Henna Budhwani, PhD (2012), MPH holds the endowed Michael and Paula Read Phelan Professorship in Obstetrical Nursing in the Florida State University (FSU) College of Nursing, Institute on Digital Health and Innovation (IDHI). Additionally, Dr. Budhwani has adjunct appointments in UAB’s School of Public Health, Department of Health Policy and Organization and School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics, Division of Adolescent Medicine.

At FSU, Dr. Budhwani leads the IDHI’s Intervention Research and Implementation Science (IRIS) hub. As an Implementation Scientist and sociobehavioral interventionist, Dr. Budhwani conducts studies to address the causes and consequences of disparities among stigmatized populations that experience adverse health outcomes in resource-constrained settings. Dr. Budhwani's research is informed by sociological constructs, guided by human rights frameworks, and adopts a multidimensional view of how to address public health and clinical care inequities. As a community-engaged health equity scholar, she has conducted studies with a range of underserved populations, such as adolescents and emerging adults, pregnant women, sexual and gender minorities, and racial and ethnic populations in the United States and abroad across Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, and sub-Saharan Africa.

Her scientific areas of interest include: mHealth and digital health interventions, implementation science, pragmatic and innovative clinical trial design, and promotion of preventive health.

Dr. Budhwani was awarded her PhD from the UAB Medical Sociology program in December 2012. Her committee members were Drs. Shelia Cotten (Committee Chair, currently Associate Vice President for Research Development, Clemson University), William Cockerham (currently Emeritus Professor, UAB), Patricia Sawyer (now retired from UAB), Belinda Needham (currently Chair and Associate Professor, University of Michigan), and Jeffrey Hall (currently Deputy Director of the Office of Minority Health and Health Equity at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).