Members

The VCU CoHD invites faculty, researchers and students to join as members. The primary purpose of membership is to provide an infrastructure to support the development of health disparities research. If you are interested in membership, please send your curriculum vitae along with a letter of interest indicating your experience in minority health disparities (if applicable). All application packets should be sent to Ettora Burrell at ettora.burrell@vcuhealth.org.

Membership is currently comprised of the following: 

Hamid I. Akbarali, Ph.D.  
Professor
Director of Graduate Education  
and Postdoctoral Training
Department of Pharmacology and Tocixology 
hamid.akbarali@vcuhealth.org

Andrew J. Barnes, Ph.D.  
Associate Professor
Control Massey Cancer Center 
Department of Health Behavior and Policy 
andrew.barnes@vcuhealth.org

Melanie Bean, Ph.D.  
Associate Professor
Co-Director, Healthy Lifestyles Center 
Department of Pediatrics 
Division of Genetics/Endocronology/Metabolism 
melanie.bean@vcuhealth.org

Alisa E. Brewer  
Director of Community Engagement and Outreach
VCU Center on Health Disparities 
alisa.brewer@vcuhealth.org

Darlene H. Brunzell, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology 
darlene.brunzell@vcuhealth.org

J. Brian Cassel, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Palliative Care Research Director
brian.cassel@vcuhealth.org

PonJola Coney, M.D.
Executive director (2010-2020)
Professor emeritus (2020-present)
School of Medicine, Center on Health Disparities
ponjola.coney@vcuhealth.org 

Bassam Dahman, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Health Behavior and Policy 
bassam.dahman@vcuhealth.org

M. Imad N. Damaj, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology 
m.damaj@vcuhealth.org

Nakeina E. Douglas-Glenn, Ph.D.  
Director
Associate Professor 
The Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute  
L Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs 
nedouglas@vcu.edu

Elizabeth Edmondson, Ph.D.  
Department of Teaching and Learning
School of Education 
ewedmondson@vcu.edu

Robin Everhart, Ph.D. 
Associate Professor 
Health Psychology 
everhart@vcu.edu

Bernard Fuemmeler, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Professor
Department of Health Behavior and Policy  
bernard.fuemmeler@vcuhealth.org

Sarah Golding, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Director of Undergraduate Research 
Department of Biology
Division of Genetics/Endocrinology/Metabolism 
segolding@vcu.edu

Nao Hagiwara, Ph.D.
Associate Professor 
Health Psychology 
nhagiwara@vcu.edu

Rosalyn H. Hargraves, Ph.D.  
Associate Professor
Electrical and Computer Engineering 
School of Engineering
rhobson@vcu.edu

Karen Hendricks-Munoz, M.D., M.P.H.
Interim Executive Director, Deputy Director
Center on Health Disparities 
Professor and Chair in Neonatal Medicine
Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU 
karen.hendricks-munoz@vcuhealth.org

Hsin-Ling "Sonya" Hung, Ph.D.
Director of Evaluation and Assessment
Center on Health Disparities 
Assistant Professor
Department of Behavior Health and Policy
hsinling.hung@vcuhealth.org

Thomas C. Iden, M.D.  
Assistant Professor
Department of Internal Medicine  
Division of Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Medicine 
thomas.iden@vcuhealth.org

Hyojin Im, PhD, MSW, MA  
Associate Professor
School of Social Work Division of Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Medicine 
him@vcu.edu

Pamela Knapp, Ph.D.
Professor
Departments of Anatomy and Neurobiology 
pamela.knapp@vcuhealth.org

Alex H. Krist, M.D., M.P.H.
Professor 
Co-director, Ambulatory Care 
Outcomes Research Network 
Department of Family Medicine and Population Health 
alexander.krist@vcuhealth.org

Jordana Kron, M.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Internal Medicine 
Division of Cardiology

jordana.kron@vcuhealth.org 

Dana L. Ladd, M.S., S.L.I.S., Ph.D., A.H.I.P.
Health and Wellness Librarian 
VCU Health Sciences Library
Research and Education 
dlladd@vcu.edu

Jessica G. LaRose, Ph.D.
Associate Professor 
Department of Health Behavior and Policy 
jessica.larose@vcuhealth.org

Maghboebah Mosavel, Ph.D.  
Associate Professor 
Department of Health Behavior and Policy 
mmosavel@vcu.edu  

Serge P. Nana-Sinkam, M.D.
Chair
Professor of Medicine 
Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine
Department of Internal Medicine 
patrick.nana-sinkam@vcuhealth.org

Pamela Parsons, Ph.D., RN, FNP-BC, FNAP
Associate Professor
Department of Family and Community Health 
pparsons@vcu.edu 

John M. Quillin, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.S.
Associate Professor 
Department of Human and Molecular Genetics 
john.quillin@vcuhealth.org

John Ryan, Ph.D.
Professor 
College of Humanities and Sciences 
Biology  
jjryan@vcu.edu

Arun J. Sanyal, M.D. 
Division Chair
Internal Medicine 
arun.sanyal@vcuhealth.org

Devanand Sarkar, M.B.B.S., Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Human and Molecular Genetics 
devanand.sarkar@vcuhealth.org

Mychal D. Smith, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
College of Humanities and Science 
Department of Chemistry 
mdsmith@vcu.edu

Vanessa B. Sheppard, Ph.D.
Professor  
Theresa A. Thomas Memorial Chair 
in Cancer Prevention and Control 
Department of Health and Behavior Policy 
vanessa.sheppard@vcuhealth.org

Rita Shiang, Ph.D.  
Associate Professor
Graduate Program Director 
Director of Admissions 
Department of Human and Molecular Genetics 
rita.shiang@vcuhealth.org

Urmila Sivagnanalingam
School of Medicine

Mychal D. Smith, Ph.D. 
Assistant Professor
College of Humanities and Science  
Department of Chemistry 
mdsmith@vcu.edu

Wally R. Smith, M.D.  
Professor
Co-Director, Healthy Lifestyles Center 
Department of Internal Medicine 
Division of General Internal Medicine 
wally.smith@vcuhealth.org

Aamer A. Syed, M.D. 
Assistant Professor
Department of Internal Medicine  
Division of Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Medicine 
aamer.syed@vcuhealth.org

Huzaefah J. Syed, M.D., M.P.H.
Assistant Professor
Department of Internal Medicine
Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology 
huzaefah.syed@vcuhealth.org 

Emmanuel A. Taylor, MSc, DrPH
Professor 
Department of Health Behavior and Policy : 
emmanuel.taylor@vcuhealth.org

Maria D. Thomson, Ph.D. 
Assistant Professor 
Department of Health Behavior and Policy 
maria.thomson@vcuhealth.org

Cecelia Valrie, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Health Psychology
Department of Psychology
cvalrie@vcu.edu

Stacey E. Wahl, Ph.D.  
Research and Education Librarian
VCU Health Sciences Library
Research and Education
swahl@vcu.edu

Robert A. Winn, M.D.  
Director
Massey Cancer Center 
robert.winn@vcuhealth.org 

Marcia Winter, Ph.D. 
Associate Professor 
Developmental Psychology 
mawinter@vcu.edu

Marcie S. Wright, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Associate Director
Director of Research Support Services
Center on Health Disparities
Associate Professor
Department of Health Behavior and Policy
mswright@vcu.edu

Guizhi (Julian) Zhu, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Center for Pharmaceutical Engineering and Science
Department of Pharmaceutics
Massey Cancer Center

Heather A. Jones, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Director
Child/Adolescent Concentration
Clinical Psychology Program