Faculty Mentors
Dr. Sudip Bajpeyi
Dr. Sudip Bajpeyi serves as the Director of the Metabolic Nutrition and Exercise Research (MiNER) Laboratory. Dr. Bajpeyi’s research primarily focuses on skeletal muscle metabolism with an emphasis on the effects of diet and exercise training on insulin action, lipid metabolism and mitochondrial bioenergetics in humans. The translational nature of Dr. Bajpeyi’s laboratory specifically focuses upon understanding the molecular mechanisms relevant to metabolic diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D) and prevention/treatment of such defects through exercise and/or diet interventions.
Dr. Anita Bialunska
Dr. Anita Bialunska is an assistant professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences at UTEP. She obtained her PhD in Neuropsychology along with extensive training in cognitive neuroscience research (including the brain’s imaging and stimulation techniques), clinical neuropsychology and therapy of patients with mild Traumatic Brain Injury and comorbid depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. She is also a Certified Brain Injury Specialist. Dr. Bialunska’s research focuses on neuroplasticity mechanisms of the brain. In particular, she studies developmental (e.g., Autism Spectrum Disorder), degenerative (e.g., Parkinson’s Disease), and post-injury (e.g., Traumatic Brain Injury) pathological changes in brain functions as well as effects of behavioral and magnetic stimulation of the brain in neurorehabilitation and psychiatry. Her ultimate goal is to improve the treatment and prevention of brain disorders. Dr. Bialunska is also interested in how stimulating the brain impacts outcomes of other therapies and patients’ well-being. Prior to her current appointment, Dr. Bialunska worked in the Psychophysiology Laboratory as well as the Music, Performance, and Brain Laboratory under the supervision of Dr. Piotr Jaskowski (1957-2011) and Dr. Simone Dalla Bella (currently Professor in Psychology, University of Montreal and BRAMS Laboratory, Canada).
Dr. Jason Boyle
Dr. Jason Boyle is an associate professor with a dual appointment in the Department of Kinesiology as well as the Doctor of Physical Therapy program at UTEP. Dr. Boyle completed his PhD in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Motor Neuroscience at Texas A&M University in 2014. Dr. Boyle is currently the director of the Motor Control Laboratory, where students from multiple programs and disciplines investigate issues of upper extremity motor control, perception-to-action in virtual environments, and motor development in children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Dr. Jeannie Concha
Dr. Jeannie Concha is an assistant professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences at UTEP. Dr. Concha's research is aimed at understanding the intersection between sociocultural factors, psychological distress, and diabetes risk in marginalized ethnic and racial groups, particularly among Hispanic populations. Her Hispanic background and the substantial burden of type 2 diabetes in this population has driven her interest in investigating the sources of variation in diabetes risk both across social groups and within Hispanic subpopulations (e.g. by nationality, migration history, and geography). Dr. Concha's career goal is to conduct research that informs the development of culturally appropriate health care and diabetes prevention programs for Hispanics. Dr. Concha primarily utilizes mixed-method approaches and includes the integration of biobehavioral health theories and epidemiologic and community health frameworks. Dr. Concha's interdisciplinary research uses rigorous quantitative and qualitative research to investigate three broad objectives: (1) Examine how cultural health beliefs and coping strategies mediate the relationship between psychological distress and diabetes risk over the lifespan; (2) Investigate the interrelationships between cultural beliefs, ethnic identity, psychosocial stressors, biological factors, and social disparities in type 2 diabetes; (3) Inform the development of community programs, services, and policies that reflect an integrative and culturally-informed approach to preventing and managing diabetes in Hispanic populations.
Dr. Alvaro Gurovich
Dr. Alvaro Gurovich, P.T., Ph.D., FACSM, is an associate professor and director of the Doctor of Physical Program at UTEP. Dr. Gurovich received his physical therapy degree from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile in 1990 and worked as a clinician for more than 15 years in different fields such as sports medicine, cardiovascular rehabilitation, and human performance. In 2006, Dr. Gurovich moved to the University of Florida where he received his doctoral degree in Health and Human Performance in 2010, and a post-doctoral position at the University of Florida College of Medicine, in the Department of Physiology and Functional Genomics, where he learned in vitro and in situ techniques that strengthened his translational research background. Dr. Gurovich’s current lines of research are exercise-induced blood flow regulation and cardiovascular rehabilitation, from the clinical and molecular perspective. He uses a “reverse translational” approach using in vitro models to be applied in clinical populations.
Dr. Hyejin Jung
Dr. Hyejin Jung, PhD, MSW is an assistant professor in the Department of Social Work at UTEP. She received her Master of Social Work at The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa and PhD in Social Work at The University of Texas at Austin. She brings expertise in the field of behavioral health. Her clinical practice was in psychiatric social work, serving people with mental health issues. Her research focuses on disparities in mental health care among underserved populations, mental health literacy and stigma, mental health in housing, and social determinants of health. She also brings expertise and experiences in community-engaged, interdisciplinary, and translational research in underserved communities. She has served as a principal investigator, co-principal investigator and co-investigator on multiple grant-funded projects.
Dr. Thenral Mangadu
Dr. Thenral Mangadu, MD, MPH, PhD is an associate professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences and directs the Minority AIDS Research Center (MARC) at UTEP. She has over 20 years’ experience in public health program implementation and evaluation. Her community-based participatory interdisciplinary and translational research focuses on meaningfully addressing minority health disparities including Substance Use Disorder (SUD), Mental Health, Violence and HIV/AIDS prevention. She collaborates with local and international partners in the US, Africa and Panama. She also leads the Rural Health Interdisciplinary Research Core (RHIRC) and co-directs the Global Alliance for Healthier Populations (GAHP) at UTEP. Dr. Mangadu directs multiple federally funded projects of regional and national significance and has authored multiple peer-reviewed publications and presentations while ensuring that research findings are also disseminated in priority communities in a timely manner.
Dr. Amelia Rau
Dr. Amelia Rau is a clinical assistant professor in Speech-Language Pathology at UTEP. She has worked with individuals along the entire age spectrum having a wide-range of communication and swallowing disorders, and has extensive experience in graduate student supervision and bilingual service provision. Research interests include how bilingual children acquire, store, and retrieve language; how children with communication disorders integrate their language history and identity into everyday bilingual interaction and learning; and what instructional supports in language learning are needed in bilingual therapy.
Dr. William Roberts
Dr. William (Bill) Roberts, PhD, OTR joined UTEP in 2019 as an assistant professor in the Occupational Therapy Program, where he combines his international and domestic experience as a pediatric occupational therapist, educator, and researcher. Dr. Roberts received his Bachelors of Science in Occupational Therapy from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio in 2000. After practicing as a pediatric occupational therapist, Dr. Roberts moved to Puttalam, Sri Lanka where he worked with a community-based organization to implement a Community-Based Rehabilitation program. This experience inspired him to complete a PhD in Occupation and Rehabilitation Science at Colorado State University. A Fulbright Student Grant allowed him to conduct his dissertation research at the Masters of Science in Occupational Therapy Program at the University of the Southern Caribbean in Trinidad and Tobago. This recent research examined the ways in which educators integrated the culture and context of Trinidad and Tobago into the curriculum of the occupational therapy program. Dr. Roberts’ research continues to examine occupational therapy and health science education broadly, and interprofessional education (IPE) and the intersection of culture, context, and learning, more specifically.