Preventive Medicine and Public Health

Education

Alexis Stoner has a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Kenyon College, a Master’s degree in Public Health from The Ohio State University, and recently earned a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction – Instructional Design and Technology from Virginia Tech. During her Ph.D program, her dissertation explored incorporating mindfulness as an instructional strategy to enhance reflection within a situation learning environment. Currently, her research focuses on topics within medical education, along with developing public health initiatives across many areas to improve health outcomes among underserved populations. She is passionate about serving South Carolina in effort to improve community health. She currently resides is Belmont, North Carolina with her husband and two young children.

Education

With a master’s degree in public health and a doctorate in instructional design and technology, I have a unique expertise of knowledge and understanding of how to effectively design, implement, and evaluate educational interventions that will improve the health outcomes of populations. I have either been the lead investigator or participated in a wide variety of research studies including qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods, and also evaluation studies including quality assessment and quality improvement. Additionally, as a public health practitioner, I have the experience and knowledge of researching and addressing pertinent community health issues through both research and outreach efforts. Currently, my research interests and areas focus on incorporating mindfulness within medical education, community mental health issues, designing authentic learning experiences for undergraduate medical students, along with developing educational public health initiatives to improve health outcomes among underserved populations.

Dr. Rodriguez is the discipline chair for epidemiology, preventive medicine, and public health curriculum for OMS I and OMSII at VCOM–Auburn. Her experience involves examining language as a mechanism of health behavior change (i.e., alcohol and substance use) among criminal justice offenders using motivational interviewing, a client-centered behavior change therapy among substance users involved in the criminal justice system. Currently, Dr. Rodriguez is focused in understanding how social determinants contribute to health disparities, specifically, how life stress and discrimination over the life course impact maternal and child health. Her goal is to contribute context of the health inequality and provide efficient and effective solutions to post-partum care and infant cognitive development.

Education

Education

My research include: First 1000 days of life and impact of nutrition and other epigenetic factors, growth acceleration and deacceleration and connection to inflammation and chronic disease; Role/value of anthropometrics in cost effective clinical decision making; nutrition and immunity, diet and lifestyles impact on chronic disease and longevity across the lifespan. Additionally, in my work with students – my research areas with them current impact dietary choices of medical students, evaluating quality of glycemic control, and impact of MNT in free clinics. And the impact of nutrition education in undergraduate medical learning (Food in Medicine).

Diseases of particular interest weight abnormalities, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, autoimmune, cancers, (disease where inflammation plays a role).

My research capabilities include looking at population cohorts, working with others (multidisciplinary research), diet analysis, clinical and population studies assessing lifestyle and diet and longevity (via review of clinical data, dietary recalls, and validated dietary evaluation tools.