The Alabama Life Research Institute has selected five University of Alabama faculty members for its second ALRI Faculty Research Fellowship cohort.
The yearlong fellowship supports interdisciplinary projects that advance the institute’s core research themes — rural health and housing, cognitive neuroscience, and community development — and provides fellows with resources to develop new research programs and strengthen future grant proposals.
This year’s fellows represent a wide range of expertise, including nutrition, child development, geographic information systems and health geography, mental health, and mathematical learning.
“I am thrilled to welcome our second cohort of Faculty Research Fellows,” said Dr. Sharlene Newman, executive director of the Alabama Life Research Institute. “This group brings diverse backgrounds and perspectives, and I am confident they will learn a great deal from one another. Each fellow leads a promising research program, and I am excited to see how dedicated time, collaboration, and mentorship will help propel their work into the next stage — toward federally funded projects with meaningful impact on society.”
Deniz Azarmanesh
Assistant Professor, College of Human Environmental SciencesDr. Azarmanesh’s research explores the impact of pro- and anti-inflammatory diet patterns on inflammation, pregnancy and mental health outcomes.
Wanda Burton
Assistant Professor, Capstone College of NursingDr. Burton’s work explores how psychosocial stressors impact mental health in women and rural communities and drives interventions and leadership in nursing education.
Courtney Helfrecht
Assistant Professor, Barefield College of Arts & SciencesDr. Helfrecht’s research examines how social, nutritional, and hormonal factors shape childhood development in both global and local contexts.
Macarena Suarez Pellicioni
Assistant Professor, College of EducationDr. Suarez Pellicioni’s pioneering work blends behavioral, EEG/ERP, and fMRI methods to study the conditions surrounding mathematical learning and performance.
Changzhen Wang
Assistant Professor, Barefield College of Arts & SciencesDr. Wang’s research uses advanced GIS, network modeling, and GeoAI to study healthcare access across the United States and beyond.
