About Team

Dr. Lee has +18 years of experience in development of biomedical optical systems for many preclinical/clinical applications. During his postdoctoral training at Emory, Dr. Lee worked on novel optical technologies measuring cerebral hemodynamics in children with sickle cell disease (SCD). Since joining KSU in 2021, Dr. Lee has been developing affordable, portable optical tools for pediatric SCD under my current NIH R15 (1R15EB034986) and recently awarded the supplement (3R15EB034986) to optimize the optical phantoms. Roles: As a PI, Dr. Lee will oversee the progress of the entire project, and he will be directly involved in technology development, experimental design, data analysis, interpretation of data, coordination with collaborators, and preparation of scientific communications. He will supervise maintenance of IRB documentation and will meet monthly with the team to monitor the progress.

As a global health professor and epidemiologist, Dr. Swahn has extensive experience working in low-resource settings in sub-Saharan Africa for over 15 years and also in Uganda specifically where she served as a Fulbright Scholar (2016-2018). She has led several NIH funded grants in Uganda, applying mixed methods, including the currently funded TOPOWA R01 study examining mental health trajectories in a prospective cohort design of young women living in the urban slums. She also runs the INTEGHRAL Hub, a mixed purpose, research facility and compound where the team can carry out the proposed work when in the country. She has published over 150 manuscripts, and her H-index is 49 per Google scholar. She has an extensive network of collaborators in Uganda including collaborators with our proposed partner institution Makerere University and the Ministry of Health. Roles: Her project role will be to facilitate international collaboration, the logistics of study visits and methodological expertise.   

Dr. Nazmus Sakib, Director of the mHealth Lab at CCSE, specializes in developing healthcare IT systems and mHealth solutions, including advanced visual analytics and AI-based predictive models. His expertise extends to both standalone systems and those integrated with wearables, aimed at enhancing healthcare decision-making. Dr. Sakib's achievements include leading NSA-funded research and serving as co-PI on multiple projects, demonstrating his pivotal role in advancing innovative healthcare technologies. Roles: Dr. Sakib's lab will develop an mHealth system prototype for stroke risk screening in children with SCD, tailored for resource-limited settings. 

Sangsun Choi is an award-winning documentary filmmaker specializing in the one-person production style with over 15 years of experience. He has produced numerous international documentaries that highlight the lives of underprivileged people. His work has been featured at Academy Award-qualifying film festivals as well as academic conferences. Roles: He will develop a short documentary that raises awareness about children with SCD who are at high risk of stroke, targeting both Ugandan communities and global audiences. Through authentic stories and cinematic audiovisual expressions, the documentary will provide viewers with an understanding of the lives of children with SCD and the impact of new technology for stroke risk screening. 

Dr. Peachey’s research includes multi-level analysis of the predictors associated with variations in chronic disease; planning, implementing, and evaluating evidence-based systems to address nutrition and food insecurity; and evaluations of federally funded (CDC) state-level strategies advancing health equity for populations with or at risk for diabetes and two programs to improve cardiovascular health. Dr. Peachey also serves as a collaborator on a research project with Ndejje University to determine the epidemiology of malaria in Kampala, Uganda. Roles: Dr. Peachey will contribute within the areas of public health and epidemiology. This includes the development, implementation, and analysis of instruments to identify the distribution and determinants of SCD in children in Uganda and to assess parent’s baseline knowledge of SCD and readiness to engage with educational materials to inform the development of educational materials.

Dr. Sweta Sneha is the Founder, Executive Director, and Professor of Healthcare Management and Informatics at Michael J. Coles College of Business. Dr. Sneha is recognized as a subject matter in healthcare informatics and has led strong academic industry partnerships across interdisciplinary teams spanning local and global partners. Her extensive research experience includes context driven user-centered design and application development; diverse stakeholder/community engagement; effective technology-driven monitoring and prediction of health conditions in low resource settings; technology adoption and usability. Roles: Dr. Sneha's role will understand clinical risks and constraints, facilitate community engagement towards effective development of screening programs for stroke detection and prediction, application development, and assessment of technology adoption and efficacy. 

Dr Adams’ expertise as a social scientist is the human side of the project which would potentially include local capacity building to work sustainably with the new technology and local talent/specialists. She believes the successful implementation and sustainability of innovative medical devices require more than just technology push. Local capacity building is highly contextualized and must take account of path dependencies. She has previous experience of working on a multidisciplinary research team and had the privilege of conducting a pilot study in Uganda a few years back. Roles: She will contribute to collecting qualitative data on healthcare provider and patient acceptance, the impact on early detection rates, and overall effectiveness in reducing stroke incidence. Include qualitative feedback from healthcare providers and patients to assess practical challenges and benefits. She will also assess local capacity (knowledge, skills and other essential attributes) to handle sickle cell equipment/technology.