Faculty Fellows

Amanda Hurlbut , PhD

Amanda Hurlbut, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership in the School of Education at TWU. She received her B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of North Texas, M.Ed. in Educational Leadership from Dallas Baptist University, and Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from UNT. She has served in public education for over 20 years as an elementary teacher, instructional specialist, campus administrator, and teacher/leader educator. Her primary research interests include pre-service teacher education, data practices, technology implementation in K-12 and higher education settings, and preparing future educational leaders. Her teaching specializations include foundations of education, instruction and assessment practices, education law, curriculum trends, and supervision of elementary student teachers and principal interns. 

Dr. Hurlbut’s Fellowship project is leading the committee that is reviewing and recommending changes to the faculty performance review and evaluation policy.

Ngozi Mbue, PhD

Dr. Mbue earned her PhD from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, School of Nursing. Dr. Mbue is an associate professor in the College of Nursing at Texas Woman's University in Houston, Texas. She has previously worked as a nurse practitioner in Internal and Family Medicine Clinics, primarily serving Department of Defense beneficiaries. She completed a two-year fellowship in Health Services Research and Development at the Health Sciences Research and Development Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness, and Safety (IQUEST) at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center/Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. She also completed a one-year postdoctoral program at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Congruent Mentorship to Reach Academic Diversity in Neuroscience Research (COMRADE) at NYU School of Medicine. Dr. Mbue is a member of NIH's Early Career Reviewer (ECR) Program. Additionally, she is a THRIVE Scholar, as designated by the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR). Dr. Mbue has published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at scientific conferences, among others. Dr. Mbue's research interests include diabetes complications and neurodegenerative diseases, with an emphasis on self-management behaviors, technology use, and wearable devices. Her overall research goal is to identify effective self-management strategies using technology to reduce complications from chronic diseases, particularly diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases. 

Dr. Mbue’s Fellowship project is leading the committee that is reviewing and recommending changes to the faculty promotion and tenure policy.

Mindy Patterson, PhD, RDN

Mindy A. Patterson, PhD, RDN is an Associate Professor of Nutrition at Texas Woman’s University and a recognized expert in dietary fiber, resistant starch, and metabolic health. Her research focuses on glycemic control, the gut microbiome, and precision nutrition, with an emphasis on how individual responses to food influence chronic disease risk. She has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications, including clinical trials, population-based analyses, and systematic reviews examining resistant starch, cardiometabolic outcomes, dietary fiber intake, and human milk composition. 

Dr. Patterson’s expertise has been featured in major media outlets, including The Washington Post, NPR’s Morning Edition, National Geographic, The New York Times, New Scientist, and Women’s Health, where she translates complex nutrition science into clear, actionable guidance for the public. She has also been an invited presenter at the American Society for Nutrition, speaking on the evolving role of the glycemic index in modern nutrition science, and combatting nutrition misinformation. Patterson is a Fellow of the Texas Academic Leadership Academy, a Distinguished Dean's Fellow, and served as Chair of the Institutional Review Board at TWU-Houston for 5 years. She currently serves on the editorial board for Nutrition Research and as a review editor for Frontiers in Nutrition. In 2023 she was recognized as a Houston Role Model in Women in the Fast Lane of STEAM. 

Dr. Patterson’s Fellowship project is leading the committee that is reviewing and recommending changes to the faculty workload policy.