The College of Health Professions and Sciences is home to federal, state and local government grants and contracts. Current funding agencies include the National Institutes of Health and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Faculty members seek opportunities to collaborate with researchers across the campus and around the world, and they frequently engage students in their research activities.

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Faculty Areas of Specialty

Latifa S. Abdelli, MS, Ph.D.

Lecturer
  • Stem cells in tissue repair and regeneration
  • Role of Gut-Brain axis in health and disease

Kim Anderson, Ph.D., MSSW, LCSW

Professor
Phone: 407-823-5201
  • Life Trajectories of Children Exposed to Domestic Violence across the Lifespan
  • Economic and Health Inequity in Communities of Concentrated Disadvantage
  • Methodologies: Community-Based Participatory Research, Mixed Methods, Qualitative (Grounded Theory, Narrative, Thematic Analysis)

Abigail Anderson, PT, DPT, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
  • Quantitative Sensory Testing
  • Mechanisms of Rehabilitation Interventions for Musculoskeletal Pain
  • Treatment Stratification by Underlying Mechanism
  • Pain Phenotypes

Bethany Backes, Ph.D., MSW, MPH

Associate Professor
  • Violence Against Women
  • Multidisciplinary responses to victims
  • Domestic and Intimate Partner Violence
  • Stalking
  • Sexual Violence
  • Victim Help-Seeking
  • Program evaluation

Morris Beato, PT, DPT, GCS, NCS

Clinical Associate Professor
Phone: 407-823-1864
  • Stroke rehabilitation
  • Neuromotor Interventions for Neurologic Conditions
  • Parkinson's Disease Rehabilitation

Susanny Beltran, Ph.D., MSW

Assistant Professor, Center Co-Director
Phone: 407-823-4662
  • End-of-life care
  • Health literacy and health promotion
  • Health care disparities among racial/ethnic minority older adults
  • Qualitative research
  • Gerontology education

Melissa Bermudez, MSW, LCSW, LICSW

Director of the Center for Professional and Community Education, Instructor
Phone: 407-823-4655
  • Intimate Partner and Power-Based Violence / Trauma
  • Military personnel and Veterans
  • Culturally inclusive care and services

Lauren Bislick, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, CBIS

Associate Professor, Director of Aphasia House
Phone: 407-823-4768
  • Neurogenic Communication Disorders
  • Acquired Apraxia of Speech
  • Acquired Aphasia
  • Differential Diagnosis
  • Treatment Development
  • Motor Learning Theory & Principles of Motor Learning

Keith Brazendale, Ph.D., MS

Assistant Professor
  • Childhood Obesity
  • Physical Activity
  • Sedentary Behavior
  • sleep

Kevin Brown, Ph.D.

Lecturer
Phone: 407-823-5621
  • child welfare
  • Family Preservation
  • Evidence-based Practice

Steven Burroughs, MS, RDN, LDN, CDN

Instructor
  • Critical Care Nutrition Support
  • Energy and Protein Metabolism and Regulation
  • Nutritional Management of Chronic Diseases

Cheryl Cavaliere, Ph.D., MS, RDN, LDN

Lecturer
  • Nutrition for Prenatal and Lactating Women
  • Nutrition for Children and Infants
  • Plant-Based Nutrition for Chronic Disease Prevention
  • Stress and Emotional Eating
  • Strategies for Resolving Food Insecurity
  • Food and Exercise as Medicine

Reshawna Chapple, Ph.D., MSW, LCSW

Associate Professor
  • Critical Deaf Studies
  • Critical Race Feminism and Intersectionality
  • Culturally Responsive Mental Health Treatment and Access to Services
  • Intimate Partner Violence and Trauma Recovery
  • Qualitative Methods
  • Telemental Health
  • Informed Care

Meredith Chaput, Ph.D., PT, DPT, SCS

Assistant Professor
  • Neuroplasticity from musculoskeletal injury
  • Visual-cognition and attention
  • Sport performance

Caitlin Ann Cheruka, Ph.D., ACSM-CEP

Clinical Assistant Professor
  • Clinical Exercise Physiology
  • Nocturnal autonomic and cardiovascular function
  • Cardiovascular health
  • sleep

Therese Coleman

Associate Instructor
Phone: 407-823-4798
  • Speech Sound Disorders
  • Child Language Disorders
  • Childhood Apraxia of Speech

Janel Cosby, AuD, Ph.D., CCC-A

Associate Lecturer, Audiologist
Phone: 407-882-0481
  • Cochlear Implants
  • Aural Rehabilitation
  • Hearing Disorders Across the Lifespan

Bethany Coz, MA, MCHES

Instructor
  • Public Health
  • Population Health
  • Chronic Disease Prevention

Kelly David, MA, CCC-SLP

Clinical Instructor
Phone: 407-882-0133
  • Voice
  • Cognition
  • Executive Function
  • Pragmatics
  • Degenerative Cognitive/Language Disorders
  • Parkinson's Disease
  • Dysphagia

Jill Davis, LCSW, MSW

Instructor
Phone: 407-823-1177
  • Childhood Sexual Abuse
  • Play Therapy
  • Licensure Exam Prep

Nicole Dawson, PT, Ph.D., GCS-Emeritus

Associate Professor
Phone: 407-823-1863
  • Non-pharmacological interventions for older adults
  • Predictors of successful and optimal aging
  • Risk factors for falls in older adults with cognitive impairment
  • Understanding the illness experience for individuals with dementia

Andrew Dykstra, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
  • Hearing
  • Perception
  • Neuroscience
  • Aging

Ann Eddins, Ph.D., MBA, CCC-A

Director, Professor
Phone: 407-823-1577
  • Auditory Neurophysiology
  • Electrophysiology
  • Hearing loss across the lifespan
  • Hearing and Cognition
  • Tinnitus
  • Amplification
  • Aging

David Eddins, Ph.D., CCC-A

Professor
Phone: 407-823-3172
  • Hearing Science
  • Hearing Technologies
  • Voice Science
  • Auditory Perception & Cognition
  • Audiology

Katia Ferdowsi, MD, MPH

Lecturer
Phone: 407-823-1446
  • Disease prevention
  • Public Health
  • common and preventable diseases in youth
  • Global Health

Christine Ferretti, MSW, LCSW

Assistant Director MSW, Associate Instructor
Phone: 407-823-4987
  • Juvenile Sex offender population
  • At Risk Youth

Julie Feuerstein, Ph.D., CCC-SLP

Assistant Professor
Phone: 407-823-1193
  • Language Development
  • Language Disorders
  • Early Intervention
  • Augmentative and Alternative Communication
  • Implementation Science Research

Thomas Fisher, Ph.D., CSCS, LMHC

Senior Lecturer
Phone: 407-823-1895
  • Anti-Aging Medicine
  • Mental health
  • Sport Psychology
  • Biomarkers of Aging
  • Psychophysiology
  • Performance Enhancement
  • Health education
  • Men's health

Todd R. Fix, MA, CCC-SLP, CBIS

Certified Brain Injury Specialist, Instructor, Internship Coordinator
Phone: 407-882-0484
  • Supervision
  • Swallowing Disorders
  • Dysphagia
  • Adult neurogenic/acquired motor-speech
  • Language Disorders
  • Acquired Brain Injury/Cognitive Communication.

Jacqueline Flores-Otero, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Anatomy
Phone: 407-823-0812
  • Neurodegenerative Diseases
  • Auditory and Visual Sensory systems
  • Neuro-Oncology Research (Ocular Cancer and Perineural Invasion in Prostate Cancer)
  • Endocannabinoids as Therapeutic Agents for Cancer

Monica Folkerts, Ph.D.

Research Assistant Professor
  • Hearing Perception
  • Spatial Hearing
  • Auditory Neuroscience
  • Hearing Loss
  • Aging

David Fukuda, Ph.D.

Division Chair, Professor
Phone: 407-823-0442
  • Performance-based testing methodologies
  • Exercise training and nutritional interventions in varying populations
  • Fatigue thresholds and metabolic responses to exercise
  • Martial arts and combat sports

Kimberley Gryglewicz, Ph.D., MSW

Associate Professor, Center Co-Director
Phone: 407-823-2954
  • Suicide prevention
  • Health and mental health
  • Family engagement & caregiving issues
  • Program implementation and evaluation
  • Violence Prevention
  • Caregiver Health/Well-Being
  • Grief and Bereavement
  • Community-based participatory research

Carlos Gual, EdD, LAT, ATC

Associate Clinical Professor, Clinical Education Coordinator
Phone: 407-823-1407
  • Athletic training student integration in athletic training education programs
  • Management of critical incidents
  • General medical conditions

Shelley Hall, MSW

Instructor
Phone: 407-823-3056
  • Clinical practice in a hospital with neonatal families and maternal/child mental health issues
  • Adoption
  • Foster Care

William Hanney, PT, DPT, ATC, Ph.D.

Division Chair, Professor
Phone: 407-823-0217
  • Treatment Outcomes for patients with low back and neck pain
  • The influence of manual/manipulative therapy
  • Standardization of physical therapy interventions
  • Physical therapy practice patterns

Nancy Harrington, MA, CCC-SLP, ATP

Associate Instructor, FAAST Center/AAC Lab Research Grant Coordinator
Phone: 407-882-0465
  • Language Acquisition
  • Augmentative and Alternative Communication
  • Assistive Technology

Ethan Hill, Ph.D., CSCS, ACSM-EP

Assistant Professor
Phone: 407-823-1161
  • Neuromuscular and endothelial function
  • Resistance training interventions
  • Muscle function and fatigue
  • Sex-specific responses to exercise
  • Eccentric contraction-based interventions

Bari Hoffman, Ph.D., CCC-SLP

Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs, Professor
Phone: 407-823-4804
  • Voice disorders
  • Vocal health and Prevention
  • Upper Airway Disorders
  • Head and Neck Cancer
  • Respiratory Muscle Strength Training

Jalonta Jackson-Glasco, Ph.D., MSW

Lecturer
Phone: 407-823-0376
  • Micro and Macro Social Work Practice
  • Public Administration and Public Policy
  • Higher Education Teaching and Program Leadership
  • Social Justice Advocacy
  • Women, Criminal Justice, and Prison Reform
  • Equity, Inclusion and Diversity

Shante Jeune, Ph.D., RDN

Assistant Professor
  • Nutrition Education
  • Eating Behaviors
  • Self-regulation and Cognitive Skills

Qianxia Jiang, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
Phone: 407-823-1051
  • Measurement
  • Physical Activity
  • Childhood Obesity
  • Neighborhood Environment

Gail Kauwell, Ph.D., RDN, LDN, FAND

Department Chair, Professor
Phone: 407-823-0782
  • Folate and vitamin B12 requirements and metabolism
  • Nutrient-gene interactions/epigenetic alterations and disease risk

Jennifer Kent-Walsh, BEd, MS, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, S-LP(C)

Associate Dean of Research, FAAST Center/AAC Lab Director, Interim Associate Dean for Faculty Excellence, Pegasus Professor
Phone: 407-823-4800
  • Language Disorders
  • Augmentative and Alternative Communication
  • Assistive Technology
  • Service-Learning / Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Sheila Klausner, PT, DPT, OCS, COMT, CSCS

Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy Practice
Phone: 407-823-0377
  • Orthopedic Manual Therapy
  • Post-surgical Management of Orthopedic Injuries
  • Optimal Performance in Athletic Care

Debra Knox, MS, CCC-SLP

Associate Instructor, Clinic Director
Phone: 407-882-0464
  • Cochlear Implants
  • Hearing Aids
  • Hearing Disorders
  • Language Disorders
  • Supervision

Robin Kohn, MSW, LCSW

BSW Program Director, Senior Instructor
Phone: 407-823-2967
  • Grief and Bereavement
  • End-of-life care
  • Varying Abilities & Disabilities (primarily mobility & neurological disorders)
  • Practice Health

Shawn Lawrence, Ph.D., LCSW

Interim Director, Professor
Phone: 407-823-3112
  • Obesity and Stigma
  • Substance Abuse
  • Student learning environments and outcomes

Eunkyung “Muriel” Lee, Ph.D., RDN

Associate Professor
Phone: 407-823-3365
  • Evaluation of cancer treatment using the patient-reported outcomes research and comparative effectiveness research approaches
  • Interrelationship among adjuvant radiotherapy, comorbidity, survival, and health-related quality of life among older women with breast cancer
  • Evaluation of healthy behaviors among cancer survivors utilizing the National Health and Nutrition Survey (NHANES) data
  • Evaluation of interventions in improving quality of life among cancer survivors

Yen-Han Lee, Ph.D., MPH

Assistant Professor
  • Substance Use
  • Global Health
  • Health disparities
  • Geriatric health
  • Secondary Data Analysis

Hsiu-Fen Lin, Ph.D., MSW

Assistant Professor
  • Prevention of Intimate Partner Homicide
  • Prevention and Intervention for Interpersonal Violence
  • Economic Empowerment for Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence
  • The Impact of Domestic violence on Mental Health and Financial Well-being
  • Screening and Assessment for Immigrant and non-English speaking populations
  • International Social Work

Humberto Lopez Castillo, MD, Ph.D., CPH, CMI-Spanish

Assistant Professor
E-mail: dr.hlc@ucf.edu
Phone: 407-823-3012
  • Alcohol use and abuse
  • Risky sexual behaviors
  • Cardiovascular health
  • Sexual minority populations
  • Secondary data analyses
  • Sexual and reproductive health

Carrie Loughran, MA, CCC-SLP

Clinical Instructor
Phone: 407-823-1645
  • Language Acquisition
  • Language and Literacy Disorders
  • Reading Disorders

Shuang Lu, Ph.D., MSW

Assistant Professor
Phone: 407-823-0490
  • Youth mental health and resilience
  • Migration/immigration
  • Community-based psychosocial intervention
  • Mindfulness
  • Social service capacity building

Jaclyn Lucey, MA, CCC-SLP

Graduate Program Director, Instructor
Phone: 407-823-2057
  • Fluency disorders

L. Colby Mangum, Ph.D., MEd, LAT, ATC

Assistant Professor
  • Lumbopelvic-Hip Complex Muscle Function
  • Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Imaging
  • Core Stability and Athletic Function
  • Innovative Assessment and Treatment of Chronic Low Back Pain, Patellofemoral Pain

Julie Matura, MA, CCC-SLP, CBIS

Instructor, Internship Coordinator
Phone: 407-882-0449
  • Cognitive-Communication Disorders
  • Diagnostic/Clinical Processes
  • Genetics
  • Language Disorders
  • Neurogenic Communication Disorders
  • Swallowing Disorders

Shellene Mazany, LCSW, MSW

MSW Program Director, Senior Instructor
Phone: 407-823-1089
  • Mental Health and Addictions
  • Children
  • Youth and Families
  • Crisis Intervention
  • Assessment and Treatment Planning
  • Clinical Supervision
  • Online Education and Technology

Maxine McGregor, LMSW, MSW, MS

Associate Instructor
Phone: 407-823-3037
  • child welfare
  • domestic violence
  • Online Education

Nancy McIntyre, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
Phone: 407-823-1684
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder
  • Reading Disability
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Social Communication
  • Language And Literacy

Victoria McKenna, Ph.D., CCC-SLP

Assistant Professor
  • Voice
  • Dysphagia
  • Speech Science
  • Technology

Olga Molina, DSW, MSW, LCSW

Associate Professor
E-mail: omolina@ucf.edu
Phone: 407-823-6793
  • Divorce
  • Intimate partner violence
  • Groupwork

Laurie Neely, PT, DPT, NCS

Assistant Program Director, Clinical Associate Professor, Director of Clinical Education
  • Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Patient Care
  • Physical Therapy Clinical Education Outcomes
  • Management of Medically Complex Patients

A’Naja Newsome, Ph.D., ACSM-CEP

Assistant Professor
  • Clinical Exercise Physiology
  • Exercise Psychology
  • Physical Activity Epidemiology
  • Research Measurement

Grant E. Norte, Ph.D., ATC

Associate Professor
Phone: 407-823-3188
  • Neuromuscular assessment
  • Biomechanics
  • Orthopedic injury
  • Clinical rehabilitation

Yeonggwang Park, Ph.D.

Research Assistant Professor
E-mail: yppark@ucf.edu
  • Voice production and perception
  • Voice and speech acoustics
  • Clinical voice and speech assessment

Dylan Pearson, Ph.D.

Post Doctoral Scholar
  • Psychoacoustics
  • Speech Perception
  • Aging and Hearing Loss
  • Rhythm and Entrainment
  • Auditory Attention

Jennifer Plant, EdD, LAT, ATC

Clinical Professor, Curriculum Coordinator
Phone: 407-823-5232
  • Role strain of graduate and post-graduate athletic training students
  • Scapular dyskinesis in overhead athletes
  • Best methods for transitioning young athletic training professionals into a clinical practice environment - both from the professional education side and the employer side
  • Mentoring and Onboarding of Newly Credentialed Athletic Trainers within the Athletic Training Profession
  • Burnout of Athletic Trainers within the Secondary School and Collegiate Settings

Estelli Ramos, MSW, MDiv

Associate Instructor
Phone: 407-823-3161
  • LGBTQ
  • Diversity
  • Macro-Practice
  • Spirituality
  • Latino Individuals and Groups

Alison Redd

Lecturer, Undergraduate Program Coordinator
  • Long term adolescent athlete development
  • Youth training programs and nutrition

Adam Reres, MA, CCC-SLP, PMP

Instructor
  • Aging
  • Aging Communities
  • Acquired Brain Injury/Cognitive Communication.
  • Healthcare Policy
  • Healthcare Quality

Randi Richardson, PT, DPT, SCS, OCS

Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy Practice
Phone: 407-823-0377
  • Orthopedics
  • Sports Physical Therapy

Iradly Roche, MSW

Associate Instructor
Phone: 407-823-1068
  • Alternative School Social Work for Exceptional Student Education
  • Clinical Social Work for Residential and Academic program working with teen parents

Carey Rothschild, PT, DPT, SCS, OCS

Clinical Associate Professor
Phone: 407-823-1439
  • Conditions of the female athlete
  • Management of running-related injury
  • Pain science and education

Michael J. Rovito, Ph.D., MA, CHES

Associate Professor
Phone: 407-823-3888
  • Cancer Survivorship
  • Testicular Cancer
  • Quality of Life
  • Men's health
  • Public Health

Suha Saleh, Ph.D.

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Student Success, Associate Professor
Phone: 407-823-6761
  • Health education
  • College student health
  • Eye disorders and diabetes

Richard Salvi

Research Professor
  • Auditory Neuroscience
  • Noise-Induced Hearing Loss
  • Age-Related Hearing Loss
  • Ototoxicity
  • Hyperacusis
  • Functional Brain Imaging
  • Tinnitus
  • Auditory Perception & Cognition

Catherine Sarkozy, MS, RDN, CSP, LDN

Instructor
  • Adult and Pediatric Malnutrition
  • Preterm Infant Growth Patterns
  • Intuitive Eating

Joy D. Scheidell, Ph.D., MPH

Assistant Professor
Phone: 407-823-3004
  • Substance Use
  • Sexual and reproductive health
  • Harm reduction
  • Health inequities
  • Epidemiologic methods

Kristen Couper Schellhase, EdD, LAT, ATC

Clinical Professor, Program Director
Phone: 407-823-3463
  • AT Knowledge of Therapeutic Modalities
  • AT Education
  • Athletic Training Administration
  • Health Literacy

Deena Schwen Blackett, Ph.D., CCC-SLP

Assistant Professor
Phone: 407-823-0909
  • Acquired Aphasia
  • Adult Neurogenic Communication Disorders
  • Emotion and Language Science
  • Psychosocial Well-being in Aphasia

Tanya Shores, EdD, CCC-SLP

Lecturer
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder
  • Curriculum-Relevant Therapy
  • Early Intervention & Routines-Based Intervention
  • Education Policy
  • Language Development & Disorders

Julie Steen, Ph.D., MSW

Associate Professor
Phone: 407-823-6452
  • Child welfare organizations
  • Child Welfare Policy
  • Human Rights Education

Matt Stock, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Physical Therapy
Phone: 407-823-0364
  • Strength Training
  • Aging
  • Muscle Disuse

Jeffrey Stout, Ph.D.

Pegasus Professor, School Director
Phone: 407-823-0211
  • Validity and Reliability of Body Composition Assessment methodologies
  • Exercise training and nutritional interventions in varying populations
  • Fatigue thresholds and metabolic responses to exercise

Kenan Sualp, Ph.D., MSW

Assistant Professor
Phone: 407-823-1324
  • Environmental Risk Factors for Mental Health and Access to Care
  • Health and mental health
  • Immigration
  • Global social work
  • Program implementation and evaluation
  • Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
  • Applied Statistics and Data visualization strategies

Matthew Theriot, Ph.D., MSSW

Interim Dean, Professor
Phone: 407-823-2114
  • Juvenile Violence
  • School Security
  • Delinquency

Jacqueline Towson, Ph.D., CCC-SLP

Associate Professor
Phone: 407-823-0346
  • Language Disorders
  • Language Acquisition
  • Emergent Literacy
  • Preschool And School-Age Speech Language Pathology
  • Professional Learning

Jennifer Tucker, PT, DPT, PCS

Clinical Associate Professor
Phone: 407-823-3461
  • Physical activity in children
  • Physical activity in children with special needs/chronic disease
  • Effective parent education
  • Service delivery models for pediatric physical therapy

Anna S. Valdes, EdD, CSCS

Associate Lecturer
Phone: 407-823-1896
  • Exercise and Aging
  • Training the trainers in sport and exercise science
  • Exercise, physical activity and weight management throughout the lifespan

Martine Vanryckeghem, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, BCS-FL

Pegasus Professor
Phone: 407-823-4808
  • Fluency disorders

Josette vonBirgelen, MSW

Instructor
Phone: 407-823-3283
  • Field Education
  • Child trauma focusing on sexual abuse and family reunification
  • Supervisor role within Field education

Xiaochuan (Sharon) Wang, Ph.D., MSW

Associate Professor
Phone: 407-823-3705
  • Health And Mental Health Care Access, Utilization, and Quality
  • Nursing Home Quality and Workforce Capacity
  • Culturally sensitive care for racial and ethnic minority older adults

Adam J. Wells, Ph.D., CSCS*D, SCYM(ASCP)CM

Associate Professor
Phone: 407-823-3906
  • Supplements for performance and recovery
  • Inflammatory and immune responses to resistance exercise
  • Soccer performance

James Whitworth, Ph.D., LCSW

Associate Professor
Phone: 407-823-6136
  • Military members and veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
  • Assessment and treatment of trauma responses
  • Military social work education programs
  • Alternative treatments for PTSD
  • Service Dogs for PTSD
  • Equine Therapy for PTSD

Asli Cennet Yalim, Ph.D., MSW

Assistant Professor
Phone: 407-823-4660
  • Refugee mental health and psychosocial wellbeing
  • Syrian refugees
  • Forced migration in the Middle East
  • Use of mental health services among refugee and immigrant populations
  • Community-based participatory research
  • Culturally competent practice
  • Resilience and empowerment
  • Refugee Women

Pavel Zahorik, Ph.D.

Professor
  • Hearing Devices and Technologies
  • Hearing Science
  • Psychoacoustics
  • Spatial Hearing

Richard Zraick, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, CHSE

Professor
Phone: 407-823-4795
  • Voice disorders
  • Healthcare Simulation
  • Health communication
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