Bolon, Shannon Undergraduate: 1998 BA, University Honors - Wayne State University, Detroit, MI Medical School: Wayne State University School of Medicine Residency: Moses Cone Family Practice Fellowship: 2008 MPH - University of Pittsburg, Pittsburg, PA Specialties/Special Interests: Health literacy, health care system reform, Click here for Publications Bio: While I was raised in Michigan, where my family and many of my favorite places and activities are, I have enjoyed spending time exploring other parts of the US. My residency training was at Moses Cone Family Practice Residency in Greensboro, North Carolina. I then completed a two year faculty development fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center- St. Margaret in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. During this time, I also received a Master in Public Health from the University of Pittsburgh. I am very pleased to now be in Cincinnati as an Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Family Medicine. I look forward to serving the Greater Cincinnati community as I study ways to improve how people access health care services. My other academic interests include health literacy, health care system reform, underserved care, curriculum design, and teaching. The time I spend conducting research and performing patient care in developing countries is very important to me. Outside of work, I enjoy all outdoor recreation, running, reading, cooking, and playing with family, friends, my dog, Dublin, and my cat, Fritzy.

Cotton, Sian Undergraduate: 1989 – 1993: BA, Psychology and Music, Smith College, Northampton, MA Medical School: 1999 – 2000: Clinical Internship, Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center, Chicago IL 1995 – 2000: PhD, California School of Professional Psychology, Alameda, CA Fellowship: 2000 – 2002: Post-Doctoral Fellowship, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH Specialties/Special Interests: Impact of medical and psychiatric health on the patient's psychosocial behavmio, adolescent health and spirituality response to health issues Click here for Publications Bio: After completing fellowship, I became the Associate Director of the Center for Adolescent Health at Case Western Reserve University’s School of Medicine. In 2004, I returned home and joined the Department of Family Medicine as a health outcomes researcher. My research interests include coping with chronic illness, health-related quality of life (HRQOL), pediatric and adolescent health outcomes, religion/spirituality and health, and complementary/integrative medicine. I use both quantitative and qualitative methods. In 2007, I was awarded a K23 career development grant by the National Institutes of Health to examine the role of spiritual coping and HRQOL in adolescents with a chronic illness. I regularly lecture to medical students, residents, and psychology trainees, and actively mentor psychology graduate students at the University of Cincinnati. As a clinical health psychologist, I have worked with children, adolescents and adults with a variety of medical and psychiatric conditions, including anxiety, depression, HIV, cancer, and asthma, with a particular interest on the impact of medical conditions on psychological and social functioning. My husband is also a clinical psychologist, and we have 3 beautiful children, a Bernese Mountain dog, and Opal, the cat.

Elder, Nancy Undergraduate: 1978 BS, University of Minnesota College of Biological Sciences Medical School: 1983 University of Minnesota Residency: Good Samaritan Medical Center, Phoenx, AZ Fellowship: 1992 MPSH, University of Missouri-Columbia Specialties/Special Interests: Family Medicine, Primary Care Click here for Publications Bio: After four years as a full time practicing family physician in Arizona and Africa, I began my academic career in Columbia, MO in an academic family medicine fellowship. I then joined the faculty at Oregon Health and Sciences University where I was a clinician-educator for 8 years. In 2001, I moved to Cincinnati and joined the research division of UC Department of Family Medicine. In 2007, I became the research division director for the Department. My research interests are in quality and safety in the primary care office setting, including the active role of the patient in safety. My methodological expertise is in qualitative research methods, including interviews, focus groups and observations. I am married to an English PhD writer and stay-at-home dad, and have two children. Together we enjoy walking, reading, playing games and sitting by the fire (in the winter) and playing in the yard (in the summer).

Jacobson, Jeff Undergraduate: 1982-1986: BA, Chemistry, Colorado College, Colorado Springs, Colorado Medical School: 1988-1990: MA, Latin American Studies, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana 1991-1993: MA, Medical Anthropology, CWRU, Cleveland, Ohio 1994-2001: PhD, Medical Anthropology, CWRU, Cleveland, Ohio Specialties/Special Interests: Mental health research in multi-ethnic populations Click here for Publications Bio: After obtaining an MA in Latin American Studies at Tulane University, I completed a PhD in Anthropology at Case Western Reserve University, where I specialized in Medical and Psychological Anthropology. My PhD dissertation focused on the lived-experience and cultural-religious interpretation of visionary and nightmare experiences in a mainland Puerto Rican community. Since 2001, I have been a faculty member in the Departments of Anthropology and Family Medicine at UC. I am also Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Anthropology. In very broad terms, my research interests are concerned with the application of ethnographic, qualitative and interpretive methods to mental health research in multi-ethnic, global settings. More specifically, I am interested in the mental health, ethnopsychology and religiosity of Latino peoples in the US and abroad. As a consulting, collaborating or co-investigator, I have received funding from NIMH, NIEHS, NICHD, AHRQ and NIOSH and I have published articles in peer reviewed journals such as Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Field Methods, Ethos, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Annals of Family Medicine and others. As part of several multidisciplinary teams, I am currently conducting research on depression in rural Honduras, on the response of religious organizations to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Cincinnati, and on the validation of measures of physician work intensity. My wife Lisa Reebals is also trained in medical anthropology and works as a pediatric and adolescent nurse practitioner at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. We have two children, Lauren and Miles. Gardening, home-repair, and photography are some of my extra-curricular interests.

Smucker, Doug Undergraduate: 1976-1980: BA, Biology, Goshen College, Goshen, Indiana Medical School: 1980-1984: MD, Medical University of Ohio, Toledo Residency: 1984-1987: Family Practice Residency, Medical University of Ohio, Toledo Fellowship: 1992-1994: MPH, Epidemiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 1992-1995: Fellowships in Preventive Medicine and Primary Care Research, UNC-Chapel Hill 2005: Faculty Scholar, Program in Palliative Care Education and Practice, Harvard University Specialties/Special Interests: Family Medicine, Palliative Care Click here for Publications Bio: I completed medical school and family practice residency at the Medical University of Ohio in Toledo. After five years as an Assistant Professor of family medicine in Toledo, I completed an MPH in epidemiology with an emphasis in preventive medicine and primary care research at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. I came from UNC to the University of Cincinnati in 1995, and have filled a number of faculty roles in the Department of Family Medicine in the Research Division, Family Medicine Residency, and Office of Geriatrics. My most recent transition has been to devote most of my clinical and academic time to improving care of patients who are near the end of life. I recently became board certified in Hospice and Palliative Medicine, I am a team physician for a local hospice, and fill all of my clinical time with home visits for hospice patients and homebound elderly. My research interests are also focused on hospice and palliative medicine with projects related to community surveys of knowledge and attitudes about hospice care, and understanding patient safety and errors that occur in the course of hospice care. In addition, I continue to dedicate a portion of my career to teaching and service to the underserved, particularly our global health programs in Honduras. My wife Barb is an artist, and an amazing mother for our three children, Kyle, Jessie, and Jeremy. In my spare time I love spending time with my family, playing tennis, coaching basketball, and improving our century-old home.

White, Chris Medical School: Southern Illinois University Residency: University of Cincinnati Combined Family Medicine & Psychiatry Residency Program Specialties/Special Interests: Family Medicine, Psychiatry, Legal Medicine Click here for Publications Bio: I am a recent graduate of the combined residency in Family Medicine and Psychiatry at the University of Cincinnati. My predilection for combined training (and vocational indecisiveness) has been longstanding as I earned my MD/JD degree from Southern Illinois University’s dual Law and Medicine program. Prior to seeing snow for the first time, I completed undergraduate training in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Southern California. Despite being a busy clinician, I still find time to root for the Trojans and whoever is playing Notre Dame and UCLA. My wife is a pediatric occupational therapist at CCHMC and aspiring chef and gardener whose ‘practice’ has led us to take up composting. My research interests lie in the overlap between psychiatry and primary care (so called psychosomatic medicine) with an eye towards legal/business/ethics. Occasionally, I am even able to get all three to overlap as when I published in risk management about pitfalls treating psychiatric patients in the emergency department. I currently serve as the editor-in-chief of Legal Medicine Perspectives. My publications flow from my diverse interests and include contributions for the Journal of Legal Medicine, a second edition of the book Legalines for Antitrust Law, a chapter on sleep disorders for a Family Medicine book, a chapter on Seasonal Affective Disorder for the most recent 5 Minute Clinical Consult, and several book reviews for the Primary Care Companion to the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. My research/writing as a resident played a role in my recent selection by the NIMH as one of the Outstanding Residents of the year for 2005, the American College of Psychiatrists Laughlin Fellowship in 2007, and the Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine 2008 Webb Fellowship.

Zhang, Ge Medical School: Medical School, West China University of Medical Sciences , Chengdu, China Click here for Publications Bio: My long-term research objective is to understand the genetic, molecular, and evolutionary architecture of biological systems in a quantitatively rigorous framework. Such research will lead to a deeper understanding of how genetic variations, gene-gene and gene-environment interactions produce complex phenotypes. An exciting and challenging aspect of this research is that it is inherently interdisciplinary, existing at the interface of genetics, biology, and mathematics. In the following I will provide a broad overview of some research topics that I would like to pursue in next few years.

Staff

Noble, Charity Bio: As the Research secretary, I serve as the liaison for the Research Division’s faculty and staff. I provide them with secretarial and administrative support that enables them to concentrate their efforts on submitting and securing research funds, writing and presenting, and attending national conferences. Because we are also a medical research division in Family Medicine, my faculty may also be clinicians who practice patient care and allows me to use the medical transcription training I received many years ago. In addition to acting as the Research Division’s secretary, I am the administrative assistant for Dr. Robert Graham, one of the department’s endowed chairmen. I started my career at U.C. in 1979, working in the Radiology Department as a secretary and medical transcriptionist. In 1996, after 17 years in Radiology, I left the clinical environment for the academic campus and began my years here in Family Medicine as the assistant to the Business Administrator. Then in 2002, I asked to be given the assistant’s position in our Research Division. I married a high school friend, James Noble, in my second and successful attempt at bliss. Together we share 5 children from our first marriages and now 10 gorgeous grandchildren. As my husband, Jay, is the Associate Minister of our church of Christ, in Covington, Kentucky, we spend much of our weekends filled with family and church. With 30 years accumulated, I plan to retire at the end of 2009. I hope to find the time to study the Bible more, read the books I never found time to read, visit the people I have neglected, and have the luxury of taking a nap now and then.

Pallerla, Harini Undergraduate: BS in Compute Science from Osmanina University in Hyderabad, India Specialties/Special Interests: Data analysis, data management Bio: I have a Masters degree in Health Administration/Planning from the University of Cincinnati with primary focus on Health Research and a bachelor’s degree in computer science. While a master’s student, I interned at The Health Foundation of Cincinnati, where I authored and presented two white papers for the Needs Assessment Project titled: “Uninsured/Underserved” and “Issues related to Children” My specialization is in quantitative methods, data analysis database design and application support. I am skillful in statistical tools like SPSS, Microsoft Access, and Excel and have a good knowledge of SAS. I am currently working with the Faculty of the Research Division on various projects some of which are the “Genome Project: Clinical, Environmental and Genetic Factors related to Response and Non-Response to Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes Patients with Oral Anti-Diabetic Agents”, “The Patient Safety Project”. And “Falls in Elderly”. I am married and have two children ages 10 and 6. We have a home in Mason, Ohio and we enjoy all the advantages of living in the Cincinnati area.

Petrovic, Milan Specialties/Special Interests: Family Medicine, primary care research networking, diabetes health care Bio: After nine years of clinical practice as a general practitioner and family physician overseas, I moved to the United States, and became involved in research in immunology and pharmacogenomics of type 2 diabetes. I joined the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Cincinnati in 2007, where I am involved in the development of a primary care research network in the Greater Cincinnati area. This is part of the Department’s pharmacogenomics project funded by the Rieveschel Foundation. My special focus within the project is the analysis of type 2 diabetes phenotypes in correlation with genomics data, based on DNA blood samples obtained from diabetic Family Practice patients. My work is focused on the need to improve the relationship between diabetes phenotype and genotype data. I am enthusiastic about the potential contribution of pharmacogenomics to personalized medicine and advantages this will bring to primary care. Recently, I passed the licensing exams, and I plan to pursue a career of physician scientist. I am married and have two children; we enjoy arts, hiking, biking, cooking, and travel.

Regan, Soni Undergraduate: Specialties/Special Interests: Social gerontology, palliative care, and chronic illnesses Bio: After completing a Master’s degree in Gerontology, I began my work in research and research administration at the Scripps Gerontology Center at Miami University. Three years later I began working part-time on a doctoral degree in sociology with an emphasis in medical sociology and health status. I joined the research division in the Department of Family Medicine full-time in 1994. I have worked up the ranks as a research assistant, research associate and then a research scientist over the last 15 years while completing my doctoral degree in Sociology. My research interests are in geriatrics, chronic illness, palliative care and safety in the primary care office and homecare setting. My methodological expertise is in qualitative research methods, including interviews, focus groups and observations. I am married to a retired university library technician and stay-at-home dad, and have two teen-agers, a boy in college and a girl in high school. Our family also includes two dogs, two cats, one fighting fish and one bearded dragon. My husband and I enjoy reading, watching murder mysteries and fishing.

Vonder Meulen, Mary Beth Undergraduate: 1987 - RN from the Univeristy of Cincinnati Specialties/Special Interests: International health, diabetes, qualitative research Bio: As a third generation Registered Nurse, I always loved nursing and knew it was my goal. I received my R.N. from the University of Cincinnati and following a 3-year span with the Franciscan Health System (Mercy Health Partners), my career has been with the University of Cincinnati’s Family Medicine Department. I first became involved in research as the Nursing Supervisor at the Wyoming Family Practice Center. In 1996 I joined the Family Medicine Research Division and earned my Clinical Research Coordinator certificate. My current research activities involve a wide variety of ongoing health related studies at all of our department’s family practice centers. I have been a volunteer with Shoulder to Shoulder, Inc, a medical mission to Honduras, working in our local village in Santa Lucia since 1991. This effort has created multiple opportunities to teach and share my nursing knowledge, especially about breastfeeding and Natural Family Planning. My husband, Jim, and I live in a century old house in College Hill with our son, Christian, and the boss of our house, a Bichon-Frise named Daisy. Our daughter Gretchen and granddaughter Kiera live just around the corner. We also have a huge and wonderful extended family that helps enrich and fill our lives.