Scientific Advisory Experts | FHI Clinical

SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY Experts

The FHI Clinical team of Scientific Advisory Experts serves as consultants to support our global programs and operations. Together, we will promote best practices, lessons learned and thought leadership as we advance local solutions and conduct rigorous research.

Our approach rests on the belief that alliances should be mutually beneficial, focus on community needs and spur innovation. Working together, we are able to deliver more sustainable and equitable solutions and amplify our impact.

Current team members

Robert W. Frenck, MD

Kevin Hurley, BA, MS

Kelly McKee, MD, MPH

Falgunee K. Parekh, MPH, PhD

John Schieffelin, MD, MSPH

Stephen Thomas, MS, PhD

Gayani Tillekeratne, MD, MSc

Lucas Tina, MBChB, MSc

Stacey Wooden, PhD, MPH

Christopher T. Woods, MD, MPH, FIDSA

Seeking qualified individuals

Want to join our team? To support our global programs and operations, FHI Clinical is seeking Scientific Advisory Experts to serve as consultants. We are particularly looking for professionals with proven infectious disease (chikungunya, dengue, Ebola, Lassa fever, malaria, tuberculosis, yellow fever, Zika) experience in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Central America or South America. To express your interest, please complete a profile in our database.

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Stephen Thomas, MS, PhD

Dr. Stephen B. Thomas is a tenured Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management in the School of Public Health and Director of the Maryland Center for Health Equity (MCHE) at the University of Maryland in College Park. Prior to joining the faculty in 2010, he served as the Director of the Center for Minority Health in the Graduate School of Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh from 2000-2009.

He is a highly experienced principal investigator (PI), having served as PI of multiple five-year NIH-NIMHD P60 grants titled “Excellence in Partnership through Community Outreach, Research on Health Disparities and Training (EXPORT)” (5P60 MD000207; 2002-2007) and the Research Center of Excellence in Minority Health Disparities (7 P60 MD000207, 2007-2012). With Dr. Quinn, Dr. Thomas was the joint PI of the Center of Excellence in Race, Ethnicity and Health Disparities Research (P20 MD006737, 2012-2017, NIMHD). He also served as PI (along with Dr. Quinn) on a prestigious Grand Opportunity (“GO”) grant sponsored by the Office of the Director, NIH, NIMHD, and American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) titled “Bioethics Research Infrastructure Initiative: Building Trust between Minorities and Researchers” (7RC2MD004766).

Over the decades, he has developed a significant network of relationships and leadership roles across multiple health disparity-influencing sectors including academic researchers; healthcare providers and service organizations; community leaders; national foundations; and local, state, and federal policymakers. He has specific expertise in the development, implementation and evaluation of community-engaged minority health and health disparity interventions. He also has extensive experience in overcoming barriers associated with the legacy of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study (1932-1972) and conducting scientifically sound and culturally tailored community-based interventions designed to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities to achieve health equity. He believes in team science and building trust with minority communities by first addressing their unmet health needs. Once trust is established, opportunities to conduct research can flourish.

He serves on the Board of Directors for Doctors Community Hospital in Prince George’s County and is a founding member of the leadership team for the Totally Linking Care Coalition composed of five hospital systems. Nationally, he serves on the Institutional Review Board of the All of US research initiative, a major NIH longitudinal study seeking to enroll one million Americans. He currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Health Equity Research Initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.