The Academic Minute for 2021.01.25-2021.01.29

The Academic Minute from 01.25 – 01.29

Monday, January 25th
Kendra Hotz – Rhodes College
Redlined Neighborhoods and Health Outcomes
Kendra Hotz is an Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Robert R. Waller Professor of Population Health and director of the Health Equity Program at Rhodes College. Dr. Hotz is the co-author of four books and a number of articles. Her research focuses on the relationship between religious belonging, social inequalities and heal.

Tuesday, January 26th
Duane Loynes – Rhodes College
Black Communities and Law Enforcement
Duane T. Loynes Sr. is an assistant professor of urban studies and Africana studies at Rhodes College. He holds an interdisciplinary PhD in Religious Studies from Marquette University. His research and teaching are situated at the sweet spot where race, philosophy, religion, culture, and justice intersect. Dr. Loynes is currently researching the fractured relationship between Black communities and law enforcement, applying the theoretical frameworks of Afro-pessimism, critical race theory, and unconscious bias to understand the complex dynamics of anti-Black state violence in the United States. He also trains healthcare professionals and students on developing practices to minimize the role that implicit bias plays in framing the patient-provider relationship. Dr. Loynes also teaches ethics and religion courses for the Life Program at Rhodes, and is a founding faculty member of the college’s post-baccalaureate certificate in Health Equity.

Wednesday, January 27th
Shana Stoddard – Rhodes College
COVID-19 Treatment and Foundational Chemistry
Shana Stoddard is an assistant professor of chemistry at Rhodes College. Her research is focused on improving patient outcomes with autoimmune disorders, in particular idiopathic membranous nephritis (IMN), through development of auto-antibody-specific inhibitors, antigen-specific therapies, as well as novel methods for development of antigen specific therapies.  In her lab, she uses a combination of computational chemistry, biochemistry and cell-based assays.

Thursday, January 28th
Joshua Goodman – Rhodes College
Parents of LGBTQ Youth
Joshua Goodman is an assistant professor of psychology at Rhodes College. His research seeks to support the mental health and well-being of LGBTQ people and their family networks. Dr. Goodman’s current research focuses on family support for sexual and gender minority youth, including projects that aim to understand the experiences of family members of LGBTQ youth, and the design and testing of interventions to help parents in supporting their sexual and gender minority children. Other areas of Dr. Goodman’s scholarship include interventions to address internalized stigma for sexual and gender minority populations and research about interactions between LGBTQ people and law enforcement. Dr. Goodman’s clinical background includes work in college counseling centers, intensive outpatient mental health treatment, and an LGBTQ community counseling center.

Friday, January 29th
Aixa Marchand – Rhodes College
Parents and Virtual Learning During COVID-19
Aixa Marchand is an assistant professor of psychology and educational studies at Rhodes College. Dr. Marchand graduated with a Ph.D. in education and psychology and a certificate in African American Studies from the University of Michigan in 2019. Her main research focuses on the attributions that Black parents make about educational inequities and how these attributions may relate to their school engagement. Other related research inquiries include illuminating how students and parents of color critically analyze school structures; elucidating how familial processes, such as familism and parent racial socialization, impact adolescents’ academic outcomes and socioemotional wellbeing; and the use and development of rigorous methodological tools to address societal inequities.