Stephen C. Alder, PhD, MBA
Professor Alder is a Health Ecologist specializing in community-based health development. He has a background as a clinical research and biostatistical methodoligist. His doctoral training emphasized individual and group health behavior change. His research experience includes developing theorty-based health behavior change interventions aimed at public health issues such as reducing unnecessary antibiotic... Read More
Research Interests: Global Health and Development, Community Engagement, Health Ecology, Leadership and Administration, Community-Based Primary Healthcare, Integrating Public Health & Clinical Medicine, Health Behavior, Health Policy, Health & Medical Innovation and Entrepreneurism, and Biostatistical, Epidemiological & Research Methods
Kelly G. Baron, PhD, MPH, CBSM
Dr. Baron is involved in sleep research as well as providing non-drug treatment for sleep disorders. In the clinic, she provides Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I), the most effective treatment for chronic insomnia. She also delivers cognitive and behavioral treatment for other sleep disorders including circadian disorders, problems using CPAP treatment in sleep apnea, nightmares, sleep walking and coping with disorders of excessive sleepiness such as narcolepsy.
Research Interests: Circadian Rhythms Disruption and Obesity, Technology-Assisted Interventions for Sleep, Non-Pharmacologic Treatments for Sleep Disorders in Medical Populations, Couples and Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP)
Benjamin Brown, MD, MPH
Benjamin Brown, M.D, M.P.H. is a board-certified family medicine physician. He received a bachelor's degree in Biochemistry from Utah State University and attended medical school at the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vermont. Following medical school, he attended the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health where he earned a Masters of Public Health with a focus in social and behavioral health. He completed his residency training in Family Medicine at the University of Utah.
Dr. Brown divides his time between working as a clinical physician in addition to pursuing research interests with the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine. His research interests include immigrant health, health disparities, and disease prevention. Dr. Brown also has interests in mindfulness and lifestyle approaches to improve one's health.
Rachel Ceballos, PhD
Dr. Rachel Ceballos is an Associate Professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at the University of Utah, Senior Director for Community Outreach and Engagement at the Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI), is a member of the Cancer Control and Population Sciences Program at HCI, and holds a Huntsman Cancer Institute Endowed Chair in Cancer Research.
Her areas of research include understanding the psychological and social impact of cancer, especially in communities that experience unequal health outcomes. She has experience working with rural, African American, Native American, and Latino communities, is committed to the practice of community engagement at all levels of the research process, and co-learning between researchers and the communities we serve.
Prior to arriving at the University of Utah and HCI, she was an Associate Professor in the Division of Public Health Sciences at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and an Affiliate Associate Professor in the Department of Health Systems and Population Health at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA.
Susan E. Cochella, MD, MPH
Susan E. W. Cochella, M.D., M.P.H., is a board certified family medicine physician who specializes in full spectrum care for patients of all ages. She received her medical degree from the University of Nevada, completed residency at the University of Utah, as well as a faculty development fellowship and master’s in public health... Read More
Research Interests: Care of children, adolescents and young families
Teresa DeAtley, PhD, MPH
Teresa (Tess) DeAtley, PhD, MPH, is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Public Health. She is a social and behavioral scientist with expertise in tobacco regulatory science and tobacco-related health disparities. In addition, she explores the impact of smoking on comorbid disease conditions such as mental health and HIV/TB infection. Methodologically, Dr. DeAtley specializes in utilizing mixed method approaches to answer biopsychosocial research questions.
Dr. DeAtley received her bachelor’s degree in public health at the College of William and Mary. She earned her Master of Public Health degree and a Certificate in Global Tobacco Control from Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, and her PhD from Brown University in the Department of Behavioral and Social Health Sciences. Dr. DeAtley was a pre-doctoral fellow for the Population Reference Bureau's U.S. Policy Communication Training Program and the Brown Population Studies and Training Center. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine. Dr. DeAtley has held research positions at the World Health Organization, the Truth Initiative, and the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids.
Michael C. Flynn, MD
Michael Flynn, M.D., is a board-certified physician specializing in pediatrics and internal medicine. He received his bachelor of science degree in bio-engineering from the University of Colorado in 1994, and obtained his medical degree from the University of Texas in 2000. He completed a pediatric and internal medicine internship at the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York in 2001, and finished his residency in 2004. Dr. Flynn became board-certified with the American Board of Pediatrics and the American Board of Internal Medicine in 2004.
Research Interests: Patient education and resident training.
Katherine T. Fortenberry, PhD
She is currently an Associate Professor (Clinical) in the University of Utah Division of Family Medicine, where she serves as the Behavioral Science Education Director and sees patients at the Madsen and Sugarhouse Family Clinics. Her overall goal is to promote effective treatment of mental and behavioral health concerns in primary care settings by: 1) educating family physicians and other healthcare professionals to effectively utilize behavior change principles and maintain their own self-care; 2) training psychology and medical trainees to effectively work in an interdisciplinary environment; 3) increasing access to high quality care through improving behavioral health services and reducing barriers to care.
Research Interests: She is currently focusing on translating research to improving care for individuals with comorbid diabetes and mental health conditions, including substance use disorders, in the primary setting. Additionally, she guides Family Medicine residents in developing and disseminating clinic quality improvement (CQI) projects.
Steven Godin, PhD, MPH
Steven Godin received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the APA approved program at the Illinois Institute of Technology. He also received training and supervision from the faculty at the New Jersey Family Therapy Institute. He was licensed to practice clinical psychology in New Jersey from 1991 to 2017. From 1991 until 2001, he practiced family and marital therapy at the Associates in Psychological Services in Somerville, NJ. He also specialized in health psychology (risk behavior reduction), as well as sports psychology (performance anxiety and peak performance).
Research Interests: Primary Care Research; Health Disparities; Community Engaged Research
Lisa H. Gren, PhD
My overall research goal is to identify the right type of care needed to improve health, and deliver it to the right person at the right time. My clinical trials work is focused on finding the right type of care, and has resulted in (1) changes to the United States Preventive Services Task Force recommendations on cancer screening and... Read More
Research Interests: Global Health; Primary Care Research; Health Disparities; Community Engaged Research; Cancer Epidemiology & Prevention
Tiffany Ho, MD, MPH, FAAFP
Tiffany Ho MD MPH FAAFP is a board certified family medicine physician who also practices obstetrics as well as inpatient medicine. She's originally from San Jose, California and has hopped to various cities for training. She studied Neuroscience with a minor in Geriatrics at UCLA then moved to Baltimore to attend Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and School of Public Health. Following that she migrated to sunny Seattle where she trained at Swedish Cherry Hill Family Medicine Residency with a focus on Integrative Medicine. Dr. Ho join the University of Utah Department of Family and Preventive Medicine when the Sugarhouse Primary Care clinic opened up in 2020. Her areas of interest include community orientated primary care, LGBTQ+ care including gender affirming care, women's health (including prenatal care), mental health and increasing student interest to purse family medicine. In her free time she enjoys experimenting with sourdough, climbing, and exploring new food or outdoor adventures.
Shahpar Najmbadi, PhD, MPH, MS
Shahpar Najmabadi is a Research Assistant Professor for the Division of Public Health. As a public health professional and researcher with a clinical background, she is intensely interested in improved outcomes for reproductive health. Her research focuses on advancing evidence-based health care that decreases preventable mortality and morbidity and enhances life-long well-being of medically underserved women. Her current research focuses on menstrual cycle biomarkers as an indicator of reproductive issues. She is also interested in healthcare workforce research, and her research helps advocate for policies that promote fairness in the US healthcare system.
Ivette López, PhD, MPH
Ivette Amelia López is a Professor of Public Health at University of Utah Department of Family and Preventive Medicine. She is also the Deputy Director of the Utah Area Health Education Centers. Dr. López was born and raised in Caguas, Puerto Rico, and came to the United States mainland to pursue an advanced education. She is, and has been for over two decades, a dedicated professional in pursuit of... Read More
Research Interests: Latino health, Latina and African American women’s health, community-based mixed research and pedagogy, cultural humility, health literacy, and racial and ethnic disparities in higher education and health academic faculty/administration.
Christy A. Porucznik, PhD, MSPH
Her area of research interest is in appropriately timing measurement of exposures. In the environmental domain, she studies endocrine disruptors and reproductive endpoints including fertility, pregnancy outcomes, and breastfeeding. Her other primary focus area is on prescription medications, primarily opioids, and the impact of policy changes on drug dispensing and adverse events. Read More
Research Interests: Primary Care Research; Reproductive & Women's Health; Life Course Epidemiology & Health; Substance Abuse and Policy
Susan Saffel-Shrier, MS, RD
Susan Saffel-Shrier, MS, RD, CD, is a registered dietician and certified gerontologist, and currently serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine and Adjunct Associate Professor in the Division of Nutrition at the University of Utah. Susan provides both general nutrition services and geriatric nutrition as part of the Senior Clinic at the Sugar House Health Center. In addition to partnering with patients to pursue healthy lifestyles, she provides nutrition care for patients with chronic diseases including diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and weight issues. She offers both individual and group appointments for diabetes and weight management. Read More
Research Interests: Global Health; Primary Care Research; Community Engaged Research
Karen C. Schliep, PhD, MSPH
Through my training, I have developed a solid foundation in reproductive epidemiology. My research to date has centered on determining the impact of diet, lifestyle, and psychosocial factors on premenopausal women’s reproductive health, including sex steroid synthesis and gynecologic pathology. My prior research has led me to my current research focus investigating differences in chronic disease pathogenesis between men and women, specifically as... Read More
Research Interests: Reproductive & Women's Health; Life Course Epidemiology & Health
Kimberley Shoaf, DrPH, MPH
Over the course of my academic career, I have been a practice-based public health systems and services researcher utilizing mixed-methods. Much of my research has focused on the field of emergency public health and the development of the health workforce. Over the past 20 years, I have been the Principle Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator on numerous grants conducting both research and training activities relevant to public health emergencies and disasters both domestically and internationally. My research has focused on two main areas, identifying and quantifying the health impacts of a variety of hazards and connecting the... Read More
Research Interests: Global Health; Health Professions Workforce; Health Professions Education & Mentoring; Health Disparities; Community Engaged Research; Emergency Preparedness & Disasters
Joseph B. Stanford, MD, MSPH
I seek to understand and improve the impact of reproductive health on child health and development. Since 1991, I have conducted research in natural family planning, natural procreative technology, reproductive epidemiology, and life course epidemiology, including serving as principal investigator or co-investigator for five preconception cohort studies. I am currently principal investigator for the Utah Children's Project, a cohort to investigate... Read More
Research Interests: Reproductive & Women's Health; Environmental Health; Life Course Epidemiology & Health
Research Websites
James A. VanDerslice, PhD
James VanDerslice, MSEE, PhD, is an environmental epidemiologist who focuses on methods to assess community exposures and the relationships between these exposures and a wide variety of health outcomes. He is currently working on studies of the impacts of poor ambient air quality on... Read More
Research Interests: Global Health; Community Engaged Research; Environmental Health; Life Course Epidemiology & Health
