Postdoctoral Research

Postdoctoral research is essential to the mission of the College of Health Sciences. Working in tandem with faculty and staff, postdoctoral scholars and fellows deepen their field expertise, skills, and methods.

Maria Dietrich, Ph.D., CCC-LP - Dr. Dietrich's training and experience is in psychobiological aspects of voice production with a focus on clinical voice science. Her program of research is the investigation of neurobiological and psychobiological processes involved in modulating vocal functioning in vocally healthy individuals. Her research focuses on individual differences in vocal behavior as a function of personality and psychological stress. Ultimately, the research hopes to inform education and prevention programs as well as treatment approaches for patients with voice disorders. To that end, Dr. Dietrich and her mentors, Drs. Stemple and Andreatta, have received funding from the UK Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) and UK Magnetic Resonance and Spectroscopy Center (MRISC) to complete a study titled "The Central Control of Vocalization as a Function of Personality and Stress Reactivity."

Chris Fry, Ph.D. - Dr. Fry works under the mentorship of Dr. Charlotte Peterson, Associate Dean for Research. His research explores the role of skeletal muscle stem cells in the adaptability of muscle to hypertrophic stimuli. His goal is to better characterize the regulatory role of muscle stem cells in the maintenance of the muscle environment and to understand the molecular mechanisms through which muscle grows.

Jackson, Ph.D. - Dr. Jackson works under the mentorship of Dr. Charlotte Peterson, Associate Dean for Research. Her current focus is on elucidating the role skeletal muscle stem cells (satellite cells) play with regard to muscle plasticity in response to hypertrophic, atrophic and regenerative stimuli and delineating the possible differing contribution of satellite cells to muscle adaptation with aging

Jonah Lee, Ph.D. - Dr. Lee works under mentorship of Dr. Charlotte Peterson, Associate Dean for Research. His current interests involve the cellular and molecular mechanisms that regulate skeletal muscle adaptation and functional performance; specifically emphasizing the importance of exercise induced muscle hypertrophy within models such as aging, obesity and unloading.

Anne Schmitz, Ph.D. - Dr. Schmitz works under the mentorship of Dr. Brian Noehren, Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy. She is working on developing the Kinect camera technology to accurately collect motion capture data in a non-laboratory setting (e.g. patient’s home, sports arena). She is also working to elucidate how knee and hip mechanics during running contribute to overuse injuries. – Dr. Schmitz works under the mentorship of Dr. Brian Noehren, Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy. She is working on developing the Kinect camera technology to accurately collect motion capture data in a non-laboratory setting (e.g. patient’s