Fanny Smithing

Aaryanna Zapata

Peyton Blodgett

Josh MacLeod

Rami Jameel

Jonas Techmanski

Thomas Byrne, Ph.D.
Research Assistant Professor, UIUC
Principal Investigator

Thomas Byrne is a phenomenologist whose research combines historical scholarship with contemporary qualitative inquiry. He received his doctoral training at the Husserl Archives in Leuven, where he worked closely with primary manuscripts and developed expertise in the evolution of early phenomenology. This archival background continues to inform his current scholarship, which spans both theoretical work on Husserl and empirical studies in phenomenologically grounded qualitative research. Byrne is the founder and director of the Laboratory for Phenomenological Research at the University of Illinois, where he leads projects that expand phenomenology into new domains, including cancer care, social conflict, and emerging forms of digital selfhood. His work aims to move phenomenology forward as a conceptual resource for empirical research while maintaining a close engagement with its historical foundations.

Susan Leggett, Ph.D.
Co-Investigator
Assistant Professor, UIUC

Susan Leggett is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Bioengineering. She is an Associate Member in the Cancer Center at Illinois and an Affiliate in the Carl R. Woese Institute of Genomic Biology. Susan received her Ph.D. from Brown University in May 2018 and completed postdoctoral training at Princeton University in December 2022. She joined the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Bioengineering in January 2023. She has been awarded several honors in her field of expertise and has received national recognition; She is a 2012 Goldwater Scholar and was named a 2021 Rising Star in Engineering and Health by Columbia and Johns Hopkins University.

Sarah Abboud, PhD, RN
Associate Professor, UIC

Dr. Abboud employs principles of community-based participatory research and qualitative methods, and aim to develop evidence-based research programs and interventions to improve health outcomes among first- and second-generation Arab immigrants in the U.S. Dr. Abboud is one of few Arab scholars to explore sexual health at the intersections of immigration, gender, sexual orientation, and ethnic identity in this population. Her program of research is grounded in social justice and health equity frameworks and has two interrelated tracks: first, sexual health promotion and sexual violence prevention among Arab immigrants; and second, sexual and mental health among sexual minority Arab immigrants. Alongside her research, her advocacy work centers on the (in)visibility of Arab/Middle Eastern & North African (MENA)/South West Asian & North African (SWANA) identity and calls for the inclusion of a separate racial/ethnic identity category on the U.S. census reporting. Dr. Abboud completed her BS and MS in Nursing at the American University of Beirut School of Nursing, Lebanon, and my PhD and post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. Dr. Abboud also completed a Visiting Faculty Fellowship at Yale University School of Public Health Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (2017-2019).

Michael Aref, MD, PhD, FACP, FHM
Clinical Associate Prof., Carle College, UIUC

Dr. Michael Aref, MD, is a hospice and palliative medicine physician at Carle Foundation Hospital whose clinical work focuses on supporting individuals and families navigating serious illness. His longstanding experience in advanced cancer care has deeply informed the development of our phenomenological studies, especially our efforts to understand how patients interpret bodily change, medical decision making, and the uncertainty that accompanies treatment. Through conversations about clinical practice, patterns he observes in patient narratives, and the ethical dimensions of end-of-life care, Dr. Aref has helped refine the questions we ask, the forms of experience we attend to, and the relevance of our findings for clinical settings. His insights have strengthened the connection between phenomenological analysis and the practical realities faced by patients living with cancer, ensuring that our research remains grounded in the concerns that matter most to those receiving care.

Sabrina Ali Jamal-Eddine, PhD, RN, BSN
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Disability and Human Development, UIC

Sabrina Jamal-Eddine, PhD BSN RN is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Disability and Human Development at University of Illinois Chicago. Dr. Jamal-Eddine is an interdisciplinary nurse scientist who earned her PhD in Nursing and Certificate in Disability Ethics from University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). Dr. Jamal-Eddine’s doctoral research explored the use of spoken word poetry as a form of critical narrative pedagogy to educate nursing students about disability, ableism, and disability justice. Dr. Jamal-Eddine’s goal is to create transformative change within healthcare education praxis by developing engaging anti-colonial pedagogic strategies rooted in the lived experiences of multiply marginalized disabled people. Her long-term goal is to found an applied public-humanities / community-engaged healthcare equity center in a university that confronts healthcare inequity, violence, and oppression and promotes liberation, humanization, and belongingness for all marginalized patients, students, and practitioners.

Ayo Bodunde, BSN RN

Ayo Bodunde is a Graduate Research Assistant at the University of Illinois Chicago’s Department of Psychiatry and a PhD student in Nursing at the same institution. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing from Chamberlain University and has a rich background in clinical practice. Previously, Ayo served as an Administrative Nurse on an adolescent psychiatric unit and worked extensively with adult, pediatric, and developmentally delayed populations. Her current research interest is on the mental health consequences of gun violence victimization.