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Meet The Team

Steven Ondersma, PhD
Principal Investigator
Dr. Ondersma is a Professor in the Michigan State University Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology and the Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health at Michigan State University. His primary interest is in population-level interventions promoting maternal and child health in underserved communities, particularly via technology-based brief interventions for substance use in the perinatal period. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (Division 37), former Editor of the journal Child Maltreatment, and a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers. He currently co-chairs the Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome subgroup of the NIH’s Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) initiative. He has led multiple NIH and CDC studies focusing on the development, validation, and implementation of novel screening techniques and electronic/mobile (mHealth) interventions in healthcare settings. He is also the developer of the Computerized Intervention Authoring System (CIAS 3.0), an NIH-funded, free research resource facilitating development of interactive and sophisticated digital interventions for any platform.

Lisa Todd, MS, JD
Project Coordinator
Women's eHealth Study
Lisa Todd is the project coordinator for the Women’s eHealth Study. She has worked in behavioral health clinical research since 2007, focusing primarily on pregnancy health and chronic disease management. She is also a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT) and has worked extensively with medical and mental health providers to implement MI in clinic settings. Her educational background includes an MS in clinical behavioral psychology and a law degree. She is currently working on a PhD in political science with a concentration in public policy. When she is not engaged in research activities, Lisa enjoys spending time with her family and horses.

Mary Katherine Crawford, MPH
Project Coordinator
CIAS 3.0
MIRACLE Center Project 2
Mary Katherine Crawford is a project coordinator under Dr. Steve Ondersma in the C.S. Mott Department of Public Health. Mary Katherine serves on the Computerized Intervention Authoring System's investigative team. She obtained her Master of Public Health degree in January of 2020 from the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University, where she is currently pursuing her doctorate in Public Health. She has worked as a Research Assistant and Project Coordinator in the CS Mott Department of Public Health in the College of Human Medicine at Michigan State University, Flint campus since March of 2020. Ms. Crawford is particularly committed to translating her public health research outcomes and knowledge into policy changes that increase health equity for disadvantaged groups.

Sydney Kelpin, PhD
Research Associate
MIRACLE Center Project 2
Dr. Sydney Kelpin is a licensed clinical psychologist and research associate in the C.S. Mott Department of Public Health. She is part of the MSU MIRACLE Center of Excellence (part of the NIH IMPROVE Initiative), working under Dr. Steve Ondersma, Dr. Claire Margerison, and Ms. Athena McKay on a trial testing multi-level technology for reducing maternal morbidity and mortality. She completed her doctoral training in Clinical Psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University and a postdoctoral fellowship in Medical Psychology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Her research interests are in the dissemination and implementation of evidence-based practice for substance use disorders, specifically in the field of women’s health and perinatal addiction. She has a particular interest in the role technology can play in increasing access to screening and brief interventions in healthcare settings. During her fellowship, she contributed to community-based participatory research examining the development of digital interventions for tobacco cessation and opioid use disorder. She is an Associate Member of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence and a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers.

Courtney Sorenson
Administrative Assistant
eHelp Lab
Courtney Sorenson is an Office Coordinator in the Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health at Michigan State University. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Northwood University, graduating magna cum laude. In her role, Courtney supports the department’s daily operations and brings experience in administrative support, website design, team coordination, and event planning. With a focus on efficiency and organization, she helps keep operations running smoothly and supports a wide range of team needs. Courtney enjoys contributing to collaborative work and projects that promote equity and community well-being. Outside of work, she enjoys traveling, exploring wellness practices, and spending time with her family.

