SPH employee announcements and updates
Please join us in welcoming new members to the SPH team, congratulating employees on their new roles, and saying goodbye while wishing the very best to others.
NEW MEMBERS
Academic and Student Affairs
Kara Forst has joined the School of Public Health as professional programs manager. In this role she is responsible for coordinating operations of the MHA and MPH programs, including overseeing practicum/internship placements, providing academic advising to MHA students and supporting strategic initiatives related to both programs. Ms. Forst will also teach in the SPH’s undergraduate and graduate programs.
Prior to joining the SPH, Ms. Forst was the program coordinator for Graduate Programs in the WVU John Chambers College of Business and Economics team, where she provided a high-touch approach to the graduate admissions and recruitment process and overall student experience. Ms. Forst is a two-time graduate of West Virginia University, with an M.S. in industrial relations and a B.A. in communications studies.
Earlier this month, Hannah Meeks joined the School of Public Health as college recruitment specialist. In this role, Ms. Meeks will help lead the planning, coordination and implementation of recruitment activities for the SPH’s undergraduate programs.
Ms. Meeks is an SPH alumna, graduating with a B.S. in Public Health in May 2020. During her time as a student, she gained valuable recruitment-related experience serving for two years as a Dean’s Ambassador.
Department of Health Policy, Management and Leadership
Emily Zier, MPA, PhD, will join the School of Public Health as assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy, Management and Leadership on July 31. Her research in health policy centers around understanding how a myriad of public policies affect health outcomes for individuals with disabilities. Specifically, her current research focuses on better understanding how service animals impact the health of their handlers.
Dr. Zier previously served as visiting assistant professor at the University of Georgia’s School of Public and International Affairs. She holds a PhD and an MPA in public administration and policy from the University of Georgia.
UPDATES
Academic and Student Affairs
Audra Hamrick has been named director of undergraduate studies for the School of Public Health. In this role, she will oversee both of the SPH’s bachelor’s programs. Ms. Hamrick continues to serve as director of public health practice and service learning for the school, receiving additional support from Kara Forst related to MPH practicums.
Prior to joining the SPH in 2018, Ms. Hamrick served as a professional school counselor for Monongalia County schools and a teacher/counselor, supervisor and trainer within residential treatment facilities across the state.
Sarah Opatz has accepted the position of developmental advising specialist. In this role, she will provide primary academic advising functions to the SPH undergraduate program, regularly communicating with undergraduate students on matters directly related to successful matriculation in the BS programs and monitoring undergraduate student progress.
Prior to taking on this new role, Ms. Opatz served as project coordinator in the SPH Office of Academic and Student Affairs, a position to which she was appointed full-time in early 2019. Previously, she worked with Dr. Ranjita Misra on her NIH and PCORI grants as a project coordinator/research specialist.
Department of Biostatistics
Snehalata Huzurbazar, PhD, has accepted a position as a professor of mathematics in the WVU Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, submitting her resignation as a professor in the School of Public Health Department of Biostatistics (effective June 30, 2020). For the 2020-2021 academic year, Dr. Huzurbazar will continue to assist with the SPH’s teaching needs as an adjunct instructor, but will be moving her office to the Eberly College (effective July 1, 2020).
Dr. Huzurbazar joined the SPH in the fall of 2017.
Department of Epidemiology
On August 1, Dr. Tom Hulsey’s five-year term as chair of the Department of Epidemiology will conclude. Following this term, Dr. Hulsey will maintain his primary appointment as professor of epidemiology and continue to contribute to the SPH’s research, teaching and service efforts, including important collaborations with the West Virginia Clinical and Translational Science Institute and the WVU Department of Pediatrics.
Dr. Hulsey, who joined WVU in 2014 as professor in both the SPH and School of Medicine, has also accepted a new role as the vice chair for research in the Department of Pediatrics, WVU School of Medicine.
Department of Health Policy, Management and Leadership
Heather Henderson, EdD, has been appointed as assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy, Management and Leadership. Dr. Henderson currently serves as director of assessment for the School of Public Health – a role she will maintain. Dr. Henderson has served on the University Assessment Council since 2016. She is an active member of the Women’s Leadership Initiative and serves on the WVU Health Sciences Faculty Development Advisory Committee and the S.T.E.P.S. EQI committee.
Prior to joining the SPH in 2016, Dr. Henderson was director of curriculum and learning outcomes for Immaculata University in Immaculata, Pa.
Occupational Medicine
Jennifer Lultschik, MD, MPH, assistant professor in the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences, has been appointed as the new program director for the General Preventive Medicine Residency Program. This new role was effective on July 1, 2020, and reports to the SPH’s Designated Institutional Official for residency training, Dr. Chris Martin.
Dr. Lultschik joined the SPH as assistant professor in 2018. Prior to coming to WVU, she worked as a Board-Certified Occupational Medicine Physician in Erie, Pa. Dr. Lultschik is a certified FAA Aviation Medical Examiner, a Medical Review Officer and a FMCSA Medical Examiner.
DEPARTURES
Department of Epidemiology
Greg Hand, PhD, has accepted the position of dean of the College of Health Professions at Wichita State University and submitted his resignation as a professor in the School of Public Health Department of Epidemiology, effective August 7, 2020.
As many are aware, Dr. Hand was the founding Dean of the School of Public Health, appointed in 2014, playing an integral role in laying the foundation for the School and placing it on its successful path.
Department of Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences
Anna Allen, MD, MPH, associate professor in the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences and associate program director for the Occupational Medicine Residency Program, has accepted a position with the Primary Care Department at the Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center, resigning from her roles with the School of Public Health, effective October 12, 2020.
Dr. Allen joined the WVU Health Sciences as assistant professor in occupational medicine in 2010. She is a four-time graduate of West Virginia University, having earned her MD, MPH, MS (occupational hygiene and safety), and two bachelor’s degrees from the School of Medicine, School of Engineering and College of Arts and Sciences.
Occupational Medicine
Mike Brumage, MD, MPH, has accepted a position out of state and resigned from his positions as adjunct faculty member and program director for the General Preventive Medicine Residency Program in the School of Public Health. Dr. Brumage first joined the SPH as adjunct faculty in 2015.
Brumage, who retired as a Colonel after a 25-year career in the U.S. Army Medical Corps, also served as an assistant clinical professor in behavioral medicine and psychiatry in the School of Medicine and co-chair of the WVU Health Sciences Center Mindfulness Committee.