Tracy Scull, PhD
Principal Investigator
Dr. Scull is a Senior Research Scientist at iRT. Over the past 16 years, she has conducted rigorous research on child, adolescent, and family health, with specific focus on promoting sexual health and preventing substance abuse. Dr. Scull has secured over 10 million dollars in federal funding for her research and has published her work in esteemed peer-reviewed journals such as Pediatrics, Developmental Psychology, and the Journal of American College Health. She holds a doctorate in developmental psychology from Duke University.
Christina V. Dodson, PhD
Co-Investigator
Dr. Dodson is a Research Scientist at iRT. Over the past ten years, she has conducted rigorous research on health communication and behavior with a focus on the sexual and relationship health of adolescents and young adults. She has been a co-investigator on several grants from the NIH to develop and test theory-based interventions to promote adolescent health. Dr. Dodson's work has been published in numerous academic journals and presented at national and international conferences. Dr. Dodson received her doctorate in mass communication and a certificate in interdisciplinary health communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and holds a master's degree in communication management from the University of Southern California.
Janis Kupersmidt, PhD
Co-Investigator
Dr. Kupersmidt is a Senior Research Scientist and President of iRT, which she founded in 1999. Dr. Kupersmidt is a licensed clinical psychologist and a former tenured professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has extensive research and clinical experience working with a wide range of populations of children and adolescents including youth exhibiting behavior problems such as aggression, delinquency, and substance misuse; experiencing social stressors such as peer rejection and victimization; and in settings such as schools, secure facilities, afterschool programs, and residential substance abuse treatment programs. She has also worked with special populations of youth such as incarcerated adolescents, youth in transition to the community, youth in foster care, and rural children of migrant and seasonal farm workers. She has over 90 peer-reviewed publications and over 200 scientific presentations; and she has served as the principal investigator (PI) or a co-investigator on many federal, state, and private research grants and contracts. She received her doctorate in clinical child psychology from Duke University.
Reina Evans-Paulson, PhD
Research Scientist
Dr. Evans-Paulson is a Research Scientist at iRT. She conducts research related to adolescent and young adult health with a focus on implementation and evaluation of sexual health interventions, parent and family influences on adolescent sexuality, and sexual communication. Dr. Evans-Paulson has published in esteemed peer-reviewed journals such as JAMA Pediatrics, Journal of Sex Research, and Pediatrics. She received her doctorate in applied social and community psychology from North Carolina State University.
Alison Parker, PhD
Senior Research Scientist
Dr. Parker is a Senior Research Scientist at iRT and a developmental psychologist. She received her doctorate in developmental psychology from North Carolina State University with training in the areas of emotional and social cognitive development. She has expertise in developing school-based and online prevention programs, web-based resources and toolkits, and assessment tools for youth (both typically developing and those with neurodevelopmental disabilities and chronic illnesses and diseases) and adults. Over the past several years, Dr. Parker has been a principal investigator or co-investigator on numerous federally funded research grants and contracts. She has also led the development and evaluation of programs focused on improving the health and well-being of youth and adults.
Katie Stump, PhD
Research Scientist/Statistician
Dr. Stump is a Research Scientist at iRT. She received her doctorate in developmental psychology from the University of Kansas and has expertise in the areas of child and adolescent social development and statistics. She has been a co-principal investigator and statistician on numerous NIH- and OJJDP-funded research and evaluation projects in the field of youth mentoring.
Liz Reeder, BS
Research Specialist
Liz Reeder is a Research Specialist at iRT. She received her bachelor’s degree in psychology and minor in Hispanic studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is bilingual in English and Spanish and has conducted surveys and interviews in both languages. Liz has coordinated medium and large research studies in classrooms, laboratories, community spaces, and online. She works to make research projects inclusive, relevant, and accessible to teens and young adult through technology and modernization.
Kim Gosnell
Art Director
Kim Gosnell is the Art Director at iRT. She has a bachelor's degree in multimedia and web design (interactive media) from the Art Institute of Phoenix, an e-Learning instructional design certificate from ATD, and many years professional experience in graphic and interactive media design/development. Her skills include design for print, web, and e-learning collaborations; illustration (cartoon, technical, and traditional); and multimedia development such as video and audio production, motion graphics, and animation. She has experience designing graphics, both print and web-based, for use with children, adolescents, adults, and teachers.
Richard Van Horn
Senior Web Applications Developer and Systems Administrator
Richard Van Horn is the Senior Web Applications Developer and Systems Administrator at iRT. He received his master's in information technology with an emphasis in software development and management from Carnegie Mellon University Silicon Valley in Mountain View, CA. He has expertise in web site development, support and maintenance on multiple platforms including WordPress, Joomla, DotNetNuke, Moodle, and custom web applications built on .Net using C# and VB. He is versed in VB, C#, ASP.NET, XML, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, MS SQL 2008.
Alex Schoemann, PhD
Statistical Consultant
Dr. Schoemann is an Associate Professor of Psychology at East Carolina University, specializing in quantitative psychology. Dr. Schoemann’s general interests in quantitative psychology lie in the areas of latent variable modeling (factor analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM), multilevel modeling (MLM), and meta-analysis. Across these areas he has focused on issues related to multiple group models, randomized trials, missing data, longitudinal models, and Monte Carlo simulations. He is interested in encouraging access to advanced quantitative techniques through developing programs in the statistical language R.
Laura Widman, PhD
Independent Monitor
Dr. Widman is an Associate Professor of Psychology at North Carolina State University and a licensed clinical psychologist. She earned her doctorate from the University of Tennessee and a postdoctoral fellowship in HIV/STD prevention at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Widman’s research is focused on adolescent sexual communication and the use of technology-based interventions to improve sexual health among vulnerable populations. Dr. Widman has published more than 50 peer-reviewed manuscripts, and her work has been featured in outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, Time Magazine, and the NBC Today Show. Dr. Widman is also a co-author on the best-selling undergraduate human sexuality textbook, Our Sexuality.
Previous Team Members
Kylia Ahuna, MA
Research Assistant
Kylia Ahuna is a Master of Public Health student with a concentration in health behavior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has experience in conducting research in behavioral neuroscience and maternal and pediatric health. Her current research interests involve developing and evaluating health interventions and programs, and she is particularly passionate about making research more accessible.
Jada Green, MPH
Research Specialist
Jada Green received her Master of Public Health with a concentration in community health education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She aids in qualitative data coding, content development, study recruitment and study coordination. She has experience in implementing health educational programs, community outreach, conducting research and motivational interviewing. Overall, Jada has research interests that include sexual health, cardiovascular health and chronic pain prevention all while using a health equity lens.