Ann Diallo, PhD, School of Nursing

Project: Examining the Role of Sex-differences on the Association between Social Determinants of Health and Diet Quality on Dyslipidemia

Ana Diallo is an Assistant Professor position at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Nursing and the Office of Institutional Equity, Effectiveness and Success. She joined VCU in 2018 and also serves as a clinical faculty in a community-based care coordination program called the Richmond Health and Wellness Program. Prior to her faculty position, Dr. Diallo was a Clinical and Translational Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Institute of Nursing Research, National Institutes of Health. She graduated from VCU with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Bachelor of Arts in Global   Health. Dr. Diallo then completed her BSN to PhD and Master of Public Health from the University of Connecticut (UCONN). Her PhD work focused on nutritional, primarily breastfeeding, and early identification of diarrheal diseases, at the point-of-care.

Dr. Diallo’s current research focus is to understand the interacting effects of nutritional behaviors, clinical and genomic data on dyslipidemia, with particular attention on how gene-diet interactions influence dyslipidemia and how to address the lack of representation of minority groups in nutrigenomic research. To achieve this goal, she has conducted community-based nutrition studies and epidemiological analyses of large cohort studies. As a BIRCWH Scholar, Dr. Diallo will investigate how sex-gender differences influence the effect of nutritional behaviors and social determinants of health on lipid and lipid sub-particle levels in cohorts of Black Americans adults.

Linda Burkett, MD, Obstetrics & Gynecology, School of Medicine

Project: Novel Use of Neuroexcitation to Improve Treatment Outcomes In Overactive Bladder

Dr. Burkett is an Urogynecologist at Virginia Commonwealth University located in Richmond, VA. As a surgeon-scientist and junior faculty, she is excited for the opportunities the BIRCWH program provides. She is studying neuroexcitation and outcomes of overactive bladder treatment working toward trying to increase understanding of central neurologic control on bladder urgency.

Kelsey Hagan, PhD, Psychiatry, School of Medicine

Project: Neurocomputational Markers of Risky Decision-Making in Young Women with Bulimia Nervosa

Dr. Kelsey Hagan is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and licensed clinical psychologist whose research centers on the brain and behavior mechanisms of eating disorders, which are devastating mental illnesses that disproportionately affect girls and women. Dr. Hagan earned a bachelor's degree in Psychology and Spanish at Emory University in 2010, a Ph.D. in clinical psychology (with a minor in statistics) from the University of Kansas in 2019 and completed postdoctoral research training within the eating disorder programs at Stanford University and Columbia University. She joined the VCU faculty in May 2023 and was selected as a BIRCWH Scholar in July 2023. Her BIRCWH research project investigates neurocomputational mechanisms of risky decision-making in young women with bulimia nervosa using neurocognitive tasks, neuroimaging (including neuromelanin-sensitive MRI), and clinical assessments. Dr. Hagan is currently a co-investigator on a VCU Quest Fund project investigating neurobiological factors that give rise to anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa in adolescent girls at high risk for developing these disorders (PI: Ann Haynos, Ph.D., Co-I: James Bjork, Ph.D.). Her research has resulted in over 40 peer-reviewed publications and has been supported by several grants, including the American Psychological Association's Dissertation Research Award and Columbia's Pisetsky Young Investigator Award for Clinical Research in Serious Mental Illness. In the broader academic community, Dr. Hagan is the co-chair of the Neuroimaging Special Interest Group for the Academy for Eating Disorders, serves as an Affiliate Editor for the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and serves on the Editorial Board and Social Media Committee for the International Journal of Eating Disorders. She is also a fellow of the Career Development Institute for Psychiatry and is a member of the Eating Disorders Research Society, Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) Consortium, Society for Research in Psychopathology, and Academy for Eating Disorders.

Jessie Oldham, PhD, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, School of Medicine

Project: Sex Differences in Post-Concussion Psychophysiological Dysfunction and Subsequent Musculoskeletal Injury

Jessie Oldham, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the VCU School of Medicine and Co-Director of the RAMCAN (Research, Assessment & Monitoring of Concussion and Neurological) Health Lab. She is also Affiliate Faculty in the VCU Institute for Women’s Health. Dr. Oldham received her PhD from the University of Delaware in 2018 and completed her postdoctoral fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital in 2021. In addition to her academic duties, Dr. Oldham is on the Executive Board of the Engagement, Research, and Learning for Young Traumatic Brain Injury Researchers (EaRLY TBI) organization and is an Associate Board member with the Sportable adaptive sports organization. Dr. Oldham’s primary research interest is pediatric sport-related concussion. Specifically, her current research is largely focused on investigating the underpinnings of the relationship between concussion and subsequent musculoskeletal injury, including the assessment of single- and dual-task postural control, vision, and psychophysiological measures.

Christine Van Duyn, PhD, Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering

Project: Exploring Sex-dimorphic Differences in the Immunomodulation of Biomedical Implants

Dr. Christine Van Duyn is a postdoctoral fellow in the Laboratory for Musculoskeletal Research and Innovation (LMRI) at the VCU Institute of Engineering and Medicine. Her current research focuses include: (1) The immunomodulation of cell behavior related to the osseointegration of Microtextured orthopaedic implants, including manipulation of the foreign body reaction and control of phenotypic switching involved in pro-/anti- angiogenic and inflammatory signaling, and (2) The development of click hydrogel-based delivery systems for the intra-articular delivery of RNA-based therapeutics to simultaneously treat arthrofibrosis and osteoarthritis.

Inspired by her doctoral studies uncovering small RNA-mediated regulatory networks in the Pseudomonas aeruginosa-infected lungs of CF patients, she intends on leveraging big data integration, Omics-based clinical discovery, and classical genetics-based approaches to develop clever therapeutic designs that mimic existing regulatory mechanisms of miRNAs, circRNAs, and lncRNAs to combat the dysregulated pathologies associated with musculoskeletal disorders. Her enthusiasm and drive toward innovating extends from the laboratory bench to the classroom, where she provides interactive training of advanced techniques and employs creative teaching strategies to help students with different learning styles develop a deeper understanding of scientific concepts. She is strongly dedicated to helping students cultivate confidence, allowing them to embrace challenges and reach their potential.