Principal Investigator

F. Douglas Scutchfield, M.D.,  is the initial incumbent in the Peter P. Bosomworth Professorship of Health Services Research and Policy at the University of Kentucky. He holds faculty appointments in Public Health (Health Services Management), Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health, Family Practice and the Martin School of Public Policy and Administration.

Dr. Scutchfield was born in Wheelwright, Kentucky. He received his undergraduate degree, with Distinction, from Eastern Kentucky University, who has recognized him as their outstanding Alumni in 1992. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree by Eastern Kentucky University in 2004. He received his MD degree from the University of Kentucky, where he was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. He has also received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Pikeville College. He completed residency and fellowship training at Northwestern University, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the University of Kentucky. He has done additional graduate course work at the University of Michigan, University of Minnesota and Morehead State University. Dr. Scutchfield served as Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Scutchfield is certified by the American Board of Preventive Medicine, and from 1972-1985 he was a Charter Diplomat of the American Board of Family Practice. He is a Fellow of both the American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM) and the American Academy of Family Practice. Dr. Scutchfield served as a member of the ACPM Board of Regents and President of that organization. He has received the College’s Outstanding Recognition Award and Distinguished Service Award. Dr. Scutchfield has been a member of the Board of Trustees and President of the Association of Teachers of Preventive Medicine. In 2008, he received their Duncan Clark Award and gave the Duncan Clark Lecture.

Project Director

Cynthia Lamberth, M.P.H.,  is a faculty member at the University of Kentucky College of Public Health and serves as Project Director, Center for Public Health Systems and Services Research Director of the Kentucky Public Health Leadership Institute, Co-director of the National Environmental Public Health Leadership Institute, and Co-director of the Buckeye Bluegrass Regional Leadership Academy. She is also past chair of the National Public Health Leadership Development Network. Ms. Lamberth has twenty-five years experience in the Organizational Development and Human Resource field including positions in consulting, high tech, health, and utility industries.

Ms. Lamberth has held the position of President and Corporate Director of two national consulting firms.  She owned and operated an environmental consulting firm for five years. She also has extensive corporate staff experience with Fortune 100 corporations.  Cynthia has traveled throughout the world delivering training seminars and consulting with managers to improve their performance.  Her experience also includes instructional design and curriculum development. She has developed many courses and seminars including total quality management and quality planning programs for large manufacturing corporations. Her research interests include public health systems and services, the built environment, and health disparities.

Ms. Lamberth took her BS in English and Communications from Wright State University and completed course work toward an MBA at the same university.  She earned her MPH at the University of Kentucky College of Public Health. Ms. Lamberth participates in the National Center for Creativity, National Association of Women Business Owners, The Public Health Leadership Society, The National Public Health Leadership Development Network, Academy Health and the American Public Health Association.
In addition to her work with the leadership institutes Cynthia consults with public health organizations and coalitions by offering expertise in management, strategic planning, leadership, communications, team building, facilitation, and values-based decision making.

Staff (in Alphabetical Order by Last Name)

Rebecca Brown is the Senior Conference Coordinator and Assistant to the Project Director.  Becki has provided administrative support to the College of Public Health for nearly ten years.  Prior to employment at the University of Kentucky she worked for prominent Kentucky businesses, such as The Ale-8-One Bottling Company and East Kentucky Power Cooperative, both in her hometown of Winchester, Kentucky.  As Senior Conference Coordinator at UK, Becki is the main contact and planner for several meetings/events a year for the Center for Public Health Systems & Services Research (CPHSSR) and the Kentucky Public Health Leadership Institute (KPHLI).  Becki also coordinates and maintains the financial aspects of several grants for both CPHSSR & KPHLI.  

Dr. Torrie T. Harris is a Post Doctoral Fellow. She received her Dr.P.H. from the University of Kentucky, College of Public Health in Health Behavior. She is actively involved in all projects at the UK Center for Public Health Systems & Services Research with primary responsibility for the Data Harmonization Advisory Committee where she collaborates with researchers to standardize survey instruments that will enhance data collection from local and state health governing agencies.

Dr. Harris also serves as the Program Evaluator for health education and awareness programs administered through the Health Education through Extension Leadership Project (H.E.E.L.), which is supported, by both the UK Colleges of Public Health and Agriculture. As a result of working with this project, Dr. Harris has published in the Journal of Extension on the importance of partnerships between Academic Health Centers and Cooperative Extension. 

Prior to coming to UK, she received her Masters of Public Health at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine with a concentration in Maternal and Child Health Care. Dr. Harris worked extensively on maternal and child health programs studying infant mortality and morbidity, child passenger safety, minority health, and public mental health.  Dr. Harris is particularly interested in access to healthcare of disadvantaged populations and the implications on behavioral health.

Alex F. Howard, A.T.C., currently serves as a Research Assistant in the Health Services Management department of the University of Kentucky College of Public Health.  Additionally, he works with the Kentucky Public Health Leadership Institute (KPHLI) and oversees the Public Health Systems & Services Research (PHSSR) Mini Grantees program.

Alex graduated Summa Cum Laude from High Point University with his B.S. in 2004.  Following the completion of  his undergraduate studies in Athletic Training, he attended UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Medicine from the fall of 2004 through the fall of 2006, before making a career transition into public health.

Richard Ingram, M.Ed., is currently a Dr.Ph. student and a research assistant in the Health Services Management department at the University of Kentucky College of Public Health.  He is working on multiple PHSSR projects, including a study examining the differences and similarities among different typologies of public health systems, and also is actively engaged in efforts to increase the utilization and knowledge of PHSSR resources, including updating the PHSSR subset of the HSRR database.  Prior to coming to UK, Rick received a M.Ed. in Kinesiology with a concentration in Exercise Physiology from the University of Virginia, and was involved in the management of wellness centers.     

Emma Lovely is a Research Assistant with the University of Kentucky College of Public Health.   She is a graduate of Notre Dame Academy high school and a 2003 graduate of Centre College where she earned an English major and Religion minor.  She was an Admission Counselor for Centre College until 2006 when she began graduate school at Lexington Theological Seminary (LTS).  Currently she is earning dual LTS Master of Arts and UK Master of Social Work degrees.  Her studies of spirituality and mental health have led to her interest in Public Health Services & Systems Research (PHSSR).

Lisa Peterson is a concurrent degree student pursing both a Masters of Public Health and a Masters of Public Administration at the University of Kentucky. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2007 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Emergency Medicine. Her interests include Emergency Management and Disaster Response.

Kara Richardson, B.B.A.,  relocated to Central Kentucky to support the University of Kentucky College of Public Health in promoting the Center for Public Health Systems & Services Research after working in South Florida for fourteen years.  In 1994, she graduated from Florida Atlantic University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing.  At the time of her relocation, she was working toward her Masters of Business Administration.    She will continue that course of study at the University of Kentucky.

Experience in both the commercial printing industry and as a Director of Marketing & Project Manager for a healthcare consulting firm will be valuable for Kara while she serves as a Communications Coordinator for the online community of researchers.  She will maintain the website, design print materials and handle various marketing projects for the Center.   Additionally, she will assist the Communications Team with various events, conferences and marketing campaigns to increase awareness of the PHSSR initiative among researchers.

Robert Shapiro, B.A., is a graduate student in the School of Library and Information Sciences at the University of Kentucky. He acquired a BA in Philosophy and Religion from Appalachian State University in 2000. Last year, Robert worked at the Department for Environmental Protection as a solo librarian and submitted the Kentucky Water Watch Video Library to the Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives. Robert is a research assistant working in collaboration with the Chandler Medical Center Library and the College of Public Health. Currently, he maintains the National Library of Medicine’s Health Services Research Resources PHSSR subset database and is working on a bibliometric analysis of PHSSR literature.