Mentors: Lauren Walter, MD, Ellen Eaton, MD, Karen Cropsey, PsyD, and Davis Bradford, MD
Postdoc; Emergency Medicine
University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)

Jordi Garcia-Diaz MD is a Birmingham native and attended the local school systems before attending UAB for college, medical school, and residency. Upon finishing Emergency Medicine residency in 2024, he will start a Research Fellowship under the Primary Mentorship of Dr. Lauren Walter. With the support and funding from the AHRQ T32 program, his research will focus on the efficacy of Naltrexone for patients suffering from Alcohol Use Disorder presenting to the Emergency Department

Mentors: Latesha Elopre, MD, MSPH, Tina Kempin Reuter, PhD, MA, and Donald (Donny) Gerke, PhD, MSW
Postdoc; Infectious Diseases
University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)

Anais earned her PhD in Social Work from Rutgers – The State University of New Jersey, following completion of an MSW from Temple University and her undergraduate studies at the University of Pittsburgh. Anais is interested in investigating and evaluating the policy and political barriers to equity in HIV/STI prevention and care for Black communities in the Deep South. As a doctoral student, Anais supported studies investigating the effects of social networks and stigma on HIV prevention care for Black women. Additionally, she served as project coordinator for an innovative training program designed to increase providers’ knowledge of Black women’s HIV care needs. In her spare time, Anais enjoys being in nature and visiting museums.

Mentor: Kristy Broman, MD, MPH
Postdoc: Surgery
University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)

Nicole Rademacher is a general surgery resident interested in health services research. She attended Medical College of Wisconsin for medical school before completing two years of general surgery residency at UAB. She will be pursuing a dedicated research fellowship in surgical oncology health services research under the mentorship of Dr. Kristy Broman and with the support of the AHRQ T32 program. Her research foci include understanding the factors that drive quality of cancer care within regional cancer care markets and health system-level strategies to address regional variation in cancer mortality. During her research fellowship, she will also pursue an MSPH in Outcomes Research.

Mentors: Larry Hearld, PhD and Katherine Meese, PhD
Postdoc; Health Services Administration
University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)

Petra Sprik is a doctoral student in the Health Services Administration program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). A recent transplant to Alabama, she previously completed her undergraduate studies at Duke University, a Master of Divinity at Princeton Theological Seminary, and a Master of Public Health from the University of South Carolina. Petra’s primary research goal is to improve healthcare quality, outcomes, and affordability by studying the intersection of healthcare worker well-being and patient-centered care. She is informed by seven years of clinical experience as a healthcare chaplain, and the patient experience of living with Type-1 Diabetes. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, a competitive Peloton ride, and spending time with her family.

Mentors: Kaylee Crockett, PhD and Christina Muzny, MD
Predoc; Psychology
University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)

Elliott is a student in the Medical/Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program working with Drs. Kaylee Crockett and Christina Muzny. Their research primarily focuses on HIV, eating disorders, and healthcare access and quality within transgender adults. They are a mixed-methods researcher, primarily studying individuals from the Southern U.S.

Mentors: Ellen Eaton, MD, and Karen Cropsey, PsyD
Postdoc; Infectious Diseases
University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)

William is a native of Raleigh, NC, and attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for undergraduate studies before enrolling at Wake Forest School of Medicine for his MD. He completed residency in internal medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, PA, where he developed a passion for treating patients with serious injection-related infection. He worked as hospitalist at the University of California, Davis for two years before returning to training in the Infectious Diseases fellowship program at UAB. In his spare time, he enjoys mountain biking, rock climbing, and spending time with his daughter.

Mentor: Nick Dionne Odom, PhD, MSN, MA, RN, ACHPN, FPCN
Postdoc; Nursing
University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)

Reed Bratches PhD is a postdoctoral fellow in the Division of Nursing at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), funded by the AHRQ T32. Reed received his PhD from Dartmouth College’s Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice in August 2022. His research primarily focuses on family caregivers, particularly how we communicate information from clinic visits to family caregivers. He has experience with the design and conduct of systematic reviews and meta analyses, surveys, and clinical trials. Reed received his Master of Public Health in 2019 and his MALS in Cultural Studies in 2018. Outside the office, Reed can be found biking, golfing, and chasing after his young son.

Mentor: Gareth Dutton, PhD
Predoc; Psychology
University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)

Ms. Davis earned her BA in psychology from Rhodes College in Memphis, TN, and her MA in clinical psychology from Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, TN. She is a rising third-year student in the Medical/Clinical Psychology doctoral program. Broadly, her research interests are the development and refinement of behavioral weight management interventions. Her current research proposes a brief Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) intervention that aims to address psychological characteristics that have been demonstrated to hinder weight loss efforts, including presence of emotional eating, weight self-stigma, and negative body image.

Mentors: Anna Sorace, PhD, and Gabrielle Rocque, MD
Postdoc; Hematology & Oncology
University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)

Noon attained her medical degree from the University of Medical Sciences and Technology in Khartoum, Sudan. Noon completed a Master of Public Health with a concentration in Epidemiology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). She is now a second-year postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Radiology at UAB under the mentorship of Dr. Anna Sorace and with the support of the UAB Health Services Research Training Program. Her research interests include breast cancer and imaging, effects of novel radiological approaches on patient outcomes, and improving healthcare access and quality globally.

Mentor: Burel Goodin, PhD
Predoc; Psychology
University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)

Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, Joanna Hobson graduated from Lane College in 2019 with a BS in Biology. She currently serves as a graduate research assistant in Dr. Burel Goodin’s lab, where she assists in the HIPPI project (The Impact of Insomnia on Pain in HIV). Currently, her research interests are to elucidate the roles of socioeconomic strains, physical deficits, emotional distress, and insufficient sleep on adverse health outcomes in people living with HIV (PLWH). More specifically, her aims are to address the impact of insomnia on behavior patterns (e.g., substance use) and physiological systems (e.g., immune response) in PLWH.

Mentor: Daniel Chu, MD
Postdoc; Surgery
University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)

Bayley Jones is a general surgery resident interested in health services research. Originally from Alabama, she attended UAB for medical school before completing three years of general surgery residency at the University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas. She is returning to UAB to pursue a dedicated research fellowship in health services research under the mentorship of Dr. Daniel Chu. Her research focuses on enhanced recovery programs and health literacy in surgical populations.

Mentors: Wendy Landier, PhD, RN, and Smita Bhatia, MD, MPH
Predoc; Nursing
University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)

Elizabeth earned her BS in nursing from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, AL in 2019. Before starting her PhD program, she worked as a nurse at Children’s of Alabama in hematology/oncology, bone marrow transplant, as well as cardiovascular and interventional radiology peri-operative services. She is now a second-year student in the School of Nursing PhD program. Broadly, her research interests include patient/family education in pediatric oncology and health literacy. Her current research focuses on understanding the role health literacy may play in parental ability to comprehend education related to caring for their child with cancer at home.

Mentors: Patricia Drentea, PhD, David Warner, PhD, Verna Keith, PhD, Myles Moody, and Olivio Clay, PhD
Predoc; Sociology
University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)

Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, Joshua C.J. Lewis is a doctoral student in the Medical Sociology program at UAB. Prior to his graduate studies, he finished his BA in Philosophy from Texas A&M University and worked as a federal U.S. health lobbyist and advocate for health workforce development, minority health, and the reduction of health disparities. As a social scientist, Joshua combines his experiences in health policy, background in ethics, and sociological training to elucidate the mechanisms and social factors that perpetuate American health inequities. His current research focuses on addressing health disparities across the life course with an emphasis on chronic stressors, psychosocial resources, social determinants of health, and cardiovascular disease.

Mentors: Herbert Chen, MD, and Kristy Broman, MD, MPH
Postdoc; Surgery
University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)

Kelsey Montgomery is a UAB general surgery resident interested in surgical oncology and health services research. Originally from Texas, she attended the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston McGovern Medical School before coming to Birmingham for surgical residency. She will be pursuing a dedicated research fellowship in surgical oncology health services research under the mentorship of Dr. Kristy Broman and with the support of the AHRQ HSOER T32 program. Her research focuses include evaluating the quality of surgical cancer care within health systems, and nodal surveillance in cutaneous melanoma. During her research fellowship, she will also obtain an MSPH in Outcomes Research.

Mentors: Marie Bakitas, DNSc, BSN, and J. Michael Straughn Jr., MD
Postdoc; Nursing
University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)

Jaclyn (Jackie) Wall completed her residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Duke University prior to her fellowship in Gynecologic Oncology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She was drawn to gynecologic oncology given its uniqueness in caring for patients throughout their entire cancer journey including diagnosis, systemic therapy, surgery, surveillance, and end-of-life care. Her primary research interest is examining the factors that most drive patients’ decision-making processes for making choices about their cancer care throughout their treatment in its various stages, how these decisions are impacted by their social circumstances, and how their healthcare team can consistently provide guidance and counseling that is in line with these motivating factors.