College of Health and Human Sciences faculty accept new leadership opportunities

Congratulations to Drs. Shannon David Misialek and Kristine Steffen on accepting new leadership opportunities within the College of Health and Human Sciences. Shannon David Misialek, PhD, ATC, LAT, now serves as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, and Kristine Steffen, PharmD, PhD, in the role of Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development.

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
Shannon David Misialek, PhD, ATC, LAT

• Professor and Coordinator of Clinical Education for the Master of Athletic Training Program in the Department of Health, Nutrition, and Exercise Science. Her research interests include the patient-clinician relationship, enhancing mixed methods research designs, and leadership development. She is passionate about faculty development, mentoring, and fostering a collaborative, high-impact academic community.

Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development
Kristine Steffen, PharmD, PhD

• Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences in the College of Health and Human Sciences at North Dakota State University, and she serves as the Senior Director of Clinical Biobehavioral Research at the Sanford Division of Biobehavioral Research in Fargo, ND. Dr. Steffen's research focuses on eating disorders, obesity, and bariatric surgery. In particular, Dr. Steffen focuses on pharmacological treatment strategies for these conditions, on mechanisms of concurrent problematic substance abuse, as well as on biobehavioral mechanisms of disease onset and maintenance.
• Recently, several of Dr. Steffen's grants have examined the role of the gut microbiome in patients with eating disorders and obesity. Dr. Steffen has been engaged in clinical research since 2002 and has maintained continuous funding from NIH since 2006 as a principal investigator in a combination of both single center and multi-center studies. Dr. Steffen has also received pharmaceutical company funding and co-leads the Research Assessment Services Core on a large Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence run through Sanford Research. Dr. Steffen is involved in a number of national organizations focused on obesity and bariatric surgery and serves on the editorial board for bariatric surgery-focused journals.

We are excited for the leadership, expertise, and support these appointments will bring. Their contributions will help shape the strategic direction of the College and strengthen our commitment to supporting our faculty, staff, students, and academic mission.