Meet the members of the HERC network. If you are searching for a WSU research partner, advisor, resource, or colleague interested in the study and advancement of health equity, you are invited to search here. This page will be updated as members submit information.
Cole Allick
Research Assistant Professor
Department: IREACH
Contact: Cole.Allick@wsu.edu | 206-708-8632
At WSU since: August 2019
Population of interest: Tribal and RuralResearch interests: Health care delivery
Collaborations of interest: Open
Mariana Amorim
Assistant Professor
Department: Sociology
College: College of Arts and Sciences
Contact: mariana.amorim@wsu.edu | 509-335-6769
At WSU since: 2019
Population of interest: Low-income families
Research interests: Inequality, welfare programs, family health, economic insecurity, demography
Collaborations of interest: Open
Website: soc.wsu.edu/
Tammy Barry
Vice Provost for Graduate and Professional Education
Graduate School
Department: Psychology
College: College of Arts and Sciences
Contact: tammy.barry@wsu.edu | 509-335-7008
At WSU since: 2015
Population of interest: Children and adolescents; neurodevelopmental disorders
Research interests: Child externalizing behaviors, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), aggression and disruptive behavior disorders in children and adolescents
Collaborations of interest: Research focused on biologically based and contextual correlates of neurodevelopmental disorders; broader family impact and functioning among child clinical populations.
Website: psychology.wsu.edu/
Caitlin G. Bletscher
Clinical Assistant Professor
Department: Human Development
College: CAHNRS
Contact: caitlin.bletscher@wsu.edu | 360-546-9714
At WSU since: 2016
Population of interest: Refugees, immigrants, and migrant populations
Research interests: Social capital and well-being pre-, during, and post-migration
Collaborations of interest: Social factors of well-being associated with integration
Ekaterina Burduli
Assistant Professor
Department: College of Nursing
College: Nursing
Contact: eburduli@wsu.edu | 509-324-7368
At WSU since: 2016
Population of interest: Substance using perinatal women and their infants
Research interests: Maternal-child health, health disparities, substance use in perinatal women, neonatal abstinence syndrome, health-related survey development and validation
Collaborations of interest: Open
Website: nursing.wsu.edu/
Michael Cleveland
Associate Professor and Chair
Department: Human Development
College: CAHNRS
Contact: michael.cleveland@wsu.edu | 509 335-8478
At WSU since: 2016
Population of interest: Adolescents, young adults, individuals in recovery
Research interests: Substance use, addiction, and relapse prevention
Collaborations of interest: Research focused on social contextual factors associated with addiction and relapse prevention
Robert Danielson
Assistant Professor
Department: Kinesiology and Educational Psychology
College: Education
Contact: robert.danielson@wsu.edu | 509-358-7793
At WSU since: 2017
Population of interest: K-12, college, and general public
Research interests: How learning with texts and graphics may promote epistemic and conceptual change around STEM concepts. My research focuses on students in K-12 through college, as well as members of the public. I also examine the educational, policy, and health-related implications of the public’s understanding of science.
Collaborations of interest: Science / health misconceptions, teaching science / health concepts, enhancing learning and understanding around these concepts.
Website: education.wsu.edu
Justin Denney
Associate Professor of Sociology and William Julius Wilson Distinguished Professor in the College of Arts and Sciences
Department: Sociology
College: CAS
Contact: justin.denney@wsu.edu | 509-335-7516
At WSU since: 2017
Population of interest: Mostly, but not completely, domestic research on children and adults
Research interests: Health and mortality disparities, families and health, place and health
Collaborations of interest: Food insecurity among families with young children; Sexual minority health disparities; Projects using NW HERON, a practice-based research network at WSU
Website: soc.wsu.edu/
Jennifer Duckworth
Assistant Professor
Department: Human Development
College: CAHNRS
Contact: jennifer.duckworth@wsu.edu | 509-335-8439
At WSU since: 2020
Population of interest: Adolescents and young adults
Research interests: Etiology, risk and protective factors, and consequences for substance use, sexual behaviors, Prevention science
Collaborations of interest: Research focused on socio-emotional and contextual factors associated with health-risk behaviors with a focus on understudied populations
David H. Garcia
Assistant Dean – Health Equity and Inclusion and Clinical Faculty, Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine
Departments: Health Equity and Inclusion and Medical Education and Clinical Sciences
Contact: garciad@wsu.edu | 509-368-6924
At WSU since: 2018
Population of interest: Minority populations, especially Black/African American and Hispanics/Latino
Research interests: Health disparities, social determinants of health, Hispanic/Latino health, organizational/institutional inequities, health outcomes, race and ethnicity
Collaborations of interest: Health and inequalities/inequities connected to higher education and conducting research in medicine education and institutional/systemic racism with the goal of improving health equity for communities
Maria A. Gartstein
Professor, Director of ADVANCE at WSU
Department: Psychology
College: Arts and Sciences
Contact: gartstma@wsu.edu | 509 335-4651
At WSU since: 2002
Population of interest: Pregnant women, infants/young children and parents
Research interests: Maternal-child health, social-emotional development
Collaborations of interest: Research focused on maternal well-being during pregnancy, risk and protective factors relevant to social-emotional development
Website: labs.wsu.edu/
Janessa M. Graves, PhD MPH
Associate Professor, Assistant Dean of Undergraduate and Community Research
College: College of Nursing
Contact: janessa.graves@wsu.edu | 509-324-7257
At WSU since: 2013
Population of interest: Rural & underserved populations
Research interests: Improving access to and quality of care; injury care; health services research; mental health services for rural youth
Collaborations of interest: Open to any related to injury (intentional or unintentional), health services research, costs/quality/access to care
Grants and publications
Website: nursing.wsu.edu/
Luciana (Lucy) Hebert
Assistant Research Professor and Director of the IREACH Methods Core
Department: Community Health
College: Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine
Contact: luciana.hebert@wsu.edu | 206-708-8605 office
At WSU since: 2018
Population of interest: Women, adolescents, American Indian, Alaska Native,
Research interests: Reproductive, maternal and sexual health
Collaborations of interest: Any
Website: ireach.wsu.edu/
Monica Kirkpatrick Johnson
Professor and Department Chair
Department: Sociology
College: CAS
Contact: monicakj@wsu.edu | 509-335-8773
At WSU since: 2002
Population of interest: Adolescents and young adults
Research interests: Health inequality in the transition to adulthood; general well-being
Collaborations of interest: Health and inequalities tied to higher education, transition to work and home leaving for young people
Website: soc.wsu.edu/
Hsin-Ya Liao
Associate Professor
Department: Psychology
College: CAS
Contact: hsinya.liao@wsu.edu | 509-335-0680
At WSU since: 2014
Population of interest: Racial/ethnic minorities, immigrants, and migrants
Research interests: Role of culture, diversity, and intergroup relations on mental health service delivery and psychological well-being; cross-cultural examinations of psychological assessments
Collaborations of interest: Interventions or treatments that aim to eliminate mental health and health disparities
Website: psychology.wsu.edu/
Luis Manriquez
Clinical Assistant Professor
Department: Academic and Community Partnerships
College: ESFCOM
Contact: luis.manriquez@wsu.edu | 509-368-6880
At WSU since: 2017
Population of interest: Underserved
Research interests: Community organizing, social determinants of health
Collaborations of interest: Evaluation of clinic organizing efforts and health equity curriculum
Don McMoran
Director
Department: AG Unit
College: CAHNRS
Contact: dmcmoran@wsu.edu | 360 395 2357
At WSU since: 2006
Population of interest: Agriculture
Research interests: AgrAbility, leadership, disability, outreach to underserved audiences, building community, farm stress and suicide prevention
Collaborations of interest: same
Website: extension.wsu.edu/ and Farmstress.us
Courtney Meehan
Associate Professor / Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies
Department: Anthropology
College: CAS
Contact: cmeehan@wsu.edu | 509-335-2204
At WSU since: 2007
Population of interest: International, particularly in sub Saharan Africa, and the US
Research interests: Human milk composition and breastfeeding, role of microbiomes on maternal-infant health, and child development
Collaborations of interest: INSPIRE Consortium – international and interdisciplinary human milk and microbiome consortium studying the evolutionary, behavioral, genetic, and environmental associations with human milk composition and maternal-infant microbiomes. WSU COVID-19 Infant, Maternal, and Family Health Collaborative – WSU collaborative focused on addressing critical COVID-19 questions
Grants and publications
Website: labs.wsu.edu/
Pablo Monsivais
Associate Professor
Department: Nutrition and Exercise Physiology
College: Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine
Contact: p.monsivais@wsu.edu | 509 358 7685
At WSU since: 2017
Population of interest: General, low-income, ethnic and racial minorities
Research interests: Social inequities in health, diet and health, food access, environmental and social interventions, neighborhood factors, policy
Collaborations of interest: Any
Website: medicine.wsu.edu/
Clemma Jacobsen Muller
Associate Professor
Department: DMECS
College: ESFCOM
Contact: clemma.muller@wsu.edu
At WSU since: 2015
Population of interest: American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander
Research interests: Epidemiology; providing methodological support for community-engaged research; behavioral intervention; cardiovascular disease; cognitive function, Alzheimer’s disease, and related dementias; cancer screening and HPV vaccination.
Collaborations of interest: Anything relevant to health disparities, or to health promotion in underserved or marginalized populations.
Louise Parker, PhD
Professor and Extension Specialist
Department: Human Development
College: CAHNRS
Contact: parker@wsu.edu | 206-327-9499
At WSU since: 1984
Population of interest: Low-income and culturally diverse families
Research interests: Community-based prevention, cultural adaptation of prevention programs, implementation and dissemination of prevention programs
Collaborations of interest: Working with others involved in health promotion, particularly in community settings
Website: hd.wsu.edu/
Anthippy Petras
Clinical Faculty and Director of Operations for NW HERON
Department: IREACH
College: Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine
Contact: anthippy.petras@wsu.edu
At WSU since: April 16, 2019
Population of interest: American Indian and Alaska Native population, rural communities, and urban medically underserved
Research interests: Community-based interventions with a focus on American Indian and Alaska Native communities, early childhood development, early education, and family support systems
Collaborations of interest: Networking with WSU and clinical practices to identify medical needs within our communities
Websites: ireach.wsu.edu/ (NWHERON) and ireach.wsu.edu/
Julie Postma
Associate Dean for Research, Associate Professor
College: College of Nursing
Contact: jpostma@wsu.edu | 509.324.7287 (office) – 206.245.9141 (cell)
Population of interest: People with asthma; immigrant populations; workers
Research interests: Air quality/environmental health; asthma management; public health; environmental justice; outreach and engagement
Collaborations of interest: Open
Website: nursing.wsu.edu/
Laura Ryser
Assistant Professor
Department: Extension
College: CAHNRS
Contact: laura.ryser@wsu.edu | 360-228-7310
At WSU since: 2014
Population of interest: Families with young children, limited income individuals & households
Research interests: Community food systems, food security, food systems mapping, food policy
Collaborations of interest: Intersection of food access and access to health care, geography of food, local food supply chains, community engagement strategies
Website: kitsap.wsu.edu
Yoshie Sano
Associate Professor
Department: Human Development
College: CAHNRS
Contact: yoshie_sano@wsu.edu | 360-546-9124
At WSU since: 2006
Population of interest: Rural, low-income families
Research interests: Family health, access to health care, minority health, food insecurity, economic well-being
Collaborations of interest: Research focusing on low-income families
Website: labs.wsu.edu/
Astrid M Suchy-Dicey
Assistant Professor
Department: Community Health
College: Elson S Floyd College of Medicine
Contact: astrid.suchy-dicey@wsu.edu | 206-708-8674
At WSU since: 2015
Population of interest: American Indian, Alaska Native, indigenous peoples
Research interests: Epidemiology, health disparities, cognition, neurodegenerative disease, vascular disease, renal disease, chronic disease, social and behavioral determinants of health, gene-environment interactions
Collaborations of interest: Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (University of Washington), Banner Alzheimer’s Institute (Phoenix, Arizona), Strong Heart Study
Grants and publications
Raven Weaver
Assistant Professor
Department: Human Development
College: CAHNRS
Contact: raven.weaver@wsu.edu | 509-335-8685
At WSU since: 2017
Population of interest: Aging populations (i.e., older adults, late life), rural communities
Research interests: Efforts that support aging in place, access to long-term services and supports and health care, unmet and under-met needs
Collaborations of interest: Research focusing on aging populations
Website: hd.wsu.edu/
Dale Willits
Assistant Professor
Department: Criminal Justice & Criminology
College: Arts & Sciences
Contact: dale.willits@wsu.edu | 509-335-8320
At WSU since: 2015
Population of interest: Criminal justice involved populations and criminal justice professionals
Research interests: Substance use, violence, traffic safety
Collaborations of interest: I am interested in partnering with communities and organizations to conduct program evaluations, grant applications, and to conduct secondary analysis of data related to drug policy, violence prevention, and other public safety topics.
Website: crmj.wsu.edu/
Nicole Witham
AP Statewide Coordinator – WSU Food Systems
Department: Extension
College: CAHNRS
Contact: nwitham@wsu.edu | 425.218.3608
At WSU since: 2017
Population of interest: Food producers (farmers, engineers, soil scientists), people who manage the logistics and distribution of food (farmers market distributors, administrators of farm-to-school programs), consumers (community response, labeling of foods, coordination of producer-consumer match-making events)
Research interests: Food deserts – there is interest in analyzing how communities utilize the resources from small farms to address the gaps created by food deserts; Research examining small farms, which represent 90% of the farmers in the state, as well as the research examining the disparities between the funding that big and small farms receive; Equitable access and policy regulation impacting big and small farms to sell nationally and internationally
Collaborations of interest: Faculty with similar research interests, who understand that food is medicine and that food is at the core of our needs; Community health organizations committed to encouraging home cooking, nutrition courses and nutrition education, especially for the most disadvantaged groups; Food pantries interested in offering courses to promote food education
Website: foodsystems.wsu.edu/
Anna Zamora-Kapoor
Assistant Professor
Departments: Sociology and Medical Education and Clinical Sciences (joint appointment)
College: Arts and Sciences (Sociology) and Medicine (Medical Education and Clinical Sciences)
Contact: anna.zamora-kapoor@wsu.edu | 206.708.8624 (office) – 206.499.4193 (cell)
At WSU since: 2016
Population of interest: Minority populations, especially American Indians and Hispanics.
Research interests: Health disparities, social determinants of health, American Indian and Alaska Native health, Hispanic/Latino health, international migration, health outcomes, race and ethnicity
Collaborations of interest: Academic-community partnerships to continue conducting research at the intersection of medicine and sociology, with the goal of improving health equity
Grants and publications
Websites: soc.wsu.edu/; medicine.wsu.edu/