I am a tenure-track assistant professor in the Department of Health Management and Policy in the College of Public Health at the University of Iowa. My research employs health services research and social epidemiological approaches to address rural cancer disparities across the continuum and to ameliorate disparities in access to health care services through my lab--the Advancing Cancer and Rural Equity (ACRE) lab. Currently, I serve as the co-deputy director of the RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis, co-chair the Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network's rural cancer workgroup, secretary of the Iowa Rural Health Association board, and chair of the Journal of Rural Health editorial board.
I teach graduate-level courses in health care organization and policy and research methods. I enjoy working with students inside and outside the classroom to help them meet their individual academic and professional goals and to help prepare them for careers that ensure our healthcare, public health, and higher educational systems are equitable, effective, and efficient. I currently serve as the faculty advisor for the Student Association for Rural Health at the University of Iowa.
Prior to joining the University of Iowa faculty, I completed post-doctoral training and served as research faculty at the Rural & Minority Health Research Center at the University of South Carolina and worked as a master's trained researcher at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. I have over 15 years of rural health services research experience working in both schools of medicine and public health settings. I received my bachelor's degree in microbiology and master's and doctoral degrees in community health all from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.