CURRENT TRAINEES
2024 Trainees
Carolina Gonçalves, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Dr. Gonçalves is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Vanderbilt University. She received her PhD in Child Development from Tufts University. She is an applied developmental psychologist with research interests in identifying factors and processes that foster positive health and well-being of immigrant youth residing in the United States. Her long-term research goal is to optimize individual and system-level mechanisms to enhance the psychological and physical health of Black immigrants by disentagling the complexities within Black immigrant experiences in the U.S.
Erin Von Klein, MD
Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellow
Dr. Von Klein is a third-year Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellow at Vanderbilt University, committed to pursuing a career in academic medicine focused on health equity and neonatal outcomes following fellowship. She received her medical degree from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and completed her residency program at Northwestern. Dr. Von Klein is interested in exploring the long term economic, psychosocial, and physical health ramifications of having a preterm infant on the family unit.
Emily Moore, MD
Infectious Diseases Fellow
Dr. Moore is an Infectious Diseases fellow at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She received her MD from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, and completed Internal Medicine residency training at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, MA as a member of the Division of General Medicine's primary care track and its Leadership for Health Equity Pathway. Dr. Moore is interested in the use of implementation science as a rigorous way to provide excellent medical care to vulnerable patients in a way that fits into the context of their lives, specifically people living with or at risk for HIV and viral hepatitis with comorbid substance use disorders. Her T32 research is focused on mapping the hepatitis C care continuum at a local office-based opioid treatment clinic in order to optimize hepatitis C treatment.
Youngmin Kwon, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Health Policy
Dr. Kwon is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Health Policy. He received his PhD in Health Services Research and Policy at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Kwon's research broadly seeks to optimize the delivery of cancer care within public insurance programs, including Medicaid and Medicare. His T32 research will incorporate analyses of cancer registries and large claims data to examine various care access and quality challenges that impact diagnosed with cancer throughout care continuum.
2023 Trainees
Christine Cleary Kimpel, PhD, RN, MA
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Nursing
Dr. Kimpel is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Vanderbilt University. She attended Kent State University, earning her BSN and MA in philosophy, focusing on healthcare ethics. Several end-of-life patient experiences as a burn and palliative care nurse motivated her to complete a Ph.D. in Nursing Science at the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing. Dr. Kimpel’s research centers around patient and family autonomy and equity for marginalized populations. Her current work explores associations of resilience and childhood experiences with advance care planning among affordable housing residents to build tailored interventions and implementation strategies.
Joseph Starnes, MD, MPH
Pediatric Cardiology Fellow
Dr. Starnes is a Pediatric Cardiology Fellow at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He received his MD and MPH from the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He then completed residency in Pediatrics, including the global health training program, at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. Dr. Starnes’s research focuses on racial and global disparities in the care of children with heart disease. His current research project aims to quantify racial disparities in the efficacy of pulse oximetry screening for critical congenital heart disease and create improved screening algorithms to improve equity.
Nadia Syed, DO
Pediatric Hematology & Oncology Fellow
Dr. Syed is a Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Fellow at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. She received her DO at A.T. Still Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine. She completed her residency training at the University of Texas at Houston, then stayed an additional year to serve as Chief Resident. Dr. Syed's research is focused on identifying health disparities in pediatric oncology patients receiving cancer treatment in the setting of increasing financial cost with advancements in therapy. Her current research project will focus on better understanding how social determinants of health, insurance status, and financial toxicity impact outcomes for children with cancer in order to develop an evidence-based approach to improve cancer health equity in the pediatric population.
2022 Trainees
Michael Cauley, PhD, DMin
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Emergency Medicine Research
Michael R. Cauley, PhD, DMin, is an interdisciplinary scholar specializing in relationships between people, organizations, and systems. His research has focused on theory development between the clinician’s caring role and charting and measuring clinical documentation burden. Current projects focus on elucidating non-routine events in interhospital transfers and their emergence in documentation to improve patient safety. Other areas of interest include documentation needs of organizational systems, how those needs change clinician behavior, and further theory development of clinician well-being and retention. Before transitioning to a career in research, Dr. Cauley was a teaching faculty member at universities in the Midwest and Southeast, where he taught courses in philosophy, mission, and leadership. Dr. Cauley also has a professional background as a practical theologian, including multiple graduate degrees in religion, and is an Air Force chaplain. He also serves as a member of the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation’s Expert Board Advisory on Culture, Communication, and Clinician Well-being and the Academy of Management’s Health Care Management Practice Committee.
PROGRAM ALUMNI
2022 Trainees
Emily Morrow, PhD, CCC-SLP
Research Assistant Professor, Division of General Internal Medicine and Public Health
Dr. Morrow is a former PROgRESS T32 Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She received her clinical Master’s degree in speech-language pathology and Ph.D. in speech & hearing sciences from Vanderbilt University. She is a certified speech-language pathologist with experience in acute care, inpatient rehabilitation, and outpatient care and holds specialty certification in traumatic brain injury. Dr. Morrow’s research interests lie in managing chronic disability and improving long-term outcomes for people with a history of traumatic brain injury. Her T32 project focused on measuring and designing interventions to improve memory, learning, and functional rehabilitation outcomes in the chronic phase of traumatic brain injury.
2021 Trainees
Shelley Jazowski, PhD, MPH
Assistant Professor, Department of Social Sciences and Health Policy, Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Dr. Jazowski is a former PROgRESS T32 Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She received an MPH and PhD in Health Policy and Management from the University of Michigan School of Public Health and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health, respectively. Dr. Jazowski’s T32 research focused on the cost and utilization of anticancer therapies, as well as the identification and assessment of interventions to improve access to and equity of cancer care.
Nadia Markie Sneed, PhD, MSN, FNP-BC
Assistant Professor, School of Nursing
Dr. Sneed is a former PROgRESS T32 Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Vanderbilt University. She attended the University of Tennessee in Knoxville where she completed her undergraduate training in nutrition. She then went on to pursue a career in nursing and attended Samford University in Birmingham where she earned her BSN and MSN. She attended the University of Alabama, Birmingham where she earned her PhD in nursing. Dr. Sneed is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner with experience in primary and urgent care. Dr. Sneed’s T32 research focused on the development and implementation of family-centered and community-based dietary lifestyle interventions for prediabetes management/reversal and multi-generational prevention of type 2 diabetes in low-income and minority populations.
Kevin Gibas, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Associate Medical Director for Hospital Epidemiology and Infection Prevention
Dr. Gibas is a former Infectious Diseases Fellow at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He received his BLA and MD from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Dr. Gibas went on to complete his internship and residency in Internal Medicine, as well as a Global Health training program, at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Gibas’s research focused on health disparities in HIV diagnoses. His T32 research project sought to identify demographic and geographic factors associated with delays in HIV diagnoses and to identify barriers and facilitators to early, frequent HIV testing among disparity groups.
Thomas Strayer, PhD
Manager, Research Programs
Dr. Strayer completed his Postdoctoral Research Fellowship within the Center of Quality Aging at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He received his Ph.D. in Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health (Focus: Implementation Science) from Virginia Tech. Dr. Strayer has a keen interest in the planning and implementation of health interventions in both clinical and community settings. This interest has led to Dr. Strayer serving as a member of the Steering Committee for the National Working Group on RE-AIM Planning and Evaluation Framework. His T32 research investigated the implementation strategies surrounding a patient-centered deprescribing study in hospitalized older adults.
2020 Trainees
Alison Carroll, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor, Pediatric Hospital Medicine
Dr. Carroll completed her Pediatric Hospital Medicine Fellowship at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the PROgRESS T32 program. She graduated from Davidson College with a BS degree in Psychology. She completed her MD at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill followed by her pediatrics residency and chief residency also at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Carroll’s research interests are in health disparities and transitions of care in hospitalized children. Her T32 research project sought to reduce medication errors among young children following hospitalization through the use of a health literacy-informed communication intervention.
Shani Jones, MD
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Miami
Dr. Jones is a former Academic General Pediatrics Fellow and Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She is currently an Assistant Professor in Pediatrics at the University of Miami., where she will continue her scholarly work to improve the health of underserved pediatric populations by addressing social determinants of health through education and diversity initiatives. She attended the University of Miami for her undergraduate degree and received her MD from the University of Florida College of Medicine. She completed her pediatrics residency at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. Dr. Jones’s T32 research focused on utilizing community-engaged interventions and implementation science to decrease healthcare disparities in childhood obesity and nutrition.
Jennifer Richmond, PhD, MSPH
Assistant Professor, Department of Social Sciences and Health Policy, Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Dr. Richmond is a former PROgRESS T32 Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health, where she completed her undergraduate degree and earned an MSPH and PhD in Health Behavior. She is also a graduate of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Health Policy Research Scholars Program. Dr. Richmond’s research explores racial and ethnic disparities in health and use of health services (e.g., lung cancer screening and treatment). She applies quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods to understand how racism and medical mistrust affect health and health care use in Black communities. Dr. Richmond aims to partner with communities and scholars from diverse disciplines to translate research results into policies that build health equity.
2019 Trainees
Wade Brown, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Clinical Science College Master, Meharry Medical College
Dr. Brown is a former PROgRESS T32 Postdoctoral Research Fellow and Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellow at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He attended Pepperdine University as an undergraduate and received his MD at Loma Linda University in Loma Linda, CA. He completed his internal medicine residency as well as a Chief Residency in Quality and Safety (CRQS) through the University of Utah Health Science Center and the VA National Center for Patient Safety. His T32 research focused on identifying barriers to (and strategies for) implementing modern learning science practices in graduate medical education for the benefit of trainees, faculty, and patients.
Sophia Kostelanetz, MD, MPH
Associate Program Director Internal Medicine Residency and Health Equity Lead, Department of Medicine, One Brooklyn Health
Dr. Kostelanetz is a former PROgRESS T32 Postdoctoral Research Fellow and Internal Medicine and Pediatrics physician at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She attended Tufts University for her undergraduate degree, followed by a combined MD and MPH. During this training, she worked for 2 years with Partners In Health on health systems strengthening in Haiti and West Africa. She completed her Internal Medicine and Pediatrics residency at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Her T32 research focused on the assessment of social determinants of health and health disparities in inpatient populations, as well as using implementation science to address social determinants of health and improve health equity.
Lindsay Sternad, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Emory University
Dr. Sternad is a former Neonatology Fellow at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow through the PROgRESS (Patient, pRactice Outcomes and Research in Effectiveness and Systems Science) T32 program. She received her MD from the Medical College of Georgia and completed her Pediatrics Residency at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Dr. Sternad’s T32 research focused on the effects of non-English vs. English parental primary language on developmental delays in preterm neonates and post-discharge needs and access to healthcare.
2018 Trainees
Beth Prusaczyk, PhD, MSW
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
Dr. Prusaczyk is a former PROgRESS T32 Postdoctoral Research Fellow who received her PhD in social work from Washington University in St. Louis in 2017. Dr. Prusaczyk’s research focuses on using implementation science to improve healthcare for older adults with a focus on care transitions. She has expertise in implementation science methods including frameworks, strategies, measures, and outcomes. Dr. Prusaczyk also uses social network analysis to understand healthcare delivery and dissemination processes.
Juan R. Canedo, PhD, DHSc, MA
Research Assistant Professor, University of Kentucky
Dr. Canedo completed a post-doctoral research fellowship at VUMC (PROgRESS T32), under the mentorship of Consuelo Wilkins, MD, and David Schlundt, PhD. He previously completed a post-doctoral fellowship in community-engaged research under the Meharry-Vanderbilt Community Engaged Research Core at Meharry Medical College. Dr. Canedo’s overall research goal is to contribute to the reduction of health disparities among racial and ethnic minorities, particularly Hispanics/Latinos. His current research focuses on patient-level barriers and facilitators to the dissemination and adoption of precision medicine among minorities and increasing minority participation in precision medicine research. Originally from Bolivia, South America, he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology with a minor in Latin American Studies and a Master’s degree in Sociology with a focus on medical sociology from Middle Tennessee State University. He completed a Doctor in Health Sciences (DHSc) degree with a concentration in global health, including evidence-based practice and healthcare quality, from A.T. Still University. Prior to joining academia, Canedo directed a non-profit community center serving the Nashville Hispanic community. In this position, he gained ten years of experience collaborating on community-engaged research with academic partners.
Nicole Senft, PhD
Program Director, National Cancer Institute
Dr. Senft completed her postdoctoral training at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, concentrating in implementation science and tobacco disparities through the PROgRESS (Patient, pRactice Outcomes and Research in Effectiveness and Systems Science) T32 program. She received her PhD from Georgetown University’s Department of Psychology in 2016, then completed a fellowship at Wayne State University/Karmanos Cancer Institute in health communication and cancer disparities. Her research aims to promote health equity using health innovations to increase underserved patients’ engagement in their health and healthcare. Her previous research has characterized the content and consequences of emotional behavior in patient-provider interactions, and identified patient, provider, and policy-level barriers and facilitators to engagement in health innovations for members of disparity populations. Her T32 research built upon this work to optimize the delivery of precision smoking treatment among socioeconomically disadvantaged smokers.
Maren Shipe, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor of Surgery, University of Utah Primary Children's Hospital
Dr. Shipe completed a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship through the PROgRESS (Patient, pRactice Outcomes and Research in Effectiveness and Systems Science) program and as a General Surgery Resident at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She attended Stanford University as an undergraduate and received her MD and Masters in Public Health in health services at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA. Dr. Shipe's T32 research focused on using biomarkers and imaging in fungal regions to improve lung cancer diagnosis.