Experts
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Sue Feldman, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Fitness trackers
- Digital health trends
- Health information systems
- Contact tracing apps
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Mohammad Firouz, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Operations and supply chain management
- Non-profit operations
- Healthcare operations
- AI and Machine Learning Applications
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Molly Fleece, M.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Outbreak of infectious disease locally and globally including the flu
- Travel medicine
- Antimicrobial resistance
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Susanna Fogger, DNP
Areas of Expertise:
- Opioid abuse and treatment
- Chronic pain management
- Veterans' mental health
- Addiction treatments
- Mental health
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Mona Fouad, MPH
Director, UAB Minority Health & Health Disparities Research Center; Director, Live HealthSmart Alabama
Areas of Expertise:
- Minority health
- Health disparities
- Obesity and cancer
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Mia Geisinger, DDS , M.S.
Areas of Expertise:
- Oral hygiene/preventative dental care
- Pregnancy/maternal oral healthcare
- Oral healthcare delivery in patients with dementia
- Gum care, periodontology
- Dental consumer products/emerging technologies
- Periodontal-systemic disease connection
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David Geldmacher, M.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Memory disorders
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Dementia
- Clinical trials of dementia therapy
- Dementia risk assessment
- Visual processing
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Christopher Girkin, M.D.
Chair, EyeSight Foundation of Alabama
Areas of Expertise:
- Pediatric and adult glaucoma
- Complex cataracts
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Adam Gordon, O.D., MPH, FAAO
Areas of Expertise:
- General eye care and safety
- Contact lenses in normal and diseased eyes
- Medical applications of contact lenses
- Ophthalmic optics
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Charles Gorman, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Human Resources
- Leadership
- Management
- Organizational Development
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Amy Goss, Ph.D., R.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Nutrition
- Obesity
- Metabolism
- Diabetes prevention and treatment
- Ketogenic diet
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Grace Grau, DNP
Areas of Expertise:
- Health disparities
- Cardiovascular disease
- Chronic and continuing care for adults and the elderly
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Jessica Grayson, M.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Sinus infections
- Seasonal allergies
- Olfactory sense issues
- Upper respiratory airway diseases
- Nasal medicine
- Influenza
- Smell and taste loss
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Benjamin Greene, M.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Head and neck oncology
- Microvascular reconstruction
- Facial nerve repair and rehabilitation
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Russell Griffin, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Violence
- Motor vehicle-related injuries and prevention
- Pediatric trauma outcomes
- Improving clinical care of trauma and burn patients
- Treating acute kidney injury in newborns
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A.J. Gunn, M.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Treating cancer through minimally invasive techniques
- Treatment of uterine fibroids
- Blood clot filter retrievals
- Interventional radiology treatments for liver cancer
- Outpatient medicine using interventional radiology
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Helena Gutierrez, M.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Adenovirus
- Liver transplant
- Acute liver failure
- Autoimmune hepatitis
- Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
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Allyson Hall, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Health care policy, including the Affordable Care Act and new policies as they arise
- Federal and state health policy issues
- Medicaid
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Akhlaque Haque, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
- Urban sprawl
- Using GIS for population surveillance
- Information management
- Urban crime and Census data
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Kevin Harrod, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Influenza virus
- Infectious disease
- Pulmonary disease
- Chronic Lung disease
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Ragib Hasan, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Cloud security
- Mobile malware security
- Social network security
- Digital forensics
- Database security
- Biomedical device security
- The Internet of Things
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Megan Hays, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Psychology
- Trauma and mental health
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Alcohol abuse
- Behavior change
- Behavioral medicine
- Wellbeing in the workplace
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Peter Hendricks, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Substance abuse treatment and prevention
- Hallucinogenic therapy
- Novel treatments for tobacco, cocaine and polysubstance dependence
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James Hill, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Obesity
- Precision nutrition
- Nutrition
- Metabolism
- Physical activity
- Weight loss and regulation
- Wellness
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Craig Hoesley, M.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- HIV-prevention methods including microbicides
- HIV diagnosis and treatment
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John B. Holcomb, M.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Acute care surgery
- Injury research
- Trauma surgery
- Military medicine
- Use of whole blood
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Edward Hook III, M.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Sexually transmitted infections – prevention, treatment, research
- Gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis
- Sexual health as it relates to public health
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George Howard, DrPH
Areas of Expertise:
- Stroke risk factors
- Stroke prevention
- Racial and geographical disparities in stroke populations
- Health disparities
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Jack Howard, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Human Resource Management
- Employee Rights
- Personnel Administration
- Workplace bullying and aggression
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Virginia Howard, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Racial and geographical disparities in stroke populations
- Health disparities
- Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease epidemiology
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Warner Huh, M.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Diagnosis and treatment of gynecologic cancers
- Gynecologic vaccinations
- Robotic surgery for gynecologic conditions and cancers
- Novel therapeutics for gynecologic cancers
- Cervical cancer screening and prevention
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Anand Iyer, M.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Lung health
- Chronic lung disease
- Critical care
- COPD
- Palliative care
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Rita Jablonski, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Elderly care
- Aging
- Dementia
- Nursing home safety for patients
- Oral health for the elderly
- Family caregiving
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Elizabeth Jackson, M.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Cardiovascular disease
- Women's heart health
- Digital health trends and eHealth
- Preventive medicine
- Diabetes
- Health promotion
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Todd Jenkins, M.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Gynecologic surgery
- Abnormal uterine bleeding
- Patient engagement
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Peter Jones, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Public budgeting
- Financial management at the state and local level
- Education policy
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Suzanne Judd, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Cardiovascular disease and diet
- Diabetes and diet
- Dietary needs of athletes
- Reducing health disparities in chronic disease
- Diet and racial disparities in the risk of hypertension, kidney disease and stroke
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Michael Kase, DMD
Areas of Expertise:
- Maxillofacial prosthetics
- Prosthodontics
- Oral cancer and oncology
- Management of oral care after radiation
- Dentures, partials and implants
- Obturators
- Cleft palate
- Facial trauma
- Dental management of children with syndromes
- Craniofacial anomalies
- Oral health care
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Chung H. Kau, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Orthodontics (traditional braces and aligners)
- Cleft and craniofacial orthodontics
- Startup medical devices that include orthodontic applications
- Orthodontics and orthognathic surgery
- Commercialization of orthodontic products
- Juvenile idiopathic arthritis affecting the temporomandibular joints
- Technologies to accelerate orthodontic treatment and decrease treatment time
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Tara Kelly, Ph.D., RDN
Areas of Expertise:
- Nutrition
- Hunger and food insecurity
- Nutrition education and health behaviors
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Tina Kempin Reuter, Ph.D.
Director
Areas of Expertise:
- Human rights
- Peace studies and conflict resolution
- Ethnic conflict
- International politics with a focus on Europe and the Middle East
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Jeffrey Kerby, Ph.D.
Director
Areas of Expertise:
- Trauma
- Critical care
- Pre-hospital emergency care
- Resuscitation outcomes research
- Bleeding control techniques/large volume blood replacement
- Stop the Bleed, a public awareness campaign urging bystander education on bleeding control
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Stefan Kertesz, M.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Opioids use
- Addiction treatment
- Opioid and drug policy
- Access to quality addiction/medical care for homeless and other underserved populations
- Development of health professionals to address unmet health needs among disadvantaged populations
- Natural history and consequences of substance misuse in adults
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Safal Khanal, O.D., Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Myopia (nearsightedness) onset, progression, prevention, and treatment
- Refractive errors in children and adults
- Visual and refractive development in infants and children
- Visual electrophysiology
- Ocular effects of light and digital devices
- Dry eyes and ocular surface diseases
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David Kimberlin, M.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Vaccinations: safe, effective and life saving; schedule for school age kids
- Measles, mumps and rubella
- Cold and flu in children
- Infectious disease outbreaks, such as Zika
- Antiviral treatments
- Whooping cough
- Congenital CMV and neonatal herpes infections
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Kimberly Kirklin, M.A.
Director, UAB Arts in Medicine
Areas of Expertise:
- Arts in medicine
- Arts in health
- Improving quality of life for all ages through the arts
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Josh Klapow, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Clinical psychology
- Behavior therapy
- Relationship issues
- Psychological first aid
- Crisis and disaster psychological response
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David Knight, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Flashbacks and related dreams
- Depression and anxiety
- Stress related to future weather events
- Difficulty concentrating
- Appetite changes and fatigue
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Hogan Knox, M.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Eye health
- Eye trauma and injuries
- Detached retinas
- Ocular disease
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Lauren Kole, M.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Medical dermatology
- Cosmetic dermatology
- Acne
- Rosacea
- Skin aging and prevention
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Bruce Korf, M.D., Ph.D.
Chief Genomics Officer
Areas of Expertise:
- Genetics
- Ethical issues in genetics
- Precision medicine
- Rare diseases
- Neurofibromatosis-1 (NF-1)
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Helen Krontiras, MD
Areas of Expertise:
- Breast disease-prevention and surgical treatments
- Risk assessment of breast cancer
- Disparities in cancer care and outcomes of breast cancer treatment
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Vineeta Kumar, M.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Nephrology
- Living kidney donation
- Incompatible kidney transplantation
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Robin Lanzi, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Maternal and child health disparities
- Maternal depression
- Adolescent risk-taking behaviors
- Adolescent sexual health behaviors
- Developmental outcomes of children
- Child social and academic development
- Developmental psychology
- Community engaged research
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Nathaniel Lawson, DMD
Areas of Expertise:
- Contemporary dental materials
- Materials research
- Conservative restorative dentistry
- Preventative dentistry
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Rachael Lee, M.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Healthcare epidemiology
- Infection prevention
- Outbreak of infectious disease locally and globally including the flu
- Multi-drug resistant pathogens in relation to infection control
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Cora Lewis, M.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Hypertension
- Hypertension in African Americans
- Body composition
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George Liber, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Soviet, post-Soviet, and East European social history
- 20th century Ukrainian history
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Matthew Macaluso, D.O.
Areas of Expertise:
- Treatment-resistant depression
- Mood disorders
- Psychopharmacology
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James Markert, M.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Neurosurgery
- Treatment of glioma
- Gene therapy viral vectors
- Malignant brain tumors
- Novel therapies for malignant glioma
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Sadis Matalon, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Lung injury
- Effects of chlorine and other harmful gases to the lung
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Tiffany Mayo, M.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Medical dermatology
- Ethnic skin and hair
- Alopecia
- Vitiligo
- Melasma
- Hidradenitis suppurativa
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James McClintock, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Polar marine biology
- Climate change
- Antarctic marine ecology
- Ocean acidification
- Invertebrate zoology
- Marine invertebrate chemical ecology
- Nutrition & reproduction
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Steve McCornack, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Deception and deceptive message production
- Communication in close relationships
- Romantic relationship problems
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Laura McGuinn, M.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Developmental pediatrics
- Behavioral pediatrics
- Autism spectrum disorder
- Learning disabilities in children
- Intellectual disabilities in children
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Dennis McLernon
Areas of Expertise:
- Teaching acting and performance to students and adults
- Directing for the stage
- Teaching acting students to portray patients in a clinical setting
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James Meador-Woodruff, M.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Schizophrenia
- Mood disorders
- Psychiatric education/mentorship
- Cellular alterations of neural circuitry in schizophrenia
- Molecular expression in schizophrenia
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Ben Meadows, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Economics
- Environmental Economics
- Economics of Education
- Housing Markets
- Labor Market Dynamics
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Matthew Might, Ph.D.
Director
Areas of Expertise:
- Precision medicine
- Personalized medicine
- Genetics
- Rare diseases
- Computer science
- Search engine optimization
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Stephen Miller, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- History of capitalism
- Early modern Europe
- French Revolution
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Stephen Mitchell, DMD
Areas of Expertise:
- Dental care for people with autism and sensory integration disorders
- Access issues facing intellectually and developmentally disabled populations
- Pediatric dental care offered under sedation and/or general anesthesia
- Anxiety in dental procedures
- Prevention of oral disease
- Nutrition’s impact on oral health
- Pediatric dentistry
- Alabama Medicaid Dental Program
- Oral health policy
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Amit Momaya, M.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Sports medicine
- Shoulder dislocations
- Shoulder replacement
- Rotator cuff tears
- Hip impingement and labral tears
- ACL injuries
- Meniscus repair
- Cartilage restoration
- PRP and stem cell injections
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Anthony Morlandt, DMD
Areas of Expertise:
- Oral cancer, including tongue, lips, face, throat
- Early detection of cancer
- Salivary gland tumors
- Head and neck skin cancer
- Head and neck microsurgery
- Head and neck reconstruction
- Bone graft surgery
- Facial trauma
- Total jaw reconstruction
- Osteonecrosis of the jaws due to medications (Fosamax, zometa, reclast, etc.) or radiation therapy
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Patrick Murphy, Ph.D.
Goodrich Endowed Chair of Innovation and Entrepreneurship; Harbert Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Areas of Expertise:
- Economic growth and development
- Entrepreneurship and history
- Venture capitalist and angel investing
- Technological innovation and commercialziation
- Social and community enterprises
- Entrepreneurial ecosystems
- Innovation in educational settings
- International entrepreneurship
- Firm culture and performance
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Jeffrey Nix, M.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Cancers including prostate, bladder, testicular, kidney, penile, adrenal
- MRI in prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment
- Robotic surgery
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Nicholas Onken, O.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Myopia control
- Contact lenses
- Binocular vision
- Pediatric optometry
- Optometry services for patients with special needs
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Cynthia Owsley, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Age-related macular degeneration
- Vision and driving
- Improving eye care access and quality for underserved populations
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Henry Panion, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Music technology
- Music production
- Jazz, gospel, classical and popular music
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Gregory Pence, Ph.D.
Director
Areas of Expertise:
- Cloning and assisted reproduction
- Emerging issues in bioethics
- Medical ethics
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Courtney Peterson, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Meal timing
- Circadian rhythms
- Nutrition
- Body mass index
- Obesity research
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Paige Porrett, M.D., Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Kidney Transplantation
- Xenotransplantation
- Uterus Transplantation
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Jonathan Quade, M.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Orthopedic trauma
- Pelvic and acetabular fractures
- Upper extremity fractures
- Lower extremity fractures
- Foot and ankle trauma
- Fracture nonunions and malunions
- Outcomes research
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Soroush Rais-Bahrami, M.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Urologic cancers including prostate, kidney, adrenal, testis, bladder, ureteral, penile
- Robotic surgery
- Advanced imaging for urologic cancers
- Genomic testing for urologic cancers
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Aadia Rana, M.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- HIV/AIDS infection control
- HIV/AIDS research
- Health disparities
- COVID-19
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Samiksha Raut, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Undergraduate STEM education
- Science literacy
- Professional development for STEM professionals
- Service-learning
- Sustainability
- International STEM outreach
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Caroline Reich, M.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Breast cancer
- Early detection of cancer
- Mammography screening
- Women's health
- Radiology
- Breast imaging
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Laura Rogers, MD, MPH, FACP, FACSM
Areas of Expertise:
- internal medicine and obesity
- Exercise in cancer survivors
- Obesity medicine and weight management
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Stephen Russell, M.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Annual physicals
- Primary physician care
- Primary care for adults and children
- Vaccinations
- Urgent care for flu, upper respiratory infections, etc.
- Preventive care for adults
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Kenneth Saag, M.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Rheumatic diseases such as arthritis, gout, osteoporosis
- Osteoporosis diagnosis, treatment and research
- Treatment and research surrounding rheumatic diseases
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Isabel Scarinci, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- HPV vaccines
- Cancer prevention
- Minority health
- Health disparities
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David Schwebel, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Pedestrian safety
- Child injury prevention
- Texting & walking
- Child gun safety
- Playground safety
- Technology-based injury intervention & prevention
- Agricultural injuries including ATV, tractor and farm equipment accidents
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Anath Shalev, M.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Diabetes research, drug discovery, and novel treatment approaches
- Beta cell and islet biology
- Type 1 diabetes
- Type 2 diabetes
- microRNAs
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Samantha J. Shebib, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Interpersonal communication
- Family communication
- Dark side of communication
- Instructional communication
- Health communication
- Advanced Statistics
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Richard Shelton, M.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Depression
- Suicide
- Bipolar disorder
- Mood disorders
- Experimental therapeutics
- Biomarker identification
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Sandra Sims, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Quality physical education programs
- Integrated physical education and health education
- Health & wellness
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Virginia Sisiopiku, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Traffic Planning & Operations
- Transportation Safety
- Pedestrian Behavior & Safety
- Driver Distraction
- Intelligent Transportation Systems
- Sustainable Transportation Systems
- Evacuation Methods
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Tedra Smith, DNP
Areas of Expertise:
- Pediatrics
- Emergency pediatric medicine
- Emergency medicine
- Adolescent health
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Erin Snyder, M.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Women's Health
- Men's Health
- Internal medicine
- Primary care
- Medical education
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Patricia Speck, DNSc, CRNP
Areas of Expertise:
- Child abuse
- Sexual assault
- Domestic violence
- Child abuse prevention
- Domestic violence and sexual assault prevention
- PTSD
- Helping survivors of child abuse, domestic violence or sexual assault recover and thrive
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David Standaert, M.D., Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Movement disorders
- Parkinson’s disease
- Neurodegenerative diseases
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Brian Steele, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- American Revolution and early republic
- Nationalism
- Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln
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Erica Stringer-Reasor, M.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Breast cancer
- Women’s health
- Developmental therapeutics
- Targeted therapies
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Angela Sullivan, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Suicide prevention interventions
- Mental health
- Health behavior
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Steven Theiss, M.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Back, neck and spine orthopaedics
- Spine surgery
- Orthopaedic surgery
- Spinal health
- Spinal trauma
- Spinal cord injury
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S. Justin Thomas
Areas of Expertise:
- Sleep
- Sleep research and treatment
- Sleep trends
- Circadian rhythm
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Mieke Beth Thomeer, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Caregiving around Mental and Physical Health Issues
- Same-sex and Different-sex Marriages in Midlife
- Social and Family Relationships and Health
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Trygve Tollefsbol, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Epigenetics
- Cancer Origin
- Diet and Cancer Prevention
- Gene Regulation
- Underlying Mechanisms of Cancer and Aging
- Novel Therapeutic Approaches to Cancer
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Rodney Tucker, M.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Palliative care in chronic illnesses such as heart failure and HIV
- Palliative and Supportive Care and Hospice
- Patient- and family- centered care and patient experience
- Relieving suffering and quality of life for patients facing serious illnesses, as well as supporting their families
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Jeffery Walker, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Neighborhoods and crime
- Police law
- Computer forensics and investigations
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Eric Wallace, M.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Telehealth
- Nephrology
- Chronic Kidney Disease
- Fabry disease
- Rural Health
- Diabetes
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Stephenie Wallace, M.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Childhood obesity — diagnosing and treatment
- Adolescent health
- Healthy habits for children
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Gary Warner
Director of Research in Computer Forensics
Areas of Expertise:
- Cyber crime
- Malware and phishing
- Spam
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Tara Warner, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Victimization
- Sexual risk-taking
- Neighborhoods
- Substance use
- Gun ownership
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Stephen Watts, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Aquatic and Marine Science
- Aquaculture
- Medical Application of Aquatic Animal Models
- Aquatic Nutrition Science
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Kathy Weise, O.D., MBA, FAAO
Areas of Expertise:
- Pediatric eye care
- Concussions
- Effects of mild traumatic brain injuries
- Ocular injuries
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Brynn Welch, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Social and Political Philosophy
- Biomedical Ethics
- Family Ethics
- Educational Justice
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Richard Whitley, M.D.
Associate Director, Drug Discovery and Development, UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center
Areas of Expertise:
- Pediatric infectious diseases – treatment and prevention
- Herpes virus
- Virology
- Gene therapy
- Pandemic flu
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Jeff Wickliffe, Ph.D.
Chair
Areas of Expertise:
- Environmental health
- Air and water pollution
- Food safety
- Health risk assessment
- Exposure science
- Maternal and child health
- Environmental factors affecting cancer, neurological and neurodevelopmental diseases
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Audra Williams, M.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Abnormal uterine bleeding and fibroids
- Women’s reproductive health
- Family planning
- Sexual health
- Perimenopause and menopause
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Martha Wingate, DrPH
Chair
Areas of Expertise:
- Maternal and child health-public health
- Maternal morbidity and mortality
- Birth outcomes
- Public health systems and policy
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Holly Wyatt, M.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Obesity
- Nutrition
- Metabolism
- Physical activity
- Weight loss and regulation
- Wellness
- Endocrinology
- Internal medicine
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Stephanie Yates, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Financial Education
- Budgeting
- Personal Finance
- Money Management
- Finance for Underserved Communities
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Yusen Zhai, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Mental health
- Telehealth
- Health disparities
- Outcomes research in mental health
- Epidemiology and infectious disease
- Social justice advocacy
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Kristina Zierold, Ph.D.
Areas of Expertise:
- Climate change
- Air pollution
- Coal ash pollution
- Water contamination
- Enviornmental and social justice