Faith Village Research Lab Team
Principal Investigator
Dr. Fayron Epps is the Principal Investigator of the Faith Village Research and an Associate Professor at Emory University, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing. Dr. Epps has been a nurse for over 20 years and served in many clinical and leadership roles in the hospital setting. She received her BSN from Tuskegee University, MSN in Health Care Systems Management from Loyola University New Orleans, and a PhD in Nursing from Southern University and A & M College. In 2015, she completed her postdoctoral fellowship with the National Hartford Center of Gerontological Nursing Excellence. Dr. Epps enjoys mentoring students and cultivating their love for the field of gerontology.
Dr. Epps is a leader in the African American community on family caregiving for families affected by dementia. She oversees several faith-based research related projects and is an active member in several local, regional, and national organizations. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Southern Gerontological Society, the Alzheimer’s Association Georgia Chapter, and Meals on Wheels Atlanta. She works closely with an interdisciplinary team to promote quality of life for African Americans with dementia and their family caregivers/care partners through religious practices.
Mia Chester, MA
Alter Program Coordinator
Mia Chester serves as the Project Coordinator for the Alter Program. She is working to build partnerships with churches anchored in African American communities to better support families affected by dementia. She provides program support to Dr. Fayron Epps and Dr. Dawn Aycock. Mia has been in healthcare since 2005 and has served in management as well as Program and Service Coordination positions for older adult populations throughout her career. She holds a master’s degree in health studies from the University of Alabama.
Adrianne Jones, MA
Community Liaison
Adrianne D. Jones is an elder care gerontologist specializing in senior services and resource management and integration. She has experience in various dimensions of aging services including care management, senior center programming, senior living service coordination, and adult day health. Ms. Jones has worked with Fulton County Office of Aging and Youth Services, Clayton County Senior Services, Meals on Wheels Atlanta, and National Church Residences, the largest non-profit provider for senior housing in the country. Ms. Jones holds a B.A. (public relations) from Clark Atlanta University, and a M.A. (gerontology) from Georgia State University. She loves traveling, serving in her church, and hanging with friends.
Janelle Gore, MPA
Research Coordinator
Janelle Gore is the Research Coordinator with the Faith Village Research Lab at Emory University. She assists Dr. Epps in supporting undergrad and graduate student team members’ research projects within the Faith Village Research Lab. She graduated with her Masters of Public health from Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health. Janelle focused her academic work within the Behavioral Social and Health Education Sciences Department and gained a Religion and Health certificate. Janelle is passionate about improving the health of underserved BIPOC among both young and older populations. Her commitment to contributing novel systematic solutions to the field of public health and research has driven her work thus far. Janelle focuses her work on collaborating on various research projects concerning mental health, physical activity & nutrition, dementia, and the Black community.
Delphine Golly
Graduate Research Assistant
Delphine Golly is a first-year MPH candidate at Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health, in the Department of Behavioral, Social, and Health Education Sciences. Her public health experience has made her passionate about minority mental health disparities, stigma, and equity. With these interests, she plans to focus her efforts on behavioral/mental health advocacy, research, and education across various public health systems.
Sloan Oliver
Graduate Research Assistant
Sloan Oliver is a global health MPH candidate at the Rollins School of Public Health, concentrating in community health and development. She is passionate about equity, human rights, environmental protection, and community engagement. These ideals are what led her to public health and will be vital in developing her career as well as the research she is fortunate enough to partake in at Emory. After the completion of her degree, she hopes to be an advocate for the advancement human and civil rights in the southeastern United States as well as globally.
Mayra Sainz, MPH
Graduate Research Assistant
Mayra Sainz is a current doctoral student at Emory’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing and is expected to graduate in May of 2025. She was a Peace Corps Health Volunteer in Senegal, West Africa from 2017-2019. In May of 2021, she graduated from Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health where she received her MPH from the department of Behavioral, Social, and Health Education Sciences. Her interests are partnering with community organizations to conduct research that explores, addresses, and evaluates programs that reduce health disparities in BIPOC communities. Specifically, she is interested in partnering with religious communities to improve the quality of life for families living with dementia.
Ginger Heidbreder
Graduate Research Assistant
Ginger Heidbreder is an Emory alumna and a graduate student at the Georgia State University Institute of Gerontology. She produces the monthly Connections newsletter for the Alter program. Ginger enjoys helping older adults stay connected with their communities, and after graduation, would like to continue doing research and advocacy work to strengthen the policies and funding that provide support to vulnerable older adults.
Shani Strader, MPH
Graduate Research Assistant
Shani Strader is currently studying nursing at Emory University where she plans to begin a career as a midwife once she graduates. She is also a graduate of Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health where she received her Master of Public Health degree in May 2021. Her degree is in Behavioral, Social and Health Education Sciences. Shani has an overall interest in working in the Southern United States to help reduce mortality rates among Black and Brown women and infants.
Megan Henry
Graduate Research Assistant
Megan Henry is a MPH candidate at the Rollins School of Public Health, studying Epidemiology with a certificate in Infectious Disease. She attended Biola University in La Mirada, CA, and got her B.S. in Marketing and a minor in Biblical Studies in May 2019. She plans on continuing her education and aspires to get a PhD in Immunology and Microbiology. Megan is passionate about community engagement and creating safe spaces for those who suffer from neurological conditions, and is excited to work with Faith Village Research Lab. Her research interests include emerging infectious diseases, chronic infections, drug resistance, and autoimmune/neurological disorders.
Katie Pierson
Graduate Research Assistant
Katie Pierson is currently a nursing student at Emory University pursuing her graduate degree to become a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner. She was a Peace Corps Education Volunteer in Liberia, West Africa from 2018-2019 where she focused on Malaria prevention education and recently finished two terms with the American Red Cross as an AmeriCorps Volunteer. Katie hopes to work as a women’s health nurse practitioner to support women, especially BIPOC women, and to help fight for equitable health care.
Karah Alexander, MPH
Graduate Research Assistant
Karah Alexander attended undergrad at Spelman College and, post undergrad, she obtained her Master’s in Public Health with a focus in health promotion and behavior from Georgia State University. She completed her master’s practicum and capstone project through Dr. Epp’s research concerning African American families affected by dementia in the faith community. While working with Dr. Epps, Karah became more interested in this area of research as she watched her mother and aunt struggle as caregivers to her grandmother who eventually passed from complications of dementia. Karah worked as a graduate research assistant for Dr. Epps through her master’s program and at Emory University School of Nursing as a senior research interviewer on primary investigator’s Dr. Kenneth Hepurn’s Tele-Savvy Clinical Trial. Currently, she attends Emory University School of Nursing, examining the role of health literacy and healthcare navigation in the caregiving experience of Black American family caregivers of persons living with dementia.
Josette Mendiola
Graduate Research Assistant
Josette Mendiola is currently a nursing student at Emory University pursuing her graduate degree to become an Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner. In 2017, she received her BS in human biology from University of California, Merced with a minor in public health. She currently supports patients with dementia and their caregivers through her work as a student intern at Emory’s Integrated Memory Care Clinic. Josette is passionate about improving the health of underserved older populations. Her commitment to curating resources around elderly and caregiver wellness has driven her work thus far. Josette hopes to work as a geriatric primary care nurse practitioner to serve aging patients and the caregivers who support them.
Taylor James
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Taylor James is an undergraduate research assistant who is currently a fourth year student at Emory University, majoring in Creative Writing and Anthropology & Human Biology. After graduating from Emory, she plans to attend medical school. While she is passionate about qualitative research and bridging the understanding between health and religion, she is also enthusiastic about fields relating to self-empowerment and racial justice.
Jane Xie
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Jane Xie is currently a fourth year undergraduate student at Emory University studying Biology and Religion while on the pre-med track. Not only is she eager to facilitate the convergence of science and religion through research, but she is also passionate about whole person care, global medicine, helping medically underserved areas, and community engagement. After graduating, she hopes to pursue a career in medicine domestically, and ultimately, internationally.
Se Eun Kim
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Se Eun Kim is an undergraduate research assistant who is a fourth year at Emory University, majoring in Quantitative Sciences with a track in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology. After graduating, she is interested in participating in research related to nutrition or neurological diseases in older and disadvantaged populations, and eventually pursuing an MD/MPH.
Audric Donald
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Audric Donald is a BSN student at Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing. After graduating from Emory, he plans to pursue a career in nursing in the public health service sector and continue his education by going to medical school. Audric is passionate about research for the African American community where there is a discrepancy with health equity for diseases like dementia.
Ja’Mya Yancey
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Ja’Mya is an honors student at the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing where she is pursuing her first degree, BSN. She is passionate about the evolution of care in the Black community and is hopeful about her continued participation in the development of research. Post-grad she plans to work in critical care and then return to school to pursue a DNP but is open to wherever the world of nursing and/or research takes her.