Faculty Biographies
R. Turner Goins, PhD - Associate Professor
Dr. Goins is currently Associate Professor in the Department of Community Medicine,
West Virginia University. She received her MS
and PhD in Gerontology from the University of Massachusetts- Boston.
She was an NIA post doctoral fellow at Duke University Medical Center’s
Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development, with an emphasis in
epidemiology. The major focus of Dr. Goins’ research has been on
health and access to health care for rural elderly populations.
She recently completed a two-year career development grant with the
Native Elder Research Center at the University of Colorado Health
Sciences Center, which extended her program of research to
reservation-based American Indian elderly.
Dr. Goins' Research Interests..
Publications by Dr. Goins..
Mary W. Carter, PhD - Associate Professor
Dr. Carter’s work explores factors that
contribute to variations in healthcare utilization and quality of care
among older adults. Her particular research interest includes the
extent to which structural and organizational factors of healthcare
markets and providers (e.g., profit status, chain membership,
operational expenses, nurse staffing patters) contribute to (1)
ambulatory care-sensitive hospitalizations, (2) highly discretionary
hospitalizations and (3) poor nursing home quality performance and
resident outcomes. As a health services researcher, Dr. Carter’s work
utilizes large, national data bases and analytical research methods for
longitudinal data. Currently, she is collaborating on a project
supported by the Alzheimer’s Association investigating factors
contributing to ambulatory care-sensitive hospitalizations among nursing
home residents with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. Additionally,
she is exploring how resident risk of hospitalization varies in relation
to facility performance on select quality indicators (e.g., decubitus
ulcers; physical restraint use), as well as examining visit rates to
emergency departments and outcomes of these encounters by elders
presenting with ambulatory care-sensitive conditions. Dr. Carter
received her degree in gerontology from the University of Massachusetts, Boston.
Following completion of
her doctoral studies, Dr. Carter was selected as a National Institute on
Aging Postdoctoral Fellow with the Division of Health Services Research
and Policy at the University of Minnesota’s school of Public Health,
where her research explored factors associated with improved quality of
care and health outcomes in nursing homes.
Dr. Carter's Research Interests..
Publications by Dr. Carter..
Anoop Shankar, MD, PhD - Associate Professor
Education:
MD (Medicine), MPH (Epidemiology), PhD (Epidemiology)
Current research interests:
1. Cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, chronic kidney disease
2. Role of inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, oxidative stress, microvascular disease in the development of CVD, Diabetes Mellitus
3. Clinical proteomics in subclinical measures cardiovascular disease, hypertension and chronic kidney disease
Relevant epidemiological studies where I am involved: I am involved in several large population-based cohort studies in the US (Beaver Dam cohort, ARIC) and internationally (University of Sydney, Australia [Blue Mountains cohort study], and National University of Singapore, Singapore). There is a nested case-control study on the relation between markers of inflammation, endothelial function, oxidative stress and incident chronic kidney disease (longitudinal data over 20 years). Also several projects are ongoing where we use data from the NHANES surveys to look at cardiovascular disease risk factors, peripheral arterial disease and hypertension. Also new population-based studies are being developed in WV.
4. Sleep characteristics and Sleep Disordered Breathing in relation to cardiovascular disease
Relevant epidemiological studies where I am involved: Longitudinal cohort study data from the Wisconsin Sleep cohort; sleep duration and sleep characteristics data available in the some of the national surveys (NHIS for example). Also we are developing new studies in WVU.
5. International Health (particularly CVD and diabetes epidemiology)
Relevant epidemiological studies where I am involved: I am involved in a large ongoing cohort study of 63000 men and women of Chinese ethnicity from Singapore to study the role of dietary factors in cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus.
Publications by Dr. Shankar..
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