ASU’s College of Health Solutions welcomes 22 new faculty members

Twenty-two new faculty members are joining Arizona State University’s College of Health Solutions for the 2022–23 academic year, bringing new talent, energy and ideas.

The new faculty will provide valuable experience that will help the college prepare its future health care leaders and advance its mission to improve health outcomes for individuals and communities.

ASU’s College of Health Solutions welcomes 22 new faculty members for the 2022–23 academic year. Pictured are: (top row from left) Danny Hughes, Mindy McEntee, Adewale Oyeyemi and Susan Rasette; (second row from left) Joseph Roberts, Taichi Suzuki, Nico Verdesias and Yasu Anbar; (third row from left) Liz Harrell, Jessica Hogan, Rajendra Karki and Hugh Lamont; (Fourth row from left) Mallory Mushaben, Rollin Medcalf, Elena Ratiu and Travis Schlappy. (Not pictured: Jade Culbertson, Charles Ledon, Jennifer Ratigan, Norma Rodriguez, Indigo Young and Robert Zwarich).
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“We are thrilled to welcome these amazing faculty members to the College of Health Solutions,” said the Vice Dean Michael Yudell he said. “Our new faculty bring diverse experience and credentials to the college, drawing on our learning and research expertise in a variety of areas, including nutrition, public health, global health, health care systems, biomedical diagnostics, exercise science, and speech and hearing science. Our collaborative approach to solving health problems They are well prepared to contribute.

The new faculty comes at an exciting time as the College of Health Solutions is celebrating its 10th anniversaryTh Annual and research and expanding the programs to meet the needs of health care professionals. The College has a unique structure that integrates many different but related health disciplines to help society meet its many health challenges.

Tenant and tenure-track faculty

Newly hired and tenure-track faculty bring significant academic expertise, research and scholarship to the College of Health Solutions:

• Danny HughesProfessor of Health Care Systems will begin in January 2023. Hughes comes to the college from the Georgia Institute of Technology’s School of Economics, where he served as director of the Health Economics and Analytics Laboratory and graduate program. He served as Executive Director and Senior Research Fellow at the Harvey L. Nieman Institute for Health Policy. He received his PhD in Economics from the University of Georgia and his BS in Economics from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

• Mindy McEntee He is an assistant professor in public health. McEntee taught several courses at the college last year as a postdoctoral scholar. She holds a PhD in clinical psychology, a master’s degree in psychology from the University of New Mexico, a master’s degree in clinical psychology from Towson University, and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Nebraska.

• Adewale Oyeyemi He is an Associate Professor of Population Health from January 2023. Prior to ASU, Oyimi was a Professor of Community Physiotherapy and Health Promotion at the University of Maiduguri in Nigeria. He received his doctorate degree in social health sciences from Ghent University in Belgium, his master’s degree in physiotherapy from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria, and his bachelor’s degree in medical record science from Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria.

• Susan Racette He is a professor of movement science. Racette previously served as a professor of physical medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Racette earned her PhD in Nutritional Biology from the University of Chicago and her Bachelor of Science in Biology (with a minor in Biochemistry) from Bucknell University.

• Joseph Roberts He holds a PhD in nutrition and health science from Emory University, a master’s degree in nutrition and health science from the University of Nebraska, and a bachelor of science degree in nutrition from North Carolina State University, where he is an assistant professor of nutrition. Recent teaching experience includes positions at Georgia State University, Emory University, and Morehouse College in Atlanta.

• Taichi Suzuki He will begin as an assistant professor of nutrition/biodiversity in January 2023. Suzuki’s educational background includes a doctorate in integrative biology from the University of California-Berkeley, a doctorate in ecological and evolutionary biology from the University of Arizona, a master’s degree in ecological and evolutionary biology from the University of Arizona, and a bachelor’s degree in animal science. Science and Resources from Nihon University of Japan. Most recently, he served as a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Microbiome Science at the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Germany.

• Niko VerdeciasAssistant Professor of Public Health, he comes to the College of Health Solutions after a postdoctoral fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis. While in Washington, Verdesias was co-investigator for three Covid-19 Information, Immunization and Health Communication grants. Verdesias holds a BA in Public Health (with a focus on community health and prevention) from Drexel University, a Masters in Public Health from SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY, and a BS in Psychology from Syracuse University.

Career-track faculty

These new faculty bring excellence in teaching, clinical experience and field service to their new roles as career-track faculty in the College of Health Solutions:

• Joshua AnbarA professor of health care systems, he previously served as a faculty associate in the College of Health Solutions. Anbar in the year

• Jade Culbertson He is a professor of public health. Culbertson, who has a master’s degree in exercise physiology from the University of Utah, was most recently the fitness and community wellness coordinator at the Northeast Community Center in Portland.

• Liz Harrell He started in May as a clinical associate professor in health care systems. Harrell has a doctorate in nursing practice from Arizona State University.

• Jessica Hogan Joined as Lecturer in Public Health. Hogan, who earned a doctorate in behavioral health from ASU, was most recently an assistant professor of psychology and business at Grand Canyon University.

• Rajendra Karke He will become a lecturer in public health starting in January after serving as an assistant professor of public health at the School of Public Health and Community Medicine at the BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences in Dharan, Nepal.

• Hugh Lamont. After serving as an assistant professor of kinesiology at Coastal Carolina University in South Carolina, he will become a clinical assistant professor of exercise science in January 2023.

• Charles LeydonA professor of exercise science, he was previously the director of sports science initiatives for the Cincinnati Reds Major League Baseball team.

• Rollin MedcalfA professor of health sciences and medical studies, he was most recently adjunct faculty at the University of New Mexico at Taos. Medcalf holds a PhD from the Autonomous University of Guadalajara School of Medicine.

• Mallory Mushaben She brings experience as a respiratory therapist to her teaching role in health sciences and medical studies. Mushaben has worked at the Mayo Clinic Hospital since 2020.

• Jennifer Ratigan, clinical associate professor of speech and hearing sciences, started at the college in January. Rattigan, who completed an audiology residency with the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine and earned a doctorate in audiology from Gallaudet University, brings clinical and classroom experience to the position.

• Elena Retiou He joins as clinical associate professor of speech and hearing sciences. Ratieu, who earned a doctorate in speech and hearing sciences at ASU, most recently taught at Midwestern University.

• Norma Rodriguez He is a speech and hearing science teacher. Rodriguez brings a wealth of speech-language pathology experience to the position through many years of clinical practice.

• Travis Schlappi He will start as a lecturer in biomedical diagnostics in January 2023. Schlappy, who has a doctorate in chemical engineering, has served as an assistant professor of medical diagnostics at Keck Graduate Institute in Claremont, California.

• Indigo Yang He joined the college as a clinical associate professor in speech and hearing sciences. Young has been a clinical instructor at the MGH Institute for Health Professions in Boston since 2017.

• Robert Zwarich He serves as a teacher in health care systems. Most recently, Zwarich was a teaching assistant at Texas Tech University.