Research Education Programs Executive Committee


The Executive Committee consists of the program director, co-program directors (at Emory University, Morehouse School of Medicine, Georgia Tech, and UGA), co-directors for the Master of Science in Clinical Research (MSCR) program, Research Education lead evaluator, and key faculty from all three Georgia CTSA academic institutions.

The Executive Committee is subdivided into working groups as necessary (e.g., for KL2 and TL1 study sections).

The committee is charged with reviewing applications (for the Georgia CTSA MSCR program, Certificate Program in Translational Science, and TL1 program), selecting participants, assessing trainee and scholar progress, selecting and approving faculty mentors and thesis committees, and evaluating and approving thesis work (in consultation with the thesis advisor). The Executive Committee also evaluates and develops new curriculum, approves instructors for the MSCR core curriculum courses, reviews program evaluation and intervenes as necessary to improve the program, and interacts with the administrative structures of Emory, Georgia Tech, Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM), and University of Georgia (UGA).

The committee meets monthly to review operation and progress of the Research Education training programs. Day-to-day operations are managed by the program directors, co-program directors, and administrative staff.

The committee now includes eleven former trainees (Drs. Alvarez, Goldsmith, Hernandez, Kempker, Michopoulos, Ofotokun, Patzer, Shah, Shane, Sheth, and Sikora) who completed the MSCR or CPTS and/or KL2 and TL1 programs and established successful careers in clinical and translational research.

Research Education Programs Executive Committee

Jessica A. Alvarez, PhD, RD

Director, Certificate Program in Translational Science (CPTS)

Co-Course Director, Introduction to Clinical and Translational Science / Emory University

Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Lipids, Emory University School of Medicine

jessica.alvarez@emory.edu

404-727-1390

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Henry M. Blumberg, MD

Principal Investigator, KL2 and TL1

Co-Course Director, Clinical and Translational Science Colloquium, Research Education Programs / Emory University

Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Emory University School of Medicine
Professor of Epidemiology and Global Health, Emory University Rollins School of Public Health

henry.m.blumberg@emory.edu

404-727-5096

Read Henry's Bio


Lou Ann Brown, PhD

Committee Member

Emory University School of Medicine

Professor of Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine,
Director, Office of Postdoctoral Education

lbrow03@emory.edu

Read Lou Ann's Bio


Dawn Comeau, PhD, MPH

Mentor Training Director

Emory University

Research Professor & Vice Chair for Faculty Development, Department of Behavioral Science and Health Education, Rollins School of Public Health

dcomeau@emory.edu

404-727-7933

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J. Brandon Dixon, PhD

Co-Director, KL2 and TL1 Programs, Georgia Tech

Georgia Institute of Technology

Professor, School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

dixon@gatech.edu

404-385-3915

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David Goldsmith, MD, MSCR

Committee Member

Emory University

Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine

drgolds@emory.edu

Read David's Bio


Natalie D. Hernandez, PhD, MPH

Committee Member

Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM)

Assistant Professor, Department of Community Health and Preventive Medicine
Executive Director, Center for Maternal Health Equity

nhernandez@msm.edu

404-752-1523

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Jordan A. Kempker, MD, MSCR

Co-Course Director, Introduction to Clinical And Translational Science

MSCR Thesis Committee / Emory University

Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine Emory University School of Medicine

jkempke@emory.edu

404-616-9175

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James D Lauderdale, PhD

Co-Director, TL1 Program

University of Georgia

Associate Professor, Department of Cellular Biology, Paul D Coverdell Center for Biomedical and Health Sciences, University of Georgia

jdlauder@uga.edu

706-542-7433

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Matthew Magee, PhD

Course Director, Analytic Methods in Clinical and Translational Science

Emory University

Associate Professor of Hubert Department of Global Health Rollins School of Public Health

mjmagee@emory.edu

404-727-9814

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Amita Manatunga, PhD

Course Director, Overview of High Dimensional Data

MSCR Thesis Committee / Emory University

Professor, Department of Biostatistics, Rollins School of Public Health

amanatu@sph.emory.edu

404-727-1309

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Vasiliki Michopoulos, PhD, MSCR

Co-Director, TL1 Program / Co-Course Director, Advanced Grant Writing

Emory University School of Medicine

Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine

vmichop@emory.edu

404-727-1585

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Eric J. Nehl, PhD

Program Evaluator

Emory University

Associate Research Professor, Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Emory University Rollins School of Public Health

enehl@emory.edu

404-727-9445

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Igho Ofotokun, MD, MSCR

Co-Director, KL2 Program

Co-Course Director, Clinical and Translational Science Colloquium, Co-Coordinator, MSCR Journal Club / Emory University School of Medicine

Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases

iofotok@emory.edu

404-616-0659

Read Igho's Bio


Alexander Quarshie, MD, MSc

Co-Director, KL2 Program

Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM)

Director, Morehouse School of Medicine, MSCR Program
Director, Biomedical Informatics Program
Professor of Community Health and Preventive Medicine

aquarshie@msm.edu

404-752-8681

Read Alexander's Bio


Suresh S. Ramalingam, MD, FACP, FASCO

Committee Member

Emory University

Professor, Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology
Executive Director, Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University

ssramal@emory.edu

404-778-5378

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Amit Shah, MD, MSCR

Committee Member

Emory University

Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, Department of Epidemiology

ajshah3@emory.edu

404-727-8737

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Andi L. Shane, MD, MPH, MSCR

Co-Course Director, Clinical Trial Design

Emory University & Children's Healthcare of Atlanta

Professor and Director, Division of Infectious Diseases Emory Department of Pediatrics

ashane@emory.edu

404-727-9880

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Somanath P.R. Shenoy, PhD, FAHA

Co-Director, KL2 Program

University of Georgia

Professor, College of Pharmacy University of Georgia
Director of Clinical and Experimental Therapeutics

sshenoy@augusta.edu

706-721-4250

Read Somanath's Bio


Anandi Sheth, MD, MSCR

Co-Director, TL1 Program

Emory University

Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Emory School of Medicine

ansheth@emory.edu

404-616-6240

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Andrea Sikora, PharmD, MSCR

Committee Member

University of Georgia College of Pharmacy / Augusta University Medical Center

Clinical Associate Professor / Critical Care Clinical Pharmacist

sikora@uga.edu

706-721-6760

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Claire E. Sterk, PhD

Committee Member

Emory University

Charles Howard Candler Professor of Behavioral, Social, and Health Education Sciences Rollins School of Public Healt

csterk@emory.edu

404-727-6013

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Gianluca Tosini, PhD

Co-Director, TL1 Program

Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM)

Chief Scientific Research Officer
Professor and Chair of Pharmacology and Toxicology

gtosini@msm.edu

404-756-5214

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Drenna Waldrop, PhD

Committee Member

Emory University

Professor, tenured, Interim Associate Dean for Research, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing

drenna.waldrop@emory.edu

404-712-9487

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Thomas R. Ziegler, MD

Co-Director, TL1 Program

Emory University School of Medicine / Georgia CTSA Clinical Research Centers (GCRCs)

Professor of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Lipids
Co-Program Director, Georgia CTSA Clinical Research Center

tzieg01@emory.edu

404-727-7351

Read Thomas' Bio