Faculty Research Spotlight

What brought you to the UAB School of Public Health?

I came to UAB in 2009 because of all the great cardiovascular disease investigators. I appreciated (and still appreciate) the collaborative culture.

What is the broad focus of your research?

My overarching goal is to improve public health through population research using traditional epidemiologic studies and administrative data with an emphasis on cardiovascular disease and long-term effects of HIV and COVID-19.

Where did you receive your training and degrees?

I received my master's and doctoral degrees in epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health. I then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, which is affiliated with the Harvard Medical School. During my postdoc, I was a visiting researcher at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and spent several months there.

What is the most exciting project you are currently working on?

I am working on refining ways to evaluate differences in recovery after a heart attack or other cardiovascular hospitalization using Medicare claims data. In our preliminary data, we see that people who report being lonely prior to their hospitalization spend about the same amount not in medical facilities as those who are not lonely. However, after the hospitalization, lonely people spend a lot more of their time in medical facilities.

What is your favorite self-authored manuscript?

One of my favorite papers that I have written is "Association of Region and Hospital and Patient Characteristics With Use of High-Intensity Statins After Myocardial Infarction Among Medicare Beneficiaries." I worked with a great team to answer an important question and learned new statistical methods.

What professional accomplishment are you most proud of so far in your career?

I did a series of papers on the role of diet in development of heart failure and survival among people with heart failure, which were included in a guideline on heart failure management. It was very gratifying to see that my research had impact on the recommendations that are given to people living with this serious condition.

What is the coolest training or program you've been a part of, or your favorite conference you've attended?

I attended a science communication training at the Alan Alda Institute. The training is improv based, with the goal of making connections and conveying the excitement of science.

What kind of research would you like to be doing that you haven't yet had the opportunity to do?

Community-engaged participatory research.

If you had the funding to answer any one research question, what would that question be?

I want to study how day-to-day variation in diet influences heart failure signs and symptoms and quality of life. This has the potential to inform dietary guidelines that are more effective and more practical for patients and caregivers.

If you weren't in academia, what would your career be?

Textile artist.