The Department of Family and Preventive Medicine (DFPM) is proud to announce that all three of its applications have been accepted into the prestigious Vice President's Clinical and Translational (VPCAT) Research Scholars Program. The VPCAT Research Scholars Program has been designed to offer intensive mentorship and support to early-stage faculty members engaged in clinical and translational research in transitioning to accomplished, funded principal investigators. The program's kickoff is scheduled for December 2024, with an official launch in January 2025.
Dr. Teresa DeAtley, PhD, MPH
Dr. Teresa DeAtley, a newly appointed tenure-track faculty member in the Division of Public Health, will focus her research on addressing the crucial clinical practice gap concerning the use of effective clinical tobacco cessation treatments to improve tuberculosis (TB) outcomes in South Africa. Dr. DeAtley began her career at Johns Hopkins University, where she was first exposed to international research in tobacco control. She completed her doctoral training in social and behavioral sciences at Brown University, exploring mechanisms underlying high rates of tobacco use in people with psychiatric disorders.
Dr. DeAtley has conducted international training in several countries, collaborating with Dr. Molebogeng on a policy-based research project with the WHO global tuberculosis unit. Since joining the University of Utah, she has engaged with researchers at the Huntsman Cancer Center and the Huntsman Mental Health Institute to continue her work in tobacco control, focusing on mental health outcomes. Dr. DeAtley looks forward to the VPCAT program with the goal of obtaining a K01 award to further her research.
Dr. Tiffany Ho, MD, MPH, FAAFP
Dr. Tiffany Ho, an assistant professor in the Division of Family and Community Medicine, will focus on understanding the long-term safety and efficacy of gender-affirming care across the lifespan. Early in her career, Dr. Ho earned her Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, where she focused on implementing healthy food practices for individuals with serious mental illness.
Since joining the University of Utah, Dr. Ho has participated in the inaugural DFPM Health Studies Fund Clinician Scholars Program, which profoundly shifted her career towards clinical research, particularly in transgender health. Additionally, she serves as the primary investigator on a DFPM-funded F. Marian Bishop Award project that evaluates continuity of insurance coverage and cancer screening rates amongst transgender and gender diverse (TGD) adults. Dr. Ho is looking forward to the VPCAT program with the goal of obtaining a K23 award, and ultimately an NIH R01 grant, to further her research on the long-term safety and efficacy of gender-affirming care across the lifespan.
Dr. Jennifer Mundt, PhD, DBSM
Dr. Jennifer Mundt, a sleep psychologist from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, will join the University of Utah on January 1, 2025, in the Division of Public Health. Dr. Mundt has provided clinical care to patients with sleep disorders and directed the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Training Program and Research Lab. Her vision is to integrate research and clinical practice in behavioral sleep medicine.
At the University of Utah, Dr. Mundt will work with Kelly Baron, PhD, on sleep research while maintaining 50% clinical time at the Sleep Wake Center. Her goal is to transition from clinical care to clinical research, focusing on developing and testing novel behavioral sleep medicine interventions. Dr. Mundt is particularly interested in central disorders of hypersomnolence (CDH) and parasomnia. She aims to identify gaps in clinical care and develop behavioral interventions to address these needs. Dr. Mundt is excited about the VPCAT program, which she hopes will help her secure NIH R01 funding to conduct randomized control trials (RCTs) and achieve her vision of integrating research and clinical practice in behavioral sleep medicine.
The acceptance of these three outstanding researchers into the VPCAT program underscores the DFPM's commitment to advancing public health through innovative research and clinical practice.