A research office
built around the
faculty it supports.

Reach out to the team directly and we will point you in the right direction.

What we have supported so far.

Dr. Carrie Miller is research faculty in the DFMPH and brings 20+ years of experience in clinical, behavioral, and population health research. Her diverse research experience provides her a broad perspective on the research process and the opportunities and challenges faculty, residents, and students may encounter as they develop their scholarly work. Dr. Miller currently serves as PI of an NCI K01 career development award and as pilot PI on other NIH-funded studies. She has authored more than 45 publications in peer-reviewed journals. As part of FMROCS, she looks forward to connecting with colleagues, fostering research collaborations, and helping members of the department identify resources and opportunities to advance their research and scholarly ideas.

Dr. Obinna Diala is a Senior Research Associate in the Department of Family Medicine and Population Health, where he coordinates research operations for FMROCS and for studies led by Dr. Bernard Fuemmeler. A physician by training with more than 10 years of combined experience in clinical medicine, clinical research, and public health practice, he manages protocol development, IRB submissions and amendments, participant recruitment, and data collection across multiple concurrent studies, and supervises the research staff who carry them out.

Dr. Diala has authored 10+ publications spanning tobacco and e-cigarette research, cancer prevention and survivorship, health equity, and pediatric sleep medicine. Before joining VCU, he coordinated pediatric sleep apnea research in the Department of Otolaryngology at Children’s Hospital Colorado. He is the first point of contact for faculty bringing a new project to FMROCS.

Dr. Lisa Rollins serves as a consultant to the department of FMPH. She has a 24-year history of supporting medical school faculty in their scholarly endeavors and career development. She has expertise in survey development and grant writing in cancer prevention, medical education, and manuscript history that addresses faculty development.

Dr. Joshua Mercadel serves as a data analyst with 9 years of experience spanning state government, health insurance, community-engaged initiatives, and academic research. His expertise includes clinical and population-level research, with a focus on using data to support meaningful research questions and improve health outcomes. Dr. Mercadel is particularly interested in autonomic health and cancer prevention and is eager to help facilitate research and collaboration within FMPH.