Denise Bates, Ph. D.

Assistant Professor
University of TN
Public Health Program
Department of Nutrition

Denise Bates Ph.D., RRT, CHES received her Ph.D. from Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas. Dr. Bates has taught several courses in health education, behavior, community, and public health. Her primary teaching interests include women’s health issues, health policy/advocacy, global health, psychosocial health, and community program assessment, planning, and evaluation. In addition to her experience teaching in the classroom, Dr. Bates has worked with numerous community, health and refugee organizations for many years in the areas of program development, strategic planning, mediation/conflict resolution, cultural diversity training, and grant writing.

Utilizing Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) methodology, Dr. Bates’ research focus is on health disparities in underserved people groups in global communities. Her work over the last 14 years predominantly has been with refugees and immigrants, studying assimilation to dominate culture and the related and resulting health risks experienced by these groups of people, particularly youth.

Current Research
Dr. Bates has implemented a community-based intervention project in Knoxville, TN entitled Healing Transitions: Program Interventions for Youth Refugees and Families. In conjunction with the Center for the Study of Youth and Political Violence, Dr Bates works diligently with other faculty members, students, and multiple community agencies who are directly involved with incoming refugee families. The purpose of the study is to assess the social, cultural and educational needs of incoming and existing refugees in Knoxville. Qualitative and quantitative methodology, data collection and analysis are being used to identify cultural competency and content education needs for the community at large, as well as for refugees resettling in the area.

___________________________________________________________

Clea McNeely, Dr.PH

Assistant Professor
University of TN
Public Health Program
Department of Nutrition  

 

Clea McNeely, DrPH, is assistant professor of public health at the University of Tennessee. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Tennessee, she served as technical advisor to the World Health Organization and to UNICEF and was an assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Dr. McNeely’s international research includes developing and validating brief survey questions to monitor adolescent health and well-being across cultures. She also conducts community-based participatory evaluations of programs to improve adolescent health.

Dr. McNeely’s U.S.-based research focuses on the social contexts of adolescent health, with a particular emphasis on how schools and peers can promote healthy youth development. She uses social network measures to explore how peers influence health behaviors and has conducted several evaluations of youth development programs. She is co-author of the forthcoming Guide to Healthy Adolescent Development: The Teen Years Explained to be published by the Johns Hopkins Center for Adolescent Health as well as many other publications. Dr. McNeely has received funding  from the William T. Grant Foundation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Rockefeller Foundation, and several other  foundations.

Vitae

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Contact Information

Center for the Study of
Youth & Political Violence
2110 Terrace Avenue
Knoxville, TN 37916

Voice: 865–974–2269
Fax: 865–946–0990
youthviolence@tennessee.edu