Hanna and Seitz accepted into Mississippi Center for Clinical and Translational Research’s Mentoring Academy
Two Mississippi State faculty members now are members of the Mississippi Center for Clinical and Translational Research’s Mentoring Academy, part of the 2021-2022 class of participants who will develop mentoring and grant-writing skills through six sessions facilitated by an expert faculty member.
Heather L. Hanna, an MSU assistant research professor and director of the Policy Research and Systems Change Lab at the Social Science Research Center and Holli H. Seitz, an assistant professor of communication and director of the SSRC’s Message Laboratory both are part of MSU’s first year as an MCCTR partner.
The MCCTR is a multi-institutional center designed to promote the success of research that focuses on reducing obesity and cardiometabolic-related diseases in Mississippi and is funded by an Institutional Development Award Program Infrastructure for Clinical and Translational Research $19.8 million grant through the National Institute of General Medicine Sciences. MCCTR institutes include the University of Mississippi Medical Center, the University of Mississippi, the University of Southern Mississippi, Tougaloo College and MSU.
Holli H. Seitz
“The Mentoring Academy is offering me the opportunity to hone my skills in a variety of areas, such as fostering effective communication, aligning expectations, and promoting diversity and inclusion,” Seitz said. “The skills I’m learning will help me become more effective in the classroom and in leading the Message Laboratory.”
Seitz said participation in the MMCTR Mentoring Academy is a “valuable opportunity” to grow as a mentor, build skills to be a more effective leader and researcher, and develop collaborative relationships with researchers at partner institutions.
As an applied communication researcher, Seitz’s primary research areas are health and science communication. A faculty member at MSU since 2016, she focuses on researching the effects of misinformation in the media and how it can be corrected. She previously worked at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on issues related to health communication, social media and emergency response.
Heather L. Hanna
Hanna said, “I feel the mentoring academy will give me an opportunity to fully explore the various dimensions and types of mentoring relationships, which will improve my skills as a supervisor and help me be more sensitive to the experiences of others who are navigating a new field.”
Hanna joined MSU’s faculty in the SSRC in 2003 and her research examines public policy and system change at the intersections of health, education and the environment. She currently is a co-principal investigator on a $17.5 million grant funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration -- Mississippi Thrive! -- designed to examine and strengthen the developmental health system for young children in Mississippi. She previously served as co-director for Mississippi KIDS COUNT, an Annie E. Casey-funded program that provides policy-relevant data about Mississippi’s children.
Part of the College of Arts and Sciences, more information about the Department of Communication is available at www.comm.msstate.edu. More information about MSU’s Social Science research center is available at www.msstate.edu.
Sarah Nicholas | College of Arts and Sciences
