Meet Our Team
Principal Investigator
Dr. Luciana Giorgio
Dr. Giorgio is an Assistant Professor at the University of Alabama School of Social Work and director of the Sleep Health Equity Research Group. She is a social and behavioral health researcher with expertise in sleep health and health equity among underserved populations. Her current research investigates how psychosocial factors, such as stress and coping, influence sleep and cardiovascular health among women and their families. Dr. Giorgio received her MSW and PhD from Columbia University School of Social Work and her BA in Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is dedicated to making sleep health information accessible in English and Spanish to empower communities to engage in healthy practices that will support overall health.
Graduate Students
Melody Platt
​Melody Platt is a PhD student in the School of Social Work at the University of Alabama. She earned her Master of Social Work degree from the joint program at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NCAT) and University of North Carolina Greensboro (UNCG). Melody’s ongoing research interests center around structural oppression, with a current focus on exploring racial residential segregation. Specifically, her research seeks to understand how physical barriers in the built environment reinforce persistent social barriers that perpetuate racism and inequality.
Erick Scherf
Erick da Luz Scherf (he/him) is a Ph.D. student at the University of Alabama School of Social Work. Before this, he completed a Master of Social Work degree at the University of Stavanger in Norway and a Bachelor of International Relations degree in his home country of Brazil. Erick is interested in examining health disparities driven by restrictive immigration policies, with a focus on racialized and minoritized migrants in the U.S. He advocates for epistemological pluralism, cultural sensitivity, and anti-oppression in social work teaching, research, and practice.
Undergraduate Research Assistants
Tymon Johnson
Tymon Johnson is an undergraduate student at the University of Alabama pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and minor in Spanish. He plans to pursue a career in Clinical Social Work. He is particularly interested in working with adults and their families to assist them in addressing trauma and improving mental health. Additionally, he is interested in research that examines the impacts of policy and advocacy on the health of marginalized and underrepresented groups.
Haley Ann Hughes
Haley Ann Hughes is an undergraduate student at the University of Alabama majoring in Public Health with a minor in Spanish on the pre-medical track. She plans to become a physician and currently has special interests in the fields of Sports Orthopedics and Oncology. She hopes to become a bilingual doctor in the future and is passionate about bridging gaps in the US healthcare space for those that come from Spanish-speaking backgrounds and families.
Michelle Favero
Michelle Favero is an undergraduate student at the University of Alabama majoring in Biology on the pre-medical track with a minor in Addiction and Recovery Studies. She plans to pursue a career in healthcare to advocate for those in underrepresented communities. She is particularly interested in improving overall access and health literacy pertaining to cardiovascular healthcare for Latina/o/x individuals and other marginalized groups.
Research Group Alumni
Magdalena Batlle
Maggie is an undergraduate student at the University of Alabama majoring in Psychology and minoring in Social Welfare. Her research interests focus on behavioral health equity, particularly among children and youth. As a next step in her academic career, she is seeking opportunities to continue in advocating for underrepresented populations in the field of clinical child psychology.
If you are interested in joining the Rest and Resilience Research Group, contact us at: sleephealthequity@gmail.com