Director
Ethan Morgan, PhD (he/him). Dr. Morgan is an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology in Center for Healthy Aging, Self-Management and Complex Care in The Ohio State University College of Nursing. He also serves as the director of the OSU Sexual and Gender Minority (SGM) Research Collaborative. His research examines the etiology of health among SGM communities primarily in terms of infectious diseases (HIV and STIs). Alongside this he examines bio behavioral risk factors for elevated systemic inflammation with a focus on stress, stigma, and substance use. Departmental Page.
Leadership Team
Liz Arthur, PhD, APRN-CNP, AOCNP® (she/her). Dr. Liz Arthur, PhD, APRN-CNP, AOCNP, is a research assistant professor in the OSU College of Nursing and nurse scientist for The James Cancer Hospital. She is a clinician and health behavior scientist whose research and practice specializes in optimizing health and quality of life in cancer survivorship. Specifically, her research areas of focus include funded projects in survivorship care access and delivery for LGBTQ+ people, women’s sexual wellbeing, and mHealth survivorship care delivery. Departmental Page.
Christina Dyar, PhD (she/her). Dr. Christina Dyar’s research broadly focuses on understanding and reducing health disparities affecting sexual and gender minority populations, especially bi+ individuals (i.e., individuals with attractions to more than one gender), sexual minority women, and non-binary individuals (i.e., individuals who identify outside of the gender binary). She is particularly interested in understanding mechanisms through which different types of stress (e.g., discrimination, internalized stigma) impact mental health and substance use and how these processes differ for bisexual compared to lesbian/gay individuals and among other subgroups of sexual and gender minorities. She is also interested in developing and testing interventions to reduce health disparities affecting sexual and gender minority populations. Additionally, her research has used cross-sectional and experimental methods to examine factors that are associated with bias against sexual minorities, especially bisexuals, in order to identify potential mechanisms for interventions to target in order to reduce the prevalence of bias against sexual minorities. Dr. Dyar is currently funded by a Mentored Research Scientist Career Development Award (K01) from NIDA to conduct a mixed-methods study, including an experience sampling study and qualitative interviews, to identify risk factors for substance use among sexual minority women and determine how these risk factors may differ based on sexual identity in order to inform the development of future substance use interventions for sexual minority women. Departmental Page.
Wilson Figueroa, PhD (he/him). Dr. Figueroa is a Research Scientist in the center for Health Outcomes and Policy Evaluation Studies (HOPES) at The Ohio State University College of Public Health. His research examines stress processes and resilience factors among sexual and gender minorities and how these two interact to influence health overtime. Recently, his work has focused on the stress processes and resilience factors associated with mental health outcomes in transgender and gender diverse individuals, particularly those who are racially minoritized. Departmental Page.
Allen Mallory, PhD (he/him). Dr. Mallory is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Sciences in the program of Human Development and Family Science. His primary area of research takes an intersectional approach to understanding the health and well-being of sexual and gender-diverse people. Specifically, he studies how health disparities vary among and between sexual and gender minorities across multiple marginalized identities and how the risk and protective factors tied to multiple identities intersect to affect health.Departmental Page.
Joanne Patterson, PhD (she/her). Dr. Joanne G. Patterson is a healthy equity scholar and behavioral scientist whose research program aims to reduce cancer inequities, with a special focus on minoritized lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) populations. Her research is informed by the socio-ecological model and applies an intersectionality framework to investigate determinants of cancer inequities and develop upstream interventions that are targeted to the unique contexts experienced by multiply minoritized populations. She has specific interests in tobacco and alcohol use, cancer screening, and upstream socioeconomic factors, including food insecurity. Departmental Page. Patterson Lab.
Rin Reczek, PhD (they/them). Dr. Rin Reczek is a Professor of Sociology at the Ohio State University and is an affiliate at the Institute for Population Research. Rin is a sociologist, social demographer, and intersectional feminist scholar who studies family, gender, sexuality, and health. Rin’s current NIH-funded projects examine 1) the dyadic experiences of health in LGBTQ and straight midlife couples, and 2) how childbearing trajectories shape midlife health outcomes. Rin has a book with NYUPress titled, “Families We Keep: LGBTQ People and their Enduring Ties with Parents,” which explores how and why LGBTQ adults keep their ties with their problematic parents. Departmental Page.
JaNelle Ricks, DrPH, MPA (she/her). Dr. Ricks is a behavioral scientist and health equity advocate with training in health communication and policy, who seeks to understand and address social and structural influences on the sexual and reproductive health of racially minoritized, sexual and gender minority, adolescent, and economically vulnerable populations. Across the sexual and reproductive health spectrum, her work is concentrated in three focal areas: STI/HIV prevention, the impact of trauma on engagement in health behavior, and access to contraception and abortion care. She uses mixed methods, with an emphasis on qualitative methodology, to develop and test interventions. Departmental Page.
Lauren McInroy, PhD (she/her). Dr. Lauren McInroy’s multi-disciplinary research has two primary aims: (1) utilizing internet-enabled information and communication technologies (ICTs) to foster improved outcomes and increase well-being for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and other sexual and/or gender minority (LGBTQIA+) adolescents and emerging adults; as well as (2) enhancing the successful application of ICTs in social work research, education, and practice through the development of innovative digital methodologies and effective digital pedagogies. Departmental Page.
Affiliated Members
Mollie Blackburn, PhD (she/her). Mollie Blackburn is a professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning and affiliated with Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at the Ohio State University. She is the author of Moving across Differences: How Students Engage LGBTQ+ themes in a High-school Literature Class and the editor of Adventurous Thinking: Students’ Rights to Read and Write. She received NCTE’s LGBTQ+ Advocacy and Leadership Award and AERA’s Queer Studies Special Interest Group’s Body of Work Award. Departmental Page.
Cynthia Burack, PhD. Dr. Burack is a political theorist in the Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Department at OSU. She is the author or editor of eight books. The most recent of these are: Because We Are Human: Contesting US Support for Gender and Sexuality Human Rights (2018) and How Trump and the Christian Right Saved LGBTI Human Rights: A Religious Freedom Mystery (2022). Burack co-edits the Queer Politics and Cultures book series for State University of New York Press. Departmental Page.
Al Cho, BSSW (he/they). AmeriCorps VISTA Member, ASAP Student Intern, Age-Friendly Scholar. Age-Friendly Innovation Center. Age-Friendly Columbus and Franklin County, OSU College of Social Work
Nicholas T. Funderburg, PhD (he/him). The Funderburg Lab is involved in the AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG), and has worked on several national clinical trials aimed at reducing chronic immune activation and inflammation in HIV-infected patients (ACTG A5248, A5331, A5275, A5296, among others); and the Funderburg lab has also contributed to the highly successful single site trial (SATURN-HIV), led by Dr. Grace McComsey at Case Western Reserve University, that explored the immune-modulatory effects of rosuvastatin on ART treated HIV-infected patients. Overall, the goal of the Funderburg lab is to perform clinically relevant research and to train translational scientists capable of bridging the gap between the lab and the clinic: 1) Monocyte/macrophage activation in HIV disease and cardiovascular disease; 2) Identification of the contributors and mechanisms behind inflammation and immune activation in treated HIV infection; 3) Investigating the bidirectional relationship between coagulation and inflammation. Departmental Page.
Christine Happel, MSW, LSW (they/them). Assistant Director, Age-Friendly Innovation Center. Age-Friendly Columbus and Franklin County, OSU College of Social Work. Christine is part of the Age-Friendly Innovation Center team. Their collaborative work with older adults, students, and community partners furthers the mission of AFIC to ensure inclusion and build resiliency to make communities more age-friendly. Christine was the founding Director of Village in the Ville and helped grow the Village Movement in Central Ohio. Through numerous transportation, emergency response, intergenerational, and community-driven initiatives they co-created, alongside older adults, opportunities for deeper community connection and reciprocity. Departmental Page.
Sarah Hermans, MD, MPH (she/her), is a primary care physician and epidemiologist at Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center. With a passionate focus on addressing healthcare disparities and the social determinants of health, Dr. Hermans is committed to advancing healthcare outcomes for underserved communities. Her work emphasizes enhancing care for LGBTQI individuals, those living with HIV, individuals navigating substance use disorders, Native Americans, immigrants, and formerly incarcerated individuals through both her clinical endeavors and research initiatives. Departmental Page.
David A. Jenkins, PhD, LCSW (he/him), is a Professor and Dean of the College of Social Work at The Ohio State University. He formerly served as Dean of the School of Social Work and Family Science at the University of Louisville from 2016 until 2022. He began his career at TCU in 1991 and remained there for 25 years. During that time, he served as an Associate Dean, Department Chair, and MSW Program Director. Much of his scholarship focuses on understanding the lived experiences of individuals and family forms suffering from marginalization with specific interests in the lives of sexual minorities. He is a licensed clinical social worker and received his BS and MSW from Louisiana State University and his PhD from Florida State University. Departmental Page.
Courtney Shihabuddin, DNP, APRN-CNP (she/her), is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Nursing at The Ohio State University College of Nursing. Dr. Shihabuddin also works as a nurse practitioner at the Columbus Free Clinic. She has a Doctor of Nursing Practice from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, a Master of Nursing as an Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner from Rutgers University, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Seton Hall University and a Bachelor of Arts from Northwestern University. She worked for four years as a certified HIV Specialist at a Ryan White Grantee Clinic in Oklahoma City prior to relocating to the Columbus Area. Departmental Page.
Affiliated Centers
Age-Friendly Innovation Center
The mission of the Age-Friendly Innovation Center is to innovate with older adults through research, education, and engagement to ensure inclusion and build resiliency to make our communities age-friendly. A program of The Ohio State University College of Social Work, we improve social, built and service environments that support livability for people of all ages and abilities. This work is done through robust community engagement, with older adults as our leaders in identifying challenges and possible solutions.
Currently, we want to better understand the experiences of local LGBTQIA2+ older adults and are conducting an exploratory research study. The study’s aim is to make Columbus a better place for LGBTQIA2+ folks as we age and information gathered from interviews will inform future education, advocacy, policy, and programming opportunities through AFIC.
Bukeye Pride
We serve as a source of community and advocacy for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer + (LGBTQ+) employees at OSU. This group is a part of the Diversity Council that works towards inclusion and enhancing the culture at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. All OSU and OSUMC employees are eligible. Both members of the community and allies are welcome!
Center for HOPES
The Center takes an interdisciplinary approach to health and health care systems. Housed in the College of Public Health, our team brings evaluation, economic, and policy expertise to complex issues facing our communities. In addition, we provide a platform for scholars from Ohio State’s wide array of colleges and schools to take advantage of our expertise, as well as learn from one another.
The Center’s current projects include serving on the State of Ohio Covid Recovery data team, conducting research on addressing Ohio’s opioid epidemic, analyzing access to reproductive health services, and investigating health care payor strategies for addressing social determinants of health. We believe a deep and wide understanding of the issues facing health care systems and our communities can provide the most actionable information to decision makers.
Institute for Population Research
The Institute for Population Research (IPR) is a multi-disciplinary research center that nurtures population and health research at The Ohio State University. IPR faculty and graduate student affiliates span six colleges and sixteen departments, and IPR serves as a bridge between behavioral and biomedical scientists at OSU.
IPR has four primary research areas: family demography, sexual and reproductive health, health disparities, and adolescent to young adult development. Beyond these four themes, IPR supports research in all facets of population and health, broadly defined, with a particular emphasis on understanding the causes and consequences of inequality across multiple domains.
Activities and services include: seed grant program; rapid response grants; administrative assistance in the submission of applications for external funding; data services (with emphasis on secure/restricted data); travel support for participation in conferences; weekly seminar; and office space. IPR prioritizes investments in multi-disciplinary projects and in junior faculty.
Infectious Disease Institute
For the past 15 years, a new infectious disease has been discovered nearly every year, with an outbreak reported on nearly every continent. These threats of pandemic diseases, food-borne illnesses, climate change, and global trade and transit underscore the importance of addressing the complexity of infectious diseases and public health preparedness. It requires more than collaboration.
Through innovative alliances on campus and in the private sector, leaders in infectious diseases research help the Institute solve problems at a local, state, national and global level. Work with us to help advance discoveries and tackle the problems yet to be solved.
Want to join as an affiliated member or center? Email Dr. Morgan: morgan.1691@osu.edu