Leading Public Health Education at O'Donnell School

Kenny Mendoza, Ph.D., joins OSPH as an Assistant Professor of Nutritional Epidemiology in the Department of Epidemiology. He holds a Ph.D. in Nutritional Epidemiology and a Master of Biostatistics from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where he also completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Nutrition. Dr. Mendoza’s research integrates epidemiologic data, dietary assessment, and omics information to investigate how nutritional and food processing factors influence the risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and mental health disorders at the population level.

Stacia DeSantis, Ph.D., joins OSPH as a Professor with expertise in coordinating and designing frequentist and Bayesian multicenter Phase III clinical trials. She has contributed novel statistical methods in Bayesian network meta-analysis, latent variable modeling, and variable selection for large data sets. For the last five years, Dr. DeSantis has co-led the data coordinating center for the Texas Coronavirus Antibody Survey Response (TX CARES), a statewide COVID and long COVID surveillance program of approximately 93,000 individuals that has generated dozens of publications and informed Texas Department of State Health Services decision-making.

Brian Chapman, Ph.D., joins OSPH as an Associate Professor with expertise in medical informatics and AI applications in healthcare. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of Utah and has held previous appointments at the University of Melbourne, the University of California San Diego, and the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Chapman’s research originally focused on radiology informatics; since 2019, his work has shifted toward using informatics and AI tools to help patients better engage with healthcare systems.

Katherine Kitchens, L.M.S.W., Ph.D., a licensed social worker and community-engaged scholar at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center's Peter O'Donnell Jr. School of Public Health, focuses on improving health outcomes in rural and resettled refugee communities. As an Early Impact Faculty Scholar, she leads research initiatives addressing the complex health challenges faced by these populations. Dr. Kitchens' research integrates mixed-methods and community-based approaches to enhance care delivery in charitable clinics and community settings.

David Lopez, M.S., M.P.H., Dr.PH., joins OSPH as an Associate Professor of Epidemiology, bringing expertise as a cancer epidemiologist focused on health disparities in prostate and hormone-dependent and obesity-related cancers. His research examines how factors such as obesity, metabolic syndrome, and diet influence cancer risk and outcomes, with a particular emphasis on the role of race and ethnicity. Dr. Lopez is actively involved in several professional organizations and serves as Section Editor for Urological Cancers in the American Journal of Men’s Health.

Changwei Li, M.P.H., Ph.D., M.D. is an Associate Professor of Epidemiology in the Peter O’Donnell Jr. School of Public Health at UT Southwestern Medical Center. He earned his Ph.D. in genetic epidemiology from Tulane University in 2015, followed by a one-year postdoctoral training in cardiovascular and kidney disease epidemiology at Tulane. Prior to that, Dr. Li completed his medical training in preventive medicine at Peking University Health Science Center and a residency program in alternative medicine at Beijing Shijitan Hospital. Dr. Li's research focuses on gene-environment interactions in cardiometabolic disease and chronic kidney disease (CKD), providing crucial insights for precision health.

Alejandra Fernandez, M.S., Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in Social and Behavioral Sciences. Previously, she served as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences at UTHealth Houston. Dr. Fernandez received their Ph.D. in Health Behavior and Health Education from the University of Texas at Austin in 2017. Her research focuses on ecological factors and family functioning related to health outcomes such as substance use and obesity, particularly within Hispanic populations. Dr. Fernandez aims to develop multi-level family-based interventions to improve health outcomes by addressing cultural and societal factors.

Mingyue Li, M.P.H., Ph.D. is an Instructor in Biostatistics. She brings a comprehensive background in molecular and genetic epidemiology, with a focus on understanding the interplay between genetics, environmental factors, and diseases, particularly cancers. Dr. Li holds a Ph.D. in Epidemiology from Indiana University, with a minor in Bioinformatics, and has experience identifying genetic variants linked to cancer susceptibility and exploring metabolic pathways influencing mitochondrial health. Her role as a research assistant and experience as a Merck Health Economics and Outcome Research Associate have equipped her with skills in handling large datasets and mentoring students.

Samaah Sullivan, M.P.H., Ph.D., joins OSPH as an Assistant Professor in Epidemiology. Previously, she served as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics, and Environmental Sciences at UTHealth Houston. Prior to UTHealth, Dr. Sullivan spent five years at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health, first as a postdoctoral fellow on a T32 focused on cardiovascular inequalities and then as an Instructor.

Her research investigates the biological embedding of psychosocial stress and social disadvantage, particularly among women, and has revealed critical sex differences in how stress affects cardiovascular health. Recognized by the American Heart Association and the NIH, Dr. Sullivan's work has also received accolades such as third place in the American Heart Association’s Research Goes Red Data Challenge.

Dr. Luyu (Amber) Xie joins OSPH as an Assistant Professor. She joins us from University of Texas Health Science Center, where she earned her her Ph.D. in Epidemiology with a minor in Biostatistics and her PharmD from the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Her research focuses on utilizing real-world data, including surveys, electronic health records, and claims data, to enhance our understanding of chronic diseases such as asthma, obesity, and cardiovascular conditions.

Dr. Xie has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications, including articles in high-impact journals such as JAMA Pediatrics, JAMA Network Open, and Circulation. She is a member of the Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health, the American Heart Association, and the International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology.