Faculty

Our faculty is comprised of dedicated individuals from diverse academic, professional, and experiential backgrounds. Individuals with a wide range of research backgrounds are available to provide guidance and mentor students through their journey.

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affiliate faculty

Laura Marie Armstrong, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Psychological Science.  Research interests: Infant and early childhood development, family processes, readiness to engage in behavioral and physical health interventions, transition to parenthood, health and wellness for parents and children.  laura.armstrong@uncc.edu

Bruce Arrigo, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Criminal Justice; Adjunct Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences.  Research interests: Mental health, law, and policy; social justice; ethics and community psychology.  barrigo@uncc.edu

Erin Basinger, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Communication Studies.  Research interests: Stress and coping, Type 2 diabetes, Interpersonal communication, Health communication, Social support.  ebasinge@uncc.edu

Elise Berman, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology. Research interests: Child health, corporal discipline, COVID-19, migration, cross-cultural validity of developmental measurements, cross-cultural psychology, Marshallese and Pacific Islanders. eberman@uncc.edu

Allison Burfield, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Sociology.  Research interests: Geriatrics, pharmacotherapeutics, mental health across the age spectrum, care outcomes, large datasets.  aburfiel@uncc.edu

Candace (Dace) Brown, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences. Research interests: Gerontology, exercise, motivation, diversity representation, inter-multidisciplinary science, and psycho, social, neuro behaviors. cbrow342@uncc.edu

Sam Cacace, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences. Research interests: Military and veteran health, survey methodology, dyadic research methods, measurement invariance, latent variable modeling, structural equation modeling (SEM), item response theory (IRT), and differential item functioning (DIF). scacace@uncc.edu

Alicia Dahl, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences.  Research interests: Health behavior change strategies (motivational interviewing, health coaching) technology-based interventions (mobile apps, websites) nutrition and physical activity education and promotion, maternal and child health, mental health, health disparities.  adahl3@uncc.edu

Boyd H. Davis, Ph.D., Professor, Department of English.  Research interests: Language use in dementia and in TBI; caregiver training; patient-provider communication; technology-based care interventions.  bdavis@uncc.edu

Christine Davis, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Communication Studies. Research interests: Health communication, end-of-life communication, communication and disability, healthcare groups and teams, cultural communication, material culture, body politic, health humanities. christine.s.davis@uncc.edu

Andrea Freidus, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology.  Research interests: Health disparities among congenital heart patients, food insecurity, volunteer tourism, orphans/orphan care in Malawi.  afreidus@uncc.edu

Catherine Fuentes, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Anthropology.  Research interests: Medical anthropology and applied anthropology, incarcerated women, domestic violence, trauma.  cfuente4@uncc.edu

Janne Gaub, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology. Research interests: Policing, including police use of technology (primarily body-worn cameras), police misconduct, police use of force, specialized police units, and gender and policing (e.g., experiences of policewomen), and qualitative study of police experiences during COVID-19. jgaub@uncc.edu

Virginia Gil-Rivas, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Psychological Science. Research interests: Trauma, coping, health behavior change, adaptation of interventions. vgilriva@uncc.edu

Laura Gunn, Ph.D., Associate Professor; Director of Health Analytics; Director of Health Analytics and Outcomes Research Academy (HAnORA), Department of Public Health Sciences.  Research interests: Applied, interdisciplinary, and collaborative biostatistics, health outcomes research, analysis of big data randomized trials, program evaluation, community-based participatory research with local partnerships, health disparities. laura.gunn@uncc.edu

Yuqi Guo, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, School of Social; School of Data Science. Research interests: Cancer Disparities, Health Technology, and Mental Health.  yguo16@uncc.edu

Lorenzo Hopper, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences. Research interests: Fatherhood, men’s health, understanding and addressing health disparities, the experience of a first-generation college student, and health care services utilization. lhopper6@uncc.edu

Kendra Jason, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology.  Research interests: Aging and health disparities, work and organizations, race and gender, stratification research.  kjason@uncc.edu

Joseph Kangmennaang, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Geography and Earth Sciences. Research interests:  Immigrant health and wellbeing, Wellbeing of places, Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) prevention and control, food and water insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa. jkangmen@uncc.edu

Ryan Kilmer, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Psychological Science.  Research interests: clinical and community psychology, children and families, factors influencing the development of children at-risk for emotional, behavioral, and/or academic difficulties, evaluation research to guide system change, program refinement, service delivery, and policy.  rpkilmer@uncc.edu

Shanti Kulkarni, Ph.D., Associate Professor, School of Social Work. Research interests: Domestic violence theory and services (including dating violence), adolescent childbearing, families in poverty, and women’s health. skulkar@uncc.edu

Jennifer Langhinrichsen-Rohling, Ph.D., (Dr. L-R) Professor, Department of Psychological Sciences and Health Psychology. Research interests: Applying trauma-informed models of healthcare; Prevention/intervention of violent public health behaviors including suicide, intimate partner violence, stalking, and sexual assault. jlanghin@uncc.edu

Othelia Lee, Ph.D., Associate Professor, School of Social Work.  Research interests: gerontology, health promotion and cultural diversity.  elee50@uncc.edu

Susan McCarter, Ph.D., Associate Professor, School of Social Work. Areas of research: risk and protective factors in adolescence: specifically race/ethnicity and juvenile justice. smccarter@uncc.edu

Alyssa McGonagle, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Psychological Sciences.  Research interests: worker health, stress, well-being, and work ability, workers with chronic health conditions and other disabilities, aging workers, worker safety and injury prevention.  amcgonag@uncc.edu

Annelise Mennicke, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, School of Social Work.  Research interests: violence prevention, sexual assault, sexual violence, campus sexual assault, incarcerated women, abuse-to-prison pipeline, bystander intervention.  amennick@uncc.edu

Erika Montanaro, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Psychological Science.  Research interests: intervention development, adolescents, young adults, technology, sexual health, risk behavior.  emontana@uncc.edu

Julian Montoro-Rodriquez, Ph.D., Professor; Director of Gerontology; Department of Sociology.  Research interests: family caregiving across the lifespan.  jmontoro@uncc.edu

Amy Peterman, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Psychological Science.  Research interests: socioeconomic disparities in health; psychological interventions in primary care; quality of life in chronic illness. ahpeterm@uncc.edu

Nicole Peterson, Ph.D., Department of Anthropology.  Research interests: Food systems, disparities, assessment, mixed methods.  npeterson@uncc.edu

Crystal Piper, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences. Research interests: Health education & behavior, health planning & evaluation, and research methods, health disparities. cpiper1@uncc.edu

Stephanie Potochnick, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Sociology Department and Public Policy Program. Research interests: Social Demography, Immigrant Children and Families, Population and Migration Policy, Health and Education Policy. spotochn@uncc.edu

Kelly Powers, Ph.D., Associate Professor, School of Nursing. Research interests: Interventions to improve provision of safe and high-quality healthcare, interventions to improve provision of patient- and family- centered care, and educational innovations for nursing and other health professions students (simulation and IPE). kpower15@uncc.edu

Maggie Quinlan, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Communication Studies. Research interests: health, organizational and performative communication, ethnography, narrative/interpretive/rhetorical/feminist analyses, social justice issues, marginalized populations, women’s reproductive health, social media, medical expertise, motherhood, intersectional feminism, practitioner-patient communication, “sex-selection”, infertility, infant loss, childbirth, breastfeeding, postpartum issues, premature birth, maternal mortality, and developmental milestones. mquinla1@uncc.edu

Monika Sawhney, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences. Research interests:  Demographic and health issues with a focus on maternal and child health, nutrition, reproductive health, immunizations, human resources for health sector, and  strengthening of health systems; global health. msawhney@uncc.edu

JaneDiane Smith, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Special Education and Child Development.  Research interests: developing and testing a prenatal early intervention curriculum for families whose child has a diagnosis eligible for early intervention, early intervention for premature, high-risk, and medically fragile infants and their families, interdisciplinary personnel preparation, collaboration across disciplines (e.g., early intervention, medical).  jdianesm@uncc.edu

Lisa Walker, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Sociology. Research interests: small group processes, status, power, influence. lisa.walker@uncc.edu

Sharon Watson, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology. Research interests: Applied anthropology, developmental studies, medical anthropology, implementation & dissemination, HIV/AIDS, food insecurity, cultural aspects of health,  participatory action research, community health, program planning and evaluation, health policy and management, health systems, work, social mobility, and racism. Watson.S@uncc.edu

Meagan Zarwell Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences. Research interests: Gender and sexual minority health disparities, HIV prevention, social capital, and implementation strategies.  mzarwell@uncc.edu