Dr. Nathan Culmer
Email: npculmer@ua.edu
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Dr. Culmer is an Assistant Professor in the College of Community Health Sciences at The University of Alabama. His research focuses on virtual delivery of healthcare, education related to healthcare, and issues related to healthcare faculty development and wellness. He has been funded and published on research related to telemedicine, mental health, healthcare of underserved populations, healthcare education, and well-being. Dr. Culmer is Director of Academic Technologies and Faculty Development in the College of Community Health Sciences and is an active member of several professional organizations including the Society for Teachers of Family Medicine and the Society for Education and Research in Connected Health.
 
Dr. Culmer oversees all telehealth and academic technology initiatives in the College of Community Health Sciences at The University of Alabama and has been heavily involved in the research and implementation of telehealth as a means of delivering care and health education – including innovative projects that promise to improve care, enhance healthcare education, expand access, and provide opportunities for research. He has particular interest in benefitting low-income and rural populations through novel uses of technology and education.
 
Dr. Culmer also oversees faculty and professional development in the College of Community Health Sciences at The University of Alabama and leads research and exploration efforts around faculty wellness. Because of his belief in personal and professional development, he organized a team of faculty, graduate and undergraduate students designed to develop future researchers by testing innovative clinical and educational research ideas and involving learners at every stage of research. Members of this team are working toward professional degrees that will allow them to serve rural and underserved populations through improved healthcare delivery, expanded access to healthcare and professional development.

Dr. Todd Smith
Email: tbsmith3@ua.edu

Dr. Smith is an Assistant Professor at the University of Alabama’s Capstone College of Nursing.  He regularly teaches courses related to leadership, healthcare management, health services delivery systems, and nursing administration.  He has published and/or works on a number of research projects related to rural health care delivery systems, leadership, health care administration, health education, telemedicine, and medical group practices.  Dr. Smith serves as the Chair of the Capstone College of Nursing’s Graduate Education Committee and he is active in a number of professional organizations, including the Healthcare Financial Management Association, Sigma Theta Tau Epsilon Omega chapter (Chair, Leadership Succession Committee), and the Southern Nursing Research Society (Finance Committee Member).

In addition to earning his MSHA, MBA, and BSN, Dr. Smith holds a PhD in Health Services Administration from The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).  Prior to beginning his career at the University of Alabama, Dr. Smith worked as a health care administrator for more than 15 years and served in a number of administrative leadership positions, mostly within UAB’s School of Medicine.  In his last position at UAB, Dr. Smith was the administrative director for the UAB Montgomery-Selma Regional Medical Campus, which included numerous residency programs and clinics, as well as a complement of 3rd and 4th year medical students.

Currently, one of Dr. Smith’s primary interests is his involvement as a co-director/co-investigator of the Technology, Education and Research in Medicine (TERM) research lab at the University of Alabama’s College of Community Health Sciences.  Student membership in the TERM lab is focused primarily on pre-medicine and health sciences undergraduate students at UA.  Each participating student is provided with hands-on experience working on one or more specific research projects, including developing project proposals, implementing a project, and disseminating results through professional presentations and publications.  Dr. Smith also works collaboratively on numerous other projects across the University of Alabama’s campus, including serving as the co-chair of the Alabama Transportation Institute’s Transportation and Health Care Research Working Group.