Our Team

Waridibo Allison MD, PhD, FACP, CPE, FIDSA

Program Director/Principal Investigator

Dr. Allison is the Vice President of Health Policy in the Division of Research and Innovation and Associate Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine & Geriatrics at the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth (HSC). She is the Executive Director of the HSC Center for Health Policy. Dr. Allison is the principal investigator and program director of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) funded TAKE on HIV project and the national Rural Telementoring Training Center.  Dr. Allison believes health care is a human right and the focus of her work is on improving access to health care for underserved, marginalized populations by combating disease specific, racial, cultural, gender-based, geographical, and economical barriers to health care access from the individual to the health systems level. This includes telementoring and workforce development. Her work has received consistent federal funding for several years.

Stacy Griner, PhD, MPH, CPH, RDH

Evaluation Co-Investigator

Dr. Stacey Griner is a co-investigator on the TAKE on HIV project and co-leads the evaluation team. Dr. Griner is an Assistant Professor in the HSC College of Public Health. Her training is in public health, implementation science, and dental hygiene. Dr. Griner’s research focuses on the dissemination and implementation of evidence-based programs, guidelines, and policies into practice. Her primary expertise is in sexually transmitted infection (STI) screening and prevention, and recent projects include assessing the acceptability chlamydia and gonorrhea vaccines and developing of an intervention to improve access to STI screening using innovative approaches, such as consumer-based methods.

Crystal K Hodge, Pharm D, BCIDP, BCPS

Curriculum Integration Co-Investigator

Dr. Hodge is an Associate Professor with the University of North Texas Health Science Center System College of Pharmacy in Fort Worth and practices as an Infectious Diseases Clinical Specialist Pharmacist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. She collaborates with Dr. Allison on the TAKE on HIV project, bringing curricular and implementation science expertise. Dr. Hodge’s passion for inter-professional practice aligns well with her role in curricular implementation to improve HIV education across healthcare professional curricula. Additionally, she is board certified in infectious diseases as well as pharmacotherapy. Her current practice interests include multi-drug resistant infections, infections in immunocompromised hosts, fungal infections, public health, and scholarship of teaching and learning. Her research is organized into Specific, Targeted, and Optimized Management of Pathogens using the research pillars of Outcomes, Utilization, and Therapeutics (STOMP OUT ID). Dr. Hodge’s life goal is to make her job obsolete indicating that humans won the war on infections thanks to key changes in patient care, practice patterns, and public messaging.

Trisha Melhado, MPH

Evaluation Lead

Ms. Melhado is the Senior Research Specialist at the Center for Health Policy and the Evaluation Team Lead for TAKE on HIV grant. She received her MPH from the University of Texas College of Public Health in Epidemiology. Ms. Melhado has collaborated across institutions to implement multi-year, multi-million-dollar grants from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the Department of Defense (DoD), and the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). Her expertise is in research methodology in addition to data management and analysis.

Suyen Schneegans, MA

Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) Lead

Suyen Schneegans is the Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) Lead for the TAKE on HIV project. Ms. Schneegans oversees the delivery of training and tools for Health Professions Programs (HPP) and assists HPP faculty with National HIV Curriculum (NHC) integration and expansion of HIV knowledge content within their programs. She has a MA from the University of Texas at San Antonio in Bicultural Bilingual Studies with a concentration in Cultural Studies and is a graduate of the University of the Incarnate Word with a BA in Spanish, Literature and Language and a minor in Psychology. Ms. Schneegans has worked on various social science projects pertaining to substance use disorders, community health, and provider education and training. She is also a qualitative researcher and has presented at numerous local and national conferences and co-authored several publications.

Charles Mathias, PhD

Policy and Dissemination Advisor

Dr. Mathias guides TAKE on HIV activities related to strategic communication and health policy. Dr. Mathias is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at UT Health San Antonio. His research focuses on improving health outcomes stemming from behavioral health risk and its interaction with community systems. His policy work applies a Culture of Health Framework in promoting solutions for population well-being through cross-sector collaboration. He is an alumnus of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellowship.

Ruth Serrano Pinilla, MD

UT Health San Antonio SC AETC Director

Dr. Serrano is the Clinical Director of the UT Health San Antonio South Central AIDS Education and Training Center (AETC), which partners with TAKE on HIV in the delivery of HIV training and curricula. She is an Assistant Professor in the Infectious Disease Division at the University of Texas Health at San Antonio and provides treatment for patients with complex infections requiring long term antibiotics in the Outpatient Parenteral Antibiotic Clinic (OPAT) in the University Hospital System. She also provides comprehensive medical care to patients living with HIV.

Sarah Lill, MA

UT Health San Antonio Site Lead

Ms. Lill is the UT Health San Antonio site-PI of the TAKE on HIV program, overseeing its partnerships, business, and administrative operations. She holds a BA in Communication Studies from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College and an MA in Arts Management from George Mason University. Ms. Lill has provided overseen financial and administrative operations in the Center for Research to Advance Community Health (ReACH) at UT Health San Antonio since 2016 and has over a decade of experience in financial and administrative management, strategic management, entrepreneurship, and public relations in non-profit and higher education settings.

Raudel Bobadilla, MPH, CHW-I

UT Health San Antonio SC AETC Program Manager

Raudel Bobadilla serves as the Program Manager for the UT Health San Antonio South Central AIDS Education and Training Center (UTHSA-AETC), provides dissemination and programmatic support for the TAKE on HIV Program. As a Community Health Worker Instructor (CHW-I), he has built a robust skill set for engaging and partnering with communities, care providers, and clinics to improve the population’s health. He has collaborated with community members, leaders, and organizations in multiple projects to connect the public and organizations to services and research opportunities. Mr. Bobadilla brings considerable experience as a Program Manager for an HCV screening and linkage to treatment project. He helped create innovative treatment pathways in over 30 clinics across 46 counties in South Texas and Rio Grande Valley. Through close collaboration with each clinic, Mr. Bobadilla trains staff in program protocols, adapts the care model to the context of each site, and serves as lead contact between clinic partners and the research team.

Divya Chandramohan, MD

HIV Curriculum Integration Advisor and ECHO Specialist (SC-AETC)

Dr. Divya Chandramohan is an Assistant Professor of Infectious Diseases at UT Health San Antonio. She brings her perspective as a clinician to HIV curriculum development and assists with the planning, curriculum structure, outreach and implementation of TAKE on HIV.

Maya McMillian, M.Ed.

Senior Communications Specialist

Maya McMillian serves as a Senior Communications Specialist for the efforts of TAKE on HIV for Health Professions Program. Maya serves in the same role at the Center for Health Policy in the Division of Research and Innovation. She earned her Master of Education in Higher Education from the University of North Texas, along with her Bachelor of Arts in Communications from The University of Texas at San Antonio. Maya has accumulated years of relevant experience in communications and marketing at the higher education, agency, and corporate levels with project management experience in recent years. Maya has a passion for creativity, community outreach and fostering connections all of which she brings to her current role.

Blake Ross, MPH

Research Assistant II

Blake Ross is a Research Assistant II who supports the efforts of the TAKE on HIV Training & Technical Assistance Lead. He serves the same role with other projects  headed by Center for Health Policy at the University of North Texas Health Science Center’s Department of Research and Innovation. From his experiences working with urban farms and food insecurity initiatives during his Practicum experience for his Masters, his professional desire is to contribute to innovative and multifaceted approaches to building healthier and more resilient communities. He earned his Masters of Public Health in Epidemiology from UNTHSC.

Alejandra Garcia-Ponce, MPH

Research Assistant III

Alejandra is a Research Assistant III for TAKE on HIV where she provides support in all aspects of the project including planning, development, implementation, and all data-related projects. Alejandra is passionate about immigrant health and social justice policy. She brings strong qualitative data analysis and research methods experience. She also brings experience from her studies in Sweden, where she focused on community health and refugee and migrant integration. Alejandra earned her Masters of Public Health at the University of New England.