Meet the Dean

Augusta University welcomes Teresa M. Waters, PhD, as the inaugural dean of the new School of Public Health. Waters, who began in her new role on Aug. 1, 2022, served at the University of Kentucky’s College of Public Health as the chair of the Department of Health Management and Policy, Charles T. Wethington Jr. Endowed Chair in the Health Sciences and interim director of the Center for Health Services Research, Implementation Science, and Policy.

"I’m honored to serve as the inaugural dean at Augusta University’s proposed School of Public Health and thrilled to work with the exceptional faculty, staff and students who will call the School of Public Health home."

Contact Us

School of Public Health

1120 15th Street
Augusta, GA 30912

706-721-1104

ipph@augusta.edu

THINK. TEACH. DO.

School of Public Health Faculty and Staff

Dean's Administration

JIE CHEN, PHD

Associate Dean, Academic and Student Affairs

jiechen@augusta.edu

J. AARON JOHNSON, PHD

Associate Dean, Research

jjohnson10@augusta.edu

Department of Biostatistics, Data Science, and Epidemiology

STEVEN COUGHLIN, PHD

Professor, Epidemiology

scoughlin@augusta.edu

Kevin Dobbin

Associate Professor, Biostatistics

kdobbin@augusta.edu

Philippe Gaillard

Associate Professor, Biostatistics

pgaillard@augusta.edu

SANTU GHOSH, PHD

Associate Professor, Biostatistics

sghosh@augusta.edu

Hanwen Huang

Associate Professor, Biostatistics

hhuang1@augusta.edu

K.M. ISLAM, PHD

Associate Professor, Epidemiology

kislam@augusta.edu

BAN MAJEED, PHD

Assistant Professor, Epidemiology

bmajeed@augusta.edu

LORRIANE ODHIAMBO, PHD, MPH

Assistant Professor, Epidemiology

lodhiambo@augusta.edu

Dustin Pluta

Assistant Professor, Epidemiology

dpluta@augusta.edu

YOON HO SEOL, PHD

Associate Professor, Public Health Informatics

yseol@augusta.edu

YANG SHI, PHD

Assistant Professor, Biostatistics and Data Science

yshi@augusta.edu

HONGYAN XU, PHD

Professor, Genomics/Data Science/Biostatistics

hxu@augusta.edu

LI FANG ZHANG, MD, MS

Assistant Professor, Biostatistics

lizhang@augusta.edu

Department of Health Management, Economics, and Policy

Raphael Agbali

Assistant Professor, Health Promotion

ragbali@augusta.edu

BENJAMIN ANSA, PHD

Assistant Professor, Chronic Disease Prevention & Control

bansa@augusta.edu

ANDREW BALAS, PHD, MD

Professor, Public Health Impact of Biomedical Research

andrew.balas@augusta.edu

CATHERINE CLARY, JD

Assistant Professor, Rural Health

cclary@augusta.edu

Nicholas Colgrove

Assistant Professor, Bioethics

ncolgrove@augusta.edu

BIPLAB DATTA, PHD

Assistant Professor, Global Health/Health Disparities

bdatta@augusta.edu

GIANLUCA DELEO, PHD, MBA

Professor and Interim Chair, Health Management/Digital Health

gdeleo@augusta.edu

VAHÉ HEBOYAN, PHD

Associate Professor, Health Economics and Policy

vheboyan@augusta.edu

NEIL MACKINNON, PHD

Professor, Health Policy

nmackinnon@augusta.edu

TRAN HA NGUYEN, DPH, MPH

Assistant Professor, Public Health Leadership/Informatics

trnguyen@augusta.edu

JEANE SILVA, PHD

Associate Professor, Molecular Diagnostics

jsilva@augusta.edu

DUSTIN TRACY, PHD

Assistant Professor, Health Economics and Policy

jtracy@augusta.edu

LAURA WILLIAMSON, PHD

Associate Professor, Bioethics

lawilliamson@augusta.edu

Department of Community and Behavioral Health Sciences

TEAL W. BENEVIDES, PHD, MS, OTR/L, FAOTA

Associate Professor, Autism/Related Developmental Conditions

tbenevides@augusta.edu

DEBORAH JEHU, PHD

Assistant Professor, Fall Prevention

djehu@augusta.edu

NICOLE PERITORE, PHD

Associate Professor, Health Promotion

nperitore@augusta.edu

J. PAUL SEALE, MD

Professor, Social and Behavioral Health

jseale@augusta.edu

JESSICA LYNN STEWART, PHD, MPH

Professor, Social Determinants of Health/Health Disparities

jesstewart@augusta.edu

ASHWINI TIWARI, PHD

Assistant Professor, Health Promotion and Behavior

atiwari@augusta.edu

MICHAEL VITACCO, PHD

Professor and Director IPPH, Forensic Psychology

mvitacco@augusta.edu

Lauren von Klinggraeff

Assistant Professor, Behavioral Health

lvonklinggraeff@augusta.edu

Staff

Yara Abdelgawad

Research Associate

yabdelgawad@augusta.edu

Preshit Ambade

Post Doc

pambade@augusta.edu

Courtney Bentley

Administrative Assistant

cobentley@augusta.edu

Wendy Burnett

Temporary Technical/Paraprofessional

weburnett@augusta.edu

Shannon Dayton

Administrative Assistant

sdayton@augusta.edu

Yolanda Dortch

Program Coordinator

ydortch@augusta.edu

Kimberley Dyches

Program Coordinator

kidyches@augusta.edu

Cheryl Edelman

Administrative Assistant

cedelman@augusta.edu

Sarah ElLaissi Smith

Administrative Assistant

sellaissi@augusta.edu

Katherine Hatcher

Research Manager

khatcher@augusta.edu

Zach Hoffman

Research Associate

zhoffma1@augusta.edu

Samah Ibrahim

Research Assistant

saibrahim@augusta.edu

Jennifer Jaremski

Research Associate

jjaremski@augusta.edu

Nicole Jenkins

Administrative Assistant

njenkins1@augusta.edu

Corbin Lutier

Research Assistant

clutier@augusta.edu

Shelia May

Business Operations Specialist

shmay@augusta.edu

Nicholas Tarver

Grant Development Specialist

ntarver@augusta.edu

Christopher Turner

Systems Analyst

chrturner@augusta.edu

Sean Wheelin

Grant Development Specialist

swheelin@augusta.edu

Bobbie Wilcox

Assistant Dean, Finance and Administration

bwillcox@augusta.edu

Kit Wootten

Public Health Analyst

rwootten@augusta.edu

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