About
The Preparing Future Faculty for Inclusive Excellence (PFFIE) Postdoctoral Program is designed to develop scholars for tenure-track faculty positions at the University of Missouri or elsewhere, and support their contributions for promoting inclusive research and teaching environments. The PFFIE program is a unique opportunity for emerging scholars. The primary goal of the PFFIE program is to recruit exceptional post-doctoral scholars to retain in tenure-track faculty positions and champion research and teaching environments in which individuals with differing identities, abilities, backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives can thrive. The fellowships are typically for two years, during which time the scholars focus on scholarship and participate in professional development activities that integrate and expose them to the faculty experience, including the opportunity to teach in their discipline during the second year.
Please note that the PFFIE postdoctoral program was previously known as the PFFFD postdoctoral program.
2025 Call for Applications
Unfortunately, due to budgetary constraints, we are pausing the call for applications for the 2025 Preparing Future Faculty for Inclusive Excellence (PFFIE) Postdoctoral Program. As a result, there will be no call for applications or review process during the 2024-2025 cycle.
Meet our PFF Postdocs!
Soheila (Sonia) Abachi-Hokmabadinazhad
Food, Nutrition, and Exercise Sciences
Soheila (Sonia) Abachi-Hokmabadinazhad
Food, Nutrition, and Exercise Sciences
PFFIE 2023
PhD, Laval University, Canada
I have always been passionate about design and development of natural products whether as preservatives, additives and or natural health products for the prevention and treatment of infections, cancer and chronic diseases like metabolic impairments including diabetes and obesity or conditions as simple as chronic gastritis. My past research investigates the health effects of various natural materials on different disorders and diseases. My studies propose the beneficial effects of natural compounds on sore throat, gastritis, hypertension, and inflammation. I am generally interested in natural health products with particular emphasis on the phytochemicals and peptides, pre-, pro-, and post-biotics, and evaluation of their bioactivities in various experimental settings (including in-silico analysis) as well as product development. In particular, my future research interests are shaped by the emerging trend towards functional foods, nutraceuticals, and cosmeceuticals as well as drug design and discovery. Communities now more than ever are interested in health effects or multi-faceted character of what they ingest as food and drug or consume as cosmetics. Additionally, communities are interested in valorization of agricultural and food processing discards keeping the residual material and compounds in production and consumption.
Erik Amezquita Morataya (He/él)
Division of Plant Science & Technology
Erik Amezquita Morataya (He/él)
Division of Plant Science & Technology
PFFIE 2023
PhD, Michigan State University
Erik was originally trained as a mathematician with some computer science sprinkled in between. His main interest is to draw tools from different math corners to describe, quantify, and compare the shape of various 2D and 3D objects. He is especially interested in applying techniques from Topological Data Analysis (TDA) to understand the morphological diversity seen across plants and their various tissues. He is also interested in bringing this comprehensive shape quantification framework to high-throughput plant phenotyping pipelines.
Mulat Alubel Abtew
Textile and Apparel Management
Mulat Alubel Abtew
Textile and Apparel Management
PFFIE 2023
PhD, Université de Lille, Universitatea Tehnică 'Gheorghe Asachi' din Iași, and Soochow University
Dr. Abtew earned his PhD degree through the Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate Program from three institutions: Université de Lille, France (in Automation and Production), Universitatea Tehnică ‘Gheorghe Asachi’ din Iași, Romania (in Industrial Engineering), and Soochow University, China (in Textile Engineering).
Prior to joining MU, Mulat worked as a teaching and research associate at the School of Engineering, École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Et Industries Textiles (ENSAIT), Université de Lille, France. He also served as an Assistant Professor for one year at Bahir Dar University, EiTEX,Ethiopia.
His research interests revolve around addressing complex challenges related to functional and industrial apparel products, with a particular focus on protective clothing. He aimes to enhance their physical, quasi-static, and dynamic performance, while also considering factors such as fitness, comfort, and sustainability. His research spans multiple disciplines, including advanced textiles, fiber-reinforced composites, industrial engineering design, material optimizations, 3D CAD modeling, and principles of dynamic impact engineering. Furthermore, he holds a strong interest in understanding and developing textile materials and user-centric design-assisted adaptive apparel for individuals with special needs, including women, the elderly, and individuals with diverse ability or disability communities .
Sarah Balkissoon
School of Natural Resources
Sarah Balkissoon
School of Natural Resources
PFFIE 2023
PhD, University of Missouri
“Sarah Balkissoon is a PFFIE postdoctoral fellow in the Atmospheric Sciences Program. Her research interests include the forecasting of meteorological variables (especially for the purposes for renewable energy) using various mathematical and data driven methods. She has undertaken studies based on the forecasting and the metric evaluation of one- and two-dimensional image time series using various Machine Learning techniques. One of the quotes from her favorite scientist, Nikola Tesla which resonates with her is,” If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.”
Nargiza Buranova (she/her)
Special Education
Nargiza Buranova (she/her)
Special Education
PFFIE 2023
PhD, University of Missouri
Dr. Buranova completed her Ph.D. in Special Education at the University of Missouri. She has worked on several federally funded research projects including the vSocial project that aimed to develop an immersive online social training environment for youth with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).Dr. Buranova’s research focuses on social skills intervention for students with autism spectrum disorder and technologies to support the social skills development of students. Dr. Buranova is also interested in studying the impact of social skills performance on mental health and the ways the interventions can be used to support these skills among adolescents with ASD.
Carlye Chaney (she/her)
Anthropology
Carlye Chaney (she/her)
Anthropology
PFFIE 2023
PhD, Yale University
Carlye Chaney is a biosocial anthropologist who examines the interaction between biology, ecology, and culture in relation to reproductive health and development. Her ongoing research investigates environmental exposure disparities, with a particular focus on exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals during childhood and adolescence. Using both quantitative and qualitative approaches, her work aims to understand who experiences negative consequences from environmental contaminants, how climate change influences exposure, and what we can do to create a more equitable future.
Vaidehi Dixit
Statistics
Vaidehi Dixit
Statistics
PFFIE 2023
PhD, North Carolina State University
Vaidehi works in the robust area of mixture models. Particularly, her dissertation aimed at exploring estimation of a mixing distribution under a general mixture model via the predictive recursion (PR) algorithm. Her work focuses on both, the theory and applications of PR. The theory is based on solidifying the current results and computational improvement with the aim of broadening the scope of PR. The applications explore the implementation of PR in solving problems in different domains. After finishing her PhD at North Carolina State University, Vaidehi worked in the pharmaceutical industry for a year before joining Mizzou.
Donald Joseph (he/him)
Languages, Literatures, & Cultures
Donald Joseph (he/him)
Languages, Literatures, & Cultures
PFFIE 2023
PhD, University of Pittsburgh
Don Joseph received his Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh in French and Francophone studies with concentrations in Cultural Studies and Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies. Dr. Joseph studies migration, exile, (non)belonging, and masculinity in the Middle East and North Africa to understand the impact of movement and displacement on LGBTQIA+ migrants. His interdisciplinary research uses quantitative and qualitative methods to investigate transnational Mediterranean politics, sociocultural movements, and queer phenomenology.
Qin Li, (Sher/her/hers)
Communication
Qin Li, (Sher/her/hers)
Communication
PFFIE 2024
PhD, The Ohio State University
Qin Li (PhD, The Ohio State University) examines both 1) the nature of (online) information landscape and 2) how both the information and social environment impact political beliefs. She frequently works with various kinds of data (e.g., panel surveys, digital trace data) and uses quantitative and computational methods. In her dissertation, she designed dyadic and triadic experiments to examine how trust and network closure can impact factual beliefs and (mis)information sharing.
Thomas Love (he/they)
School of Visual Studies
Thomas Love (he/they)
School of Visual Studies
PFFIE 2023
PhD, Northwestern University
Before joining the University of Missouri as a PFFIE postdoctoral fellow, Thomas Love received his PhD in Art History from Northwestern University. Love works at the intersection of contemporary art history, German studies, gender and sexuality studies, and critical race theory. His current book project, titled Queer Exoticism: Strategies of Self-Othering in West Germany, 1969–1994, analyzes queer art in post-’60s West Germany to show how representations of racial and ethnic difference became essential to the formation of contemporary queer identity. His writing has been published in Art in America, The Germanic Review, Texte zur Kunst and in the Art Institute of Chicago’s “Perspectives” series.
So Young Park (she/her)
Human Development & Family Science
So Young Park (she/her)
Human Development & Family Science
PFFIE 2023
JD/PhD, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
So Young’s interdisciplinary research bridges family science and law to explore how the two disciplines, together, can increase access to justice and equality for vulnerable populations, such as survivors of domestic violence and justice-involved youth and families. Her program of research examines the impact of family law and policy on diverse families particularly during critical transitions (e.g., divorce, childbirth, economic recession) from intersectional and ecological systems perspectives. So Young conducts her work from a multidisciplinary, multi-method approach.
Roberto Núñez
Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering and Mathematics
Roberto Núñez
Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering and Mathematics
PFFIE 2023
PhD, University of Missouri
Roberto works on mathematical modeling of thermal systems. He is especially interested in the integration of machine learning techniques and differential equations. He is currently working on the development of predictive models for heat transfer devices known as oscillating heat pipes.
Sarah Poor (She/Her)
Learning, Teaching, & Curriculum
Sarah Poor (She/Her)
Learning, Teaching, & Curriculum
PFFIE 2024
PhD, Texas A&M University
Sarah has a PhD in Curriculum & Instruction from Texas A&M University with an emphasis in Science Education. Her work bridges scholarship in the science education and science communication fields and focuses on understanding and improving peoples’ engagement with socioscientific issues, which are science issues that require consideration of scientific, moral, social, and environmental facets. She approaches this topic through two complementary lines of research: (a) investigating the factors (e.g., cognitive, affective, and sociocultural) associated with how people engage in SSI; and (b) examining how science, particularly the nature of science (NOS), can be communicated to the public in various forms to support informed and equitable public socioscientific decision-making.
Pallavi Raonka
Women’s & Gender Studies
Pallavi Raonka
Women’s & Gender Studies
PFFIE 2023
PhD, Virginia Tech
I earned my Ph.D. in Sociology from Virginia Tech. My research and teaching interests revolve around the political ecology of land, forests, and animals, Adivasi studies, ethnography, gender politics, and South Asia studies. Prior to joining the University of Missouri, I worked as an Assistant Professor of Sociology at DePauw University. I’ve been actively involved in advocacy work related to food security and sovereignty with grassroots groups, specifically, Adivasi and Dalit communities in rural India. My teaching and research focus on understanding people and communities through their own experiences. I emphasize the importance of sharing lived experiences in the classroom, using research to analyze social-political issues, and involving students in inquiry processes to create a collaborative learning environment. Currently, I’m working on my book manuscript, which examines the question of indigeneity and the ongoing political struggle of the Munda Adivasi (indigenous) communities to protect their land in Jharkhand, India. This work is based on over eight years of politically engaged research and advocacy work with Munda Adivasi communities, covering topics like Munda politics, food sovereignty, gender politics, and development. I have received support for this research, including the Joseph Frank Hunker Memorial Scholarship ($35,000). My research has contributed to scholarly discussions in South Asian studies, particularly in areas such as postcolonial feminism, critical development studies, Adivasi women, and food sovereignty.
Allison M Roth
Biological Sciences
Allison M Roth
Biological Sciences
PFFIE 2023
DPhil, University of Oxford
Animals do not exist in a vacuum, and social interactions can have important consequences for survival and reproduction. Using California quail and three-spined stickleback, Allison’s research integrates across multiple biological levels to explore the evolutionary implications and selective consequences of animal sociality. Furthermore, Allison draws on sociality research to examine questions related to disease ecology, sexual selection, and animal personality (i.e., consistent between individual variation in behavior).
Tanushree Sarkar (she/her)
Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis
Tanushree Sarkar (she/her)
Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis
PFFIE 2023
Vanderbilt University
Tanushree Sarkar received her PhD in Community Research and Action from the Department of Human and Organizational Development, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University. Dr. Sarkar studies the global spread of educational theories, policies, and practices and its implications for inclusive education in the global South. She uses critical qualitative and participatory methods to examine how policies and teacher practices can best serve children excluded from educational systems.
Justin Van Goor
Biological Sciences
Justin Van Goor
Biological Sciences
PFFIE 2023
PhD, Iowa State University
I am an evolutionary ecologist broadly interested in the maintenance and interactions of biological community associates, mostly using nematodes as a focal taxon. My research program seeks to utilize the fig-fig wasp mutualism, as well as the multitude of other organisms (notably Parasitodiplogaster nematodes) that interact with these partners as a model to better understand how communities are structured and are modulated over evolutionary timescales. I seek to combine “classical” fieldwork, genomics/phylogenomics, greenhouse manipulations, and laboratory-based experiments to develop a multifaceted research program capable of addressing interesting and lasting questions in the biological sciences.
Karry Weston (she/her)
Nursing
Karry Weston (she/her)
Nursing
PFFIE 2024
PhD, University of Missouri
Dr. Weston is passionate about the health of rural Americans, especially mothers and babies. Her research is particularly focused on rural childbearing women’s uptake of health promoting behaviors, such as breastfeeding, health screenings, mental health services, and prescription use that could impact the health of rural communities overall. She is interested in understanding how the concept of habitus, or community and contextual factors that impact socialization and group norms, influence rural women’s worldview, and impact their health-related decision making.
Karolina Wisniewska
Philosophy
Karolina Wisniewska
Philosophy
PFFIE 2024
PhD, University of Arizona
Rowena Aba Woode (she/her/hers)
Veterinary Medicine
Rowena Aba Woode (she/her/hers)
Veterinary Medicine
PFFIE 2023
DVM, PhD, University of Missouri
Rowena Woode is a PFFIE postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Missouri-Columbia. She received both her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree and her Doctor of Philosophy degree in Biomedical Sciences at MU. Her research explores the gastrointestinal manifestations of the genetic disease cystic fibrosis. Specifically, she is interested in the molecular mechanisms by which cystic fibrosis-causing mutations lead to intestinal barrier dysfunction, inflammation, and increased gastrointestinal cancer risk.
Former PFF Postdocs!
Adaobi Anakwe
Assistant Professor, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University
Adaobi Anakwe
Assistant Professor, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University
PFFFD 2021
Ph.D., St. Louis University
Adaobi’s research interests are in the preconception health of men and women with the goal of improving the health of families and communities. Specifically, her work applies a social determinants of health and health equity lens to examine Black men’s health prior to having pregnancies with their partner(s), how their health changes across the life course, and what implications these changes have for maternal and child health.
Jaime Barros
Assistant Professor, Plant Science and Technology, University of Missouri
Jaime Barros
Assistant Professor, Plant Science and Technology, University of Missouri
PFFFD 2022
PhD, University of Vigo
Jaime Barros studies several aspects of the metabolism of plants using a wide array of techniques from biochemistry through molecular biology to genomics, coupled with isotope labeling and mathematical modeling approaches. Ultimately, his research aims to explore how plants’ metabolism works and use this knowledge to help address global challenges such as food security, climate change, and sustainable production of energy and commodity chemicals.
Loren Bauerband
Assistant Professor, Educational, School & Counseling Psychology, University of Missouri
Loren Bauerband
Assistant Professor, Educational, School & Counseling Psychology, University of Missouri
PFFFD 2017
Ph.D., University of Rhode Island
Health Sciences
Loren’s research investigates healthcare disparities among LGBT individuals as well as the impact of minority stress on health behaviors and lifestyle patterns of transgender and sexual minorities.
Rowan Bell
Assistant Professor, Philosophy, University of Guelph, Canada
Rowan Bell
Assistant Professor, Philosophy, University of Guelph, Canada
PFFFD 2022
PhD, Syracuse University
Rowan Bell primarily works at the intersection of feminist philosophy, trans philosophy, metaethics, and social epistemology. They also draw on decolonial theory, critical race theory, and sociology. They seek to understand the normative nature of non-ideal social norms, such as gender norms, and their role in our practical deliberations as agents. As a non-binary trans person, Rowan is committed to theorizing with, not about, his community; his primary goal is to articulate hermeneutical resources that marginalized people can use to make sense of themselves.
Ruchi Bhattacharya
Assistant Professor, Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Cleveland State University
Ruchi Bhattacharya
Assistant Professor, Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Cleveland State University
PFFFD 2017
Ph.D., University of Arkansas
Natural Resources
Ruchi’s research is developing an interdisciplinary and holistic approach to understand aquatic biochemical processes relevant for water quality and quantity issues influenced by anthropogenic modifications and climate causes.
Fiorella Carlos Chavez
Assistant Professor, Nursing & Health Innovation, Arizona State University
Fiorella Carlos Chavez
Assistant Professor, Nursing & Health Innovation, Arizona State University
PFFFD 2018
Ph.D., Florida State University
Human Development & Family Science
Fiorella’s research examines the health impact of stressors among Latinx individuals and families as well as the acculturative stress on Latinx college students’ psychosocial outcomes. Her dissertation work studied Latinx migrant farmworkers and contributes to understanding of how family decisions and relationships help Latinx youth manage life challenges.
Merve Fezjula
Assistant Professor, History, University of Missouri
Merve Fezjula
Assistant Professor, History, University of Missouri
PFFFD 2019
Ph.D., Cambridge University
Merve’s research is situated at the crossroads of scholarship on African intellectual history, black Atlantic studies, and black internationalism, and adopts an interdisciplinary methodology drawn from anthropology, politics, and literary studies. Merve examines the unknown intellectual history of the Anglophone dissemination of negritude, the movement for race consciousness long associated with the Francophone world. Merve studies the way in which racial belonging was given meaning among African and diasporic subjects during the height of decolonization and desegregation.
Alejandro Figueroa
Assistant Professor, Anthropology, University of Missouri
Alejandro Figueroa
Assistant Professor, Anthropology, University of Missouri
PFFFD 2021
Ph.D., Southern Methodist University
Alejandro’s research examines how humans interact with and give meaning to their surroundings. He approaches this topic from a variety of perspectives including the reconstruction of ancient landscapes and human-environment dynamics using zooarchaeology and geoarchaeology, landscape studies of modern placemaking, and iconographic and statistical analyses of Mesoamerican rock art imagery. Alejandro is also passionate about community engagement and science communication both in the US and in his home country of Honduras.
Sarah Fischer
Project Chemist, US Army Corps of Engineers
Sarah Fischer
Project Chemist, US Army Corps of Engineers
PFFFD 2021
Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park
“Sarah Fischer is a PFFFD postdoctoral fellow in Civil and Environmental Engineering and the School of Natural Resources. Her research interests include the chemistry of organic matter and contaminants, water quality, and field probe optimization. Sarah also values equitable and accessible STEM education.”
Rasha Gargees
Assistant Professor, Computer Science, Central Michigan University
Rasha Gargees
Assistant Professor, Computer Science, Central Michigan University
PFFFD 2020
Ph.D., University of Missouri-Columbia
Rasha’s research interests include leveraging cloud computing and high-performance parallel distributed systems for multi-stage big data analytics utilizing intelligent agents and deep convolutional neural networks (DCNN). To this end, she has developed a scalable, dynamic, and secure framework, which can be employed in smart cities. Rasha’s research explores data from various heterogeneous independent sources, accommodating both stream data and batch workloads, such as the Internet of Things (IoT) sensor data and Big Geospatial data.
Johana Goyes Vallejos
Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences, University of Missouri
Johana Goyes Vallejos
Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences, University of Missouri
PFFFD 2019
Ph.D., University of Connecticut
Johana’s research interests include sexual selection and mating systems, with a particular interest in species that exhibit parental care behavior. In her research, Johana has used frogs as her study system. For her dissertation work, she focused on elucidating the parental care behavior of the smooth guardian frog of Borneo (Limnonectes palavanensis), an unusual species about which very little was known when she began her work. She is interested in understanding this species’ mating system and what behavioral and ecological factors shaped its evolution.
Les Gray
Assistant Professor, Department of Theatre, University of Missouri
Les Gray
Assistant Professor, Department of Theatre, University of Missouri
PFFFD 2020
Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park
Les Gray’s research focuses on Black cultural production and its relationship to trauma and terror with examples ranging from blues dancing to police brutality videos. They are interested in performances of spectacular Black pain as well as the potential for joy, healing, and solidarity.
Aída Guhlincozzi
Assistant Professor, Geography, University of Missouri
Aída Guhlincozzi
Assistant Professor, Geography, University of Missouri
PFFFD 2021
Ph.D., University of Illinois
Aída R. Guhlincozzi studies healthcare accessibility for Spanish-speaking and non-Spanish-speaking Latinas in the Chicago suburbs. Her work incorporates community geography, Latinx geographies, feminist geographies, and qualitative GIS theory and methodologies.
Rachael Hernandez
Assistant Professor, Communication, University of Missouri
Rachael Hernandez
Assistant Professor, Communication, University of Missouri
PFFFD 2019
Ph.D., Indiana University Purdue University – Indianapolis
Communication and Public Health
Rachael’s research explores communication about sensitive health-related topics. Currently, her research focuses primarily on 1) interpersonal communication surrounding sexual health, and 2) how implicit biases against social groups (e.g. along the lines of race, gender, and age) have the potential to shape physician-patient communication.
Sarah Jacquet
Assistant Professor, Geological Sciences, University of Missouri
Sarah Jacquet
Assistant Professor, Geological Sciences, University of Missouri
PFFFD 2017
PhD., Macquarie University
Geological Sciences
Sarah’s research interests reside in palaeobiology, systematics, and sedimentology. She uses high-powered imaging, field, petrographic, and geochemical techniques to examine the emergence and diversification of complex animal body plan through the Palaeozoic.
Gaurav Kandlikar
Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University
Gaurav Kandlikar
Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University
PFFFD 2020
Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles
Gaurav uses mathematical modeling, field studies, and greenhouse experiments to study the processes that influence species diversity and dynamics in plant communities. In his dissertation, Gaurav studied how species diversity in southern California grasslands is influenced by the abiotic environment and by soil microorganisms. His research will continue to build towards a more mechanistic and general understanding of how plant-microbe interactions scale up and interact with other processes to influence plant communities.
Hector Lamadrid
Assistant Professor, Geological Sciences, University of Missouri
Hector Lamadrid
Assistant Professor, Geological Sciences, University of Missouri
PFFFD 2018
Ph.D., Virginia Tech
Geological Sciences
Hector’s research examines fluid-rock interactions in natural systems. He has made methodological advancements in fluid inclusion analysis techniques, specifically in relation to Roman spectroscopy as a way to determine fluid inclusion in minderals. Hector’s research advances understanding of the roles of fluids in chemical reactions in Earth’s deep interior.
Current position: Assistant Professor, School of Geosciences, University of Oklahoma
Michelangelo Landgrave
Assistant Professor, Public Affairs & Political Science, University of Missouri
Michelangelo Landgrave
Assistant Professor, Public Affairs & Political Science, University of Missouri
PFFFD 2021
Ph.D., University of California Riverside
Michelangelo’s research interests are race, ethnic & immigration politics (REIP), state & local politics, and legislative studies. His current research includes developing a theory on when state legislative staffers serve as substantive representatives to traditionally underrepresented populations, and developing experimental nudges to promote equitable service delivery by bureaucracies.
Current position: Assistant Professor, Political Science, University of Colorado Boulder
Knoo Lee
Assistant Professor, Nursing, University of Missouri
Knoo Lee
Assistant Professor, Nursing, University of Missouri
PFFFD 2021
Ph.D., University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Lee researches how data-driven, hypothesis-free data analytics can be used to better analyze/interpret nursing data (e.g., nursing homes monitoring data, nursing records, electronic health records). Specifically, his work has examined secondary school students’ chronic absenteeism behavior with social determinants of health using Causal Discovery Analysis (CDA) with machine learning – prediction models comparison.
Qingli Lei
Bridge to Faculty Fellow, University of Illinois Chicago
Qingli Lei
Bridge to Faculty Fellow, University of Illinois Chicago
PFFFD 2022
PhD, Purdue University
Dr. Qingli Lei received her doctoral degree in Educational Studies from Purdue University and coordinated a multi-year evidence-based problem-solving project funded by the National Science Foundation. Her research is directed toward developing instructional scaffoldings as components of interventions to improve the mathematics and literacy performance of struggling English learners. She is also interested in analyzing teacher-student discourse moves to empower students’ mathematics reasoning and problem solving.
Kaleea Lewis
Assistant Professor, Public Health, University of Missouri
Kaleea Lewis
Assistant Professor, Public Health, University of Missouri
PFFFD 2018
Ph.D., University of South Carolina
Public Health and Women’s & Gender Studies
Kaleea’s research intersects with public health, sociology, and psychology. She examines racism within the institution of higher education, specifically the challenges faced by Black students and faculty as well as the psychosocial well-being of minority students. Her research takes an intersectional approach to studying experiences and perceptions of practices within higher education.
Yang Li
Assistant Professor, Nursing, University of Texas at Austin
Yang Li
Assistant Professor, Nursing, University of Texas at Austin
PFFFD 2018
Ph.D., University of Michigan
Nursing
Yang researches the impact of maternal childhood maltreatment and trauma-related psychopathology on perinatal outcomes. Specifically, her work has examined the concept of Allostatic Load as a physiologic manifestation of multiple systems among the mothers and how they relate to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and childbearing outcomes.
Guadalupe (Lupita) Madrigal
Assistant Professor, Communication, University of California, Santa Barbara
Guadalupe (Lupita) Madrigal
Assistant Professor, Communication, University of California, Santa Barbara
PFFFD 2022
PhD, University of Michigan.
Guadalupe (who also goes by “Lupita”) researches topics related to political communication, with a particular interest in media, race, and immigration. Her dissertation focuses on news media portrayals of immigrant children in the news over the past 30 years, and the consequences of these representations in contemporary politics. She also has a vested interest in Chicana/o and Latina/o studies.
Quinnehtukqut McLamore
Assistant Professor, Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri
Quinnehtukqut McLamore
Assistant Professor, Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri
PFFFD 2022
PhD, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Dr. Quinnehtukqut McLamore received their PhD in Social Psychology from the Psychology of Peace and Violence Program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Their research is strongly multimethod and wide-spanning: in general, they focus on “common knowledge,” narratives, extremism, and processes related to group identification. More specifically, they use survey research, lab studies, and psychophysiology research to explore different aspects of questions related to these areas.
Terrell Morton
Assistant Professor, Learning, Teaching, & Curriculum, University of Missouri
Terrell Morton
Assistant Professor, Learning, Teaching, & Curriculum, University of Missouri
PFFFD 2017
Ph.D., UNC Chapel-Hill
Learning, Teaching, & Curriculum
Terrell’s research focuses on student retention and matriculation in postsecondary education. He examines STEM retention for Black females in undergraduate research experiences and the influence of identity development and expression on student engagement.
Current position: Assistant Professor, Identity and Justice in STEM Education, University of Illinois at Chicago
Stephen C. Mukembo
Assistant Professor, Applied Social Sciences, University of Missouri
Stephen C. Mukembo
Assistant Professor, Applied Social Sciences, University of Missouri
PFFFD 2022
PhD, Oklahoma State University
Stephen completed his Ph.D. in Agricultural Education at Oklahoma State University (OSU). His doctoral research focused on integrating agricultural and entrepreneurship education to improve community livelihoods through project-based learning and Youth-Adult Partnerships. Stephen’s research interests include entrepreneurship and innovation in agriculture (agripreneurship), food systems, international agriculture, rural entrepreneurship, and youth and agriculture development.
Josh Parmenter
Assistant Professor, Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology, University of Missouri
Josh Parmenter
Assistant Professor, Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology, University of Missouri
PFFFD 2022
PhD, Utah State University
“Joshua’s program of research uses an intersectional framework to quantitatively and qualitatively examine how experiences of inequity (e.g., discrimination, inequitable structural barriers) or protective factors (e.g., internal and community resilience) influence health outcomes among those with multiple marginalized identities, such as LGBTQ+ Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). Joshua’s research not only seeks to inform psychotherapy, but also ways mental health practitioners can engage in resistance to transform oppressive social structures and racist policies that perpetuate health disparities among LGBTQ+ BIPOC.”
Martha (Sofia) Ortega Obando
Assistant Professor, Animal Sciences, University of Missouri
Martha (Sofia) Ortega Obando
Assistant Professor, Animal Sciences, University of Missouri
PFFFD 2017
Ph.D., University of Florida
Animal Sciences
Sofia researches bovine reproductive physiology. She is particularly interested in the underlying genomics of fertility regulation, which are players driving maternal-embryo interactions, and how to regulate them to improve reproductive performance in mammals.
Current position: Assistant Professor, Reproductive Physiology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Laura Ridenour
Assistant Professor, Information Science & Learning Technologies, University of Missouri
Laura Ridenour
Assistant Professor, Information Science & Learning Technologies, University of Missouri
PFFFD 2021
Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Laura’s research is centered on the philosophy of information and data science, spanning information organization, informetrics, and information retrieval. She is particularly interested in conceptual overlap and divergence in interdisciplinary areas of research.
Roy Anthony Thompson
Assistant Professor, School of Nursing, Hunter College Bellevue
Roy Anthony Thompson
Assistant Professor, School of Nursing, Hunter College Bellevue
PFFFD 2022
PhD, Duke University
Dr. Roy Anthony Thompson was born and raised in Jamaica. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing with First Class Honors (Summa Cum Laude) in 2009, and a Master of Science degree in Advance Nursing Education in 2013 from The UWI School of Nursing, University of the West Indies, Jamaica. Prior to graduate school he worked as a registered nurse (RN) in the Post-Anesthetic Care Units and Intensive Care Units from 2008-2013. Dr. Thompson also lectured at the University of the West Indies from 2013-2016. Dr. Thompson earned his doctorate at the Duke University School of Nursing and the Global Health Doctoral Certificate from the Duke Global Health Institute. His doctoral dissertation employed both quantitative and qualitative methods to examine employment-related outcomes between Foreign Educated Nurses (FENs) and US Educated Nurses, including an exploration of barriers and facilitators to FENs providing quality care in LTC settings. Dr. Thompson received a Teaching for Equity Fellowship from the Duke School of Nursing. Dr. Thompson was a subject matter expert on the National Commission Against Racism in Nursing, and an Emerging Diversity Leader for AcademyHealth’s Interdisciplinary Research Group on Nursing Issues (IRGNI). Dr. Thompson’s program of research is focused on improving care of older adults and their health-related outcomes, health policies, strengthening Long-term care (LTC) systems, and enhancing LTC health workforce capacity to improve quality of care for older adults.