VCU Institute for Women's Health

School of Medicine

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Current IWH Scholars 

Alexandra R. Harris, Ph.D., M.P.H., Department of Cellular, Molecular, and Genetic Medicine, VCU School of Medicine; Department of Epidemiology, VCU School of Public Health

 
Project: From macroenvironment to microenvironment: investigating the impact of neighborhood environment on breast tissue inflammation and breast cancer risk in a diverse cohort of healthy donors
 
Alexandra R. Harris, Ph.D., M.P.H., is an Assistant Professor with a primary appointment in the Department of Cellular, Molecular, and Genetic Medicine at VCU School of Medicine and secondary appointment in the Department of Epidemiology at the VCU School of Public Health. As a dual-trained cancer biologist and molecular epidemiologist, Dr. Harris’ interdisciplinary research program integrates population and experimental approaches to examine how social and environmental stressors impact the breast tissue microenvironment in ways that contribute to breast cancer risk, outcomes, and disparities in high risk and socially vulnerable populations.

Julie Suyama, MD, PhD, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Division of Urogynecology, VCU School of Medicine 

Project: Objective Neurofunctional and Autonomic Biomarkers of Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome: Validating Physiologic Targets for Precision Diagnosis and Therapeutic Monitoring 
Julie Suyama, MD, PhD, is an Assistant Professor and Urogynecologist in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at VCU School of Medicine. Dr. Suyama is dedicated to caring for women with complex pelvic floor and bladder disorders across the lifespan, and her research focuses on elucidating underlying mechanisms of and developing novel treatment strategies for chronic bladder and pelvic pain. 

Current BIRCWH Scholars 

Katie Garr, PhD, LCP, Pediatrics, School of Medicine

Project: Investigating Meal Skipping as a Modifiable Risk Factor for Co-occurring Obesity and Disordered Eating in Adolescent Girls
Katie Garr, PhD, LCP, is an Assistant Professor and licensed clinical psychologist in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism. Dr. Garr’s clinical work and research focus on pediatric obesity prevention and treatment. Specifically, her research centers on the intersection of obesity and disordered eating and leveraging real-time digital health tools to understand and intervene on weight-related behaviors. 

BIRCWH Scholar Alumni 

Jacqueline Britz, MD, MPSH, Family Medicine, School of Medicine

Project: Bright Spot Communities and Community Asset Mapping: Utilizing Geospatial Mapping and Community Based Participatory Research to Address Disparities in Opioid Mortality for Women and Children

Jacqueline Britz, MD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine & Population Health. Dr. Britz research interest includes global health, LGBT care, mental health, healthcare innovation, integration of primary care and public health, and healthcare delivery for vulnerable populations and social determinants of health.

Alexandra DeJong Lempke, PhD, ATC, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, School of Medicine 

Project: Sex Differences in Hip Muscle Adaptations and the Link to Future Injury Following Acute First-Time Lateral Ankle Sprains

Alexandra DeJong Lempke, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation within the School of Medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University. Dr. DeJong Lempke research agenda aims to assess and address factors contributing to the development of repetitive stress running-related musculoskeletal injuries.

Samuel R. Walton, PhD, ATC, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, School of Medicine

Project: Examining the Effects of Aerobic Physical Activity on Multimodal Brain Health Outcomes by Sex and Concussion History in Military Service Members and Veterans.

Samuel Walton, PhD, is an assistant professor an Assistant Professor with the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Dr. Walton's overarching areas of research focus on concussion in athletes and military personnel, long-term health and well-being in former athletes and Veterans, and understanding sex & gender differences in the contexts of brain injury and brain health.

Linda Burkett, MD, Obstetrics & Gynecology, School of Medicine

Project: Novel Use of Neuroexcitation to Improve Treatment Outcomes in Overactive Bladder

Linda Burkett, MD, is a Urogynecologist at Virginia Commonwealth University located in Richmond, VA. Dr. Burkett is studying neuroexcitation and outcomes of overactive bladder treatment working toward trying to increase understanding of central neurologic control on bladder urgency.

Kelsey Hagan, PhD, Psychiatry, School of Medicine

Project: Neurocomputational Markers of Risky Decision-Making in Young Women with Bulimia Nervosa

Kelsey Hagan, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and licensed clinical psychologist whose research centers on the brain and behavior mechanisms of eating disorders, which are devastating mental illnesses that disproportionately affect girls and women.

Jessie Oldham, PhD, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, School of Medicine

Project: Sex Differences in Post-Concussion Psychophysiological Dysfunction and Subsequent Musculoskeletal Injury

Jessie Oldham, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the VCU School of Medicine and Co-Director of the RAMCAN (Research, Assessment & Monitoring of Concussion and Neurological) Health Lab. Dr. Oldham’s primary research interest is pediatric sport-related concussion.

Ann Diallo, PhD, School of Nursing

Project: Examining the Role of Sex Differences on the Association between Social Determinants of Health and Diet Quality on Dyslipidemia

Ana Diallo, PhD, is an Assistant Professor position at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Nursing and the Office of Institutional Equity, Effectiveness and Success. Dr. Diallo’s current research focus is to understand the interacting effects of nutritional behaviors, clinical and genomic data on dyslipidemia, with particular attention on how gene-diet interactions influence dyslipidemia and how to address the lack of representation of minority groups in nutrigenomic research.

Christine Van Duyn, PhD, Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering

Project: Exploring Sex-dimorphic Differences in the Immunomodulation of Biomedical Implants

Christine Van Duyn, PhD, is a postdoctoral fellow in the Laboratory for Musculoskeletal Research and Innovation (LMRI) at the VCU Institute of Engineering and Medicine. Dr. Van Duyn's current research focuses include: (1) The immunomodulation of cell behavior related to the osseointegration of Microtextured orthopedic implants, including manipulation of the foreign body reaction and control of phenotypic switching involved in pro-/anti- angiogenic and inflammatory signaling, and (2) The development of click hydrogel-based delivery systems for the intra-articular delivery of RNA-based therapeutics to simultaneously treat arthrofibrosis and osteoarthritis.