Daphne S. Cain earned a bachelor’s in psychology with a minor in Women’s Studies from North Carolina State University in 1992, a master of social work with an emphasis in mental health from East Carolina University in 1995, and a doctor of philosophy in social work from the University of Tennessee in 2002. Cain is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker specializing in marriage and family therapy. Prior to Cain’s current appointment as chair of the Department of Social Work at the University of Mississippi, she was a faculty member and administrator for the LSU School of Social Work from 2001 to 2014. Cain has secured $7.6 million dollars in grants and contracts to support her research interests including disaster mental health, child welfare, and religion or spirituality and social work practice.
CW Steering Committee
Kate M. Centellas
Kate McGurn Centellas received her Ph.D. in sociocultural anthropology from the University of Chicago in 2008. She is a Croft Institute for International Studies associate professor of anthropology and Latin American studies and associate chair in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Mississippi. Her work focuses on state-level science, technology, and medical projects, primarily in Bolivia, where she has conducted fieldwork since the early 2000s. She argues that the implementation of scientific research and medical innovation in places like La Paz, Bolivia, is epistemiologically relevant – it is often sites outside of the centers of scientific research where innovation emerges.
Centellas’s current research examines the development and launch of a Bolivian-Chinese satellite and the implementation of an ambitious telehealth project using satellite bandwidth. The goal of this project is to provide telehealth coverage in every municipality, a challenging social and technical problem considering the tremendous geographic and cultural diversity of Bolivia. She collaborates closely with Bolivian institutions, community members, and stakeholders. Centellas additionally works with the School of Population Health at the University of Mississippi Medical Center to strengthen partnerships between Bolivia and Mississippi so practitioners, community members, and scholars can learn from the experiences of telemedicine in each location.
Centellas also co-directs a social science methods field school in La Paz, Bolivia, in the summers. She closely involves students in hands-on research design and implementation via the field school and emphasizes the importance of community partnerships and collaboration via experiential international learning.
Christian Sellar
David H. Holben
David H. Holben, Ph.D., RDN, LD, FAND, is a registered dietitian nutritionist and former commissioned officer in the United States Army Reserves Medical Specialist Corps. Holben completed his doctoral studies at The Ohio State University in Columbus. Building upon a clinical nutrition and basic science background, his research focuses on food insecurity and health outcomes of individuals in North America. Of particular interests are exploring the relationship of diabetes, obesity, and other conditions to food access across the lifespan, and optimizing solutions for food access and security to promote health and wellness.
John Green
John J. Green, Ph.D., is director of the Center for Population Studies and professor of sociology at the University of Mississippi, where he also serves as director of the minor in society and health and affiliated faculty with the School of Law. He served in several capacities at Delta State University prior to joining the UM faculty. Green’s research and teaching interests include population studies to inform community development and population health. His bachelor’s degree in political science and master’s degree in sociology are from Mississippi State University, and he obtained a Ph.D. in rural sociology from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Green has authored or co-authored published articles for peer-reviewed journals along with book chapters in several edited volumes. His professional achievements have been recognized through the Rural Sociological Society’s Award for Excellence in Extension and Public Outreach and the Community Development Society’s Ted K. Bradshaw Outstanding Research Award. He served as editor-in-chief of Community Development, a peer-reviewed journal of the Community Development Society, for five years, and he is currently president-elect of the Southern Rural Sociological Association.