Rikki Thomas is currently a second-year Global Environmental Health MPH student also pursuing certificates in Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology and Infectious Disease Epidemiology. Rikki fulfills the role of Graduate Research Assistant for the Emory-Nigeria Research Training Program. Rikki's interest lies in mitigating the impact of both infectious diseases and environmental toxicants on underserved communities. Her areas of research interests are microbial toxins and Neglected Tropical Diseases. Rikki finds that the role that genes can play on mechanisms of toxicity is also fascinating, and she looks forward to expanding her knowledge in these different fields of Public Health.