Mental Sciences Institute

Dr. Avila is Assistant Professor, TCOM Department of Psychiatry, Behavioral Health and Neuroscience. He is active in the Tarrant County community with numerous appointments including Board President of the Mental Health Association of Tarrant County.

Sarah Brown, MPH

Research Analyst

Phone: (817) 735-2701

Email: sarbrown@hsc.unt.edu

Sarah's background is in Health Psychology Research. She is completing work on her DrPH in Clinical Research in the UNTHSC School of Public Health, Department of Biostatistics. Her current projects within the MSI are related to utilization of psychiatric services and issues of women's heatlh.

des Anges Cruser, PhD, MPA

Executive Director

Phone: (817) 735-2009

Email: dcruser@hsc.unt.edu

Dr. Cruser is Associate Professor, SPH Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences. Her background includes 27 years in public mental health systems. She is Research Education Director of the Osteopathic Research Center and is PI of an NIH R25 Research Education Grant from NCCAM, and supplemental Osteopathic Heritage Foundations grant. Her research focuses on the impacts of psychological trauma on various domains, with special interest in resources for primary care specialists caring for military families.

Jessica Ingram, MPH

Assistant Director for Education

Phone: (817) 735-2750

Email: jingram@hsc.unt.edu

Jessica's background is in biostatistics. Her work at the MSI primarily focuses on the R25 grant in which she performs many tasks including lecture and powerpoint development, article selection and review, and test writing. She also helps to develop, launch, and analyze data from the many surveys and tools put out by the MSI. She is currently assisting with administrative analysis of mental health services utilization and patient population.

Mark Mummert, PhD

Immunology and Dermatology

Phone: (817) 735-2139

Email: mmummert@hsc.unt.edu

Dr. Mummert is Assistant Professor, TCOM Department of Psychiatry, Behavioral Health and Neuroscience. His work has led to numerous publications, patents, and funding sources in the fields of microbiology, dermatology, and immunology. His current research, supported by an NIH R01 grant, focuses on hyaluronan-mediated regulation of Langerhans cell functions which aims to develop Pep-1 probes for non-invasive demarcation of skin tumor margins and detection of tumor metastasis.

Angie Treviño, MS

Research Project Manager

Phone: (817) 735-2712

Email: atrevino@hsc.unt.edu

Angie is Adjunct Research Instructor, TCOM Department of Psychiatry, Behavioral Health and Neuroscience. She has many years of research experience in various disciplines. Currently, she is the study coordinator for three research projects: perinatal depression, SSRI and SNRI antidepressants in children and adolescents, and stress induced changes in rats. Angie also handles the review of all human and animal protocols and serves as the Institutional Review Board liaison.