Featured Experts
The Academy of Lifelong Learning has gathered some of the top experts in their fields to provide their insights and to answer your questions.

Lisa Berlin, PhD, MS
Lisa Berlin is a professor at the University of Maryland School of Social Work. Her research focuses on early child-parent attachment as well as programs and policies to support early parenting, especially among low-income families.

Bonnie Bissonette, MA, EdD
Bonnie Bissonette, who has been with the University of Maryland, Baltimore’s (UMB) Center for Global Education Initiatives (CGE) since 2012, is CGE’s director of education abroad and international safety.

Nicole Brandt, PharmD, MBA, BCGP, BCPP, FASCP
Nicole Brandt is a professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science and executive director of the Peter Lamy Center on Drug Therapy and Aging.
Wilbur Chen, MD, MS, FACP, FIDSA
Wilbur Chen is a professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, director of the Travel Medicine Practice, and chief of the Adult Clinical Studies section at the Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health.

Chris D’Adamo, PhD
Chris D’Adamo is a medical research scientist with expertise in the synergistic effects of healthy lifestyle, environmental exposures, and genetics on human health and wellness.

Matthew Frieman, PhD
Matthew Frieman, associate professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, has a research goal of creating therapeutic interventions for viruses of public health concern by developing a detailed understanding of how the viruses interact with the host.

Robert C. Gallo, MD
Robert C. Gallo, an eminent scientist who is co-founder and director of the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, became world famous in 1984 when he co-discovered HIV as the cause of AIDS.

Michael Greenberger, JD
Michael Greenberger is the founder and director of the University of Maryland Center for Health and Homeland Security (CHHS) and a professor at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law.

Diane Hoffmann, JD, MS
Diane Hoffmann is the Jacob A. France Professor of Health Law at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law and director of the law school’s Law & Health Care Program.

Sharon A. Hoover, PhD
Sharon A. Hoover is a licensed clinical psychologist and a professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and co-director of the National Center for School Mental Health.

Brenda Jones Harden, PhD
Brenda Jones Harden is the Alison Richman Professor for Children and Families, at the University of Maryland School of Social Work. She directs the Prevention and Early Adversity Research Laboratory.

J. Howard Kucher, DPA, MBA
J. Howard “Jim” Kucher is an associate professor of social innovation at the University of Maryland, Baltimore’s Graduate School, where he directs the groundbreaking Master of Science in Health and Social Innovation program.

Richard Manski, DDS, MBA, PhD
Richard Manski is a professor and chair of Dental Public Health at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry. As the chair of Dental Public Health, he manages and provides oversight for a team of faculty and staff, educators, and researchers.

Diane Martin, PhD
Diane Martin is the director of the Geriatrics & Gerontology Education and Research program and a senior lecturer in the Graduate School at the University of Maryland, Baltimore.

Margaret M. McCarthy, PhD
Margaret "Peg" McCarthy is the James & Carolyn Frenkil Endowed Dean's Professor, and professor and chair of the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM).

Mary Lynn McPherson, PharmD, MA, MDE, BCPS, CPE
Mary Lynn McPherson is professor and executive director, Advanced Post-Graduate Education in Palliative Care in the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy.

Michelle Pearce, PhD
Michelle Pearce is a professor in the Graduate School at the University of Maryland, Baltimore and an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University Medical Center.

Barbara Resnick, PhD, RN, CRNP, FAAN, FAANP
Barbara Resnick is a professor in the Department of Organizational Systems and Adult Health at the University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON) and holds the Sonya Ziporkin Gershowitz Chair in Gerontology. She teaches in the Adult Gerontological Nurse Practitioner Program.

Virginia Rowthorn, JD, LLM
Virginia Rowthorn is assistant vice president for global engagement at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) and executive director of the Center for Global Engagement (CGE). She also is a senior lecturer at the UMB Graduate School.

Stuart Weston, PhD
Stuart Weston is a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Maryland School of Medicine working in Matthew Frieman’s lab.

Julia Wightman, MEd
Julia Wightman is the director of University Recreation, Fitness & Wellness (URecFit and Wellness). URecFit and Wellness is committed to enriching the academic experience as well as encouraging the physical, mindful, cultural, spiritual, emotional, and social development of the UMB community.

Michelle Zabel, MSS
Michelle Zabel, an assistant dean and director of The Institute for Innovation & Implementation at the University of Maryland School of Social Work, has over 30 years of experience working in child- and family-serving systems in both public and private sectors across the country.