CHW Research Team | College of Health and Public Service

Community Health Worker Research Team

Dr. Dhru Mukherjee, Ph.D., LCSW-S

Associate Professor, Department of Social Work, University of North Texas

Bio: Dhru Mukherjee's, Ph.D., LCSW-S, research focuses on the intersection of trauma and substance use disorder - including the development of the clinical workforce, integrated care, a system of care/fragmentation of healthcare systems, parental substance use, and rural-urban response to addiction. He uses community needs assessment and multi-methods evaluation data to understand the challenges to collaborative spaces for an integrated multidisciplinary workforce. He is the Program Director and Principal Investigator of the Community Health Worker Program for Opioids and Other Substance Use Disorders (CHW-OSUDS) at the University of North Texas (UNT), funded through a $1.8 million grant from the Human Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). He is the Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI) for the Bilingual and Trauma Informed Integrated Care Project (BTIIC).

Grants: Throughout his career, Dr. Dhru has been the recipient of numerous grants, including funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Human Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), and private foundations. These grants have supported his groundbreaking research on trauma-informed care, the effectiveness of community health worker interventions in addiction recovery, and evidence-based practices for trauma and addiction recovery. He serves as Program Director and Principal Investigator of the two HRSA-funded programs at UNT: the Community Health Worker Program for Opioids and Other Substance Use Disorders (CHW-OSUDS), and Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI) for the Bilingual and Trauma Informed Integrated Care Project (BTIIC).

Email: Dhru.M@unt.edu

Webpage: hhttps://hps.unt.edu/dhrubodhi-mukherjee-phd-lcsw

Teresa Wagner, DrPH, MS, CPH, RD/LD, CPPS, CHWI, DipACLM, CHWC

Associate Professor, Department of Health Administration & Policy, School of Public
Health Associate Professor, Department of Personalized Health & Well-Being, School of Health Professions
University of North Texas Health Science Center
Interim Director and Clinical Executive for Health Literacy, SaferCare Texas
Director, UNTHSC Texas State Certified CHW/CHWI Training Program
Fellow, Texas Center for Health Disparities

Bio: Dr. Wagner is a registered and licensed dietitian with a doctorate in public health. She’s certified in Public Health, Patient Safety, Lifestyle Medicine, Health Coaching and a certified Community Health Worker Instructor. She’s an associate professor in the School of Public Health and School of Health Professions at the University of North Texas Health Science Center. Dr. Wagner has delivered multiple programs, speaking engagements and trainings on health literacy. Her research focuses on alleviating health disparities in underserved communities through health literacy to improve population health. As a result of her work, she has received the 2018 Texas Health Literacy Hero Award and the 2020 Distinguished Alumni Award from Texas Christian University. In 2022, she was one of 25 National Institute of Health researchers selected for the prestigious Aim Ahead Leadership Fellowship and in 2023, she received the UNTHSC School of Health Professions Faculty Achievement Award.

Email: Teresa.Wagner@unthsc.edu

Webpage: https://experts.unthsc.edu/en/persons/teresa-wagner

Dr. Michelle Koussa

Bio: Dr. Michelle Koussa holds a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology with a concentration in Human Development and Family Science from the University of North Texas. Her experience includes teaching undergraduate and graduate level courses relating to human and psychological development, research methodology, statistics, and family studies. Her positions have included adjunct instruction at the University of North Texas, Tarleton State University, and Texas Woman’s University, as well as research consulting for the Inter-American Development Bank. She currently holds the position of Project and Data Coordinator at the University of North Texas.

Email: Michelle.Koussa@unt.edu

Webpage:

Madelyn Haggard

Bio: Madelyn Haggard is an assistant to the Community Health Worker Program, assisting with data entry and management. She is a student working toward earning a bachelor’s degree in mathematics at Southern Illinois University. She has prior work experience in a rural healthcare setting. She is proud to be a member of this team and is inspired by the helping nature of community-based work and initiatives.

Email: Madelyn.Haggard@unt.edu

Webpage:

Dr. Chandra Carey