WPP 20th Anniversary Grantee Showcase

Robert N. Golden, MD, received his BA cum laude with honors in psychology from Yale, and his MD from Boston University School of Medicine. He completed an internship, residency and chief residency in psychiatry at the University of North Carolina (UNC), followed by a fellowship in pharmacology research at the National Institute of Mental Health. He returned to UNC in 1985 and over time served as the associate director of both the General Clinical Research Center and the Mental Health Clinical Research Center, chair of the Department of Psychiatry, and vice dean for the School of Medicine.

In July 2006, Golden became dean of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health and the vice chancellor for medical affairs at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He is also chair of the board of UW Health.

Golden has published more than 250 academic papers and has served on several editorial boards, review panels, and advisory committees. His national appointments have included: president of the American College of Psychiatrists; chair of the board of the Association of Academic Health Centers; director of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology; and associate editor for Psychosomatic Medicine and Neuropsychopharmacology. His honors include: the Eugene Hargrove Mental Health Research Award and the American College of Psychiatrists Mood Disorders Research Award; appointment as the inaugural Stuart Bondurant Distinguished Professor at UNC-Chapel Hill; and recipient of the Distinguished Medical Alumnus Award from the UNC School of Medicine and the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Boston University School of Medicine.

Amy Kind, MD, PhD, is the inaugural associate dean for social health sciences and programs at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. Her leadership role includes serving as executive director of the Wisconsin Partnership Program grantmaking endowment, director of the UW Center for Health Disparities Research and leader of the Care Research Core of the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. Kind is an internationally acclaimed leader in the fields of social determinants of health and Alzheimer’s disease, leading a $40 million NIH research portfolio and the team that developed the Neighborhood Atlas.

Anjon (Jon) Audhya, PhD, senior associate dean for basic research, biotechnology and graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, is responsible for the leadership and direct management of the areas of basic research, graduate studies, and industry relations. He leads research program development and provides oversight of research programs, centers and institutes in the school. He guides the school’s partnership and engagement with internal and external organizations focused on research and development, entrepreneurship and startup technologies, the biomedical workforce and state laboratories. He also provides administrative management of the school’s facilities, research cores, and spaces and assists in leadership recruitment and retention. Audhya is chair of WPP’s Partnership Education and Research Committee.

Christie Bartels, MD, MS, is chief of rheumatology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and chair of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Registry and Health IT Committee. As a rheumatologist and implementation researcher, her work aims to reduce cardiovascular disease and disparities in lupus and rheumatic diseases. Her research has led to over 100 peer-reviewed publications and is cited in the U.S. Cholesterol Guidelines. She co-led the ACR-CDC project authoring the first lupus quality guidelines. Bartels’ research has been funded by National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Defense, Rheumatology Research Foundation, WPP and others. She serves on two editorial boards. She has received the Arthritis Foundation Community Impact Award as well as mentoring awards, and has repeatedly been listed with Top Doctors in America.

Mary Wells is a 25-year systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) lupus warrior and Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness ambassador. She co-founded the national Lupus Support Group for Women of Color in 2014. Empowered by her own experiences, and the support of the Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness, Wells executed her vision to create a haven for other African American women navigating the unique challenges of this chronic autoimmune disease, in addition to navigating many social determinants of health. Over the past decade, Wells has engaged hundreds of women from across the country by hosting nationally recognized rheumatologists, dermatologists, attorneys and lupus advocates during monthly conversations to provide education and empowerment. She has fostered a space of trust and camaraderie within the African American lupus community.

Dudley Lamming, PhD, is an associate professor and vice chair for biomedical research in the Department of Medicine at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and director of the UW–Madison Comprehensive Diabetes Center Mouse Phenotyping and Surgery Core. Lamming received his PhD in experimental pathology from Harvard University in 2008. He subsequently completed postdoctoral training at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, where he discovered that many of the deleterious effects of rapamycin, a pharmaceutical that extends lifespan by inhibiting the protein kinase mTORC1, were mediated by “off-target” inhibition of a second complex, mTORC2. Lamming is the author of over 90 peer-reviewed papers and the recipient of several prestigious awards, including the 2018 Nathan Shock New Investigator Award from the Gerontological Society of America. He is a fellow of the American Aging Association and of the Gerontological Society of America, and served as president of the American Aging Association from 2023-2024. His NIH-supported laboratory at the University of Wisconsin–Madison studies how diets with altered levels of specific dietary macronutrients can promote healthy aging and be used to prevent or treat age-associated diseases, including diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease.

Jake Brunkard, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Genetics, Plant Molecular Biology. His lab studies how plants sense and respond to nutrients. They are especially focused on the Target of Rapamycin (TOR) signaling network that monitors availability of life’s “building blocks” (e.g., amino acids, nucleotides, sugars) to coordinate growth and development with metabolism. They aim to harness TOR signaling pathways to improve agricultural crop resilience and yields while reducing reliance on costly, unsustainable fertilizers.

Shigeki Miyamoto, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Oncology and a member of the Developmental Therapeutics Program at the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center. His current research interest centers on investigating the signaling mechanisms and roles of the NF-κB transcription factor family in the DNA damage response and in the pathogenesis of multiple myeloma (cancer).

Marulasiddappa Suresh, DVM, MVSc, PhD, is the associate dean for research and graduate education and John E. Butler professor of comparative and mucosal immunology in the Department of Pathobiological Sciences at UW–Madison. Suresh is a veterinarian with extensive training in basic virology and immunology, which has allowed him to study host/pathogen interactions from the standpoint of the development of protective immunity and viral pathogenesis and cancer immunotherapy.

Manish N. Shah, MD, MPH, is an emergency physician and professor and chair of the BerbeeWalsh Department Emergency Medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. As a clinician, public health leader, researcher and educator, Shah has dedicated his career to improving the care delivered to acutely ill or injured older adults. He has accomplished this by developing and testing innovative approaches to providing older adults acute illness and injury care that is safe, convenient and effective. His work has helped establish the field of geriatric emergency medicine and advanced the role of ambulance-based paramedics to support community health efforts, now termed “community paramedicine.” Shah’s recent work in both urban and rural communities in Wisconsin has increasingly focused on helping one of the most vulnerable groups of older adults: those with dementia. He is the chair of the Wisconsin Partnership Program’s Oversight and Advisory Committee.

Wajiha Akhtar, PhD, specializes in utilizing epidemiological methods to assess policies associated with community-level outcomes, assessing large secondary datasets for evaluation, and engaging with targeted stakeholders for the purposes of decreasing health inequities within our society. She is working to build a Wisconsin workforce that addresses social determinants of health to ensure that we build conditions for everyone to thrive.

Emily Hyde (previously Lynch) currently serves as the program manager for the Wisconsin Population Health Service Program. Hyde is an alum of the Wisconsin Population Health Service Fellowship Program, where she was dual-placed at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services Division of Public Health and the Wisconsin Department of Justice. In addition, Hyde is also a fellow in New Leaders Council, a leadership development program for young professionals with an equity-focused curriculum on creating social and political change. Hyde has experience working with a myriad of community-based organizations within Wisconsin’s public health infrastructure, including the Wisconsin Association of Free and Charitable Clinics, Covering Wisconsin, and the Wisconsin Area Health Education Centers. During Hyde’s graduate studies she worked in social epidemiology research that focused on measuring social and structural drivers of health, exploring childhood lead exposure in Milwaukee, structural racism and redlining, and the health impacts of childhood adversity. Hyde received her master’s degree in public health in epidemiology from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and her bachelor of science in biology from the University of Wisconsin– Madison.

Kristie Egge is an experienced public health professional with a history of working on policy, system and environmental changes locally and at the state level. She holds a master’s degree in public health from Concordia University, Nebraska. Egge is the supervisor of strategic initiatives at the Wood County Health Department. She has experience working with diverse populations and numerous community organizations, including public school districts, worksites, city/county planning, and the healthcare industry. Egge is a board member of Incourage, the South Wood County YMCA, and is currently serving as the Wisconsin Public Health Association president. She is passionate about improving health outcomes focused on prevention and systemic change in her community and throughout the state. She has a strong passion for the community and wants everyone to have a fair opportunity to be as healthy as possible. Egge resides in Wisconsin Rapids with her husband and three children. Together, they enjoy many outdoor adventures.

Dr. Bret Benally Thompson serves as NACHP’s director of indigenous health and cultural guidance, and is the principal investigator for the Indian Health Service Indians Into Medicine (INMED), Wisconsin Partnership Program IIMAGIN and Oneida Food Sovereignty grants. Benally Thompson is a member of the White Earth Nation, a palliative care physician at UW Health and Meriter, and has been involved with NACHP since before its inception. As an alumnus of University of Minnesota-Duluth, he was part of their program to support Native American students during medical school. He completed both his family medicine residency and a fellowship in palliative care and hospice medicine in Alaska.

Danielle Yancey serves as NACHP’s director. She is a descendent of the Menominee and Santee Sioux Nations and was raised on the Menominee Indian reservation in north-central Wisconsin. Yancey has many years’ experience serving tribal communities in college readiness, intergovernmental affairs, and community and economic development.

She is a graduate of UW–Madison where her studies included a Bachelor of Arts degree in social welfare and women’s studies and a master’s degree in urban and regional planning. She earned a graduate certificate in sustainability leadership from Edgewood College.

Joseph Holt, MD, is a faculty member in the division of hospital medicine within the Department of Medicine and is a hospitalist who focuses on inpatient medicine. He is the director of the Wisconsin Academy for Rural Medicine (WARM), a rural education program within the MD Program curriculum at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.

Sue Smith, MSN, RN, CPM, has served as the Wood County Health Department director and health officer for the past 19 years. Smith received a master of science in nursing from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and bachelor of science in nursing from Viterbo College, La Crosse, Wisconsin. She has over 20 years of public health experience. Smith was appointed to the Wisconsin Partnership Program Oversight and Advisory Committee in 2014 as an advocate for statewide health. Some of Smith’s achievements include receiving the Distinguished Service to Public Health Award from the Wisconsin Public Health Association and Health Officer of the Year from the Wisconsin Association of Local Health Departments and Boards. Smith has served on numerous state committees and advisory teams, such as the Public Health Preparedness Advisory Committee, Governor’s Council of Physical Fitness and Health, the Wisconsin Healthcare Emergency Readiness Coalition Advisory Board, and the Wisconsin Public Health Research Network Steering Committee. She is a community health advocate member of the Wisconsin Partnership Program’s Oversight and Advisory Committee.

Lisa M. Peyton is the founding CEO and president of The Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness. Inspired by her mother’s entrepreneurial spirit and untimely death from heart disease, Peyton established Black Women’s Wellness Day, leading to the creation of the Foundation. Since becoming CEO in 2019, she has expanded the Foundation to a $3.5 million annual budget with 18 staff, launching initiatives like the Well Black Woman^® Institute and Community Health Worker program. The Foundation serves over 10,000 women annually and has national reach through strategic partnerships.

Peyton’s advocacy includes serving on Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers’ Health Policy Advisory Council and the Wisconsin Health Equity Council. She previously worked at Summit Credit Union and has led impactful work in education, non-profits, and women’s health. Peyton has received numerous awards for her contributions, including the 2022 Brian D. Howell Excellence in Innovation Award and the 2021 Jeffrey Clay Erlanger Civility in Public Discourse Award. She holds a master’s degree in educational leadership and administration and a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

An experienced leader, Peyton is actively engaged in promoting thriving communities and serves on several boards. She also contributed to the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Information Technology Academy, a pre-college program she co-founded. Peyton is a mother of five and a proud former Hampton University student.

More about Lisa Peyton

Gary Besaw is an enrolled Menominee. Besaw’s current responsibilities include development and reestablishment of Menominee sustainable indigenous food systems and Menominee’s role in intertribal food economies in the Great Lakes Region.

He has served on the Menominee Tribal Legislature for 15 years, twice holding positions as tribal chairman and also as vice chairman and secretary. Besaw had served on multiple environmental and policy committees for Menominee, including 15 years as Menominee’s representative for the State-Tribal Relations Study Committee of the Wisconsin Joint Legislative Council. Besaw has presented on environmental, food policy, legal and social/cultural concerns at local, state, intertribal and national levels.

Besaw previously worked his professional career in Native American education, at the College of Menominee Nation as vice president of student services, and in K-12 education as a superintendent, administrator, curriculum coordinator, and art instructor. He holds an MS in Education Administration from UW–Madison and BS in Art Education from UW-Stout.

Jen Falck (Oneida Nation) works for the Menominee Tribe’s Department of Agriculture & Food Systems as a program coordinator. She has experience in food safety, tribal administration and legislation, sustainable agriculture and food sovereignty work. Her WPP activities include the Wisconsin Tribal Elder Food Box Program, developing a Menominee Food Code, and helping to rebuild Menominee foodways. Jen and her husband manage Kahulahele Farmstead, an eight acre farmstead which focuses on food sovereignty, restorative agriculture, conscious animal husbandry, building community and resilience through bartering.

Vanessa Anciani, MSW, is the bilingual social worker at the Latino Geriatric Center Memory Clinic located at the United Community Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Latino Geriatric Center Memory Clinic is a community-based memory diagnostic clinic for Latinos, a collaboration with the Medical College of Wisconsin and the Alzheimer’s Association. In her role, Anciani operates as part of the bilingual memory clinic team along with the clinic nurse and MD, assisting with memory screenings, resource referrals and caregiver education. Prior to this position, Anciani had four years of experience as a social worker/case manager with My Choice Family Care (a Wisconsin long-term care support program). Anciani obtained her bachelor’s degree from Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico, and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Al (Alberto) Castro, MS, BSW, is the program director of the Community Health & Research Department at the United Community Center (UCC) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he has served in several leadership roles since 1994.  Castro has a master’s degree in business management from Cardinal Stritch University, Milwaukee, and a bachelor’s degree in social work from Carroll University, Waukesha, WI. Castro has over 45 years of experience in direct social work or in management in various human services programs. The UCC is a large, multi-services Latino non-profit community organization, established in 1970 and serves over 16,000 individuals per year, from infants to older adults. In his role, Castro manages community-engaged health research projects and serves as the primary liaison or co-principal investigator in community health and research projects within the Latino population of greater Milwaukee in collaboration with local research universities and other organizations. Castro is a co-author in various published health research articles related to these community health research projects.

Prior to his current position, Castro had been the program director of the UCC Latino Geriatric Center, established in 2007, which is composed of a Spanish memory diagnostic clinic and an adult day center specializing in dementia care needs for Latinos. In 2019, he led the establishment of a mobile memory clinic program model in Milwaukee to expand earlier detection, diagnosis and care for Latinos in Milwaukee. Castro is currently helping to lead the development of a new dementia care initiative, the Latino Dementia Health Regional Consortium, to establish a 4-county regional consortium of community partnerships from Racine, Kenosha, Waukesha and Milwaukee service organizations.  This “community impact project” is funded by the Wisconsin Partnership Program at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, and is designed to expand the use of telehealth services to improve access to timely and culturally appropriate Spanish-based dementia screening, diagnosis care and supportive/educational services for Latinos in the southeastern region of Wisconsin.

In 2019, the UW–Madison’s Chancellor recognized the work of the UCC Health Research staff through the Community-University Partnership Award. In the same year the Medical College of Wisconsin recognized Castro’s efforts in promoting academic-community engagement with the President’s Award for Community Engagement.  Castro has a special dedication to improving health outcomes for Latinos, especially for those living with dementia, having been impacted previously as a former collaborative caregiver for his father, mother-in-law and an uncle.

WPP current and past grant recipients and grant team members are encouraged to attend. Registration is limited so please register early.

Directions to the Health Sciences Learning Center are available on the school’s website. See your registration form for parking pass details.

In addition to driving to campus, we encourage you to consider choosing alternative transportation to the event.

• Bus: The University of Wisconsin–Madison’s interactive campus map shows bus stops for available routes on campus in addition to live bus departure times and directions. City of Madison Metro Transit provides service throughout Madison and the university campus. More information to plan your trip, including resources for individuals who are new to public transit, can be found on the Metro Transit website.

• Bike: There are several bike routes throughout Madison that connect to the university campus. An interactive map of bike routes and related resources can be found on the City of Madison’s Bike Madison web page.

• Carpool: Out of town guests are encouraged to consider carpooling, if possible.

We are pleased to provide parking passes in Lot 76 and 67 to our community and off-campus partners. We encourage you to register early to secure your parking pass. Use the UW parking vacancy tracker to find available parking near the Health Sciences Learning Center if you do not use a pass provided by WPP.