Principal Investigator

Dr. Glen P. Mays currently serves as associate professor and chairman of the Department of Health Policy and Management in the Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). He also serves as director of the Ph.D. Program in Health Systems Research at UAMS, and co-director of the Dr.P.H. Program in Public Health Leadership.

Dr. Mays’ research focuses on strategies for organizing and financing public health services, health insurance, and medical care services for underserved populations. He has led a series of studies examining the institutional and economic factors that influence the availability and quality of public health services. Currently, he is principal investigator of two national studies examining the causes and consequences of recent changes in public health spending levels and delivery systems, and also directs a national effort to develop practice-based research networks in public health. Dr. Mays’ work in health insurance and safety-net care includes economic evaluations of state strategies to expand health insurance coverage and access to care, as well as studies of health promotion and disease management initiatives pursued by private health insurers and employers. Currently, he serves as co-director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) funded Arkansas Consortium for Health Services Research, where he directs research on access and financing issues.

Dr. Mays has served on health policy advisory committees including those for Centers for Disease Contro and Prevention (CDC), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), and various professional associations and state legislative bodies. He received the Dissertation of the Year Award from AcademyHealth in 2000, and the Article of the Year Award in Public Health Systems Research from this organization in 2007. He has published more than 50 journal articles, books and chapters on his research. Dr. Mays earned an A.B. degree in political science from Brown University (1992), received Ph.D. (1999) and M.P.H. (1996) degrees in health policy and administration from UNC-Chapel Hill, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in health economics at Harvard Medical School’s Department of Health Care Policy (2000).

Program Manager

Sharla Smith, M.P.H., is the Program Manager for the Department of Policy and Management at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, College of Public Health. Ms. Smith holds a Baccalaureate of Science in Biology from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and a Masters in Public Health from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Ms. Smith has five years of experience in research and three years of experience in fundraising.

Her past work experience has focused on Biochemistry, Molecular, and Immunology Research, coordinating clinical research studies, survey development and data analysis in the field of Public Health Systems & Services Research and coordinating fundraising activities. Throughout her research experience, she has discovered her passion in the field of Public Health Systems & Services Research.

PBRN Staff

Lenora Martindale is currently the Project Specialist for the Department of Health Policy and Management. She is currently seeking a degree in Speech Communications, from the University of Arkansas Little Rock.

Lenora currently coordinates and organizes two projects for the department and brings several years of experience to the table. Her future plans include, but are not limited too, obtaining her degree and contributing her knowledge to the field of developing practice based research networks in public health.