Research Fellows
The MH-RITES Research Center is led by a multidisciplinary team committed to driving evidence-based innovation in research and practice.
Connect with Us
For inquiries regarding shared research interests or collaboration, please reach out to individuals below.
Become a Research Fellow
If you are an MD or PhD who conducts research connected to the MH-RITES Research Center's mission and would like to be considered as a research fellow, please submit your CV and bio to the Center Director at rgearing@uh.edu. Approved submissions will be presented to the board for final review.
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Research Fellows |
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Dana Alonzo, Ph.D.
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Professor | Director, Suicide Prevention Research Program, Fordham University
Research Interests: Suicide prevention and intervention, mental health treatment engagement and adherence, mood disorders and suicide attempt, protective factors against suicide attempt, and race, ethnicity and culture in mental health research. |
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Rabiu K. B. Asante, PhD
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Lecturer | Department of Sociology, School of Social Science, University of Ghana
Research Interests: Digital technologies and social behavior, mental health interventions, mental health needs of problematic sports gamblers and digital gamers, and mental health in developing nations. |
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Juan Barthelemy, PhD, LCSW-BACS
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Assistant Professor | Graduate College of Social Work, University of Houston
Research Interests: Community engagement strategies to reduce juvenile violent crime, community capacity building, violence intervention development and implementation, and monitoring the effects of group violence reduction strategies on homicides and other violent crimes. |
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Shanondora Billiot, PhD, MSW
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Assistant Professor | School of Social Work, Affiliate, Department of American Indian Studies, University of Illinois
Research Interests: The intersection of culture, the environment, and wellbeing among Indigenous peoples; understanding health and wellbeing in relation to global environmental changes such as chronic disasters and climate change. |
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Doris Akyere Boateng, PhD
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Lecturer | Department of Social Work; Affiliate | Centre for Gender Studies and Advocacy, University of Ghana
Research Interests: Gender issues, Women’s Empowerment, Sexual and Reproductive Health, Issues, Mental Health, Resilience |
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Sharon Borja, PhD |
Assistant Professor | Graduate College of Social Work, University of Houston
Research Interests: Intergenerational adversity and resilience; migrant health and wellbeing; determinants of health and mental health and health inequities in low- and middle-income countries and in the United States; and culturally grounded social work prevention approaches and interventions. |
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Katheryn Brewer, PhD
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Assistant Professor | University of New Hampshire
Research Interests: Adolescent resilience, strengthening self-regulation, increasing engagement in social services, and justice-involved adolescents. |
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Nicole F. Bromfield, PhD
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Associate Professor | Graduate College of Social Work, University of Houston
Research Interests: Social well-being of persons who are vulnerable and at risk for exploitation, especially women and children in a global context; divorce from arranged marriages and global surrogacy arrangements. |
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L. Christian Carr, PhD |
Postdoctoral Fellow and Statistician | MH-RITES Research Center, University of Houston
Research Interests: Developing simulation-based research into assessing fit of latent variable models under various violations of multivariate normality, including working with categorical outcomes; applying latent variable models and other multivariate methods in a variety of applied research areas, including child welfare youth outcomes, child welfare employee retention, and mental health outcomes.
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Michael Coffey, PhD
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Professor of Mental Health Care | Department of Public Health, Policy and Social Sciences, Swansea University, UK
Research Interests: The organization, delivery, and experience of mental health care; negotiating identity for people leaving forensic mental health services; care planning and coordination in community and acute inpatient settings; recovery and shared decision making. |
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Prince Solomon Devadass, Ph.D.
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Assistant Professor | Madras Christian College, Department of Social Work
Research Interests: Dr. Prince Solomon has 21 years of experience in teaching and training postgraduate students at the Department of Social Work, Madras Christian College, and has recently completed a visiting Scholar rotation at the School of Social Work, University of Michigan, USA. He has pioneered Field Action Programs in the department of Social Work and has a wide experience in working with Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) in India.
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Sondra J. Fogel, PhD, LCSW
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Associate Professor & PhD Program Chair| School of Social Work, University of South Florida
Research Interests: Social and behavioral health disparities among individuals and families due to poverty, criminal justice involvements, mental health conditions, and/or traumatic experiences. Community engagement strategies to promote equity and justice. |
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Nazanin Heydarian, Ph.D
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Assistant Professor | School of Social Work, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, TX |
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Lisa Kan, PhD
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Director of Research | Harris County CSCD
Research Interests: Cultural and linguistic differences on mental health assessment processes and outcomes; social disparities in judicial systems; culturally informed forensic mental health assessments. |
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Daryl Knox, MD, DLFAPA, ACP
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Retired Chief Medical Officer of The Harris Center for MH and IDD
Research Interests: Improving the quality of mental health services and care for individuals with chronic and severe mental health disorders and implementation of evidenced based services and supports for families and significant other care providers for this population.
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Jamison (Jami) V. Kovach, PhD
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Professor and Director | Lean Six Sigma Professional Training Program, College of Technology, University of Houston
Research Interests: Application of engineering design and process improvement methods in healthcare, changes organizations need to implement in order to improve their operational processes to achieve their strategic objectives and better serve their clients. |
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Marcus Lam, PhD |
Assistant Professor of Nonprofit Management | School of Leadership and Education Sciences, University of San Diego
Research Interests: Identifying strategies for the sustainability of health and human service nonprofit organizations; the effect of organizational and environmental factors on nonprofit sustainable resources; and the influence of resources on organizational programs, services, and client outcomes. |
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Patrick Leung, PhD
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Professor | Graduate College of Social Work, University of Houston
Research Interests: Children and families, mental health, HIV and AIDS, refugee populations, Asian studies, and the elderly. |
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Gili Hoter Ishay, PhD
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Department of Community Mental Health | University of Haifa, Israel |
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Pedro Isnardo de La Cruz Lugardo, PhD
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Director of Research | Escuela Nacional de Trabajo Social (ENTS), Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM)
Research Interests: The evaluation of public policies, social community impact of public policies, migration, public health, security, social prevention of violence, and the design of institutional strategies in social policy.
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Associate Professor | Hunter College, City University of New York, NY
Research Interests: Community and economic development of highly stigmatized populations, such as those with serious mental health conditions (SMI) and those with long-term histories of homelessness. |
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Charles W. Mathias, Ph.D.
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Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences | The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio |
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Irfan Mian, MD
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Psychiatrist and Assistant Professor, Child and Adolescent, Equity, Gender and Population | University of Toronto Psychiatry Department
Research Interests: Youth mental health, schizophrenia, and suicide prevention. |
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Kiara Moore, PhD
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Assistant Professor | Silver School of Social Work, New York University
Research Interests: Multisystemic factors that lead to mental health disparities among marginalized young people, including youth of color, youth from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, and LGBTQ youth that are experiencing mental health conditions. |
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Associate Professor & Associate Dean of Research and Faculty Development | Graduate College of Social Work, University of Houston
Research Interests: Mental health and mental health service use during the transition to adulthood for marginalized groups including youth aging out of foster care, youth experiencing homelessness, and youth involved in the criminal justice system. |
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Jennifer O'Brien, Ph.D
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Assistant Professor, Department of Social Work and Crimes against Children Research Center | University of New Hampshire
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Lindamarie Olson, PhD, LCSW  |
Assistant Professor | School of Social Work, University of Alabama
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Bernice Perez Ramirez, PhD
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Associate Professor | Escuela Nacional de Trabajo Social, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico
Research Interests: Gender studies, body studies, trans issues, disability, and prison. |
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David Roe, Ph.D.
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Professor, Department of Community Mental Health, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences | University of Haifa, Israel |
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Shahnaz Savani, PhD, LMSW
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Lecturer of Social Work | University of Houston - Downtown
Research Interests: Mental Health and suicide prevention in low and middle-income countries; closing the treatment gap for mental illness by scaling up mental health treatment and engagement through evidence-based |
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Steve Schnee, PhD |
Retired Executive Director of The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD in Houston, Texas
Research Interests: Improving services provided by clinicians, improving connectivity within and across organizational components to positively engage seriously impaired, economically challenged individuals of diverse backgrounds with significant mental disabilities. |
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Jair C. Soares, MD, PhD |
Professor & Chairman, Pat R. Rutherford, Jr. Chair in Psychiatry, Director, Center of Excellence on Mood Disorders, Executive Director, UTHealth HCPC
Research Interests: Adult general psychiatry, bipolar disorder, depression, second opinion, deep brain stimulation, mood disorders, neuroendocrinology, neuroimaging, neuropsychology, and psychopharmacology. |
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Ciwang Teyra, PhD
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Assistant Professor | Truku Tribal Nation, Department of Social Work, National Taiwan University
Research Interests: Determinants of global indigenous health, wellbeing and resilience; historical trauma, healing, and resistance; culturally relevant psychometric measurement; and culturally informed interventions to address health concerns among indigenous communities internationally. |
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Bruce A. Thyer, Ph.D., LCSW, BCBA-D
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Distinguished Research Professor | Florida State University, College of Social Work
Research Interests: Intervention research; Research design & methods; Social work education; Anxiety disorders assessment and treatment.
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Micki Washburn, PhD, LMSW, MA,
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Assistant Professor | University of Texas at Arlington School of Social Work
Research Interests: The integration of technology into mental health and substance abuse interventions; the intersections of mental health, substance abuse and child welfare, and health disparities related to LGBTQ+ children and youth with child welfare and/or juvenile justice involvement. |
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Quenette Walton, Ph.D. |
Assistant Professor | Graduate College of Social Work, University of Houston
Research Interests: Mental health and mental health disparities among Black women across the life course; SES as a social determinant of mental health; The Black middle class; Black women's wellness and well-being; Race, class, and gender; Qualitative research
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Ann Webb, PhD, J.D., LCSW-S |
Research Interests: Mental health at the intersection of law and social work, particularly the impacts of trauma on mental health and overall well-being for vulnerable shared clients of lawyers and social workers.
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Miao "Jessica" Yu, PhD
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Postdoctoral Research Associate | University of Texas at Arlington School of Social Work
Research Interests: Maternal mental health and social support, mental health disparities, integrated healthcare and advanced statistical analysis.
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