Professors to Study Quality-of-life Issues Facing the Charlotte Region

Two professors from the College of Health and Human Services have been named Gambrell Faculty Fellows by the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute.

Alicia Dahl, Ph.D., associate professor in the College’s Department of Epidemiology and Community Health, and Roger Suclupe, MSW, clinical assistant professor in the College’s School of Social Work, are among six UNC Charlotte faculty who make up the 2025 cohort of Gambrell Faculty Fellows. The program, funded by the Gambrell Foundation, provides grants for short-term, faculty-facilitated research projects related to economic mobility in Charlotte, N.C.

Dahl, who co-leads the Charlotte Maternal and Child Health Workgroup, is focusing her research on expanding the efforts of the Mecklenburg Birthing Connections website, which she had a part in developing. The site serves as a resource for Black families seeking perinatal care in Charlotte. As part of the project, Dahl will collect community and provider feedback about awareness of the website, identify effective communication strategies, and develop a social marketing campaign to attract more users.

Suclupe is teaming with Stephanie Potochnick, Ph.D., associate professor of sociology and public policy in the College of Humanities & Earth and Social Sciences, to examine how employment and childcare challenges and opportunities shape Latino fathers’ family relationships, mental health, and quality of life. The researchers are seeking to create culturally responsive resources that can help Latino fathers improve their mental health and be more active in their children’s lives.

Read more about these projects and those of all the 2025 Gambrell Faculty Fellows