What brought you to the UAB School of Public Health?

I started my Ph.D. journey in 2018 and graduated in December of 2023. I was fortunate enough to be asked to stay on as a teaching-track assistant professor in Health Behavior, the same department with which I earned my degree. My co-workers have been amazing in helping me transition from student to faculty.

What is the broad focus of your research?

My primary focus is community research and mental health, and I use my expertise in mental health and program planning to help guide community programs in Birmingham.

Where did you receive your training and degrees?

I received my bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. I received my Ph.D. from UAB.

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

I am currently working in the Smithfield community on a project called What I Learned At Home (WILAH). We teach people living in the Smithfield housing community how to use tools and fix things around their home, while also teaching them how to use “tools” (coping skills) to improve themselves and boost their self-efficacy and confidence.

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

My career is still in its very early stages – I haven't even been faculty for a full year – but I hit the ground running. Right now, I am involved in three research projects, each with grants and publications, I am a student volunteer research coordinator and I am presenting at two conferences this spring and teaching three courses. If this can happen in the first 11 months, I am excited to see what the next few years will bring!

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

I am very interested in teaching pedagogy research. I completed the CIRTL College Teaching Certification as a Ph.D. student and learned so much from the program. I encourage anyone who wants to teach to complete this certification. It has helped me become a more informed instructor and has helped me research better ways to engage students. I never want my students to memorize information for an exam. I want them to understand and interact with the information in a real-world sense. The CIRTL program has helped me to do that.

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

I hope to get involved in autism research, specifically in the realm of vaccines and stigma. My little brother is autistic, and that has always been a topic near and dear to my heart. Before COVID-19, I planned to study autism stigma and the link between autism stigma and vaccine hesitancy, but COVID happened, and the mental health implications were too great to not explore. But I haven't given up on my autism research!

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

I would like to work as a book reviewer. I could read all kinds of books and pick which ones get published. And who doesn't want to get paid to read all day?