Institute members

ATSRI’s interdisciplinary research efforts are made possible through collaboration with national and international research entities and committed institute members who receive ongoing recognition through diverse publications, teaching, and conferences.

Cailee Bacon, PhD, ATC
cwelch@atsu.edu
Assistant professor athletic training program, interdisciplinary health sciences
ATSU-ASHS

Dr Bacon’s research interests include:

  • Capturing the concussed patient perspective for improving outcomes of patient care.
  • Athletic training educational outcomes.

R. Curtis Bay, PhD
cbay@atsu.edu
Professor, interdisciplinary health sciences
ATSU-ASHS

Dr Bay’s research interests include:

  • Relationship between patients’ illness epistemology and their subjective and objective responses to therapeutic interventions.
  • Application of structural equation modeling to medical research.

Kellie Bliven, PhD, ATC
kbliven@atsu.edu
Associate professor human movement program, interdisciplinary health sciences
ATSU-ASHS

Dr Bliven’s research interests include:

  • Role of the sensorimotor system in maintaining functional joint stability at the shoulder.
  • Dynamic restraint of the shoulder.
  • Examining shoulder adaptations and injuries as a result of overhead activities in youth, upper extremity muscle activation during rehabilitation exercises.
  • Collaborative work examining clinical outcomes in adolescent and overhead athletes.

Brandon Crivello, DMD
brandoncrivello@atsu.edu

ATSU-MOSDOH

Dr Crivello is involved in the Center for Oral Health Research (COHR).

Brian Degenhardt, DO
bdegenhardt@atsu.edu
Director, ATSRI; assistant vice president, osteopathic research;
Director, DO-Touch.NET PBRN; endowed chair, Osteopathic Heritage Foundation
ATSU-ATSRI

Dr Degenhardt is the Co-Director for the Center for Research in Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine. His research interests include:

  • Characterization and standardization of palpation.
  • Simultaneously evaluate the effectiveness and safety of osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) using data collected from patients receiving OMT and clinicians in the clinical setting.
  • Identify patient and physician characteristics which can be used to determine how well or poorly a patient will respond to OMT.
  • Compare the effectiveness of OMT to other conventional and alternative forms of treatment.

G. Franklin, MBA
gfranklin@atsu.edu
Data manager
ATSU-ATSRI

Mx Franklin’s research interests include:

  • Investigating ways to provide better access to data for scientific investigators.
  • Developing pathways for research projects to utilize business processes for better efficiency.
  • Creating partnerships for diverse viewpoints in the scientific community to ensure equitable access for stakeholders.
  • Evaluating methods for delivery of scientific content to the general public.

Jeremy Houser, PhD
jhouser@atsu.edu
Associate professor, anatomy
ATSU-KCOM, CV

Dr Houser’s research interests include:

  • Neural control mechanisms for posture and locomotion.
  • Differentiating subgroups with chronic low back pain.
  • Detecting slow rhythmic cranial motion.
  • Assessing somatosensory acuity and perception.
  • Anatomical variation and asymmetry.

Scott Howell, DMD, MPH
showell@atsu.edu
Assistant professor, interprofessional education
ATSU-ASDOH, CV

Dr Howell is involved in the Center for Oral Health Research (COHR). His research interests include:

  • Dental public health and eliminating barriers to care.
  • Interprofessional practice and education; patient outcomes, student perceptions, and provider utilization.
  • The role of teledentistry in academic settings.

Jane Johnson, MA
jjohnson@atsu.edu
Research assistant professor; associate director, DO-Touch.NET PBRN
ATSU-ATSRI, CV

Jane’s research interests include:

  • Simultaneously evaluating the effectiveness and safety of osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) using data collected from patients receiving OMT and clinicians in the clinical setting.
  • Identify patient and physician characteristics which can be used to determine how well or poorly a patient will respond to OMT.
  • Compare the effectiveness of OMT to other conventional and alternative forms of treatment.
  • Predicting burnout in medical students

Eric Kosel, DMD
erickosel@atsu.edu

ATSU-MOSDOH

Dr Kosel is involved in the Center for Oral Health Research (COHR).

Kenneth Lam, ScD, ATC
klam@atsu.edu
Assistant professor of clinical research, interdisciplinary health sciences
ATSU-ASHS, CV

Dr Lam research interests include:

  • Patient-oriented outcomes.
  • Understanding the overall impact of sport-related lower extremity injuries on patient-oriented outcomes such as health-related quality of life.

Joy Lewis, DO, PhD, FACP
jhlewis@atsu.edu
Professor, medicine and public health; chair, department of public health; director, DO/MPH program; director, ATSU-SOMA PBRN
ATSU-SOMA

Dr Lewis is the director for the National Center for Community Health Research. Her research interests include:

  • Social determinants of health.
  • Health literacy.
  • Patient safety.
  • Preventive medicine.

Inder Makin, MD, PhD
imakin@atsu.edu
Associate professor, basic medical science
ATSU-SOMA

Dr Makin is involved in the Center for Oral Health Research (COHR).

Kathleen Mathieson, PhD, CIP
kmathieson@atsu.edu
Associate professor, doctor of health sciences program
ATSU-CGHS

Dr Mathieson’s research interests include:

  • Factors influencing effectiveness and student perceptions of distance education, particularly for research and statistics curriculum.
  • Patient perceptions of telemedicine and use of telemedicine and mobile applications for patient health education.

Tamara McLeod, PhD, ATC
tmcleod@atsu.edu
Professor; director, athletic training; director, athletic training PBRN
ATSU-ASHS, CV

Recent publications:

Dr McLeod’s research interests include:

  • Investigating the short- and long-term effects of pediatric sports concussion as well as recovery following concussion on traditional concussion assessments and health-related quality of life.
  • Concussion educational interventions and collaborative practice among healthcare providers and school personnel.

Ammar Musawi, BDS, MDS
amusawi@atsu.edu
Associate professor, restorative dentistry
ATSU-MOSDOH

Ammar is involved in the Center for Oral Health Research (COHR).

Hamid Nurrohman, DDS, PhD
hnurrohman@atsu.edu

ATSU-MOSDOH

Dr Nurrohman is involved with the Center for Oral Health Research (COHR).

Jae Hyun Park, DMD, PhD, MSD, MS
jpark@atsu.edu
Program director, post-graduate orthodontic program
ATSU-ASDOH

Dr Park is involved in the Center for Oral Health Research (COHR). His research interests include:

  • The use of cone-beam technology and three-dimensional imaging.
  • Various clinical approaches for impacted canines.
  • Temporary skeletal anchorage devices.
  • Periodontal tissue studies during orthodontic movement in rats.
  • Various applications of clear aligners.

Seena Patel, DMD, MPH
sbpatel@atsu.edu
Associate director, oral medicine, dental care west
ATSU-ASDOH

Dr Patel is involved in the Center for Oral Health Research (COHR). Her research interests include:

  • Oral manifestations of systemic disease.
  • Oral complications of cancer treatment.
  • Management of autoimmune disorders affecting the oral cavity.
  • Image-guided injection techniques for various orofacial pain disorders using ultrasound.
  • Low-level laser therapy for the treatment of refractory erosive lichen planus.
  • Long-term side effects of wearing a mandibular advancement device for the management of obstructive sleep apnea.

Kim Perry, DDS, MSCS
kbperry@atsu.edu
Associate vice president, strategic partnerships
ATSU

Dr Perry is involved in the National Center for Community Health Research.

Maureen Perry, DDS, MPA
mperry@atsu.edu
Associate dean, post graduate education; director, advanced care clinic and special care
ATSU-ASDOH

Dr Perry is involved in the Center for Oral Health Research (COHR). Her research interests include:

  • Oral health-related quality of life in people with developmental disabilities.

Priscilla Phillips, PhD
pphillips@atsu.edu
Assistant professor, microbiology and immunology
ATSU-KCOM

Dr Phillips is involved in the Center for Oral Health Research (COHR). Her research interests include:

  • Investigating the contribution of Porphyromonas gingivalis colonization on pregnancy outcome and identifying the underlaying mechanisms that differentiate microbial strains that lead to oral disease from strains that lead to placentation dysregulation.
  • Identifying and characterizing regulatory small non-coding RNAs (sRNA) expressed in Porphyromonas gingivalis and investigating their potential contribution to this organism’s pathogenesis in both oral and systemic disease.

James Roush, PhD, PT, ATC, ATL
jroush@atsu.edu
Adjunct Professor, physical therapy
ATSU-ASHS

Dr Roush’s research interests include:

  • Biomechanics.
  • Outcome measures for Physical Therapy Interventions.
  • Effectiveness of ACL Preventions Programs.

Debosree Roy, PhD
debosreeroy@atsu.edu
Postdoctoral research fellow
ATSU-ATSRI

Dr Roy’s research interests include:

  • Health services and outcomes using large databases.
  • Quantitative research methods.
  • Preventive medicine.

Marc Shlossman, DDS, MS
mshlossman@atsu.edu
Assistant professor
ATSU-ASDOH

Dr Shlossman is involved in the Center for Oral Health Research (COHR). His research interests include:

  • Periodontal/peri-implant disease treatment utilizing new technologies.
  • Microbial characterization of periodontal/peri-implant disease.

Vineet Singh, PhD
vsingh@atsu.edu
Professor, microbiology and immunology
ATSU-KCOM

Dr Singh is involved in the Center for Oral Health Research (COHR). His research interests include:

  • Understanding the molecular basis of Staphylococcus aureus pathogenicity.
  • Investigating global changes in staphylococcal gene expression in response to stress conditions and identifying regulatory networks that aid in the process of infection and antibiotic tolerance with the aim of identifying novel chemotherapeutic agents.

Eric Snider, DO
esnider@atsu.edu
Associate professor and chair, department of osteopathic manipulative medicine
ATSU-KCOM

Dr Snider is the Co-Director for the Center for Research in Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine. His research interests include:

  • Characterization and standardization of palpation.

Karen Snider, DO, C-NMM/OMM
ksnider@atsu.edu
Professor, osteopathic manipulative medicine; assistant dean osteopathic principles and practice integration
ATSU-KCOM, CV

Dr Snider’s research interests include:

  • Efficacy of osteopathic medicine.
  • Osteopathic medicine education.

Ann Spolarich, RDH, PhD
aspolarich@atsu.edu
Professor; director of research
ATSU-ASDOH

Dr Spolarich is the Co-Director for the Center for Oral Health Research (COHR). Her research interests include:

  • Pharmacology (drug testing, clinical trials, oral adverse events of medication use).
  • General/oral health considerations for geriatric patients.
  • Interprofessional care delivery.

Zane Starks, MS
zstarks@atsu.edu
Instrumentation specialist
ATSU-ATSRI

Recent publications:

Zane is involved in the Center for Research in Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine. His research interests include:

  • Rasterstereographic postural imaging.
  • Neuromuscular function and fatigue.

Alison Valier, PhD, ATC
arsnyder@atsu.edu
Associate professor, interdisciplinary health sciences; assistant director
ATSU-ASHS; ATSU Research Support Department

Dr Valier’s research interests include:

  • Measuring the outcomes of various athletic training interventions as well as well as evaluating HRQOL of high school and college athletes who suffer sport-related injury.
  • Use and development of patient-based outcomes instruments for the purpose of outcomes assessment and measuring the end result of healthcare services.

Richard J. Vargo, DMD
richardvargo@atsu.edu

Assistant professor and specialty care unit director, oral and maxillofacial pathology
ATSU-MOSDOH