Prevention and Implementation Science

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Bauer, Brian

Assistant Professor, Psychology
Distinguished Scholar, Owens Institute for Behavioral Research
2022-2024 GDP Participant, Owens Institute for Behavioral Research
website | brian.bauer@uga.edu

Research Interests include: Suicide; Behavioral economics; Decision

Beach, Steven R.H.

Regents’ Professor, Psychology
Associate Director, Center for Community and Family Research
Co-Director, Center on Biological Embedding of Social Events & Relationships
Distinguished Scholar, Owens Institute for Behavioral Research
2023 OIBR Service Legacy Award Recipient
website | srhbeach@uga.edu

Research Interests include preventive intervention, epigenetic processes, family health, and marriage

Cotwright, Caree

Associate Professor, Nutritional Sciences
website | cjcot@uga.edu

Research Interests include childhood obesity prevention, nutrition intervention, sugar sweetened beverages, and wellness best practices

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Fisher, Sycarah

Associate Professor, Educational Psychology
2020-22 GDP Participant, Owens Institute for Behavioral Research
website | sycarah.fisher@uga.edu

Research Interests include substance use, minorities, African Americans, school mental health, and implementation science

Futris, Ted

Professor, Family & Consumer Sciences
website | tfutris@uga.edu

Research Interests include couples, relationships, outreach, evaluation, and community engagement

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Galvan, Thania

Assistant Professor, Psychology
website | thania.galvan@uga.edu

Research Interests include: Mental health disparities; Latinx youth & families; Latinx immigrants; Traumatic stress; Risk & Resilience pathways

Han, Jeong-Yeob

Professor, Advertising & Public Relations
website | jeonghan@uga.edu

Research Interests include eHealth communication, social media, online communities, cancer communication, and media effects

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Hetherington, Emma

Clinical Associate Professor, School of Law
website | ehether@uga.edu

Research Interests: Policy, Regulation, and Compliance, Prevention and Implementation Science, Survey Methods, Youth, Adolescence, and Emerging Adulthood

Johnson, Karen

Associate Professor, Social Work
website | Karen.Johnson1@uga.edu

Research Interests include: Bias, Discrimination, and Inequality; Crime and Corrections; Gender; Infectious Disease; Maltreatment and Trauma; Prevention and Implementation Science; Risk Behaviors; Sexuality and Sexual Identity

Lavner, Justin

Professor, Psychology
Distinguished Scholar, Owens Institute for Behavioral Research
2022 OIBR Rising Star Award Recipient
2015-17 GDP Participant
website | lavner@uga.edu

Research Interests include couples, families, prevention, health disparities and LGBTQ

McFarlane, Soroya

Associate Professor & Associate Head of Department, Communication Studies
2025 OIBR Rising Star Recipient
2021-23 GDP Participant, Owens Institute for Behavioral Research
website | soroyamcfarlane@uga.edu

Research Interests include health communication, health disparities, community-engaged research, and culture

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Melcher, Katherine

Professor, College of Environment and Design
website | kmelcher@uga.edu

Research Interests include: Aging and Gerontology, Cognition, Culture, Environment and Ecosystems, Ethnography, Gender, Geographic Information Systems, Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, Identity, Mental Health, Obesity, Organizations, Physical Health and Well-being, Policy, Regulation, and Compliance, Prevention and Implementation Science, Youth, Adolescence, and Emerging Adulthood

Novak, Josh

Associate Professor, Human Development and Family Science
website | joshua.novak@uga.edu

Research Interests include: Aging and Gerontology; Assessment and Evaluation; Chronic Disease; Communication; Culture; Emotion; Exercise; Food & Nutrition; Group Processes and Intergroup Relations; Marriage, Family, and Close Relationships; Mental Health; Mental Illness and Disorders; Obesity; Physical Health and Well-being; Prevention and Implementation Science; Psychophysiology; Sexuality and Sexual Identity; Social Psychology; Substance Use and Addiction

Nowak, Glen

Professor, Advertising Public Relations
Co-director, Grady College Center for Health & Risk Communications
website | gnowak@uga.edu

Research Interests include health communication, infectious and vaccine preventable disease communication

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Pridemore, William

Marienthal Professor of Sociology
website | pridemore@uga.edu

Research Interests: Assessment and Evaluation, Crime and Corrections, Culture, Physical Health and Well-being, Policy, Regulation, and Compliance, Prevention and Implementation Science, Risk Behaviors, Substance Use and Addiction, Violence and Injury

Richards, Dylan

Assistant Professor, Psychology
website | dkrichards@uga.edu

Research Interests include: Assessment and Evaluation; Bias, Discrimination, and Inequality; Chronic Disease; Diversity; Emotion; Exercise; Experimental Methods; Food & Nutrition; Group Processes and Intergroup Relations; Identity; Mental Health; Mental Illness and Disorders; Obesity; Personality; Physical Health and Well-being; Prevention and Implementation Science; Risk Behaviors; Social Psychology; Substance Use and Addiction; Survey Methods

Rosario-Williams, Bev

Assistant Professor, Counseling and Human Development Services
website | bevrw@uga.edu

Research Interests include: Immigration, Marriage, Family, and Close Relationships, Mental Illness and Disorders, Prevention and Implementation Science, Youth, Adolescence, and Emerging Adulthood

Schmidt, Julianne

Georgia Athletic Association Endowed Professor, Kinesiology
website | schmidtj@uga.edu

Research Interests include: Neuroscience, Prevention and Implementation Science, Violence and Injury

Shannon, Jerry

Associate Professor, Geography
website | jshannon@uga.edu

Research Interests include food access, food insecurity, participatory research, and urban development

Song, Suhang

Assistant Professor, Health Policy & Management
website | suhang.song@uga.edu

Research Interests include: Health disparities; Health policy; Health economics; Non-communicable diseases; Cognitive aging

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Tanner, Susan

Associate Professor, Anthropology
website | stanner1@uga.edu

Research Interests include: Chronic Disease, Culture, Ethnography, Exercise, Food & Nutrition, Infectious Disease, Physical Health and Well-being, Prevention and Implementation Science, Risk Behaviors, Survey Methods

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Tate, Allan

Associate Professor, Epidemiology & Biostatistics
website | allan.tate@uga.edu

Research Interests: Bias, Discrimination, and Inequality, Chronic Disease, Computational Methods, Diversity, Environment and Ecosystems, Exercise, Food & Nutrition, Immigration, Infant and Child Development, Infant and Maternal Health, Maltreatment and Trauma, Mental Health, Physical Health and Well-being, Prevention and Implementation Science, Risk Behaviors, Survey Methods, Youth, Adolescence, and Emerging Adulthood

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Torelli, Jessica

Associate Professor, Communication Sciences & Special Education
2024-2026 GDP Participant, Owens Institute for Behavioral Research
website | jessica.torelli@uga.edu

Research Interests include: Teacher professional development; preventive behavior interventions; function-based assessment and intervention; functional analysis

Tziganuk, Ashlee

Associate Professor, Financial Planning, Housing, and Consumer Economics
website | ashlee.tziganuk@uga.edu

Research Interests include: Aging and Gerontology; Policy, Regulation, and Compliance; Prevention and Implementation Science

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Verma, Amitabh

Associate Professor, Environment + Design
website | averma@uga.edu

Research Interests include drawing, creativity, mental health, urban design, anxiety management, and architecture

Wieling, Elizabeth

Professor, Human Development & Family Science
website | ewieling@uga.edu

Research Interests include traumatic stress, evidence based interventions for parenting, and Latinx families