The Student Health and Wellness Office of Research Excellence (SHORE) facilitates the exploration of scientific study pertaining to the student population with the goal to improve student health and well-being. The SHORE team assists with enrolling student research participants who are representative of our collegiate populations with the utmost respect for each individual and assuring research projects are managed in full compliance with regulations and guidance. Our inclusive mission facilitates student participation in quality research with the goal of benefiting the student population, higher education, and society as a whole. For additional information or if you have any questions, please contact Rebecca Ferrara, BS, MS.
Patient Recruitment
The type of research we do at the Department of Student Health and Wellness (SHW) is targeted toward young adults, primarily between the ages of 18 and 30 years old. We strive to look at health and wellness issues pertinent to the maintenance of well-being of a college population. Our goal is to be inclusive and extend the opportunity to participate in research to as many qualified student-patients as possible. If you come to SHW, you may be approached by a member of our team if you potentially qualify for a study. Remember, the choice to participate or not participate is always yours!
featured studies
COVID on Campus: Hoos Most at Risk?
This study explains how colleges can figure out which students are more likely to get sick from COVID-19. To do this, our researchers looked at de-identified student health records and other university data to find out how many students had CDC defined high risk health conditions. They discovered that a significant number of students had these high-risk conditions, with asthma being the most common. The findings suggested that universities can use de-identified linked student databases to make rapid plans for how to protect these students. Read the full study
Coding Under the Influence: Validity of Alcohol Intoxication Diagnoses in University ED Visits
This article examines how accurately hospital records use codes to identify when students come to the emergency room for alcohol intoxication. The study, conducted at a UVA’s large public university hospital, compares those codes with detailed reviews of the medical records. It finds that the use of appropriate codes has increased over time. The article notes that the codes are better at correctly identifying when someone is intoxicated, but not as good at identifying when someone is not intoxicated. The authors suggest that doctors need to improve how they code, especially when the intoxication involves an injury, in order to get a more precise understanding of how often alcohol intoxication impacts emergency department visits. Read the full study
Most Engaging Data Story: Counseling & Psychological Services at UVA
Winner of “Most Engaging Data Story,” the project “Understanding Health Event Distributions and Trends in Health Services Utilization in Students using Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS) at UVA” tackled a sensitive and timely topic: student mental health. Sponsored by UVA Student Health and Wellness, the team analyzed over 137,000 CAPS visits from more than 17,000 students between January 2017 and August 2024. The data was rich with demographic details, diagnosis codes, and temporal patterns, enabling students to uncover meaningful insights about who is using these services—and when.
The project’s findings were eye-opening: female students accessed CAPS services nearly twice as often as male students. Diagnoses were dominated by anxiety, depression, and eating disorders. Notably, the team found significant spikes in PTSD diagnoses following the 2022 on-campus shooting, with mental health patterns varying by academic school. The narrative was deeply engaging, combining rigorous analysis with a compassionate lens to tell a human-centered story grounded in data. Read more
team
The SHORE team assists with enrolling student research participants who are representative of our collegiate populations with the utmost respect for each individual and assuring research projects are managed in full compliance with regulations and guidance. Our inclusive mission facilitates student participation in quality research with the goal of benefiting the student population, higher education, and society as a whole.
For additional information or if you have any questions, please contact Rebecca Ferrara, BS, MS.
Research Team
- Christopher Holstege, MD, Senior Associate Vice President, Student Health and Wellness
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Education
- BS, Chemistry, Calvin College (1988)
- MD, Wayne State University School of Medicine (1993)
- Residency, Emergency Medicine, Butterworth Hospital (1996)
- Fellowship, Medical Toxicology, Indiana University (1998)
Clinical and Research Interests
- Clinical Toxicology
- Chemical agents utilized in terrorism/murder
- Substance use disorder trends in student populations
- Emergence of new substances of abuse
- Meredith E. Hayden, MD, Chief Medical Officer
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Education
- BS, Magna Cum Laude, Biology, Davidson College (1996)
- MD, Medical University of South Carolina (2001)
- Pediatric Intern, University of Virginia (2001–2002)
- Pediatric Resident, University of Virginia (2002–2004)
Clinical and Research Interests
- Primary Care
- Resident Education
- Quality Improvement
- Infection Control
Certification(s)
- Board Certified General Pediatrics
- Pediatric Nephrology Fellow, University of Virginia (2004–2005)
- Rita Farah, PharmD, MPH, PhD, Epidemiologist
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Education
- Pharmacy Doctor, Faculty of Pharmacy, Lebanese University, Lebanon (2003)
- MPH, Faculty of Health Sciences, Lebanese University, Lebanon (2011)
- PhD in Epidemiology, Paris Est University, France (2015)
- International Fellowship in Toxicology, Emory University, USA (2022)
Research Interests
- Clinical Toxicology
- Disease Surveillance
- Surveillance of emergent substances
- Data linking
- Rebecca Ferrara, BS, MS, Public Health Data Specialist
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Education
- BS, Summa Cum Laude, Biology, Old Dominion University (2020)
- MS, Biology with a Concentration in One Health, Old Dominion University (2023)
Research Interests
- Data Science for Healthcare
Other Members
- Danielle D'Andrea, Associate Director of Marketing and Communications
- Katelin Henry, Medical Scribe Supervisor
- Nicole Ruzek, Chief Mental Health Officer
- Michael Mason, Special Advisor to the Senior Associate Vice President
- Jennifer Slaughter, Special Advisor to the Senior Associate Vice President
- Martina Svyantck, Strategic Initiatives and Accessible Technology Manager