| The Tulane BIRCWH program has recruited a total of 15 scholars since its inception in 2003. Together, these individuals form a dynamic and diverse group of young scientists from a variety of backgrounds. |
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| Current Scholars |
| Emily Harville, PhD, MSPH
(School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine, Department of Epidemiology) | Dr. Harville is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology. She came to Tulane in 2005, after completing her PhD in Epidemiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her research focuses on how cardiovascular risk factors across the lifespan influence pregnancy health. Dr. Harville is currently working on four projects: two related to cardiovascular risk factors and reproductive outcomes; one related to chronic stress and pregnancy health; and one related to the effects of Hurricane Katrina on the mental health of mothers of young children. |
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| Jennifer McGee, MD (School of Medicine, Department of Surgery) | Dr. McGee is an Assistant Professor of Surgery at the Tulane SOM. She completed her general surgery residency and an abdominal transplant research fellowship at Tulane, following the receipt of her medical degree at East Tennessee State University. Dr. McGee’s focus is transplant research and related disparities, particularly sex and race disparities in outcomes related to kidney transplantation. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death following a kidney transplant. |
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| Minolfa Prieto-Carrasquero, MD, PhD (School of Medicine, Department of Physiology) | Dr. Prieto is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Physiology, at Tulane SOM. In addition to a background in medicine, Dr. Prieto-Carrasquero has training in clinical and molecular genetics. Her major research focus in on the regulation of rennin expression in the distal tubule of the kidney, as well as the mechanisms underlying sex differences in the incidence of cardiovascular and renal disease and hypertension. |
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| Tina Thethi, MD, MPH (School of Medicine, Department of Endocrinology) | Dr. Thethi is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Section of Endocrinology at the Tulane SOM. She came to Tulane in 2004, for a fellowship in Endocrinology and Metabolism. While a fellow, she also completed her MPH in Clinical Research. Dr. Thethi’s main research area of interest is in obesity and insulin resistance. Her current research project focuses on the effect of continuous subcutaneous growth hormone therapy in men and women with insulin resistance. |
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| Former Scholars Former Tulane BIRCWH Scholars continue to be involved in a wide variety of research endeavors. As a group, the Tulane BIRCWH Scholars are associated with 26 grants, eight of these as Primary Investigator. Granting agencies have included the NIH, the American Heart Association, pharmaceutical companies and various other funding agencies. Their ongoing work continues to contribute to the growth of research endeavors at Tulane, as well as to the scientific community in general.
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| Lydia A. L. Bazzano, MD, Ph.D. (Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine) | July 2005 - June 2007 Dr. Bazzano joined the Tulane BIRCWH program and Department of Epidemiology after her completion of a preventive cardiology fellowship at Harvard. She is an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology in the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, as well as a Clinical Assistant Professor in the School of Medicine. Dr. Bazanno's research interests are grounded in the connection between diet and nutrition and cardiovascular disease. | |
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| Traci Hong, Ph.D.
(Assistant Professor) 
| January 2006 - June 2008 Dr. Hong joined the faculty of the Department of Community Health Sciences at the Tulane SPHTM as a Research Assistant Professor in July 2005. Her work in health informatics emphasizes tobacco use as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, specifically the issues of tobacco control, online information-seeking behavior for tobacco cessation, and perceptions of website credibility for tobacco cessation sites. Following Hurricane Katrina, Dr. Hong was awarded a Hurricane Katrina Quick Response Grant from the Natural Hazards Center to assess the immediate impact of the mass media on evacuation preparedness for Hurricane Katrina. | |
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| Myra A. Kleinpeter, MD, MPH (Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine) 
| January 2006 - December 2007 Dr. Kleinpeter is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Section of Nephrology and Hypertension in the School of Medicine, an Adjunct Associate Professor in the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, and the Director of the Renal Beginnings Program at the Medical Center of Louisiana at New Orleans. She research focuses on the impact of cardiovascular risk factor modification on chronic kidney disease, with a special emphasis on gender differences, an area in which there is currently limited information. Dr. Kleinpeter’s work also emphasizes health disparities related to access, treatment, compliance and outcomes for African American women. | |
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| Maryellen McClain Romero, Ph.D. (Assistant Professor of Neurology) | July 2006 - November 2007 Dr. Romero is a Clinical Neuropsychologist from Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA. She was recruited as a BIRCWH Scholar as well as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Neurology, SOM. Her research focus is on gender aspects of the interaction of cognitive, emotional and behavioral functioning in both health and disease states. She has specifically applied this expertise to several areas of research, including projects examining cognitive dysfunction in stroke and dementia. | |
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| A. Brent Alper, MD, MPH (Assistant Professor of Medicine) | - BIRCWH Scholar: 7/2003 – 6/2005
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| Jing Chen, MD, MMSc, MSc (Assistant Professor of Medicine) | - BIRCWH Scholar: 7/2003 – 6/2005
- Co –Investigator: Clinical Center for Prospective Cohort Study of CRI (NIH/NIDDK: PI - He) Co –
- Investigator: Genetic Epidemiology of Blood Pressure Intervention (NIH/NHLBI; PI - He)
- Co –Investigator: Endothelial dysfunction, adipocytokines, inflammation and CKD (NIH – COBRE; Project PI – Reynolds, COBRE PI - Navar)
- Co –Investigator: Clinical Center for Prospective Cohort Study of CRI (NIH/NIDDK; PI - He)
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| Karen B. DeSalvo, MD, MPH, MSc
(Chief, Section of General Medicine and Geriatrics, Associate Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology) | - BIRCWH Scholar: 7/2003 – 10/2005
- Principle Investigator: Neighborhood based care delivery (Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals – Social Services Block Grant)
- Principle Investigator: Health status measurement in post-Katrina populations (Kaiser Family Foundation)
- Co-Investigator: Clinical Center for Prospective Cohort Study of CRI (NIH/NIDDK; PI - He)
- Co-Investigator: Tulane Post-Katrina Stress and Coping Study (Unfunded Research; PI - Muntner)
- Co-Investigator: Building Research Infrastructure and Capacity Grant (AHRQ; PI - Cerise)
- Co-Investigator: AWESOME Trial: African-American Women’s Study of Moderate Exercise (Centers of Biological Research Excellence Award (COBRE; PI - Muntner)
- Co-Investigator: Lead in Kidney Disease (LINK ) Study (National Center for Research Resources of the NIH; PI - Muntner)
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| Rachel Wildman, PhD, MPH
(Assistant Professor of Epidemiology) | - BIRCWH Scholar: 1/2004 – 12/2005
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| Ali Jawa, MD, MPH (Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine) | - BIRCWH Scholar: 3/2005 – 8/2005
- Principal Investigator: Lahore Epidemiological Adult Population (LEAP) study (Higher Learning Commission – Government of Pakistan
- Co –Investigator: Safety and efficacy of gliclazide MR in type 2 diabetes patients during the holy month of Ramadan (Unrestricted grant by Servier International; PI - Mumtaz Hasan)
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| Mittie K. Doyle, MD (Assistant Professor of Medicine) | - BIRCWH Scholar: 5/2005 – 12/2005
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| Kristi Reynolds, PhD, MPH (Assistant Professor of Epidemiology) | - BIRCWH Scholar: 3/2005 – 3/2006
- Co –Investigator: Center of Biological Research Excellence Program (COBRE) (NIH/NCRR; PI – Navar)
- Co –Investigator: Clinical Trial of Dietary Protein on Blood Pressure(NIH/NHLBI; PI – He)
- Co –Investigator: Impact of Hurricane Katrina on diabetes and its co-morbidities (American Diabetes Association; PI – Fonseca)
- Co –Investigator: Clinical Center for Prospective Cohort Study of CRI (NIH/NIDDK; PI - He)
- Co –Investigator: Genetic Epidemiology of Blood Pressure Intervention (NIH/NHLBI; PI – He)
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