Research

Public Health Faculty Research Highlights

Public Health faculty engage in a variety of scholarly activities, including academic research, frequently in collaboration with students. The projects described below are in varying stages; Students interested in getting involved with academic research with Public Health faculty should contact the sponsoring faculty member directly to discuss research opportunities.

Bernard Appiah:

Dr. Bernard Appiah’s research focuses on:

  • Design, implementation or evaluation of drama, mass media and mobile health interventions.
  • Public or community engagement approaches for addressing health challenges, including inadequate blood donation
  • Media coverage of public health issues.
  • Pharmaceutical health services issues including medication adherence, antimicrobial resistance reporting of adverse drug reactions and vaccination.
  • Global health.

Keywords: health communication, public engagement, pharmaceutical health services, global health.

Dessa Bergen-Cico:

Dr. Bergen-Cico’s research examines:

  • The impact of violence, conflict and trauma on substance use and addictive behaviors
  • Mindfulness-based practices and complementary health strategies for addiction and trauma
  • Neural mechanisms of change underlying mindfulness-based practices
  • Mindfulness-based interventions for self-regulation of opioid cravings

Keywords: Addictive behaviors, complementary health, mindfulness-based practices, neuroscience, psychoactive drugs

Luvenia Cowart:

Dr. Cowart’s research examines:

  • Minority Health and Health Disparities Prevention
  • Health Promotion through demonstration projects in non-traditional community-based settings (e.g., churches, barbershops and housing facilities).
  • Culturally Competent Health Care, Health Literacy

Keywords: Health Disparities Prevention, Culturally Competent Health Care, Health Literacy

Brooks Gump:

Dr. Gump’s research examines:

  • Environmental toxicants (e.g., lead) and cardiovascular disease risk in children
  • Stress and disease
  • Vacationing behavior and health

Keywords: Environmental Health, Stress and Disease, Health Disparities, Children

Bryce Hruska:

Dr. Hruska’s research examines:

  • Occupational stress and mental health
  • Traumatic stress/PTSD and associated risk and protective factors
  • Recovery experiences/activities and their relationship to physical and mental health
  • Intensive longitudinal methods

Keywords: Trauma, Occupation and Health, Health Data Analytics

Brittany Kmush:

Dr. Kmush’s research examines:

  • Maternal and child health
  • Infectious diseases in low-income settings, currently focusing on Hepatitis E Virus
  • Playing style and brain injuries in professional athletes

Keywords: Global Health, Infectious Diseases, Sport and Health

Sandra Lane:

Dr Lane’s research examines health disparities in vulnerable populations in the following areas:

  • Neighborhood violence and trauma
  • Maternal, child and family disparities, especially during pregnancy
  • Lead poisoning policy and prevention

Keywords: Community Health, Health Disparities, Maternal and Child Health

David Larsen:

Dr. Larsen’s research examines:

  • Infectious disease surveillance using wastewater
  • The epidemiology and control of mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue, and zika
  • Spatial epidemiology

Keywords: Infectious Diseases, Wastewater surveillance, Global Health

Katherine McDonald:

Dr. McDonald’s research examines:

  • The responsible inclusion of adults with intellectual disability in health research
  • Community-engaged research to address disparities in health and its social determinants among people with disabilities

Keywords: Community-Campus Partnerships for Health, Health Disparities, Responsible Conduct of Research

Miriam Mutambudzi

Dr. Mutambudzi’s research examines:

  • Occupational epidemiology and psychosocial factors in the workplace
  • Chronic disease and life course epidemiology
  • Health disparities and social determinants of health
  • Aging and health

Keywords: Chronic Disease, Occupational Health, Aging, Health Disparities.

Lutchmie Narine:

Dr. Narine’s research examines:

  • Social determinants of health in a global context
  • Social and health determinants of domestic violence
  • Methodology, evaluation, and pedagogy
  • Healthcare management and policy
  • Cost-effectiveness of pharmaceutical drugs
  • Health and housing disparities.

Keywords: Global Health, Health Policy

Bhavneet Walia:

Dr. Walia’s research uses secondary datasets and health econometric models to examine:

  • Early child health interventions and cognitive development
  • Mortality and behavioral effects of chronic traumatic encephalopathy and related neurodegenerative diseases
  • Health industry economics; industrial organization of health care industry and subsequent health outcomes

Keywords: Health Data Analytics, Immigrant Health, Sport and Health.