Health — ��ϲ��

Ellyn Riley

Daryl Lovell — Thu, 30 Mar 2023 15:34:55 +0000

Dr. Riley’s research lab focuses on improving treatments for aphasia, a language disorder primarily caused by stroke. In the Aphasia Lab, we use behavioral and physiological measures, applied linguistic theory, and neuromodulation techniques to study language and cognitive factors, changes in neurophysiology, and communicative barriers that can influence recovery for persons with aphasia. Our goal is to improve recovery outcomes and quality of life for persons with aphasia and their families.

Bernard Appiah

Valerie Pietra — Fri, 10 Dec 2021 19:25:27 +0000

Bernard Appiah joined the Public Health Department as assistant professor in fall 2020. He is director of the Research Program on Health Communication and Public Engagement (H-COPE) within the Public Health Department. H-COPE has research collaborations in New York state, nationally and globally.

Prior to joining ��ϲ��, Appiah was assistant professor at Texas A&M University’s School of Public Health in the Departments of Environmental and Occupational Health and Public Health Studies. He was the founding director of the Research Program on Public and International Engagement for Health.

Previously, Appiah served as a drug information pharmacist/publications manager at the National Drug Information Resource Centre (NDIRC) for the Ministry of Health in Ghana. He has taught courses such as environmental and occupational health communication, social context of population health, and comparative global health systems.

Sara Vasilenko

Valerie Pietra — Fri, 10 Dec 2021 19:20:21 +0000

Dr. Vasilenko’s research focuses on adolescence and young adult health and well-being, with a focus on sexual behavior. Her work on this topic is inspired by both health risk and normative developmental perspectives. She is particularly interested in understanding what factors lead to better sexual health and well-being for individuals at different stages of the lifespan, as well as how sexual behavior is associated with physical, mental, and social health outcomes. In addition to these substantive interests, she also has a strong interest in developmental methodology, including longitudinal analysis and person-centered approaches. She has served as a Principal or Co-Investigator on multiple grants from the National Institutes of Health and other sources. She currently is a consulting editor of the Journal of Research on Adolescence and on the editorial board of Applied Developmental Science.

Dr. Vasilenko holds a Ph.D. Human Development and Family Studies from Pennsylvania State University, M.S. Human Development and Family Studies from Pennsylvania State University, and BA. English (Writing Emphasis) from Kalamazoo College.

Stefanie Pilkay

Valerie Pietra — Fri, 10 Dec 2021 19:18:12 +0000

Stefanie Pilkay is an associate professor of social work at ��ϲ��’s School of Education. Before joining ��ϲ��, Pilkay served as an adjunct lecturer at both Yeshiva University’s Wurzweiler School of Social Work in New York, NY since 2018 and the University of Tennessee, College of Social Work in Knoxville, TN since 2015, teaching research methodology, trauma theory and practice, lifespan and neurophysiological development, and human behavior in the social environment. She was also a postdoctoral fellow at the Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics in Atlanta, GA since 2017. She has served as a court-appointed special advocate for Anderson County Tennessee Juvenile Court. In 2014, she was a forensic social worker for the Community Law Office, Knox County Public Defender’s Office.

Miriam Mutambudzi

Valerie Pietra — Fri, 10 Dec 2021 19:15:14 +0000

Miriam Mutambudzi in an assistant professor in the Public Health Department, and research affiliate in the Center for Aging and Policy Studies (CAPS), the Aging Studies Institute, and the Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion and Population Health at ��ϲ��.

Mutambudzi’s research is focused on three main subpopulations in the U.S, U.K. and Europe: older adults, the workforce and vulnerable groups (race/ethnic minorities, immigrants, refugees). She uses longitudinal data to assess how social and structural determinants of health impact onset and progression of chronic diseases, functional and cognitive health, work-related health outcomes, and mortality across the life course.

Lisa Olson-Gugerty

Valerie Pietra — Fri, 10 Dec 2021 19:12:27 +0000

Lisa Olson-Gugerty teaches undergraduate courses that focus on health promotion, health and disease, and health care administration. She is a family nurse practitioner and maintains an outside practice as an emergency health care provider at a regional community health care center.

Catherine García

Valerie Pietra — Fri, 10 Dec 2021 19:09:26 +0000

Catherine García joined the Department of Human Development and Family Science as an Assistant Professor in fall 2021 teaching classes in Midlife Development and Gerontology. Prior to joining ��ϲ��, García was an Assistant Professor of Sociology and core faculty member of the Minority Health Disparities Initiative (MHDI) at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln where she taught quantitative methods and served as a faculty mentor for the MHDI Summer Research Program.

García’s research focuses on Latina/o/x aging and health in the United States and Puerto Rico, applying multidisciplinary approaches to understand how the interaction of biological, environmental, and social factors influence the disease process among older Latina/o/x adults. Her research work has led to 15 peer-reviewed publications and two book chapters, including multiple manuscripts in The Gerontologist and The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences.

Jessica Garay

Valerie Pietra — Fri, 10 Dec 2021 19:01:13 +0000

Jessica Garay joined the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies in 2018. Dr. Garay’s research interests center on the short- and long-term effects of adolescent and adult health behaviors, with a focus on dietary patterns (including dietary supplement use) and physical activity. Currently, Dr. Garay has two active areas of funded research: the effect of stress on health behaviors during pregnancy and the relationship between dietary intake, body composition, and exercise performance among female athletes. Dr. Garay’s work has been published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology, Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise, the American Journal of Human Biology, and Current Biomarker Findings, among others. She has presented at the International Society of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity Conference and the NYS Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (NYSAND) Annual Meeting. Dr. Garay teaches NSD 225: Nutrition in Health, NSD 343: Dietary Supplements, NSD 425/625: Nutrition for Fitness and Sports, and NSD 457: Research & Evaluation in Nutrition. Dr. Garay is the recipient a 2016 Emerging Dietetic Leader Award from the NYSAND and currently serves as its public policy coordinator. She also currently serves as a lead evidence analyst for the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics’ Evidence Analysis Library. Previously, Dr. Garay worked at Utica College as an assistant professor of biology: physiology & nutrition since 2016. From 2010-2016, she was an adjunct instructor at ��ϲ�� and has held positions at Onondaga Community College and George Washington University. She has worked as a practicing dietitian at the Washington Cancer Institute and Food Bank of Central New York.

Maria T. Brown

Michele Barrett — Fri, 19 Jul 2019 18:08:18 +0000

Maria Brown is an Associate Research Professor in the School of Social Work, and a 2008-2010 John A. Hartford Foundation Doctoral Fellow in Geriatric Social Work. She earned a Ph.D. from ��ϲ��’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Her dissertation, entitled, “Psychiatric history and cognition trajectories in later life: variations by sex, race and ethnicity, and childhood disadvantage,” examined the relationship between psychiatric history and cognitive function in later life.

Peter A. Vanable

Keith Kobland — Tue, 14 Feb 2017 16:00:19 +0000

Professor Peter Vanable’s research focuses on psychological aspects of health and illness, with an emphasis on behavioral aspects of HIV/AIDS. Current projects include studies designed to characterize the coping challenges and experiences of men and women who are living with HIV disease, as well as studies that evaluate the effectiveness of interventions to reduce high risk sexual behavior. Professor Vanable’s interests also include the prevention and treatment of addictive behaviors.

Representative Publications

Vanable, P.A., Carey, M.P., Brown, J.L., Littlewood, R., & Blair, D.C. What HIV+ MSM Want from Sexual Risk Reduction Interventions: Findings from a Qualitative Study (2012). AIDS and Behavior, 16, 554-563.

Brown, J. & Vanable, P.A. (2008). Stress Management Interventions for Persons Living with HIV: A Review and Critique of the Literature. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 35, 26-40.

Littlewood, R.A., Vanable, P.A., Carey, M.P., & Blair, D.C. (2008). Impact of Benefit Finding on Psychological Adjustment and Health Behavior Adaptation among HIV+ Women. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 31, 145-155.

Vanable, P.A., McKirnan, D.J., MacQueen, K. Bartholow, B., Buchbinder, S, Douglas, J. & Judson, F. (2004). Alcohol use and high-risk sexual behavior among men who have sex with men: The effects of consumption level and partner type. Health Psychology, 23, 525-532.

Vanable, P.A., Carey, M.P., Blair, D., & Littlewood (2006). Impact of HIV-Related Stigma on Health Behaviors and Psychological Adjustment Among HIV-Positive Men and Women. AIDS and Behavior, 10, 473-482.

Vanable P.A., Carey, M.P. Bostwick, R.A., Romer, D. DiClemente, R., Stanton, B., Valois, R.F., & Brown, L. (2008). Community partnerships in HIV prevention research: The example of Project iMMPACS. Chapter in B. Stanton et al. (Eds)., The uncharted path from clinic-based to community-based research (pp. 155-174). Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science.

Vanable, P.A., Carey, M.P., Brown, J. L., DiClemente, R., Salazar, L., Brown, L., Romer, D., Valois, R. Hennessy, M., & Stanton, B. (2009). Test-Retest Reliability of Self-Reported HIV/STD-related Measures Among African-American Adolescents in Four U.S. Cities. Journal of Adolescent Health, 4, 214-221.

Dessa Bergen-Cico

Leibowitz Vendor Account — Mon, 28 Nov 2016 20:27:24 +0000

Dessa Bergen-Cico is a professor in the Public Health Department, coordinator of the Addiction Studies program and faculty in the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program at ��ϲ��. She holds a research appointment at the ��ϲ�� Veterans Administration Medical Center for Integrative Healthcare and is a fellow of the American Academy of Health Care Providers in the Addictive Disorders.

Bergen-Cico is a Certified Addiction Specialist (CAS), Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) and a Certified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Teacher. She completed MBSR Teacher Training through the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

Bergen-Cico has been selected twice as a Fulbright Scholar (Republic Georgia and Thailand) and was selected as a Rotary Peace Fellow in the International Rotary Peace Program at Chulalongkorn University in Thailand.

Health — ���ϲ�����