Monthly Faculty Spotlight
Q&A with Dr. Meredith Ray, PhD
Director and Professor, Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences
October 2025 - What brought you to the U of M School of Public Health? As a biostatistician, my role is two-fold. Part of my research focuses on novel statistical methodology and the other is statistical applications with collaborators. My methodology primarily ....
Q&A with Dr. Kallol Kumar Bhattacharyya, MBBS, MA, PhD
Director and Professor, Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences
September 2025 - What brought you to the U of M School of Public Health? I am specifically attracted to the position because of the possibility of collaborating in interdisciplinary ...
Q&A with Dr. Ricky Chi Yeung Leung, PhD, MPhil, MS, BA
Director and Professor, Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences
August 2025 - What brought you to the U of M School of Public Health? I came to the University of Memphis School of Public Health to lead the Social and Behavioral Sciences Division ...
Q&A with Dr. Yong Yang, PhD
Associate Professor
July 2025 - What brought you to the U of M School of Public Health? After working for several years as a postdoctoral fellow and research faculty, I was seeking an opportunity to begin a tenure-track position. Although the U of M School of Public Health is relatively small ....
Q&A with Dr. Debra Bartelli, DrPH
Research Associate Professor of Urban Health
June 2025 - What brought you to the U of M School of Public Health? In the fall of 2014, I was invited to join the faculty by the School’s first Dean, Dr. Lisa Klesges. Prior to that I was the director of Healthy Shelby, a county-wide, multi-sector ...
Q&A with Dr. Ilias Kavouras, PhD
Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs and Professor, EBE Division
May 2025 - What brought you to the U of M School of Public Health? The exciting portfolio of academic affairs while maintaining didactic and scholar activities was very attractive. Being part of a growing, engaging, student-centered ...
Q&A with Dr. Hongmei Zhang, PhD, MS
Professor of Biostatistics, EBE Division Director
April 2025 - What brought you to the U of M School of Public Health? I was attracted to the UofM School of Public Health by its high potential and energy. It has been 11 years since my arrival and I have been impressed every moment by its growing ...
Q&A with Dr. Shafi Bhuiyan, PhD, MBBS, MPH, MBA
Associate Professor and SBS Program Coordinator, Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences
March 2025 - What brought you to the U of M School of Public Health? The opportunity for internationalization and collaboration brought me to SPH-UofM. As a global maternal and child ...
Q&A with Dr. Matthew Smeltzer, PhD
Associate Professor of Epidemiology
February 2025 - What brought you to the U of M School of Public Health? I joined the U of M School of Public Health because of the opportunities to conduct public health research in the mid-south US, where we have a large diverse population of people ...
Q&A with Dr. Chunrong Jia, PhD
Professor of Environmental and Urban Health
January 2025 - What brought you to the U of M School of Public Health? Opportunities and the "Southern Hospitality." During my on-site interview in early 2009, I learned that Memphis, as the central city of the Mid-South, had multiple environmental and health challenges. ...
Q&A with Dr. Abu Mohammed Naser Titu, PhD, MBBS
Assistant Professor of Environmental and Urban Health
December 2024 - What brought you to the U of M School of Public Health? The University of Memphis School of Public Health is a vital hub for advancing public health through ...
Q&A with Dr. Marian Levy DrPH, RD, FAND
Associate Dean, Public Health Practice & Community Engagement, Professor, Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences
November 2024 - What brought you to the U of M School of Public Health? Actually, I joined the U of M in 2007 as the first director of the MPH Program- even before we became a School! It has been an honor and privilege ...