Bre Banks, PhD, MA is a suicidologist and behavioral health scientist whose work focuses on suicide prevention, clinical education in behavioral health, and the integration of lived experience into clinical care. Her interdisciplinary research spans the development, implementation, and evaluation of novel suicide crisis interventions, with particular emphasis on provider training, peer support, and care transitions for persons at high risk for suicide.
Rodney T. Anthony, is a dynamic public health leader with a passion for building equitable systems, developing people, and transforming communities through strategic health initiatives. With more than a decade of experience across sectors, Dr. Anthony brings a unique blend of systems thinking, policy expertise, and workforce innovation. Known for his ability to turn strategy into action, Dr. Anthony specializes in creating scalable, data-informed solutions that address structural barriers to health.
Kathleen "Katie" G. V. Melville, PhD has an 18-year career working in health, risk, and crisis communication for state, local, and federal public health agencies and serving as consultant on various public health projects. Katie is passionate about supporting those who are interested in pursuing careers in the field of public health. She knows first-hand the challenges and rewards of working in public health and loves to share what she knows with those who are both new and seasoned professionals.
Kendra LeSar is a public health professional with extensive experience planning, implementing, and evaluating public health programs. Her research interests include sexual and reproductive health, adolescent health, emerging infectious diseases, and community-driven public health interventions. She is deeply committed to innovative teaching methodologies, student mentorship, and the integration of equity-focused approaches in public health education. Dr. LeSar is passionate about bridging research, practice, and education to advance public health outcomes locally and globally.
Dr. Allouch is an epidemiologist with a background in community-based interventions, implementation science, and epidemiologic methods. Her research interests include cardiovascular disease epidemiology, maternal and child health, health disparities, and international health. She has a keen interest in developing effective, community-based interventions that can be translated into public health policy to improve population health. Additionally, Dr.
Dr. Kristin Banek is an Infectious Disease Epidemiologist. Her current research examines antimalarial treatment effectiveness and adherence in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. More broadly, she is interested in optimizing the implementation and effectiveness of malaria interventions and measuring their impact on disease prevalence and transmission. Dr. Banek earned her BA in Biology and German from St. Olaf College and her MPH in International Health and Development from the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.
Kyle Winkler is a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) and Certified Safety Professional (CSP) with extensive experience in occupational safety and health within academic and research settings, specializing in exposure assessments, industrial hygiene, and emergency response. He is actively involved in professional organizations such as the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA), regularly contributing to industry conferences and educational sessions. In addition to their responsibilities as an industrial hygienist, Mr.
Dr. Czarny received her MS degree in biotechnology and a PhD in clinical molecular genetics. Her master’s research project was focused on gene response to corticosteroid-induced apoptosis. During her PhD, she was a recipient of the Finnish CIMO scholarship to support her study of genetic changes affecting skeletal development in patients with bone dysplasias at the Department of Biochemistry, Collagen Research Unit, University of Oulu, Finland, in the laboratory of Dr. Leena Ala-Kokko. She completed her post-doctoral training in the laboratories of Dr. Leena Ala-Kokko and Dr.
Dr. Mieka Smart is a research associate professor at Tulane, working with P4HE as the deputy director of the Tulane Health Equity Institute and leading the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Equity Scholars for Action as program director. The majority of her research involves systematic social observation and policy evaluation.
Tyra Mitchell-Williams is a clinical instructor in the Department of Health Policy and Management. Her academic interests include healthcare artificial intelligence, health policy, advocacy, leadership, and ethics in healthcare organizations and professional boards.
