Dr. Ranjita Misra
Principal Investigator
Dr. Ranjita Misra is a tenured Full Professor in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences. She is a national and international health disparities expert for examining prevalence and risk factors for diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and CVD. She uses low-cost models (e.g., community health workers and health coaches) for conducting randomized clinical trials (RCTs) to assess the effectiveness of culturally tailored diabetes prevention and management interventions in community- & clinic settings. Dr. Misra has a consistent record of external funding as Principal Investigator, including funding from the National Institute of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute. She has led several national and international multi-center epidemiological studies to examine the Indian and Mexican Diasporas. She has more than 300 peer reviewed presentations & publications. In recognition of her outstanding research activities, she received the WVU Health Science Center’s Community-Engaged Research Award, WVU Vice President’s Faculty Mentor award, WVU Health Science Center’s Women in Science and Health (WISH) Advanced Career Excellence Award, and MD Anderson’s Health Disparities Scholars Award, to name a few. Dr. Misra is the founder of the WVDC and has served as the PI on the PCORI Engagement Award allowed the WVDC to convene during 2020-2022.
Brenna Kirk
Project Coordinator
Brenna Kirk is from Greenville, NC and now lives in Morgantown, WV pursuing a PhD at West Virginia University School of Public Health in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences. Her primary research interests are in diabetes prevention and care with a focus on rural, underserved populations. She is involved in several projects that prioritize patient engagement as an approach to improving community-based diabetes programming and care, with a specific focus on improving patient self-advocacy and patient-provider communication. Currently, she serves as the Project Coordinator for the West Virginia Diabetes Collaborative. Outside of her professional work, Brenna enjoys taking walks on the Mon Rail Trails, watching baseball [East Carolina Pirates (her alma mater), and the Baltimore Orioles] and crocheting gifts for friends and family.
Dr. Elizabeth Cox
Dr. Elizabeth Cox is originally from Clarksburg, WV but currently resides in Madison, WI where she works as a pediatrician for the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Cox joined the WVDC because she values engaging with patients and families to do research that is most meaningful to them, and she serves as an important member of the WVDC leadership team. She is also involved in the American Diabetes Association and the Academic Pediatrics Association and in her free time, she loves to hike new trails in Wisconsin and travel to every major league baseball park.
Dr. William (Bill) Lewis
Dr. Bill Lewis is a native West Virginian from Kingwood and works as a Family Medicine Physician and Associate Clinical Professor at WVU Medicine. In addition to being a physician, Dr. Lewis currently serves as the Co-Director of the WV Practice Base Research Network (PBRN). Throughout his involvement in the WVDC, he has loved the interconnection of patients, healthcare providers, and other stakeholders in order to build a healthier West Virginia. As a member of the WVDC leadership team, Dr. Lewis has provided valuable support and guidance for the project.
Sarah Lipinski
Sarah Lipinski is a recent graduate of West Virginia University’s Health Science program. Her research background is in the field of health psychology with a focus on Appalachian populations. She is currently the Program Coordinator for an NIH funded project that aims to enhance self-management for rural Appalachian patients with diabetes and hypertension. She has also been actively involved as a member of the WVDC leadership team and enjoys working with such a diverse group of patient partners and stakeholders to determine the needs of West Virginians with diabetes.
Leah Thomas
Stakeholders
Lori Battelli
A Morgantown native, Lori Battelli works as a research biologist for the CDC and NIOSH; additionally, she is a volunteer for the Center of Organ Recovery and Education (CORE). Lori initially became interested in joining the Collaborative because she understood the importance of managing and preventing diabetes. She loves her role as a patient partner because she can express her opinions, ideas, and share the barriers that she has experienced first-hand as a way of trying to address them through the WVDC. Lori also is an advocate for access to continuous glucose monitors for all people living with diabetes and pre-diabetes, a kidney transplant recipient, and she enjoys walking, biking, and beekeeping.
Sheryn Carey
Sheryn Carey is dedicated to her work as the Director of the Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Division at the WV Bureau for Public Health. She currently resides in Charleston, WV with her husband and she has 2 daughters. Sheryn joined the WV Diabetes Collaborative as a stakeholder because she appreciated the patient-centered nature of the project and respects the reality and importance of patient engagement every step of the way in research and in practice. In addition to being a member of the WVDC, Sheryn is a member of the Board of Directors for Family Care Health Centers and the Local Governing Board for Health Sciences Technology Academy (HSTA) in Kanawha County.
Carol Davis
Carol Davis is one of our valued patient partners in the WVDC; she currently resides in Morgantown, WV, and works as a Student Financial Aid Counselor for WVU. She initially joined the WVDC to learn more information on diabetes and to share some of the things she’s learned along the way since she was diagnosed with diabetes about 4 years ago. Carol has also worked in higher education for over 40 years, has two children and a new grandchild, and enjoys reading, crocheting, quilting, and other crafts.
Cindy Fitch
Originally from outside of a small, rural town just south of Dallas, Texas, Cindy Fitch is a Professor and the Associate Dean for Research at WVU Extension. She became a member of the WVDC because the WVU Extension has a mission to reach out to the entire state to address critical issues, and the WVDC provided a way to partner with others to address diabetes in WV. Cindy has loved getting to know the other WVDC members and believes it is important to hear many perspectives. She also loves to grow, prepare, and eat good food.
Melissa K. Phillips
Originally from Phillipsburg, PA, Melissa K. Phillips has been working as a nurse practitioner in Morgantown for the past 20 years. In addition to representing the provider and endocrinology specialty perspective in the WVDC, Melissa started an NP/APP diabetes inpatient consult team in Fall 2020 at WVU Ruby Hospital and is on the WVU Diabetes Committee which focuses on inpatient care. She is also proud of her 3 children and looks forward to her next chapter as a soon-to-be “empty-nester”.
Debra Slates
Debra Slates is a Certified Diabetes Educator and brings so much of her knowledge and diabetes expertise to the WVDC. Living in Morgantown, she works as a pharmacist and loves to stain glass and Italian cooking in her free time. Throughout her time in the WVDC, Debra has enjoyed learning from other individuals with different backgrounds; more specifically, she appreciates the welcomed open discussion between the diverse perspectives represented in the WVDC.
Margaret Smith
Margaret Smith is originally from Dayton, OH, but she considers Morgantown, WV as her hometown, where she currently resides. She is an Admission Specialist for WVU’s International Admissions and enjoys listening to audiobooks and doing puzzles in her free time. Margaret became a patient partner in the WVDC because she wanted to be involved in something that would be meaningful and helpful for people in WV and perhaps beyond and she enjoys being part of a group that she knows is going to make a difference.