The College of Public Health has welcomed nine new faculty this fall. Join us as we get to know Andrew Kiselica, Magnolia Hernandez, Renato Ferreira Leitao Azevedo, Jacob Harth, Chao Huang, Cynthia Carmean, Liyuan Wang, Eunhae Shin and George Mois! Next up in our series is Renato Ferreira Leitão Azevedo, Ph.D., Assistant Professor at the Institute of Gerontology and Epidemiology & Biostatics (EPIBIO) Department.

• Can you tell us about your background?

I am Portuguese-Brazilian, originally from São Paulo, and the first in my family to earn a PhD. I have spent over ten years in Illinois and am now thrilled to be back in Georgia. A fun fact: my first lecture in the USA was held in Atlanta back in 2009. My research is dedicated to the investigation of relationships among cognition, decision-making, risk perception, aging, and expertise, and other human factors in domains such as health, education, and behavioral accounting/economics. My work often focuses on the development and use of design based-research and human-centered interventions to facilitate positive behavior changes, successful decision-making, promoting health, education, and wellness, which often includes how effective design and utilization of information and how technology can ameliorate inequities.

• What brought you to UGA and the College of Public Health?

I was brought on board through the Precision One Health Program campus initiative, which was a perfect fit for my career aspirations and research focus. My work centers on exploring the complex relationships impacting disease prevention and treatment, particularly among older adults. I aim to advance personalized healthcare by harnessing big data and health technologies and the investment in these areas at UGA are remarkable. Both UGA and the College of Public Health showed strong interest in my research at the crossroads of aging, health technology, health communication, and data visualization. I was quickly persuaded by the impressive work being done at the Institute of Gerontology that this position was the ideal opportunity for me.

• What excites you or motivates you about being in the classroom and your research?

Teaching, for me, is a vocation and the most effective way to address the profound questions of “How good are you to others?” and “How good are you to yourself?” It enables me to reconcile these two perspectives. My teaching philosophy reflects the daily challenge of work-life balance: striving to improve myself as an educator, hence enhancing my ability and better serving my students. My research shares a similar vision and objective, though with perhaps more unknowns yet to be explored given its nature. By advancing science and knowledge, I strive to integrate research, teaching, and service. I also finding very exciting to have the opportunity to closely impact and inspire students and to see the remarkable achievements they will accomplish in their own journeys. The immediate rewards of teaching and community service inspire me to persist in the long-term pursuits of my research efforts.

• How have you partnered with communities to improve health? Is there service or outreach work you’d like to do in Athens or Georgia?

My efforts to enhance health communication regarding clinical test results, partnered with communities, have made a significant impact on healthcare in Illinois. I aim to improve health communication and education in Athens and throughout Georgia. One of my near-term goals is to optimize the presentation of blood pressure information and boosting medication adherence, as hypertension is one of the most common manageable chronic conditions, with severe consequences on healthy aging. Additionally, as technology advances and the population ages globally, it is crucial to ensure equitable access to health technology for all communities. This includes addressing technological gaps, particularly among older adults and in rural areas.

• What are you looking forward to this Fall semester?
  

I am eager to learn from my colleagues, learn more about UGA and Athens, to have a successful experience teaching GRNT3200E, and to initiate research projects that will enhance my opportunities for securing substantial grant funding. And if not too ambitious to wish: experience my first Dawgs game!

• A few fun rapid-fire questions: 
  • Go-to road trip snack? Mixed nuts
  • Coffee or tea order? That is a tough one. I like the variety of drinks. If, I have to choose, cappuccino for a coffee drink, and a good matcha as part of a chado way of life.
  • One TV show or podcast you can’t stop talking about?
    Curb Your Enthusiasm and Seinfeld