Faculty Expert Directory

The College of Community Health Sciences Faculty Expert Directory is a guide to selected faculty, staff, physicians and other health care professionals who are willing to be interviewed and who can provide comments, quotes and expert insight about a wide variety of health and medical news stories and topics.

Alcohol, Tobacco, and Drug Use

Alan Blum, MD, Professor and Gerald Leon Wallace, MD, Endowed Chair – Family, Internal, and Rural Medicine and The Center for the Study of Tobacco and Society The Center for the Study of Tobacco and Society

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Department of Translational Science and Medicine

Meenakshi Arora, PhD Associate Professor

Raghu Ganugula, PhD Assistant Professor

M.N.V. Ravi Kumar, PhD Distinguished University of Alabama Research Professor

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Children and Adolescents

Brian Gannon, MD Assistant Professor — Pediatrics

Marisa Giggie,MD, MAPff, Associate Professor and Behavioral Health Fellowship Director – Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine

Bob McKinney, PhD, MSW, LICSW, C-IAYT, Associate Professor and Director of Case Management and Social Services – Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine

Mercedes Morales-Aleman, PhD, Associate Professor — Community Medicine and Population Health

Thaddeus Ulzen, MD, FRCP©, DFAPA, Professor and Chair – Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine

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Children and Parenting

Caroline Boxmeyer, PhD, Professor and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs – Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine

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Emergency Medicine

Richard Friend, MD, Dean and Professor – Family, Internal, and Rural Medicine

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Geriatrics

Anne Halli-Tierney, MD Assistant Professor — Geriatrics and Family, Internal, and Rural Medicine

Grier Stewart, MD, CMD, FACP Associate Professor & Internal Medicine Clerkship Director — Family, Internal, and Rural Medicine; Geriatrics

Thomas Weida, MD Professor and Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs – Family, Internal, and Rural Medicine; Chief Medical Officer – University Medical Center

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Health and Medicine

Jane Weida, MD, FAAFP Professor – Family, Internal, and Rural Medicine

Thomas Weida, MD Professor and Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs – Family, Internal, and Rural Medicine; Chief Medical Officer – University Medical Center

John R. Wheat, MD, MPH Professor — Family, Internal, and Rural Medicine

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Health Care Policy

Thomas Weida, MD Professor and Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs – Family, Internal, and Rural Medicine; Chief Medical Officer – University Medical Center

Lea Yerby, PhD Associate Professor — Community Medicine and Population Health

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Infectious Disease

Brian Gannon, MD Assistant Professor — Pediatrics

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Learning Disorders

Caroline Boxmeyer, PhD Professor and Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs — Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine

Brian Gannon, MD Assistant Professor — Pediatrics

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Medical Education

John E. Burkhardt II, PsyD, NRHSP Assistant Professor and Clinical Psychologist — Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine

Nathan Culmer, PhD Assistant Professor and Director of Academic Technologies and Faculty Development — Medical Education

Richard Friend, MD Dean and Professor — Family, Internal, and Rural Medicine

Heather Taylor, MD Professor — Pediatrics

Thaddeus Ulzen, MD, FRCP(C), DFAPA Professor and Chair – Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine

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Medical Insurance

Thomas Weida, MD Professor and Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs – Family, Internal, and Rural Medicine; Chief Medical Officer – University Medical Center

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Neurology

Catherine Ikard, MD Assistant Professor and Neurology Clerkship Director — Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine

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Psychology and Mental Health

Caroline Boxmeyer, PhD Professor and Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs — Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine

John E. Burkhardt II, PsyD, NRHSP Assistant Professor and Clinical Psychologist — Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine

Marisa Giggie, MD, MAPff Associate Professor and Behavioral Health Fellowship Director — Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine

Catherine Ikard, MD Assistant Professor and Neurology Clerkship Director — Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine

Bob McKinney, PhD, MSW, LICSW, C-IAYT Associate Professor and Director of Case Management and Social Services – Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine

Thaddeus Ulzen, MD, FRCP(C), DFAPA Professor and Chair – Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine

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Rural Health

Marisa Giggie, MD, MAPff Associate Professor and Behavioral Health Fellowship Director — Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine

Mercedes Morales-Aleman, PhD Associate Professor — Community Medicine and Population Health & Institute for Rural Health Research

Catherine Lavender, MD Professor — Family, Internal, and Rural Medicine

John R. Wheat, MD, MPH Professor — Family, Internal, and Rural Medicine

Lea Yerby, PhD Associate Professor — Community Medicine and Population Health

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Sports Medicine

Brett Bentley, MD Associate Professor and Physician — Sports Medicine

Ray Stewart, MD Assistant Professor and Physician — Sports Medicine

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Telehealth

Nathan Culmer, PhD Assistant Professor and Director of Academic Technologies and Faculty Development — Medical Education

Thaddeus Ulzen, MD, FRCP(C), DFAPA Professor and Chair – Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine

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Vaccinations

Brian Gannon, MD Assistant Professor — Pediatrics

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Wellness

Alan Blum, MD Professor and Gerald Leon Wallace, MD, Endowed Chair – Family, Internal, and Rural Medicine and The Center for the Study of Tobacco and Society The Center for the Study of Tobacco and Society

Karen Burgess, MD Professor and Chair — Pediatrics

John E. Burkhardt II, PsyD, NRHSP Assistant Professor and Clinical Psychologist — Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine

Nathan Culmer, PhD Assistant Professor and Director of Academic Technologies and Faculty Development — Medical Education

Suzanne Henson, RD Assistant Professor and Dietitian — Family, Internal, and Rural Medicine

Lea Yerby, PhD Associate Professor — Community Medicine and Population Health

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Women’s Health

John McDonald, MD Associate Professor and Chair — Obstetrics and Gynecology