Dr. Chelsea S. Kidwell, MD is Professor of Neurology at Georgetown University, Medical Director of the Georgetown University Stroke Center, and Principal Investigator of the NIH-funded Stroke Disparities Program grant. She received her undergraduate degree at Duke University, her medical degree at University of Arizona, and performed her Neurology Residency and Stroke Fellowship at UCLA. Dr. Kidwell's research focuses on 1) understanding and addressing disparities in stroke care, 2) innovative new neuroimaging approaches directed at understanding stroke pathophysiology, and 3) advancing novel treatments for acute stroke. She has served on a number of American Heart Association / American Stroke Association expert panels and is the author of over 60 peer-reviewed journal publications and 11 book chapters. Dr. Kidwell is currently the Principal Investigator of the multicenter, NIH-funded, MR and Recanalization of Stroke Clots Using Embolectomy (MR RESCUE) trial and the NIH-funded Stroke Disparities Program (SDP).
Dr. Alex W. Dromerick, MD A leader in the field of stroke and brain injury, Dr. Dromerick serves as co-director of the Neuroscience Research Center and Associate Medical Director for Academic Affiliations. Dr. Dromerick comes to NRH from Washington University in St. Louis, where he co-directed the institution's Stroke Center and served as an associate professor of neurology and occupational therapy. He also served as medical director of the Subacute Rehabilitation Service, medical director of the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Service, and head of the section on stroke and brain injury rehabilitation.
Originally from Washington, D.C., Dr. Dromerick received his B.A. in biology in 1980 from the University of Virginia, and his M.D. in 1986 from the University of Maryland. Following medical school, Dr. Dromerick worked as a research associate in the laboratory of Richard T. Johnson at Johns Hopkins University and went on to complete an internship in internal medicine at the University of Maryland and a residency in neurology at the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Bernadette Boden-Albala, MPH, DrPH
A social epidemiologist whose work examines the intersection of a number of important disciplines including vascular epidemiology and behavioral and social science. Her research initially utilized the rich prospective database of the Northern Manhattan Study (NOMAS) as she examined issues of race-ethnicity, and social resources/health disparities including isolation, educational attainment, nativity, acculturation, health care utilization, language, and literacy. Her research is specifically related to health disparities, stroke, and vascular disease with an emphasis on the identification of novel modifiable stroke risk factors, and the promotion of behavioral change for primary and secondary stroke prevention. The field of stroke disparities research incorporating educational strategies and health literacy has been growing rapidly and she has become an expert in this field as evidenced by the award of a number of peer reviewed research grants. This includes an American Heart Association Grant, "Intensive social support and blood pressure control among minority women post stroke"; an educational grant from Sanofi , "Issues Surrounding Antiplatelet Compliance Post Stroke"; Project 3, "Stroke Warning information and Faster Treatment (SWIFT)" within a SPOTRIAS program project (the NIH/NINDS Columbia Collaborative Specialized Program of Translational Research in Acute Stroke, or SPOTRIAS); the Community Engagement Core (CER) within the NIH funded Columbia University CTSA; Project 1 "SWIFT Atlanta" within the NIH/NINDS funded SPRIP Morehouse contract and the RO1, "Families Understanding Risk Reduction through Educational Reinforcement" She was recently appointed PI for the CU 4 School Dean's Grant entitled "The Impact of Social Inequities on the Complex Relationship between Oral Health and Peripheral Vascular". She continues to be involved in numerous interdisciplinary collaborations across many areas of the Columbia University Campus (Medicine, Cardiology, Public Health, Dental, Nursing, Harlem Hospital).
Dr. Chris Gibbons, MD, MPH is an Associate Director of the Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute, the Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Community Health and he holds faculty appointments at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and the Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Gibbon's research focuses on 1) Integrating evidence-based behavioral interventions into the US medical care system and 2) uniting Health Information Technologies with culturally appropriate clinical behavioral interventions to reduce disparities in chronic disease among African-American population. His work is also contributing to the emerging fields of Populomics and Consumer Health Informatics Dr. Gibbons has been named a Health Disparities Scholar by the National Institutes of Health (NCMHHD). Prior to coming to the Urban Health Institute, Dr Gibbons was a Senior Policy Fellow at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Dr. Gibbons received his training in Preventive Medicine, General Surgery, molecular neurooncology basic research and a Master of Public Health degree, all at Johns Hopkins. He received his medical degree from the University of Alabama School of Medicine in Birmingham, Alabama.
Dr. Dorothy F. Edwards, PhD serves as the Principal Investigator of the Participant Recruitment, Retention, Intervention, and Outcomes Core. Dr. Edwards received her B.S. in Psychology at Loyola University, New Orleans Louisiana. She received a National Institute of Child Health and Human Development fellowship for her doctoral training in Aging and Development at Washington University in St. Louis. After receiving her doctorate in experimental psychology in 1980 she worked as a research consultant for the Administration on Aging and then accepted a position at the Irene Walter Johnson Rehabilitation Institute of Washington University School of Medicine. She joined the faculty of the Program in Occupational Therapy as an Assistant Professor in 1988. Dr. Edwards was appointed as Assistant Professor of Neurology in 1990. She was promoted to Associate Professor of Occupational Therapy and Neurology in 2001. Dr. Edwards has focused on the impact of neurologic disease and injury on community participation and quality of life. Her stroke studies have examined predictors of mortality after hemorrhagic stroke as well as the contributions of cognitive, sensory and motor impairments to functional independence and resumption of pre-stroke activities in persons with mild to moderate stroke. Her current longitudinal study of persons with very mild stroke, which is supported by the James S. McDonnell Foundation, is designed to identify predictors of poor recovery with a particular emphasis on the role of subtle cognitive deficits. Dr. Edwards is a co-investigator in an NINDS supported RCT of the effects very early application of constraint induced movement therapy after stroke. Dr. Edwards has been an investigator in Washington University Alzheimer's Disease Research Center since 1980. She has extensive experience with recruitment and retention of African American research participants. She has been the Principal Investigator of African American Outreach Satellite of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center since 1992. As part of this study she has examined disparities in diagnosis and treatment of African American elders with dementia. She is also a member of the Disparities Elimination Advisory Committee of the Siteman Cancer Center at Washington University. Dr. Edward�s research has been supported by the James S. McDonnell Foundation, the American Heart Association, the Alzheimer's Association, the Retirement Research Foundation, NIA and NINDS.
Dr. Nawar M. Shara, PhD is the Director at the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at the MedStar Health Research Institute (Washington, DC), she is also Director of the Design, Biostatistics and Population Sciences Core at the Georgetown-Howard Universities Clinical and Translational Center. Dr. Shara is Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Georgetown University Medical Center Department of Endocrinology. Her expertise includes the design of adaptive clinical trials including methods for multiple dose finding and the design of longitudinal epidemiological studies. Dr. Shara developed imputation methods for the treatment of missing clinical data based on the type of missingness. Dr. Shara has extensive expertise in designing risk prediction models using non-traditional predictors of CVD risk in the presence of diabetes, kidney disease and obesity in settings where racial disparities exist.
Dr. Lewis Morgenstern, MD is Director of the Stroke Program at the University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor Michigan, USA. He is Professor of Neurology, Emergency Medicine and Neurosurgery at the University of Michigan Medical School and Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. Dr. Morgenstern received his MD from the University of Michigan with Distinction in Research. He did his neurology residency at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, and then a stroke fellowship with James Grotta at the University of Texas at Houston. Dr. Morgenstern is an NIH funded Principal Investigator in studies that aim to reduce stroke health disparities with respect to race, ethnicity and gender. Dr. Morgenstern's other research focus is on the treatment of intracerebral hemorrhage, and mobilizing health care professionals and communities to treat acute ischemic stroke. He has an extensive publication record. Dr. Morgenstern is board certified in Neurology and Vascular Neurology. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Neurology and the American Heart Association and a member of the Editorial Board of the journal STROKE. Dr. Morgenstern is currently co-Chair of the American Heart Association's International Stroke conference.
Dr. Brisa N. Sanchez is an Assistant Professor of Biostatistics. She received her Ph.D. in Biostatistics in 2006 from Harvard University. She joined the University of Michigan in 2006 as an Assistant Research Professor, and as Assistant Professor in 2008. Her research interests are in statistical methodology applicable to environmental epidemiology, and social epidemiology and health disparities.
Her collaborative research spans environmental epidemiology, social epidemiology, and health disparities in the areas of cardiovascular disease, stroke, and the distribution of body mass index. Within environmental epidemiology, her work focuses on the impact of lead and air pollution exposure on birth outcomes, and child development and behavior. Her work on health disparities and social epidemiology has included the analysis of the effectiveness of school level interventions to reduce child obesity, among others.
Dr. Ravi Menon is Assistant Professor of Neurology at Georgetown University and Associate Investigator for the Stroke Disparities Program. He obtained his medical degree from Rush Medical College in Chicago, IL, and completed Neurology Residency training at the University of Chicago where he served as a Chief Resident. He completed two years of Cerebrovascular Disease Fellowship training at the NIH/NINDS (Section of Stroke Diagnostics and Therapeutics) and has extensive experience as an enrolling investigator for multiple government and industry trials. Dr. Menon's research focuses upon: utilizing neuroimaging to better characterize the pathophysiology of cerebrovascular and neurological disorders; examining and combatting health disparities; investigating novel therapies for cerebrovascular disease.
Dr. Annapurni Jayam Trouth is Professor of Neurology, Chair of the Department of Neurology, Howard University, and Program Director of the Neurology Residency program at Howard University Hospital. She is also the Medical Director of the Howard University Stroke Program, and Principal Investigator at Howard, of the NIH-funded Stroke Disparities Program grant. She received her Medical (MBBS) and Doctor of Medicine (MD) in Pediatrics degrees at Bombay University, performed her Pediatric and Neurology Residencies at Columbia University & Harlem Hospital Center as well as New York University & Bellevue Hospital Center, where she completed her Pediatric Neurology Fellowship training. Dr. Trouth's research focuses on 1) understanding stroke risk factors and differences in mechanisms for and pathophysiology of vascular disease in African Americans, addressing disparities in stroke care, 2) Study of epilepsy and disparities in care and 3) Pediatric Behavioral problems to include ADHD and the Autism spectrum. She has served on the NIH IRB panel and Neurological Devices panel, where she is currently a consultant. She is a member of the Epilepsy Foundation, Metropolitan Washington area Advisory Board and serves in the Quality Council and Credentialing Council of the Health Services for Children with Special Needs. She is a member of the American Heart Association / American Stroke Association and is the author of over 40 peer-reviewed journal publications and has presented over 100 presentations at local, national and international meetings, serving as visiting professor and keynote speaker. She has supervised over 75 resident presentations, abstracts and posters at local, national and international meetings, serving as moderator of the Neurology section resident symposium at the National Medical Association's annual meetings for over 12 years. Dr. Trouth is currently the local Principal Investigator at Howard University of the multicenter, NIH-funded Stroke Disparities Program (SDP) to include the PROTECT DC & DECIPHER studies and Co- PI in the ASPIRE study.
Dr. George Howard is Professor and Chair of Biostatistics at the UAB. He received his training in biostatistics was from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill . He has had experience in biostatistics, data management, and the direction of coordinating centers of multicenter studies. He is currently the overall project PI for the REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) project, a national study developing a cohort of 30,000 individuals to provide insights to the excess stroke mortality among African Americans and Southerners. Having mentored junior faculty to the point where they could assume the Principal Investigator position from him, he is the immediate past PI of the Coordinating Centers the Carotid Revascularization Endarterectomy Stenting Trial (CREST), Secondary Prevention of Small Subcortical Strokes (SPS3), and the Trial of Early Aggressive Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis (TEAR) Trial � all studies still underway under the leadership of faculty in Biostatistics and Epidemiology. He was previously the PI of the Coordinating Center for the Insulin Resistance Atherosclerosis Study (IRAS), the Autoimmune Ear Disease (AIED) Study, the Prospective Randomized Evaluation of the Vascular Effects of Norvasc Trial (PREVENT), and as Co-PI in the Southeastern Consortium on Racial Differences in Stroke (SECORDS). He has been a co-investigator in numerous epidemiological studies and clinical trials including Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC), the Community Hospital-Based Stroke Program, the Postmenopausal Estrogen/Progestin Interventions (PEPI) study, and the Asymptomatic Carotid Atherosclerosis Study (ACAS). Dr. Howard has been actively involved in many activities of the American Heart Association including serving on the Chairing the review process for the Bugher Foundation Grants for the Stroke Council, Leadership and Membership Committees for the Council of Cardiovascular Epidemiology and Prevention, working as a faculty member for the 10-day course in Cardiovascular Epidemiology, and serving a reviewer of the Innovative Grant Application Program. He has published extensively in the analysis of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular risk factors, and has nearly 30 years experience working directly with clinical investigators.
Dr. Greenberg is Director of the Hemorrhagic Stroke Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital and Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School. Initiated in 1994, the Hemorrhagic Stroke Research Program has become internationally recognized as a leading authority on the causes, diagnosis, and treatment of cerebral amyloid angiopathy. Dr. Greenberg has authored over 80 research articles and over 40 chapters, reviews, and editorials, served as principal investigator on multiple national research grants and in leadership positions at national and international conferences on hemorrhagic stroke and vascular cognitive impairment. Dr. Greenberg received his undergraduate degree in Biochemistry from Harvard University and MD and PhD degrees from Columbia University under the graduate research training of Dr. James Schwartz. He performed internship at Pennsylvania Hospital, neurology residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, and post-doctoral fellowship at the Brigham and Women's Hospital Center for Neurologic Diseases.