Experts: Health + Medicine

Amy L. Ai, Ph.D., MSW, MS, MA, is a Professor of Social Work/SW and is affiliated with the Colleges of Medicine and Nursing and Institute for Successful Longevity, Florida State University.

Dr. Ai earned three Masters and a joint Psychology-SW Ph.D. at the University of Michigan, followed by post-doctoral training(National Institutes of Health/NIH). Her interdisciplinary research focuses on physical and behavioral health, aging, health disparity, trauma, human strengths, and spirituality, leading to numerous first-author publications.

She is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, Association of Psychological Science, and Gerontological Society of America; John A. Hartford Geriatric Faculty Scholar; Delegate/Representative of Academic Settings to the 2005 White House Conference on Aging; and Fulbright Scholar.

She is the PI/Co-PI of multiple projects, funded by Federal, State, and private foundations and is a Scientific Reviewer for national, international, and private funding agencies (e.g., Departments of State, Defense, and Health and Human Services, Patient-Centered Outcome Research Institute, NIH, and major funders in Canada, United Kingdom, and Hong Kong-China).

She a recipient of the Outstanding Science Award(APA Trauma Psychology) and the Distinguished Health Psychology Award(IAAP). Her seminal tool book, “Assessing Spirituality in a Diversified World” (2020, peer-reviewed), is currently the only book on this topic, involving 40+ interdisciplinary scholars around the globe.

Bhide received his degree in veterinary medicine from Veterinary College, Bangalore, India, and a Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. He undertook postdoctoral training in developmental neurobiology at University College, London; Yale University; and Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

The research in the Bhide laboratory focuses on developmental neurological and psychiatric conditions including ADHD and early-onset generalized dystonia. Current research projects include examination of the role of dopamine receptor activation in the developing brain; the effects of prenatal exposure to cocaine, nicotine and analgesic medications on the development of the brain and behavior; and the developmental origins of the movement disorder generalized dystonia.

Dr. Bush coordinates the OB/GYN curriculum for the college. She has been in practice at The Women’s Group in Pensacola for more than 20 years, and is a certified menopause practitioner. She coordinates the training of third- and fourth-year medical students at the Pensacola Regional Medical School Campus.

Dr. Brady DeCouto’s research background concerns expert performance, with a particular emphasis on the cognitive mechanisms involved in skill acquisition and expert performance (e.g., attention, information processing, emotion). Given the acceleration of ubiquitous assistive technologies such as artificial intelligence, wearable sensors, and exoskeletons, Brady’s current research interests are focused on how the constraints and characteristics of human cognition, psychology, and motor control impact our compatibility with such technological tools, and how technological tools can best facilitate human learning (i.e., human-machine teaming).

William “Billy” Francis is a retired Air Force fighter jet pilot and commander with 26 years of service and the founding director of FSU’s Student Veterans Center (SVC). His leadership has helped Florida State University become a national leader in supporting student veterans and ensuring veterans’ success, including making a college degree more accessible for veterans, securing funding for the FSU Veterans Legacy Complex and increasing FSU’s veteran graduation rates by more than 15 percent. Since its founding, the SVC has hosted over 500 events and activities and supported over 20,000 military-connected students.

Karen Geletko is a faculty member and instructor with the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Social Medicine. She specializes in planning and conducting research projects in the intersecting areas of medicine and public health, tobacco prevention and cessation, preparedness and public health, and performance management and workforce development in public health. She also assists in program evaluation for several state and federal programs.

Glueckauf is an expert on Alzheimer’s disease as it relates to caregiver support. His interests lie in the development and evaluation of eHealth and community-based interventions for individuals with severe disabilities and their family caregivers, outcomes measurement, and spirituality and health.

Dr. Gomory has over 35 years of experience as a clinician, administrator, and educator in the areas of social work, mental health, and homelessness. He has co-authored an award-winning book on mental health titled Mad Science: Psychiatric Coercion, diagnosis, and drugs along with more than three dozen articles and chapters.”  

Dr. Lisa J. Granville is Professor of Geriatrics and Associate Chair of the Department of Geriatrics at Florida State University College of Medicine, Co-Director of the FSU COM Curriculum Re-design and the lead faculty for three Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program projects that address education of caregivers, community based seniors and Continuing Care Retirement Community nursing staff.

Dr. Granville’s medical education research focuses include competency-based learning, development of clinical skills, use of simulators and standardized patients and assessment of learning outcomes.
Her clinical research investigates urinary incontinence, prostate disorders, falls and gait disorders.

Dr. Jenkins is the Michael and Jean Shahnasarian Endowed Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems. She received her Ph.D. in School Psychology from Northern Illinois University.  She is a Licensed Psychologist in the State of Florida and a Nationally Certified School Psychologist.

Kabbaj conducts research in the area of stress and drug addiction. He focuses on the brain basis of emotional behavior to determine why some people are more prone to stress and addiction.

Karioth is an expert on grief, trauma, stress and compassion fatigue who counseled the survivors of the 9/11 terrorist attack on the Pentagon and children who lost parents in the World Trade Center, and can address the ways in which the nation grieves in the aftermath of a violent attack.

Keel is an expert on eating disorders and is currently working on the factors that distinguish people with purging disorder from the more commonly known bulimia or anorexia nervosa.

Keel has also examined the link between social media and eating disorders. In 2019, she received the Leadership Award in Research from the Academy of Eating Disorders at the 2019 International Conference on Eating Disorders. The award recognizes research that has produced new insights about eating disorders and advanced the field of study.

Assistant Professor Braidyn Lazenby’s research interests include interpersonal health communication – specifically how we talk about our bodies and food – and how those conversations influence perceptions of health, health outcomes and health behaviors. Some of her previous research has focused on stigmatized conditions, eating disorders, and fad diets, among many other things. Her research can be found in journals such as Health Communication, Qualitative Health Research, Social Science and Medicine, and more.

Professor Mia Lustria has 20+ years of research experience in eHealth and mHealth intervention approaches. She has a successful record of peer-reviewed publications and funded interdisciplinary research focused on the design and evaluation of technology-based behavior change interventions. She has ongoing research collaborations with faculty at the College of Medicine, the College of Social Work, and the Institute for Successful Longevity on various eHealth research projects targeting at-risk and vulnerable populations.

Elizabeth B. Madden is an assistant professor in the School of Communication Science and Disorders and an affiliate of the Institute for Successful Longevity. Her research is focused on rehabilitation of aphasia, an acquired language processing disorder. Specifically, her work is focused on understanding the relationship between spoken and written language abilities in individuals with aphasia and developing behavioral treatments to address reading and writing disorders post-stroke.

Amy Magnuson, PhD, RD, LD/N, is an expert in college health. She is Director of University Health Services where she provides strategic leadership and oversees comprehensive medical care, women’s health, and wellness for the university community. Magnuson has dedicated her career to promoting health and well-being in various capacities. She serves as an adjunct instructor in public health and she serves on the American College Health Association Administration Board.

Dr. Maitland has been a faculty member of the FSU College of Medicine since its inception. He is a professor of neurology in the Department of Clinical Sciences. He currently serves as director of the National Parkinson’s Foundation Clinic, the Multiple Sclerosis Center and the Movement Disorders Center, and he also co-directs the FSU/TMH Neuro-cognitive Neuro-linguistics Rehabilitation Research Center. Maitland is an expert on neuro-ophthalmology, or how the nervous system affects visual function and motor performance in both healthy elderly people and those with degenerative disease.

Maner is an expert on interplay between motivation, emotion, and social cognition in close relationships (e.g., romantic attraction and the maintenance of long-term relationships), social hierarchy (e.g., power and leadership, dominance and prestige), social affiliation and rejection, and self-protective processes (e.g., disgust, anxiety, and fear).

Dr. Mayeaux coordinates the college’s family medicine curriculum and the training of third- and fourth-year medical students at the College of Medicine’s Pensacola Regional Campus. He is a board certified family physician with added qualifications in geriatric medicine.

Dr. McLeod, who practiced family medicine in rural Milton, Fla., for 18 years, is an expert in medical practice management. Within the Florida State University College of Medicine, he serves as senior associate dean for regional campuses and as regional campus dean for the college’s Pensacola, Fla., campus.

McNulty is an expert on how strong beliefs may change or remain stable over time mostly in the context of close relationships. His goals are to understand and define limits to social psych theories that suggest people possess effective techniques for maintaining their desired beliefs and to suggest directions for promoting the resilience of initially satisfying beliefs about close relationships.

Olcese’s research explores circadian physiology (endocrine rhythms, sleep disorders); neuroendocrine mechanisms (hormonal systems, reproductive function); Alzheimer dementia and melatonin.

Ormsbee is an expert in nutrition, supplements and exercise that improve health, body composition and performance. He works extensively with athletes and clinically obese individuals looking to lose weight.

Panton is an expert on the effects of strength training on strength, body composition, and functional outcomes of healthy elderly adults and chronically diseased populations. Her most recent research has focused on the effects of strength training in women with Fibromyalgia, individuals with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, and Breast Cancer Survivors.  A 2018 article she co-wrote for The Conversation on the benefits of weight training for breast cancer survivors was reprinted in multiple publications including the Washington Post and Salon.

Paul R. Peluso, Ph.D., LMHC, LMFT is Norejane Hendrickson Endowed Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences at Florida State University, Tallahassee Florida. He is currently directing a multi-year study of the quality of the therapeutic relationship using observational coding of verbal and non-verbal behavior, and modelling it using dynamical systems mathematics. He has written and produced a video series to accompany his Principles textbook, his Infidelity book, and has been a featured speaker in the THERAPY Talks video series by Alexander Street Press.

Ellen Piekalkiewicz is the founding director of Florida State University’s Stoops Center for the Study and Promotion of Communities, Families, & Children (CFC Center) and an adjunct professor at FSU. She has more than 25 years of leadership experience in mental health, substance use, and community-based human services, including serving as Executive Director of the Florida Substance Abuse & Mental Health Corporation; Executive Director of United Partners for Human Services.

Her research and applied work focus on resilience in vulnerable populations, the nonprofit sector’s role in disaster recovery, rural opioid response, and behavioral health services for children and families. She has served as principal investigator and co-investigator on multiple federally and locally funded projects addressing rural resilience, disaster preparedness, and mental health interventions, with support from organizations including SAMHSA, Save the Children, United Way, the Community Foundation of Palm Beach and Martin Counties, and the National Science Foundation.

Piekalkiewicz is a frequent convener of academic, policy, and practitioner forums on behavioral health, resilience, and community well-being. She is also a public voice on human services, having authored a monthly column in the Tallahassee Democrat and organized statewide and local forums on affordable housing, health disparities, criminal justice, and substance use.

Plant is an expert on the impact of the source of people’s motivation to respond without prejudice on their attitudes, affect, and behavior in prejudice-relevant situations. Other work examines factors that influence the quality of interracial interactions and the regulation and reduction of prejudice.

Assistant Professor Dillon Pruett’s focus is on the genetics of stuttering and clinically associated stuttering comorbidities within electronic health records. 

Mirine Richey is an international board-certified lactation consultant and research faculty at the FSU Center for Prevention & Early Intervention Policy. Mirine has presented at state and national conferences and served as an international delegate to the World Health Organization, discussing infant formula market regulations and the protection of breastfeeding.

Salazar’s is an expert on aging and age-related diseases, such as atherosclerosis.

Schmidt is an expert on prevention and treatment of anxiety pathology, investigation of bio-behavioral parameters that affect the generation and maintenance of anxiety pathology and the relationship between anxiety pathology and physical health.

Stefanovic is a noted researcher in the molecular mechanisms of liver fibrosis. He teaches medical students in pharmacology, biochemistry and physiology. His research interests include molecular assembly and function of RNA-protein complexes. Stefanovic earned his Ph.D. in molecular biophysics at Florida State in 1991.

Tibi is interested in early reading development and disorders. Her research focuses on the linguistic and cognitive processes of reading in Arabic and other languages with a focus on morphological knowledge and its role in reading.

Tomko studies how cells build, maintain and utilize the proteasome in normal and disease states. His laboratory works on the scale of individual proteins up to whole cells, and integrates approaches spanning biochemistry, cell biology, genetics, proteomics, biophysics and pharmacology. Ultimately, his group aims to utilize the information gained from these basic studies of the proteasome to exploit its assembly and function for therapeutic benefit in human diseases.

Christopher Uejio studies how the physical environment, broadly defined, influences human health and well-being. Some of his research interests include public health, health disparities, health interventions, environmental health, and infectious diseases. His research has resulted in him frequently working with health departments.