at a time.”