SUNY PRIDE Scholars
Cohort VIII – 2020
Olamide Alabi, MD
Assistant Professor
Department, School: Department of Surgery
University: Emory University
Location: Atlanta, GA
Research Interests: Research interests are to define and eliminate health disparities in vascular surgery, specifically peripheral artery disease. My overarching goal is to bring the field of vascular surgery closer to achieving health equity, particularly as it relates to access to care and quality of care. I am interested in in building a research platform around determining the most optimal method of care for patients with peripheral artery disease, optimizing associated modifiable risk factors, and improving their outcomes.
Stephanie Cook, DrPH, MPH
Assistant Professor
Department, School: Departments of Social and Behavioral Sciences and Biostatistics, School of Global Public Health
University: New York University
Location: New York, NY
Research Interests: Research interests center on understanding how daily (e.g. microaggressions, financial stress) and global (e.g. childhood adversity, poverty) stressors influence pre-clinical cardiovascular disease among young sexual minority men (YSM), especially Black YSM. Key to understanding this association is understanding the daily (e.g. positive interactions with family, positive events) and global (e.g. perceived social support, adult attachment security) factors that may mitigative the negative effects of stress on the cardiovascular health of YSM. Overall, Dr. Cook hopes to inform the development of interventions that reduce the impact of stress on long term CVD outcomes for young sexual minority men, especially Black young sexual minorities men.
Ana Diallo, PhD, MPH, RN
Assistant Professor
Department, School: Department of Family and Community Health Nursing, School of Nursing
University: Virginia Commonwealth University
Location: Richmond, VA
Research Interests: Research interest is in gene-environment factors that contribute to differences in lipid pathobiology and in treatment responses of cardiovascular disease among individuals form African ancestry. One of my research aims is to identify socio-behavioral and societal factors associated with lipid levels and cardiovascular disease outcomes in racial/ethnic minority populations.
Angela Groves, PhD, RN
Assistant Professor
Department, School: Department of Nursing
University: Ursuline College
Location: Pepper Pike, Ohio
Research Interests: Research interest is to examine the relationship between neighborhood violence, perceived stress and low-sodium diet adherence among African American women with hypertension using a mixed method design. The suggested topics that I wish to explore during this program include, guidance regarding research design, methods, and analysis. Also, I am interested in learning about how to integrate community participants into my research plan.
Amber Johnson, MD, MS, MBA
Assistant Professor
Department, School: Department of Medicine
University: University of Pittsburgh
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Research Interests: Currently beginning a project that will focus on disparities and social determinants in atrial fibrillation. Ultimately, my career goal is to become an expert in understanding mechanisms if disparate care so that I may design interventions to overcome inequity. I am particularly interested in how precision medicine might serve in future healthcare interventions.
Roger McIntosh, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department, School: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Psychology
University: University of Miami
Location: Miami, Florida
Research Interests: Current research broadly examines the effect of neuropsychological, cardiometabolic and inflammatory-immune processes on CVD comorbidity, (e.g., hypertension and sudden cardiac death) in chronic HIV disease. I am particularly interested in how these disease processes impact psychosomatic functioning through the use of functional brain imaging.
Rochelle Nelson, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department, School: Department of Biological Sciences and Geology
University: Queensborough Community College
Location: Queens, New York
Research Interests: Research focuses on stress-induced cardiomyopathy. The working Hypothesis is: Chronic stress hormone exposure of human-induced pluripotent stem cell cardiac micro tissues that are over expressing X-linked escapee genes will lead to the development of dilated cardiomyopathy.
Florence Okoro, PhD, RN
Assistant Professor
Department, School: School of Nursing, College of Health and Human Services
University: University of North Caroline at Charlotte
Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
Research Interests: Research broadly looks at two areas: reducing and eliminating health disparities and developing a participatory community approach to address disparities affecting African Americans with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular complications. The focus of my research is to use peer support (‘support from someone like me’) to enhance the diabetes self-care of African Americans as a means to prevent, delay or manage cardiovascular disease that are often sequelae of type 2 diabetes.
Raquel Ramos, PhD, MBA, MSN, FNP-BC
Assistant Professor
Department, School: Rory Meyers College of Nursing
University: New York University
Location: New York, NY
Research Interests: My program of research focuses on prevention of HIV-related comorbidities, such as CVD and metabolic disease in sexual minority men of color using technology as a tool to support informed decision making.
Robert Steward Jr, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department, School: Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Sciences, Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine
University: University of Central Florida
Location: Orlando, Florida
Research Interests: Current research is in the field of cellular biomechanics. He plans to link the role of cell derived bio mechanical forces in cardiovascular diseases.