JOHNSON CITY (Nov. 6, 2019) – East Tennessee State University’s Women’s Studies Program named Dr. Sarah Melton and Dr. Lynn Williams as the 2019 recipients of the Notable Women of ETSU award.
The two award recipients were honored at the 18th annual Notable Women of ETSU Colloquium on Wednesday, Nov. 6. The awards and colloquium highlight the expertise and accomplishments of women at ETSU; provide a forum for the exchange of ideas, research and projects generated by women faculty; and identify women faculty whose work advances understanding of women and their lives.
Dr. Sarah Melton is a professor at the Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy as well as a clinical pharmacist at both the Johnson City Community Health Center and Quillen College of Medicine’s Center for Excellence for HIV/AIDS. She is a board certified psychiatric, ambulatory care and geriatric pharmacist and a certified trainer for Volunteer to Save a Life: Tennessee Naloxone Overdose Education and Distribution.
In all of her various roles as a health care provider, Melton has impacted patients and community members alike by seeking to improve the lives of those living with addictions and to reduce the prevalence of prescription drug abuse in Appalachia. Through her work as an addiction specialist, her reach extends beyond the Tri-Cities to over 2,500 providers across the state. Because of her experience working with the underserved in Appalachia, she has been appointed by the governors of Virginia and Tennessee to such critical state-wide commissions as the Virginia Taskforce on Heroin and Prescription Drug Abuse, the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth and the Tennessee Commission on Pain and Addiction Medicine Education. She has served as board chair for One Care of Southwest Virginia for 10 years and has been a fellow with the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists since 2011.
She was awarded the prestigious Health Care Hero Cup of Kindness Award by The Business Journal of Tri-Cities Tennessee/Virginia and King Pharmaceuticals in recognition of her community service and contribution to the health and welfare of underserved patients in Southwest Virginia.
Melton maintains an active research agenda ranging from studies on stress and mental health in doctor of pharmacy students to prescriber/dispenser attitudes on buprenorphine use for opioid use disorder in Central Appalachia. Her past research largely focused on medically disadvantaged populations in Appalachia specifically regarding opioid misuse, tobacco cessation and mental health. She has presented at over 100 conferences across the country, has published over 60 articles in numerous peer reviewed journals and is an author for “Medscape Pharmacists: Ask the Experts.” For her research on the “Role of Pharmacists in Collaborative Care for Mental Health and Addiction Treatment in Medically Underserved Appalachia,” Melton was also awarded the Innovative Practice Award by the College of Psychiatric and Neurological Pharmacists.
Melton is a dedicated pharmacist, researcher, educator and community member. As one of her nominators noted, “Dr. Melton is passionate about the students she teaches and the patients she cares for, which positively impacts ETSU and our region.”
Dr. Lynn Williams serves as associate dean of the College of Clinical and Rehabilitative Health Sciences and is a professor in the Department of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology. In April of this year, she gained national recognition for her commitment to the advancement of interprofessional health care through education, collaboration and advocacy. She was inducted as a Distinguished Fellow of the National Academies of Practice, is a member of the Academy of Speech Language Pathology, and is the 2020 president-elect of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
Williams has presented at over 100 conferences nationally and abroad and has been published in over 40 peer-reviewed journals. She has written over 20 book chapters and has authored or co-authored two books, “Interventions for Speech Sound Disorders in Children” and “Speech Disorders Resource Guide for Preschool Children.” Additionally, she has served as associate editor of the highly regarded Journal of American Speech-Language Pathology and Language, Speech and Hearing Services in the Schools.
Williams has developed a widely used linguistic method of speech therapy called the Multiple Oppositions Approach that was funded by the National Institutes of Health, as well as an assessment model of speech disorders called Systemic Analysis of Child Speech. Furthermore, her work has involved translational research in making the newer models of phonological intervention, including multiple oppositions, accessible to practicing clinicians. For instance, funded by NIDCD and NICHD grants, she has developed a mobile app called Speech Contrasts in Phonology, or SCIP, that translates the research from the evidence-based models of speech intervention into a digital tool that provides a time-saving resource for speech-language pathologists to use in designing treatment plans. She is also working with a linguistics colleague from the University of Washington to publish a test of early speech skills in young children called Profiles of Early Expressive Phonological Skills (PEEPS).
Most recently, Williams’ research has broadened to examine health disparities and people with communication disabilities. She is also interested in emergent literacy, particularly in at-risk children living in poverty, and the development of parent training programs to encourage shared book reading.
Williams’ passion for her work is evident in the strides she has made in her field in research, service and practice. As one of her nominators wrote, “She has forged a model for a woman many others may aspire to be, as she excels to couple academic, administrative, and research involvement with the grace, humor, and understanding only a strong mentor can provide.”
For more information, contact Dr. Phyllis Thompson, director of the ETSU Women’s Studies
Program, at 423-439-4125 or thompsop@etsu.edu.
Media Contact:
Jennifer Hill
hill@etsu.edu
423-439-4317