Georgia CTSA Program Directors


Andrew C. West, MBA, MHA

Executive Center Administrator

Emory University

awest2@emory.edu

404-727-9296

Andrew West graduated from Emory University in 1993 with a History major and English minor. After graduation, he began working full-time for Wesley Woods, the geriatric and chronic care wing of Emory Healthcare. During his time with Wesley Woods, Andrew obtained an MBA and MHA from Georgia State University. He then left Wesley Woods to work as a consultant for BDO Seidman, LLP. After two years of consulting, he returned to Emory University to manage finances and research administration for the Department of Pathology. In March 2008, West assumed the Center Administrator, Sr. role of the Georgia CTSA and is currently the Executive Center Administrator.



Henry M. Blumberg, MD

Principal Investigator, KL2 and TL1

Co-Course Director, Clinical Research Colloquium, Research Education Programs / Emory University

Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Emory University School of Medicine
Professor of Epidemiology and Global Health, Emory University Rollins School of Public Health

henry.m.blumberg@emory.edu

404-727-5096

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Linda McCauley, RN, PhD

Director, Translational Workforce Development

Emory University, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing

Dean and Professor

linda.mccauley@emory.edu

404-727-7976

Dr. Linda McCauley began her tenure as Dean of the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University in May 2009.

Dr. McCauley is a national leader in the area of research on environmental exposures and conducts interdisciplinary research using participatory research models to study pesticide exposures among minority communities. Her work aims to identify culturally appropriate interventions to decrease the impact of environmental and occupational health hazards in vulnerable populations, including workers and young children.

Dr. McCauley has been awarded research funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Veterans' Affairs. Her research has resulted in more than 80 publications, ongoing consultations, leadership on occupational and environmental advisory panels, and testimony to governmental oversight bodies.

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Gari Clifford, DPhil

Co-Director, Informatics

Emory, Georgia Tech, MSM

Chair & Professor, Biomedical Informatics, Emory
Professor, Biomedical Informatics, Georgia Tech
Adjunct Faculty, MSM

gari.clifford@emory.edu

404-727-0229

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Alexander Quarshie, MD, MSc

Co-Director, Informatics

Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM)

Director, Morehouse School of Medicine, MSCR Program
Director, Biomedical Informatics Program
Professor of Community Health and Preventive Medicine

aquarshie@msm.edu

404-752-8681

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Jon Duke, MD, MS

Co-Director, Informatics

Georgia Tech

Chair, Health Analytics & Informatics

jon.duke@gatech.edu



Nael McCarty, PHD

Director, Pilot Grants

Emory University

Department of Pediatrics Professor

namccar@emory.edu

(404) 727-3654

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Tabia Henry Akintobi, PhD, MPH

Director, Community Engagement

Morehouse School of Medicine

Professor and Chair of Community Health and Preventive Medicine
Associate Dean of Community Engagement

takintobi@msm.edu

404-752-1144

Dr. Henry Akintobi, Professor and Chair of Community Health at Morehouse School of Medicine, is a globally sought health equity champion and social behavioral scientist, leading, or collaborating in the implementation of translational research and participatory evaluations that address health disparities and advance community or population health transformation.

She serves as Principal Investigator of the Morehouse School of Medicine Prevention Research Center (PRC), funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) since 1998. Dr. Henry Akintobi leads the Georgia Community Engaged Alliance (CEAL) Against COVID-19 Disparities funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She also represents Morehouse School of Medicine as contact PI or Director for other NIH grants including the Georgia Center for Diabetes Translation Research, the Georgia Clinical and Translational Science Alliance Community Engagement Program, and Georgia RADx-Underserved Populations-Promoting Engagement and COVID-19 Testing for Health, among others. She is an extensively published contributor to the peer reviewed literature and co-author of the Johns Hopkins University Press text entitled The Morehouse Model: How School of Medicine, Revolutionized Community Engagement and Health Equity, editor of Black Health in the South and the CDC-NIH co-sponsored Principles of Community Engagement Primer (2nd and 3rd Editions) among many others.

As Associate Dean for Community Engagement at Morehouse School of Medicine, Dr. Henry Akintobi advances efforts to promote and strengthen effective partnerships between faculty, staff, and students and community residents and leaders, government agencies, faith-based organizations, or health and social service agencies. She has led collaborations with education, clinical, research, practice, and policy leaders to demonstrate preeminence in community health and related engagement strategies through successful acquisition of local and national awards including but not limited to the Carnegie Designation for the Advancement of Teaching in Community Engagement, and the Josiah Macy Inaugural Award for Excellence in Social Mission. Her public health research and practice leadership have been designed to advance the art and science of community engagement. Specifically, her work has focused on community engaged translational research science, the practice of community-based participatory research (CBPR), and approaches to build and sustain effective partnerships among academic institutions, community residents, health departments and policy leaders to understand, develop and shape research, policy, and practice strategies to address health disparities and their root causes thereby advancing health equity led. Her work is guided by training in public health social epidemiology, social marketing, community-based participatory research, and evaluation.

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Eric J. Nehl, PhD

Director, Evaluation & Continuous Improvement

Emory University

Associate Research Professor, Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Emory University Rollins School of Public Health

enehl@emory.edu

404-727-9445

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Carlton D. Dampier, MD

Director, Regulatory Knowledge & Support

Emory University School of Medicine

Medical Director, Office of Clinical Research
Assistant Dean for Clinical Research
Professor of Pediatrics

cdampie@emory.edu

404-727-4510

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John J. Hanfelt, PhD

Director, Biostatistics, Epidemiology, & Research Design

Emory University

Professor, Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics
Rollins School of Public Health

jhanfel@emory.edu

404-727-2876

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Myah Griffin, MD

Director, Integrating Special Populations

Morehouse School of Medicine

Assistant Professor, Maternal Fetal Medicine

mmgriffin@msm.edu

404 616-6634

Dr. Myah Griffin, MD, FACOG, is a native of Columbia, SC. She received a B.S. degree in Biology from the University of South Carolina. Dr. Griffin was a member of the charter class at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville where she earned her medical degree. She was a founding member of the Student National Medical Association (SNMA) Chapter at USC-SOMG and served as Co-President. After medical school, she completed her OB/GYN Residency at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, NC where she served as Administrative Chief Resident. She then completed a fellowship in Maternal-Fetal Medicine at NYU-Langone Health in New York, NY. Dr Griffin was board-certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology in 2021. Her clinical and research interests include hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, fetal growth restriction, and anemia in pregnancy. 

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Colleen Kraft, MD

Director, Georgia CTSA Clinical Research Centers (GCRCs)

Emory University

Associate Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Emory University School of Medicine
Assistant Professor, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine
Assistant Professor, Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine

colleen.kraft@emory.edu

404-712-8889

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Wilbur Lam, MD, PhD

Director, Innovation Catalyst

Emory University and Georgia Tech

Assistant Professor, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Pediatrics

wilbur.lam@emory.edu

Wilbur Lam, MD, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Emory University and in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology.

Dr. Lam is a member of the Cancer Cell Biology Research Program at Winship Cancer Institute. In 2017, he was inducted into the American Society for Clinical Investigation. 

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Kathy Griendling, PhD

Director, Collaboration & Multi-disciplinary Team Science

Emory University

Associate Dean, Faculty Affairs, School of Medicine
Professor and Vice Chair, Research and Faculty Development, Department of Medicine

kgriend@emory.edu

404-727-3364

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Neal Dickert, MD, PhD

Director, Network Capacity

Emory University

Assistant Professor, Division of Cardiology

njr@emory.edu

404-712-0283

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Miriam Vos, MD, MSPH

Director, Pediatrics

Emory University

mvos@emory.edu

404-727-9930

Assistant Professor, Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Gastroenterology; and Associate Faculty Member, Nutrition Health Sciences, Graduate Division of Biologic and Biomedical Sciences, Emory University

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