Lisa began working in the HDFS department in August of 2012. She had previously worked at Yale University’s Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS and received her bachelor’s and PhD degrees from UConn. Lisa initially worked at UConn Hartford where she enjoyed working with many first generation and non-traditional students, but transitioned to UConn Storrs when she took the role of Co-Director of the NIMH supported T32 training program Social Processes of HIV/AIDS. In this role she mentored numerous graduate students in programs across UConn in social aspects of disease prevention and treatment. Serving in this role has been one of her most rewarding experiences at UConn. Lisa has also served as the Co-Director of the Southeast HIV/AIDS Research and Evaluation (SHARE) Project for 13 years and counting, where she has conducted both qualitative and quantitative research studies to develop programs that seek to address gaps in health care access among populations impacted by concerns related to health care injustice. In this time, she has served as PI or Co-I on 15 R01s, an R21, and an R34 funded by National Institutes of Health. Programs developed by Lisa and her team have been evaluated by and incorporated into the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Compendium of Evidence Based Practice – a program that facilitates the promotion and uptake of community-based programs to address disease prevention and treatment. Lisa also serves as Co-Director of UConn’s Sexuality, Health, and Intersectional Experiences (SHInE) Lab where her work focuses on understanding health disparities among sexual and gender diverse youth and adults. Multiple HDFS graduate students are involved and contribute to the mission of both the SHARE Project and SHInE Lab.
In her spare time, Lisa serves as a ride share driver for her two children. She eagerly carts them around to soccer, softball, lacrosse, basketball, skiing, snowboarding, drama, this friend’s house, and that friend’s house all while only hoping for a five-star review in return (of course, no tip!). She also works hard to support her dog’s posh lifestyle of perfectly timing his naps to align with the sun and being hand fed his meals.
Congratulations to Vida Samuel, winner of the 2024 Outstanding Undergraduate Faculty Advisor Award!
Professor Rebecca Puhl was quoted in a WebMD article on weight bias and fat shaming among doctors. Read the article here 
Congratulations to Beth Russell, whose promotion to professor was approved by the Board of Trustees and will officially begin in August 2024!
