Sometimes, when the path isn't clear, you have to forge your own.
And that’s exactly what Chloe Guidry has done.
After earning bachelor's degrees in psychology and philosophy in 2021, Guidry started a career in health information management, first as a chart analyst and now as a trauma registrar for Lake Charles Memorial Health System, where she analyzes and reports patient case data to national databases to support research and policy development.
Drawn to the possibility of continuing her education, she enrolled in UL Lafayette’s M.S. in Psychology program.
But after a couple semesters, she decided she wanted to take additional coursework to supplement her work experience in health care. So, she enrolled in a second program: the University’s online Graduate Certificate in Population Health.
Through her experience as a graduate student at UL Lafayette, Guidry has found new professional and academic avenues for pursuing her interests in health care and psychology.
From Psychology to Population Health
As a psychology student, Guidry has been particularly interested in experimental psychology and behavioral neuroscience.
During her first semester on campus, she joined the University’s Zebrafish Laboratory, directed by Assistant Professor of Psychology Dr. Erika Caramillo-Hatch. She later earned a promotion to lab manager in Spring 2024 and continues to serve in that role.
The lab conducts research using zebrafish models to better understand the science behind psychological concepts like cognition, learning, and memory. For her thesis specifically, Guidry is using a zebrafish model to investigate potential causes of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.
As Guidry settled into her master’s program, however, she also began to feel the desire to incorporate her work experience in health care into her studies.
“I was looking in the University catalog when I stumbled across this health services administration course that was labeled for population health students,” Guidry says.
Intrigued, she reached out to the population health program’s coordinator, Associate Professor of Health Care Administration Dr. Rachel Ellison.
“Right off the bat, Dr. Ellison was so helpful and responsive,” Guidry says. “We worked together to see how I could make it work logistically with my graduate assistantship and psychology coursework, and once I got the all-clear from everyone involved, I started my population health classes.”
Bridging the Knowledge Gap
Shortly after starting her population health coursework, Guidry knew she had made the right decision.
The population health program consists of a four-course sequence completed over just two semesters, beginning with HSA 500: Essentials of Population Health. The introductory course examines how various factors influence health outcomes across different populations and offers an overview of the U.S. health care system.
For somebody like Guidry, whose educational background is not in health care, that baseline knowledge has been eye-opening.
“I’ve played a part in the hospital revenue cycle and handled sensitive patient data, but getting to take coursework that goes through all the major domains of the health care system has really given me a more intimate understanding,” Guidry says.
The population health coursework emphasizes real-world application, allowing students to explore their interests and analyze case studies.
“For one of my classes, we got to put together a project talking about the impact that COVID-19 had on our specialty in health care,” Guidry recalls. “I had never really gotten a chance to take a deeper look into it, so to be able to do that for class was really cool.”
“There are so many moving parts to what we do in health care, not just in our own roles but also the bigger system that we work in.”
The coursework, which emphasizes improving patient outcomes across populations, has also been directly relevant to Guidry’s work as a trauma registrar.
After Guidry uploads trauma case data from her hospital into the appropriate databases, researchers and policymakers use that data to make decisions.
“For example, there’s a national campaign called STOP THE BLEED® that teaches the public how to use tourniquets in an emergency to prevent people from bleeding out before medical help can arrive,” she explains. “Those kinds of initiatives are planned and implemented using the trauma case data I work with.”
Researching for a Reason
Since starting graduate school, Guidry has embraced every opportunity to improve the world around her through research and data analysis.
As a Graduate Assistant for the University’s Committee on Graduate Student Success and Retention, she explored ways to support to improve graduate student retention and graduation rates without compromising educational quality.
This year, she’s presented her research in the University’s Three-Minute Thesis (3MT®) and Graduate Student Appreciation Week Research Showcase competitions, the Southwestern Psychological Association’s 2025 Convention, and the American Romanian Academy of Arts & Sciences’ 46th Annual Congress.
And, thanks to her experience in the population health program, she recently landed a new graduate assistantship with the University’s Louisiana Center for Health Innovation. LCHI, a division of the University’s Informatics Research Institute, aims to advance health care through research, education, and collaboration with strategic partners.
As a graduate research assistant for LCHI, Guidry supports staff with projects covering everything from the relationship between air pollution and cancer to the underdevelopment of certain specialties in the healthcare workforce.
She’s particularly excited about an upcoming project with local nonprofit Miles Perret Cancer Services, which will involve analyzing data they’ve collected to identify areas for improvement in their outreach efforts.
“Miles Perret helped my grandfather when he had cancer,” Guidry says. “It’s a full-circle moment for me to be able to work with and help them.”
Looking Ahead
Guidry is grateful for her experience so far as a graduate student, which has given her an opportunity to reflect on how she can bridge her backgrounds in psychology and health care.
“Looking long term, I’d really love to do research on how traumatic brain injuries can impact the onset of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, but I also hope to continue my work as a trauma registrar.”
As she finishes the coursework for her on-campus master’s program and her online graduate certificate, she’s confident that she is well-prepared to take on whatever comes next.
“I definitely want to continue in academia, pursuing a doctorate and potentially doing some post doc research,” she says. “I’ve really done all that I can to build out my coursework and make myself more well-rounded as a student ahead of applying to Ph.D. programs.”
For now, Guidry leaves graduate students with a few words of wisdom.
“Reach out to prospective mentors early on,” she encourages. “Having people like Dr. Caramillo-Hatch, Dr. Ellison, and Dr. Gabriela Wilson (LCHI’s director) in my corner has made a huge impact in setting me up to be successful. Meaningful connections make the overall experience of graduate school more enjoyable, but it can also open doors to opportunities that you might have missed out on otherwise.”
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