Graduate Students Directory
William Anderson
willand@uab.edu
Will Anderson is a second year PhD student in Medical Sociology. After several years working in information technology he returned to graduate school, completing Masters degrees in Public Health and Public Administration in 2005. His current work involves the sociological aspects/effects of communication and information technologies and the sociology of mood disorders. Fields of interest include social theory, statistical/quantitative methods, and the sociology of mental health.
Sarah R. Ballard
balsr@uab.edu
Sarah Ballard received her B.A. in Sociology (with minors in Psychology and German) from UAB in 2006. She entered the Medical Sociology program in Fall 2007. Since 2005, she has been engaged in research with Professor Becky Trigg on the perception of advantages and disadvantages of the male and female gender roles. Sarah's research interests primarily include gender and occupations, with an emphasis on how occupational segregation and work-family conflict affect well-being.
Henna Budhwani
Henna Budhwani has her B.S. in Biology from Northern Illinois University, M.A. in Sociology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Audit Certification from the London School of Economics, and a Gerontology Certification from UAB’s Center for Aging. Additionally, she is currently pursuing her Ph.D in Medical Sociology and her M.P.H. in Health Care Organization. Henna, a Chicago native, has specific interests in mental health, Islam in the West, and how use of Internet based technology affect on society. Being civic minded, Henna is the National Honorary Secretary for the Ismaili Health Professionals Association and has recently visited Tanzania to help develop a channel between American health professionals and African hospitals. She is currently the President for Alpha Kappa Delta, sociological honor society.
David R. Buys
Yue Cao
yuecao@uab.edu
He received his M.A. degree in 2004 from Journalism & Communication School, Nanjing University (China), and since Jan. 2005 has been pursuing his PhD degree in medical sociology at UAB. He had 7 years working experience in public health in China. His research interests include residential segregation, migration, media and public health, and alienation as stressor.
Cullen Clark
culclark@uab.edu
I am a PhD candidate in medical sociology, and my dissertation research focuses on alternative medicine. My primary interests are culture, epistemology and the sociology of medical knowledge, and visual sociology. I am especially interested in the impact on western culture of the Cartesian division of mind and body -- and the ways in which alternative medical systems approach this concept. Always mindful that sociology is a science that calls upon us to use both reason and our imagination, I guide my work by three fundamental questions: Is it interesting? Does it matter? And will it be fun?
Colin T. Farrell
farrell@uab.edu
Tim Hale
timhale@uab.edu
I entered the medical sociology program at UAB in the Spring of 2005, having previously earned a bachelor's degree in anthropology from Cal State Long Beach. My primary interests concern the self, sociology of the body, and the sociology of knowledge. I am particularly interested in how interaction with visual media influences self perception.
Beverly Hogan
Beverly K. Hogan is a native of Birmingham and a former faculty member at the UAB School of Nursing where she taught Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing for eight years. She has a Masters Degree in Community Mental Health Nursing and extensive experience in various community and inpatient mental health care settings Her research interests focus on the mental health care system, particularly as it pertains to persons with chronic mental illness including:
Factors contributing to unmet medical needs of persons with mental illness
Destigmatization of mental illness through direct contact and community education
Communication processes and understanding between persons with schizophrenia and healthcare personnelJay IrwinJay Irwin received his B.A. in social psychology from UAB in 2004. As a graduate assistant, Jay has served as project manager of two funded research projects, served as teaching assistant for both undergraduate and graduate statistics courses, taught an undergraduate gender roles course, and participated in research with various faculty members. Jay's dissertation is entitled Social Support, Family Ties, and Social Capital among Adult Lesbians: An Investigation of Well-Being in a Non-Conforming Population. Jay's research interests include mental health, gender, sexuality, and doctor-patient interaction.Tara L. Jones Pursuing PhD (Medical Sociology), entered program Fall 2002. Earned masters degree (M.A.) in Sociology from Clark Atlanta University (Atlanta, Georgia) in 2000. Earned Bachelor's degree (B.A.) in Biology from Hood College in Frederick, Maryland. General research interests include: HIV/AIDS among African Americans; more specifically, social-structural factors which contribute to the increasing rates of HIV among African American women. Currently working at the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, at the Coordinating Center of Infectious Diseases.Porter LillisShana Locke Chris McDougalAn Atlanta native, Chris graduated summa cum laude from Georgia State University in 1993 with a B.A. in sociology and a minor in philosophy. After receving his M.A. in medical sociology at UAB in 1998, he has gone on to gain extensive college teaching experience. In 2005, he was included in the 9th edition of Who's Who Among America's Teachers (awarded to 5% of America's teachers) for his work at Bevill State Community College. Chris' research interests include the role of social factors in depression and the relationship between body image and sexual risk-taking. Chris is now an instructor at Suffolk County Community College in Long Island, NY and is putting the finishing touches on his dissertation.
Outside of school, he participates in a variety of social justice causes, and in 1997, he was awarded the Dixie Jokinen Student Activist Award, 1st place, from the Freedom from Religion Foundation for his work on behalf of separation of church and state.Greg MinismanAs a Program Manager in the UAB Dept. of Biostatistics, Section on Research Methods and Clinical Trials, Greg is responsible for the international study: A Multi-Center, Single-Blind, Randomized Study Comparing Thymectomy to No Thymectomy in Non-Thymomatous Myasthenia Gravis (MG) Patients Receiving Prednisone (MGTX).
Greg’s primary research interests are in bioethics. He is in the process of completing a PhD in Medical Sociology with a dissertation focused on physician perspectives on informed consent and patient relations in clinical trials.
Emily D. Norman
Xiaofei Qiao
B.S Economy; M.P.A. Public Finance and Economy, Public Policy Analysis.
Sarah Ray
I have a degree in English and Sociology, both of which I earned at UAB. My research interests include family and health, the Internet and gender.
Elizabeth "Libby" YostElizabeth Yost entered the Medical Sociology Program in Fall 05. She holds a bachelors in Sociology from Birmingham-Southern College. She is currently working on an NSF ADVANCE Grant with Michele Wilson PhD. Libby's research interests include: gender, education, HIV/AIDS, aging, sociobiology, and medical sociology.
