Principal Investigator | Robert McMillen, Ph.D.
E-mail: Robert McMillen
Science Guided Advocacy, SSRC: 60 Years of Commitment to Innovation & Excellence
Dr. McMillen is a Professor with a joint appointment with the Social Science Research Center and the Department of Psychology. He also serves as Investigator within the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Julius B. Richmond Center. Dr. McMillen serves as Principal Investigator for the Surveillance and Evaluation Services grant for the Mississippi State Department of Health’s Office of Tobacco Control.
His research has been published in Pediatrics, the New England Journal of Medicine, the American Journal of Public Health, JAMA Internal Medicine, Nicotine & Tobacco Research, Public Health Reports, Academic Pediatrics, the Journal of Rural Health, the Journal of Environmental and Public Health, the Journal of the Mississippi State Medical Association, and Psychological Record.
Dr. McMillen has published numerous fact sheets and policy papers that have informed decisions about health risk behaviors and chronic disease in Mississippi. His research has been supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute, the Mississippi State Department of Health, The Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi, the American Cancer Society, North Mississippi Medical Center, the Mississippi Health Advocacy Program, My Brother’s Keeper, and the Center for Mississippi Health Policy.
Dr. McMillen also serves on the Mississippi Tobacco Control Network. In recognition of his research contributions, he was awarded the 2006 Prevention of Cancer in Mississippi Award by the Mississippi Partnership of Comprehensive Cancer Control. He is a graduate of Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee and holds a Master of Science degree in experimental psychology from Mississippi State University and a Doctoral degree in social psychology from the University of Georgia.
Project Coordinator | Nell Valentine, MS
E-mail: Nell Valentine
The Youth Tobacco Survey, SSRC: 60 Years of Commitment to Innovation & Excellence
Nell Valentine is a graduate of Mississippi State University and holds a Master of Science degree in Clinical Psychology. Since 2002, she has coordinated the Mississippi Youth Tobacco Survey, which provides the state with the data needed to design, implement, and evaluate comprehensive tobacco control programs. Nell is the Co-PI for the Surveillance and Evaluation Services grant for the Mississippi State Department of Health’s Office of Tobacco Control and project coordinator for the Mississippi Tobacco Data Unit. Through the Mississippi Health Policy Research Center, Mrs. Valentine has published numerous fact sheets and policy papers that have informed decisions about health risk behaviors, chronic disease, and increased cigarette tax proposals in Mississippi. Her research has been also been published in the Journal of the Mississippi Medical Association, Journal of Child and Family Studies, and Survey Practice.
Program Evaluator | Colleen Stouffer, MS
E-mail: Colleen Stouffer
Colleen Stouffer serves as Project Director and Research Fellow for the Social Science Research Center since 2008. Stouffer has conducted research on the social determinants of health among minority and vulnerable populations — with a particular focus on childhood overweight and obesity prevention, physical fitness, health education, and program evaluation. Her publications have appeared in journals such as the Journal of School Health, Journal of Health Disparities Research & Practice, Journal of Pediatric Nursing and Journal of the Mississippi State Medical Association. She was Project Director for the Public Data Safety Lab (PSDL) which was established in 2007 in partnership with the Mississippi Office of Highway Safety. The lab in part assisted the State of Mississippi in meeting its Highway Safety Performance Plan by collecting, accessing, and investigating fact-based traffic safety records data (2014-2015). Stouffer was the PI on Project Fit America Evaluation Project funded by Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation (2012-2014). Stouffer was part of the research team that conducted the parental telephone survey on Mississippi House Bill 999 regarding the upcoming sex education implementation (2011). Most recently she has joined the Office of Tobacco Control unit as a program evaluator for various programs around the state.
Assistant Research Professor | Sheena Gardner, Ph.D.
E-mail: Sheena Gardner
Dr. Sheena Gardner began her career at the SSRC as a graduate research assistant in the Wolfgang Frese Survey Research Laboratory. In 2008, she began working as a research associate, and upon completion of her Ph.D. in 2014, she completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship. Over the past several years she has worked on several projects with her role generally involving varying levels of data collection, management, and analysis as well as manuscript development. She has worked with many state agencies and administrative databases that include the Mississippi Alcohol Safety Education Program (MASEP), the Department of Mental Health, the Juvenile Justice Research Consortium (with the Division of Public Safety Planning, the Office of Justice Programs), the Public Safety Data Laboratory (with the Office of Highway Safety, MS Department of Public Safety), and the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) Detention Data Technical Assistance project (with the Attorney General’s Office). Currently, Dr. Gardner is an assistant research professor at the SSRC. Her work centers largely on the implementation and evaluation of systems-level change. Current projects include program evaluations for the Mississippi Alliance of Nonprofits and Philanthropy, the Rankin County Youth Drug Court, and the Mississippi State Department of Health (Office of Tobacco Control) as well as a project focused on developing a statewide system of early childhood developmental screenings and interventions.
Publications Manager | Miranda Robertson
E-mail: Miranda Robertson
Miranda Robertson is a 2010 graduate of Mississippi State University and holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree, with an emphasis in Graphic Design. Now with over a decade of graphic design experience, Miranda’s design career began with Mississippi Tobacco Data (MTD) at the Social Science Research Center (SSRC) as a part-time Undergraduate Graphic Designer in August 2009. She was promoted to a Research Associate I in 2011 and was later promoted to a Graphic Designer in 2013. She has recently been promoted to the position of Publications Manager. Miranda’s recent projects include the design of publications such as the 2019 Youth Tobacco Survey (YTS) Data Book and The Health and Economic Burden of Tobacco on Mississippi Report, as well as many charts, posters and other publications for Dr. McMillen’s research. She also updates mstobaccodata.org to feature new publications. Currently, Miranda is designing the 2019 University Survey of Tobacco Control Report Series. She is involved with the Starkville Area Arts Council and the American Institute of Graphic Artists. Miranda has achieved numerous state and regional level awards for her design work, including an Outstanding Achievement Award and full spread print feature from HOW Magazine, September 2011 Edition, for her Handmade Self-Promotional Book.
Data Management Coordinator | Emily McClelland, MS
E-mail: Emily McClelland
Emily McClelland is a graduate of Mississippi State University and holds a Master of Science degree in Clinical Psychology. Emily began working for Mississippi Tobacco Data at the Social Science Research Center in June of 2010 and transferred to the Mississippi Health Policy Research Center in Canton, MS, in May of 2015. She is the Data Management Coordinator for Mississippi Tobacco Data and responsible for managing and building surveillance specific data sets as well as running analyses on these data for report and fact sheet construction. She has presented key findings at several conferences and given numerous presentations for the Mississippi State Department of Health’s Office of Tobacco Control. Currently, Emily is assisting Nell Valentine with coordinating the 2018 Youth Tobacco Survey, along with preparing analyses for several other projects. Her research has been published in the Journal of Child and Family Studies and the Journal of the Mississippi State Medical Association.
Research Associate | Malcolm Huell, BS
E-mail: Malcolm Huell
Mr. Malcolm Huell joined the staff of the Mississippi Tobacco Data at the Social Science Research Center (SSRC) in November 2011. He works for Dr. Robert McMillen, Associate Professor of Psychology and Coordinator for the Mississippi Tobacco Control Data Laboratory. Mr. Huell graduated in December 2011 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology degree with a double concentration in pre-med and Botany. Mr. Huell has been a research associate at MTD since 2012, and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Health Promotion from Mississippi State University. He will complete work for his degree in 2018 and hopes to continue his work in public health research after he graduates.