Women Faculty Network
Leadership Team Profiles:
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April R. Wiechmann, PhD – Women Faculty Network Chair Associate Professor Department of Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine April R. Wiechmann, PhD, FNAP is the Chief Behavioral Health Officer and Clinical Medical Director for Geri-Psych within the Health Pavilion. She is a Neuropsychologist and works within the Department of Internal Medicine and Geriatrics. She is an Associate Professor for TCOM. Alumni of UNT and UNTHSC, she re-joined UNTHSC in 2011 after her internship at the VA and postdoctoral work at UT Southwestern. She teaches first and second-year medical students in Clinical Communication and Clinical Integration courses. She serves as a Faculty Advisor to TCOM medical students and Champion to the M.I.N.D group on campus. She has served on admissions committee, Faculty Senate executive committee, presidential search committee, UNT system Mental Health Task Force Committee, and Whole Health Committee for HSC. In 2023, she was awarded the Distinguished Practitioner and Fellow award in Washington, DC at the annual National Academies of Practice conference. Professional Profile: https://experts.unthsc.edu/en/persons/april-wiechmann |
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Dana M. Litt, PhD – Women Faculty Network Past-Chair Dana M. Litt, PhD is the Director of the MS and PhD Program in Public Health Sciences and an Associate Professor within the Department of Population & Community Health in the School of Public Health. Dr. Litt’s research examines both offline (parents, college environment) and online (social media) social influences on adolescent and young adult alcohol use with the aim to develop, test, and implement theoretically sound and efficacious alcohol use and related risk interventions. Dr. Litt has been the PI of 4 and Co-I on 10 studies funded through NIH/NIAAA. She currently serves as Faculty Senate President-Elect. Professional Profile: https://experts.unthsc.edu/en/persons/dana-litt |
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Kenya Samuels, PA-C Kenya Samuels, MPAS, PA-C, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physician Assistant Studies within the School of Health Professions. She graduated from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 2002 with a BS in Kinesiology. She later continued her studies at the University of Alabama in Birmingham and graduated in 2008 with an MS in Physician Assistant Studies. Upon graduation, she joined both Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital as faculty and a Pediatric Critical Care Physician Assistant, respectively. She also worked part-time at a primary care clinic servicing the underserved and uninsured. Her academic journey started more than eight years ago, with six of those years at HSC. Currently, she serves as the chair of the PA Department Admissions Committee; PA Department Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee; and Early Career Development Council. In addition, she serves as the faculty advisor for the PA student government association (Physician Assistant Student Association). Her research interests are in the areas of health and well-being, as well as diversity, equity, and inclusion. She has been the co-investigator on a Physician Assistant Education Association Grant and has two research proposals in the works. Professional Profile: https://experts.unthsc.edu/en/persons/kenya-samuels |
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Jin Liu, PhD Professional Profile: https://experts.unthsc.edu/en/persons/jin-liu |
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Malinee Neelamegam, PhD Dr. Caroline Rickards received her PhD from RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia in 2005. She was a postdoctoral fellow at the US Army Institute for Surgical Research, and a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio before joining UNTHSC in 2012. Dr. Rickards’ research focuses on the development of novel therapies to improve vital organ perfusion under stress (including hemorrhage, cardiac arrest, and stroke). Her team has received funding for this research from the Department of Defense, the American Heart Association, the NIH, private foundations, and industry contracts. Dr. Rickards is an active member of the local UNTHSC community, and within her professional societies, including service as Chair of the American Physiological Society (APS) Women in Physiology Committee (2015-2017). Professional Profile: https://experts.unthsc.edu/en/persons/malinee-neelamegam |
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Jennifer Cihlar, PhD Professional Profile: https://experts.unthsc.edu/en/persons/jennifer-cihlar |
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