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., CPH  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.

Angela Carman, M.B.A., is a Dr.P.H. student in health services management at the University of Kentucky, College of Public Health.  She serves as a research assistant in the UK Center for Public Health Systems and Services Research.  She received a B.S. degree in Business Administration at Berea College and a Master’s in Business Administration at Eastern Kentucky University.  She is certified as a Human Resources Professional by the Society of Human Resources Management and is also certified by the American College of Healthcare Executives as a Certified Healthcare Executive.  She served as CEO of a small critical-access hospital in Kentucky leading strategic planning efforts to enhance the hospital’s clinical contribution to the community.

Lauren Coil, LMT, is currently in the Masters of Library and Information Science program. As a research assistant in the Center for Public Health Systems and Services research (CPHSSR), Lauren serves has the information specialist and literature review coordinator.

Melody Hall is the Administrative Assistant to the Director and Project Director of the Center of Public Health Systems and Services Research. Melody has provided administrative support to the College of Public Health for three years. Prior to employment at the University of Kentucky, she graduated from UK with a B.S. in Hospitality Management. As Administrative Assistant at UK, Melody is the main contact for CPHSSR. Also, she is the contact for Workforce Development Council, Graduate Certificate Council and the Kentucky Institute of Public Health Practice Enhancement. Furthermore, she served on the CPH Staff Council for 3 years.

Alex F. Howard, A.T.C., is currently a doctoral candidate in the Doctor of Public Health program with a focus on health services management.  As a research assistant in the Center for Public Health Systems and Services research (CPHSSR), Alex has worked with the Kentucky Public Health Leadership Institute (KPHLI), the Public Health Systems and Services Research Mini-Grants Program, and the Kentucky Public Health Practice Based Research Network (K-PHReN).  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.  Alex came to the University of Kentucky in the fall of 2007 and completed his Master of Public Health with a concentration in health behaviors, in the spring of 2009.

Richard Ingram, M.Ed., Dr.P.H., is currently 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.

Kerling Israel, M.D.,, a Fulbright scholar from Haiti, is currently an M.P.H. student in health services management at the University of Kentucky - College of Public Health. She currently serves as a research assistant at the University of Kentucky Center for Public Health Systems and Services Research.  Dr. Israel earned her Medical degree in Haiti at the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy of the State University, in 1999. After her training in Family Medicine, she traveled to Florida as a Green Family Foundation fellow to complete a short-term fellowship in HIV/AIDS in the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the University of Miami. In her home country, she helped in the implementation, coordination, training, and supervision of the HIV/AIDS program at several hospitals and health centers.  

Robin Pendley, M.P.H.,  is currently a Dr.P.H. student in health services management concentration at the University of Kentucky - College of Public Health. She serves as research assistant for the Center for Public Health Systems and Services Research and Center of Excellence in Workforce Research and Policy.  Robin is involved in multiple projects with CPHSSR including but not limited to workforce related research, Kentucky Public Health Research Network (K-PHReN), and Assuring the Future of Public Health Systems & Services Research mini-grantee program.  Prior to coming to UK, Robin received her B.S. in Biochemistry from North Carolina State University and M.P.H. from East Carolina University. Her research interests include public health workforce, oral health, and practice based research.

Kristina Rabarison, M.S., is a Dr.P.H. student in health services management concentration, at the University of Kentucky – College of Public Health. She currently serves as a research assistant for the Center for Public Health Systems and Services Research. In 2004, Kristina graduated with a BS in Biology from Mississippi College. She worked as a graduate intern for the Hurricane Katrina Project – Assessment of the Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Family, Social and Health Support Structures – at the Institute of Epidemiology and Health Services Research at Jackson State University, while completing her M.S. in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Upon completion of her graduate degree, Kristina served as a Poison Information Provider, at the Mississippi Poison Control Center.

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.  She graduated from Florida Atlantic University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing and is working toward her Master of Arts in Communication here at UK. 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 the Acting Director of Communications for the online PHSSR community.  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 the target audience.

Robert M. Shapiro, II, M.A.L.S., is a graduate of the School of Library and Information Sciences at the University of Kentucky where he received his Master of Arts in Library Science. He acquired a BA in Philosophy and Religion from Appalachian State University in 2000. Robert is a clinical reference librarian and academic liaison to the College of Public Health at the Chandler Medical Center Library at the University of Kentucky. He has also worked for the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection as a solo-librarian as well as a stint with Google. Among other projects, he maintains the National Library of Medicine’s Health Services Research Resources, PHSSR subset, database and is conducting an information seeking behavior study of public health practitioners. His research interests lie in the confluence of library and information science, communication, and public health.