College of Health Professions Training Program Speakers

Dr. Arzu Ari

^{Dr. Arzu Ari is a physical therapist and a respiratory therapist with 30 years of experience as a manager, clinician, educator, and researcher. She is the Associate Dean for Research at the College of Health Professions and teaches in the Department of Respiratory Care at Texas State University.}

^{Dr. Ari’s primary area of research is aerosol medicine. Her research interest has manifested in 89 peer reviewed articles, 87 conference proceedings, 17 book chapters, two clinical practice guidelines, and two books. She gave more than 339 presentations at conferences worldwide and received 15 external grants from various institutions. Dr. Ari has been recognized as an outstanding faculty and received 34 prestigious awards for her accomplishments in research and education. Her work received the prestigious Monaghan/Trudell Award for Aerosol Technique Development three times in the past ten years. She received the Mitchell Baran Achievement Award for Clinical Excellence in Aerosol and Airway Clearance Therapies and the Hector Leon Garza Achievement Award for Excellence in International Respiratory Care.}

^{Dr. Ari is the Associate Editor of the Canadian Journal for Respiratory Care and the Guest Editor of Pharmaceutics. She serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Aerosol Medicine. As a strong advocate for the development of the respiratory care profession worldwide, Dr. Ari has served as the Governor of Turkey at the International Respiratory Care Council for 27 years and promotes the profession of respiratory care around the world. Dr. Ari has also served on numerous committees of the American College of Chest Physicians, American Respiratory Care Foundation, International Society for Aerosols in Medicine, American Association for Respiratory Care, COPD Foundation, and the Turkish Respiratory Society. Dr. Ari is also the Director of the International Education Recognition System.}

Dr. Shetay Ashford-Hanserd

^{Dr. Ashford-Hanserd is Chair and Associate Professor in the Department of Organization, Workforce, and Leadership Studies at Texas State University. Prior to joining Texas State, Dr. Ashford-Hanserd worked for 13 years in the high technology (i.e., high tech) industry as a Technical Trainer, Consultant, and Global Training Program Manager with Fortune 500 multinational corporations such as General Electric, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Dell Computers. Additionally, she gained experience as a continuing education and university instructor and a project manager of a longitudinal, mixed-methods research study, which was funded by the National Science Foundation.}

^{Dr. Ashford-Hanserd's research agenda primarily focuses on broadening participation of women of color and historically underrepresented minorities in the U.S. P-20 (preschool, K-12, undergraduate, graduate) STEM (science, technology, engineering, entrepreneurship, mathematics) and Computing (STEM+C) workforce ecosystem. By integrating research into teaching and service, Dr. Ashford-Hanserd's research agenda is divided into three distinct, yet interrelated, research domains to inform students, community partners, and economic development or workforce stakeholders of evidence-based success factors and interventions.}

^{1. Cultural, community, and historical contexts.}

^{2. Student success factors and persistence.}

^{3. Culturally-responsive pedagogy, interventions, and evaluation.}

Dr. Natalie Ceballo

^{Dr. Ceballos is a first-generation college graduate raised in rural Oklahoma. She earned a B.S. in Biological Sciences and a B.A. in Chemistry from Southwestern Oklahoma State University in 1998. In 2003 she completed a Ph.D. in Neuroscience at the University of Oklahoma Health Science Center, where her dissertation was funded by an Individual National Research Service Award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Following a postdoctoral fellowship funded by the National Institutes of Health at the University of Connecticut, Dr. Ceballos joined the Department of Psychology at Texas State University in 2006. She began as a non-tenure line faculty member, then joined the tenure track as an Assistant Professor in 2007. She earned early tenure and promotion to Associate Professor in 2012 and was promoted to Professor in 2017.}

^{Dr. Ceballos’ research focuses on disentangling the contributions of common factors that may accompany or predate the development of addictive behaviors. Much of her work has examined neurophysiological indices of addiction-related cue reactivity in college drinkers, as well as the influence of factors such as stress and acculturation on the use of alcohol and other drugs. She has published in multiple outlets including Addictive Behaviors, Biological Psychology, the Journal of Addiction Medicine, the Journal of Studies on Alcohol & Drugs, and Pharmacology, Biochemistry, & Behavior. Dr. Ceballos’ research program has been funded by external grants from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the Integrative Neuroscience Initiative on Alcoholism Consortium, and Humanities Texas.}

^{Dr. Ceballos is a twenty-year member of the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA) and most recently served as a Co-Chair of RSA’s Government Affairs and Advocacy Committee. She has held numerous editorial positions with scholarly journals, including her current role as Assistant Field Editor for the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. At Texas State, Dr. Ceballos served as a Faculty Senator for three years, including terms as Secretary and Vice Chair, and chaired Texas State’s Non-tenure Line Faculty Committee from 2019-2020. She served as Associate Chair of the Department of Psychology from 2014-2016 and again from 2020-2021. In 2020, Dr. Ceballos was selected as a Fellow of the Texas Academic Leadership Academy.}

Dr. Evelyn Frias

^{Evelyn Frias-Toral is the Science Grant Writer for the Division of Research at Texas State University. She is also a Clinical Research Associate Professor at Universidad Católica Santiago de Guayaquil (UCSG), and a Clinical Research Associate at Universidad Espíritu Santo in Ecuador. Evelyn serves as the Secretary of the Ibero-Latin American Section of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ILAS ASPEN) and is a member of the Editorial Council (Scientific Publications Committee) at UCSG. She has held several roles within the Ecuadorian Association of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASENPE), including serving on the Scientific, Education and Publications Committee, and has represented ASENPE before the International Council of the European Society of Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN).}

^{Evelyn’s accomplishments include being selected as part of ESPEN’s first Early Career Faculty group, which has allowed her to actively participate in various ESPEN projects, including serving as the national coordinator for nutritionDay from 2017 to 2021. She has chaired the Research Committee at SOLCA Guayaquil Cancer Hospital and currently serves as the national coordinator for the Italian-Ecuadorian Scientific Partnership, which focuses on Nutrition in Inflammatory Conditions.}

^{She is an Associate Editor for Frontiers in Nutrition (Clinical Nutrition), Clinical Nutrition ESPEN, Food and Agricultural Immunology, and Revista de Nutrición Clínica y Metabolismo. Evelyn has participated in multiple clinical trials on clinical nutrition, malnutrition, and cancer. Her research interests include obesity and related disorders, malnutrition, the Mediterranean diet, aging, VLCKD, and vitamin D. She has authored over 85 publications indexed in Scopus}

Dr. Denise Gobert

^{Dr. Gobert has been practicing physical therapy for over 20 years and teaches in the Neuro/ Research track in the Doctoral Physical Therapy Program at the Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. Her clinical practice and research specialize in the care of persons with neurological movement disorders resulting from CVA, vestibular-related pathologies and traumatic brain injury. She received Physical Therapy degree at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas, and her Masters in Exercise Science and Doctorate in Kinesiology at the University of Texas at Austin. She is a Certified Vestibular Rehabilitation Specialist, Board Certified Specialist in Neurologic Physical Therapy and Certified Exercise Expert for Aging Adults. In addition, she is a well published researcher and has held several state and national offices including Chair of the Vestibular Special Interest Group in the Neurology Section in the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). Her current research includes vestibulo-oculomotor deficits associated with acquired brain injury such as CVA and traumatic brain injuries. Her work has been well supported by several national funding sources including the American Heart Association, Department of Veteran Affairs and the Department of Defense.}

Ms. Evy Gonzales

^{Mrs. Evy Gonzales is the Director of Strategic Research Initiatives in TXST’s Division of Research, Office of Research Development. Evy supports the research enterprise by providing strategic guidance and support to researchers seeking to develop competitive proposals for external funding; leading the development of large-scale, collaborative proposals; engaging with national, state, and local partners to identify and promote funding opportunities and partnerships aligned with the university’s strategic priorities; and conducting workshops on finding funding, grant writing, and strategic positioning. Evy has been with the Division of Research for 21 years, holding various positions in pre and post award administration, compliance, and research development.}

Dr. Monica Hughes

^{Monica Hughes received her Advanced Public Health Nursing Doctorate in Nursing Practice from Rush University in Chicago, MSN in Nursing Education with a graduate certificate in Nursing Systems Management from the University of Texas at El Paso, and a BSN from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Dr. Hughes has worked in many facets of public health and nursing leadership over a 30-year nursing career, most recently as the Director of Public Health Nursing for the Texas Department of State Health Services and the Director of Education for a faith and health nonprofit. Dr. Hughes' practice focus began in obstetrics and newborn nursing, and she has since worked in public health and nursing workforce development, health policy, and family and community health services in conjunction with governmental and non-governmental agencies, faith-based entities, and home maternal child health services. She has worked as a consultant on national public health workforce assessment and as an educator of nurses, nursing students, and community health workers.}

^{Dr. Hughes is a board-certified Nurse Executive and a Certified Nurse Educator. She is also a certified instructor of Community Health Workers. Dr. Hughes is a member of the Association of Public Health Nurses and the American Public Health Association, as well as the Association of Community Health Nurse Educators, American Nurses Association, the Texas Nurses Association, and the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. Dr. Hughes is the recipient of a prestigious Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Public Health Nurse Leader designation, along with a fellowship and leadership training with the Centers for Creative Leadership and the Texas Team Campaign for Action. She is a Community Health Worker/Promotora Advisory Committee member for the Texas Department of State Health Services, a Johnson and Johnson Promise of Nursing’s Future Texas Regional Faculty Fellowship recipient and has received many awards and honors.}

Dr. Maria Resendiz

^{Dr. Resendiz earned her Ph.D.at the University of Texas at Austin, where she also earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees. She has worked with bilingual children and children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in school, rehabilitation, and early childhood settings. Her research interests include how children learn language, specifically the role of children’s experience with English in learning English grammar. She has co-authored publications on language learning within the context of narratives with children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and has presented at national conferences.}

Dr. Ty Schepis

^{Ty S. Schepis, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Texas State University, a Faculty Fellow at the Texas State University Translational Health Research Center, and an Affiliate Member of the Center for the Study of Drugs, Alcohol, Smoking and Health in the School of Nursing at the University of Michigan. He received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology in 2006 from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Yale School of Medicine, and joined the Texas State University faculty in 2009.}

^{His research examines substance use across the lifespan, with a particular focus on prescription drug misuse and on polysubstance use. He has 115 peer reviewed publications in journals including}^Addiction^,^{International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry}^,^JAMA^,^{JAMA Pediatrics,}^and^{Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry}^{, and his research has been highlighted on}^{NPR Morning Edition}^{and the}^{CBS Evening News}^{, and has influenced both policy (e.g., updated FDA package insert for stimulant medication) and treatment guidelines (e.g., ASAM/AAAP Clinical Practice Guideline on the Management of Stimulant Use Disorder). As Principal Investigator, he has received five awards from the US National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) totaling over $2.5 million, and he has been a Co-Investigator on awards from NIDA, the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the US Food and Drug Administration.}

Dr. Keya Sen

^{Dr. Keya Sen is an Assistant Professor in the School of Health Administration at Texas State University. She received her Ph.D. in Health Services Research from the University of North Texas in 2020, with a concentration in Applied Gerontology. Her research centers on community engagement and participatory methods to address psychosocial issues affecting the geriatric population, with a focus on sustainable strategies to improve quality of life for older adults.}

^{Dr. Sen has received several national and international awards for her contributions to geriatric health and wellbeing, including recognition in 2019, 2021, 2023, and 2024. She has served as Co-Principal Investigator on a National Science Foundation I-Corps grant ($50,000, 2024) that supports entrepreneurship in innovative water filtration technologies designed for aging communities. She also led a Regional I-Corps project at Texas State University ($7,800, 2022), focusing on entrepreneurship for health education, awareness, and support related to incontinence among older adults. Additionally, she is a supporting member of an NIH-ACL grant ($2.7 million, 2022) aimed at addressing food insecurity and social isolation among seniors.}

^{Dr. Sen is a Fellow of the American College of Health Care Administrators (ACHCA) and has published over 18 peer-reviewed research papers through multidisciplinary collaborations. Her work has accumulated over 412 citations, with an h-index of 8 and an i10-index of 8, underscoring her scholarly contributions to community-based research in geriatric health.}

^{In addition to her academic work, Dr. Sen has extensive experience in community outreach and program development. She previously served as the Residential Sustainable Program Coordinator at the State University of New York (2015–2016), where she collaborated with local organizations to advance sustainability initiatives. At Texas State University, she leads several impactful community-based projects, including the Geriatric Health Fair in Williamson County, which provides free assessments such as gait, cognition, hearing, and balance checks for underserved older adults. She also leads the Tech Buddies Program in Hays County, offering social support and technology training for seniors to reduce digital isolation.}

^{Dr. Sen’s entrepreneurial advocacy extends to supporting sustainable solutions in public health, especially around water quality for underserved communities in Texas. Her interdisciplinary approach bridges health services research, sustainability, and social entrepreneurship to improve health outcomes for aging populations.}

^{As an educator, Dr. Sen teaches and has developed graduate-level courses in Public Health and Long-Term Care Administration, including Healthcare Quality and Operations Improvement, Research Methods in Public Health, Elder Abuse and Mistreatment, Global Public Health, and Health Informatics. She integrates service-learning into her curriculum and actively involves students in research and community projects, helping them co-author publications and engage in real-world problem-solving.}

^{Dr. Sen’s work reflects a deep commitment to intergenerational learning, applied research, and community-driven innovation. Through her teaching, research, and outreach, she continues to advance the field of geriatric health and contribute meaningfully to the lives of older adults.}

Ms. Alex Smith

^{Alexandra Smith is a Senior Proposal Coordinator at Texas State University's Division of Research, Office of Sponsored Programs. Alex specializes in supporting faculty investigators with preparing and submitting competitive proposals to external sponsors. She offers expert guidance in budget development and ensures compliance with sponsor requirements and university policies. A leader in educational initiatives, Alex conducts budget training seminars to enhance the skills of faculty and staff. Beyond her professional commitments, she channels her creativity into designing one-of-a-kind jewelry and art pieces, reflecting her meticulous and imaginative spirit. Prior to her current role, Alex managed projects for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality's Clean Rivers Program.}

Dr. Damien Valles

^{Dr. Damian Valles is an Ingram School of Engineering Electrical Engineering Assistant Professor at Texas State University. He focuses on High-Performance Computing (HPC), Machine Learning (ML), and Embedded System implementations under the High-Performance Engineering (HiPE) research group. Dr. Valles received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. from The University of Texas at El Paso from the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, focusing on Reconfigurable Processors and HPC research. Dr. Valles did a post-doc at Montana Tech as the HPC Application Scientist under the Computer Science department. He also worked as an HPC System Administrator in the Information Systems department and an adjunct position in the Computer Science department at Wake Forest University. He is currently a member of IEEE, ACM, ACM's SIGHPC, and SHPE.}

Dr. Melinda Villagran

^{Melinda Villagran is the Executive Director of Texas State's Translational Health Research Center, leading applied health research programs with community partners to improve health and increase resilience in Texas. Dr. Villagran is also the Principal Investigator for the Community Mental Health M.A.P. (Monitoring and Assessment Program) grant funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the Co-PI for the State of Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's Accelerating Credentials grant focused on marketable skills for workforce development. With a Ph.D. in health communication, Dr. Villagran supports diverse research involving Texas State faculty, students, and community partners, working together to create healthy, equitable, resilient communities. After serving as a professor and graduate program director at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA, Dr. Villagran joined the Texas State in 2012. In the last decade she has served as a professor, department chair, research center director, chair of the university's Council on Funded Research, and the PI on research and programming awarded over 10 million dollars in funding to address health issues among underserved and vulnerable populations. Dr. Villagran is the recipient of the Presidential Award for Scholarly and Creative Activity at the professor level, and the author of two scholarly books and over 65 peer-reviewed journal articles on communication topics.}