Dr. Gay James 

• Research Interests:  High risk areas (alcohol/tobacco/HIV, etc.); School health; Worksite health
• Target Populations/Demographic: Adolescents; Adults
• Research Methodology: Mixed-methods

Active Research:  Dr. Gay James, Professor of Health Studies, conducts research with school professionals in health and physical education focusing on role modeling and self-perceptions of weight and body mass index (BMI).

Dr. Marilyn Massey-Stokes

• Research Interests:  Child & adolescent's health (broad focus); Body image & eating disorder prevention (primarily interested in females, childhood through young adulthood); Childhood obesity prevention (children & adolescents)
• Target Populations/Demographics:  Females (childhood through young adulthood; Children and adolescents; People who are diabled; Deaf
• Research Methodology: Mixed-methods

Dr. Thomas Coyle

• Research Interests:  Professional preparation (health educators); Health literary (young adults); Preparedness (lay persons)
• Target Populations/Demographics: Health educators; Young adults
• Research Methodology:  Mixed-methods

Dr. Susan Cardenas

• Research Interests:  Sexuality education in K-12 grade (specifically, teacher preparation & curriculum development; Women's health
• Target Populations/Demographics: K-12 grade teachers
• Research Methodology:  Quantitative

Active Research: Dr. Susan Cardenas, Assistant Professor of Health Studies, develops collaborative efforts with school health advisory councils, as well as procure grant funding for sexuality education pilot programs.  She is also active in teacher training and curricula review of sexuality and best-practices recommendations.

Dr. Jody Terrell

• Research Interests: Environmental health; Queen conch and coral reefs
• Target Populations/Demographics:  Marine Biology; Community; Aviation
• Research Methodology: Qualitative; Mixed-methods 

Active Research:  Dr. Jody A.C. Terrell, Assistant Professor of Health Studies, conducts qualitative and scientific marine research involving the coral reefs in the Belize, Central America area.  Dr. Terell is currently setting up a Queen Counch Research Refuge Ranch at the Great Barrier Reef in Belize.  This research has a threefold purpose:  1) marine evnironmental education; 2) protection of the queen conch from fishing practices; and 3) teaching sustainable measurements to help an endangered species in the Caribbean area gain sustainability.  Every summer, Dr. Terell takes undergraduate and graduate students to the Belize location to pursue active research learning in a real world situation. 

Her other interests include environmental compliance and auditing, along with environmental diseases and health issues.

Dr. Kimberly A. Parker

• Research Interests:  HIV/AIDS; Sexual behaviors that influence STI transmission; Minority health; Women's health
• Target Populations/Demographics:  Minority populations; African American men and women; Women
• Research Methodology:  Qualitative; Mixed-methods; Needs assessments; Evaluation research
• Theoretical Framework:  Feminist Theory; thematic coding; grounded theory, phenomenology, qualitative research theories

Active Research:  Dr. Kimberly A. Parker, Assistant Professor of Health Studies, conducts qualitative research involving sexual behaviors that influence STI and HIV transmission in African American men and women.  Dr. Parker recently served as the qualitative evaluator for a Phase I clinical trial to assess safety, tolerability, and product acceptability of a vaginal mircobicide gel (UC781) being studied to prevent HIV transmission. The two-year grant was funded primarily by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

 Dr. Parker also serves as the qualitative researcher/evaluator for two HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) grants in the Atlanta-Metropolitan area. The HIV SeroIncidence Study (ISIS-HPTN 064) was awarded $750,000 for two years and is a prospective study to estimate the overall HIV type 1 incidence rates in African American women at risk for HIV acquisition. The "Brothers" project (HPTN 061) was awarded $ 1 million for two years and is a needs assessment project conducted to obtain information needed to design a full community-randomized trial of an intervention designed to reduce HIV incidence among Black MSM.  Dr. Parker will also spearhead a need assessment  (planning phase) project to meet the health and education needs of the population in Sierra Leone

Dr. Parker also serves as the principal investigator for TWU's Komen Breast Cancer grant.