Project SCORE Team
Investigators
Dr. Marie Barnard
Dr. Marie Barnard is an Associate Professor of Pharmacy Administration and Research Associate Professor in the Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Mississippi. Dr. Barnard’s research addresses public health in pharmacy. She focuses on vaccination behavior, intimate partner violence, and health outcomes. Dr. Barnard works on a variety of projects that seek to enhance student interest in science, particularly the health sciences. She is the PI for Project SCORE. Dr. Barnard is a first–generation college student, enjoys kayaking, and is a voracious fiction reader.
Dr. Allison Ford-Wade
Allison Ford-Wade is a Professor in Health, Exercise Science, and Recreation Management leading the Public Health and Health Sciences program. Her research interests include community health issues and low bone density among young adults.
Dr. Murrell Godfrey
Murrell Godfrey is Associate Professor & Assistant Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (UM Graduate School). His educational background is B.S., Dillard University (New Orleans), 1994 Ph.D., University of Mississippi, 2003. His research interests are drug analysis, mechanism of drug-nucleic acid interactions, & nucleic acid chemistry.
Dr. Caroline Compretta
Dr. Caroline Compretta is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Preventive Medicine and Pediatrics as well as Core Faculty in the Center for Bioethics and Medical Humanities at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Her research examines the social determinants of chronic disease, specifically diabetes and obesity, for children and families who live in resource–limited communities using community–based frameworks. She has over 20 years of experience in community–based participatory research in both educational and medical communities, which have produced positive learning and health outcomes. She is the Co–Director of the Community Engagement and Outreach Core of the Mississippi Center for Clinical and Translational Research (MCCTR) and Director of the Community Engagement Core for the Forge AHEAD Center. She is also the PI for several studies examining the social determinants of chronic disease, food insecurity, and health inequities and is the Contact PI for the Mississippi Community Engagement Alliance (MS CEAL) Against COVID–19 Disparities. In addition to these roles and leading the UMMC SCORE Team, she enjoys building epic Lego creations and pillow forts with her three sons.
Dr. Erin Dehon
Dr. Dehon is a Professor in Emergency Medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center and is the Vice Chair of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. She is a licensed clinical psychologist with training and expertise in evidence–based treatments for mental health conditions. Dr. Dehon’s research and professional interests include program and performance evaluations, wellness, and diversity, equity and inclusion. Outside of work she enjoys spending as much time as she can outdoors including bike riding, playing tennis, hiking, and playing with her daughter.
Tess Johnson
Tess Johnson is a PhD student in Health & Kinesiology with a concentration in Health Behavior. She received her Master in Health Promotions in 2020 from the same department. Tess is the Research Associate for Project SCORE. She has over 20 years’ experience working in community–based programs that bring gardening, nutrition, and yoga programs to youth. Upon moving to Oxford in 2015 she has worked to bring nutrition–based programming to youth through serving as a FoodCorps service member with Oxford School District, developing a garden program at Willie Price Lab School on the UM Campus, and has continued to help bring garden and yoga programs across the state of Mississippi.
Graduate Assistants
Elizabeth Gordineer
Elizabeth Gordineer is a fourth year Neuroscience doctoral student at the University of Mississippi Medical Center with a prior background in chemistry. She loves ice skating, playing video games, and playing with her dog Koda. Her current research involves studying motor output of the spinal cord in humans using transcutaneous spinal stimulation to activate the afferent nerves of the spinal cord to augment or alter motor output. Gordineer hopes to become a neurochemist after graduation looking at different neurotraumas.
Saara Nasruddin
Dr. Saara Nasruddin is a licensed pharmacist and a PhD student in the Department of Pharmacy Administration at the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy. She is a Graduate student Research Scholar for Project SCORE and Robert E. Smith Cohort 3 Scholar for the Jackson Heart Study. Her research interests lie in addressing health inequities, improving health literacy and health communication, and development of the pharmacist/healthcare professional workforce.
Quest L. Whalan
Quest L. Whalen is a Biostatistics and Data Science doctoral student at the University of Mississippi Medical center. Her current research interests are applying methods of dimensional reduction and longitudinal analysis that address population health concerns relating to health disparities and social determinants of heart disease, technology, and physical environments. She entered the field of biostatistics in 2019 after receiving her Mathematics Bachelors from Tuskegee University. She believes biostatistics is a meaningful and active practice of computational and analytical tools to visualize the realities of health in communities. While pursing her research and career, Whalen does take time for small moments of indulgence. She has built a strategy to solve Wordle and loves listening to investigative and storytelling podcast like LeVar Burton Reads. She’s hoping one day maybe QUEST will be the Wordle of the day.
Sam Cohen-Winans
Sam Cohen–Winans is a doctoral candidate in Health & Kinesiology with a concentration in Health Behavior and an Interdisciplinary Graduate Minor in Applied Statistics at the University of Mississippi. She received her B.S.Ed. (2017) and M.S. (2018) in Exercise Physiology at Baylor University. Prior to beginning her doctoral studies, she helped to develop and worked at a Federally Qualified Health Center in Central Texas as the site’s first Wellness Center Coordinator overseeing wellness center operations, staff, and exercise prescriptions for patients. Sam’s primary areas of interest include physical activity, chronic disease management and prevention, and program evaluation.
Melissa Presley
Melissa Presley is a second–year MPH Graduate student with a concentration in Community Health at the University of Mississippi. She is a first–generation college student and received her B.S. in Communication, Sciences, and Disorders with a minor in Education (2021) at the University of Mississippi. She is a Graduate student Research Scholar for Project SCORE. Melissa’s research interest areas are mental health, substance abuse, and community engagement. She loves playing with her daughter, family time, watching YouTube, listening to music, and making memories.
Breanna Wade
Breanna Wade is a fourth year Population Health doctoral student and Program Administrator at the University of Mississippi Medical center. Her current research involves studying burnout in patients with chronic diseases and health disparities. Wade hopes to one day open a health and wellness complex that caters to vulnerable populations. In her spare time, she enjoys playing with her dog Charlie and exercising.