Research Team.

Elbert D. Glover, PhD Director, Center for Health Behavior Research Professor and Chair, Department of Public and Community Health 301-405-2467 eglover1 (at) umd.edu

Dr. Elbert Glover is the Director of The Center for Health Behavior Research and has been involved in clinical trials research for over 20 years. Dr. Glover has established himself as an expert in the field of nicotine dependence. As a researcher, he not only possesses the ability to conduct research studies, but also possesses the skills to present findings at national and international conferences. Although he continues to evaluate new compounds for nicotine dependence, he has also ventured into evaluating compounds for other indications (ie. depression, generalized anxiety, diabetes, obesity, binge eating and alcohol dependence). For his complete biography, click here.

Jessica Miller Rath, PhD, MPH, CHES Assistant Director, Center for Health Behavior Research Research Assistant Professor, Department of Public and Community Health 301-405-2381 jrath (at) umd.edu

Dr. Jessica Rath is the Assistant Director of The Center for Health Behavior Research. She obtained her Master’s in Public Health from Emory University in behavioral sciences and health education. She received her doctorate at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, specializing in intervention research involving smoking cessation, diabetes, obesity and aggression prevention. She is the recipient of two program evaluation research fellowships, the first was at the American Cancer Society and secondly as a Johnson & Johnson Evaluation Scholar. During her tenure at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Dr. Rath was trained in motivational interviewing and applied behavioral analysis. She has presented her research at numerous conferences and is credentialed as a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES). In addition, Dr. Rath will soon become a Certified Clinical Research Coordinator (CCRC).

Pamela I. Clark, PhD Senior Research Professor, Center for Health Behavior Research 301-405-8624 clarkp (at) umd.edu

Dr. Pamela I. Clark received her doctoral degree in epidemiology from the University of South Florida. Dr. Clark's research interests include youth risk behaviors, particularly tobacco initiation, maintenance, and cessation, and evaluation of potentially reduced exposure tobacco products. Dr. Clark is currently studying physiologic responses to variation in smoke particle pH, as well as the smoke chemistry and smoking topography of hookah (waterpipe). Other research interests are system modeling in public health and developing indicators for environmental determinants of health risk behaviors. Dr Clark is a recipient of several RO1s and outside funding as PI totaling nearly 30 million dollars.

Barbara J. Albert, MD Medical Director, Center for Health Behavior Research 301-405-2164 balbert (at) umd.edu

Dr. Barbara Albert is the Medical Director in the Center for Health Behavior Research. She received her medical degree from Pennsylvania State University and began her residency training in Internal Medicine and Primary Care Medicine at George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C. She completed her residency training and a fellowship in Preventive Medicine at the University of Maryland, School of Medicine in Baltimore, where she also earned an M.S. in Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology. Dr. Albert has been affiliated with the University of Maryland, School of Public Health for more than 14 years, where she has been a medical advisor for the Wellness Research Lab as well as a medical consultant for numerous studies.

Barbara A. Banchero, BS Faculty Research Assistant, Center for Health Behavior Research 301-405-1701 bbancher (at) umd.edu

Barbara (Bobbi) is a Faculty Research Assistant in the Center for Health Behavior Research. She spent three years at Anne Arundel Medical Center coordinating oncology clinical trials with a majority of her trials focusing on breast cancer. Her interests include clinical research for addiction and chronic illnesses. She plans on pursing a duel masters program to receive an MS and RN in 2010. Bobbi earned her BS in Public and Community Health from the University of Maryland School of Public Health.

Eva Sharma, MPH Graduate Research Assistant 301-405-1349 esharmaa (at) umd.edu

Eva Sharma is a doctoral student in the Department of Public and Community Health and has been working as a research/medical assistant in the Center for Health Behavior Research, since 2006. She is involved in data collection and documentation, data analysis, grant writing in tobacco related research grants. She has also been involved in Phase 2 and Phase 3 clinical trials for smoking cessation products such as nicotine vaccine, Selegiline and Dianicline. Eva earned her Masters in Public Health from University of Maryland, College park (2008) and Bachelors in Pharmacy from Kathmandu University, Nepal (2003). Her doctoral interests include instrument development, alternative tobacco products such as hookah, and clinical trials in tobacco research. Her other research interests include menthol cigarettes and international tobacco control policies.

Jamie Lok, CHES Graduate Research Assistant 301-405-1349 jlok (at) umd.edu

Jamie is an interventionist in the Center for Health Behavior Research and an MPH student in the Department of Public and Community Health. Jamie also earned her BS in neurobiology and physiology from UMD. Outside of the CHBR, she is an intern at the National Cancer Institute's Tobacco Control Research Branch and serves on the leadership boards of the American Public Health Association Student Assembly and the Epsilon chapter of Eta Sigma Gamma. Her research interests include addiction and minority health.

Meg Sawyer Undergraduate Research Assistant 301-405-1349 msawyer1 (at) umd.edu

Meg is an interventionist in the Center for Health Behavior Research. A sophomore Spanish and Communications Honors student, Meg is currently seeking her undergraduate degree, after which time she plans to attend law school and pursue a career in Public Health Law. Meg works on data collection, research assistance, and public relations within the Center and also acts on the Central Board of the University's Student Judiciary. Her interests include public health policy within the immigration field.