Dr. Budhwani holds the endowed Michael and Paula Read Phelan Professorship in Obstetrical Nursing at Florida State University (FSU) College of Nursing, Institute on Digital Health and Innovation (IDHI). As an Implementation Scientist and socio-behavioral interventionist, Dr. Budhwani conducts studies to address the causes and consequences of disparities among stigmatized populations that experience adverse health outcomes in resource-constrained settings. Dr. Budhwani’s research is informed by sociological constructs, guided by human rights frameworks, and adopts a multidimensional view of addressing public health and clinical care gaps. She has methodological expertise in qualitative and mixed-methods research, mHealth and digital health interventions, and pragmatic clinical trial design. As a community-engaged scholar, she has conducted studies with minority populations in the United States and abroad across Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, and sub-Saharan Africa. 

EDUCATION

PhD, Medical Sociology, University of Alabama at Birmingham
MPH, Policy and Organization, University of Alabama at Birmingham
MA, Sociology, University of Alabama at Birmingham
BS, Northern Illinois University, Biology/Psychology

ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS (FSU)

Endowed Professor, College of Nursing, Institute on Digital Health and Innovation (IDHI), Florida State University (FSU)
Director, College of Nursing, Institute on Digital Health and Innovation (IDHI), Intervention Research and Implementation Science (IRIS) Hub
Co-Director, University of Florida (UF)-FSU Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Translational Workforce Development (TWD) Portfolio
Co-Director, UF-FSU CTSA KL2, K12, K2R, and Career Development Programs
Courtesy Appointment, Department of Behavioral Science and Social Medicine (BSSM), College of Medicine
Courtesy Appointment, Department of Sociology, College of Social Sciences and Public Policy
Courtesy Appointment, College of Social Work
Faculty Affiliate, Center for Translational Behavioral Science
Faculty Affiliate, Brain Science and Symptom Management Center
Faculty Affiliate, Center of Population Sciences for Health Equity
Faculty Associate, Pepper Institute on Aging and Public Policy

ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS (OTHER)

Professor WOC, United States Veterans Affairs (VA), Birmingham, Alabama VA Health Care System
Faculty Affiliate, Tallahassee Memorial Health (TMH), Obstetrics & Gynecology (OB/GYN)
Research Professor, Division of Adolescent Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)
Adjunct Professor, Department of Health Policy and Organization, School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)
Visiting Associate Professor, Center for AIDS Prevention Studies (CAPS), Division of Prevention Science, University of California San Francisco (UCSF)

HONORS/AWARDS

Fellow. Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM), 2024
Co-Recipient of the International Robert Carr Research Awards. AIDS 2020, 2020
Smart Party Honoree. The Women's Fund of Alabama, 2017
Vulcan Award Recipient. City of Birmingham, 2016
Top 40 under 40 Awardee. Birmingham Business Journal, 2016
Inductee. Delta Omega Public Health Honor Society, 2008
Inductee. Alpha Kappa Delta Sociological Honor Society, 2005

RESEARCH STUDIES

R01MD016834 (Hightow-Weidman and Budhwani)
NIH: A Multidimensional Digital Approach to Address Vaccine Hesitancy and Increase COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake among African American Young Adults in the South
Role: PI / mPI

R21MH124083/R21TW011761 (Budhwani, Turan, Paulino)
NIH: Adapting the Finding Respect and Ending Stigma around HIV (FRESH) Intervention for the Dominican Republic
Role: PI / mPI

R33HD103061 (Tita, Enah, and Budhwani)
NIH: Medical Information Service via Mobile Telephone (m-MIST™) Provider Support to Improve Pregnancy Outcomes
Role: PI / mPI

U01PS005236 (Hightow-Weidman)
CDC: Promoting PrEP Adherence for MSM of Color: More Options, Less Barriers
Role: Co-Investigator     

R01HD110097 (Elopre and Matthews)                
NIH: CAMELLIA Cohort: A longitudinal study to understand sexual health and prevention among women in Alabama
Role: Co-Investigator

K01MH116737 (Budhwani)
NIH: Adapting and Pilot Testing a Behavioral Intervention to Incorporate Advances in HIV Prevention for Black Young MSM in Alabama
Role: PI / mPI

22HERNPMI985239 (Sinkey and Carlo)
American Heart Association: P3 Providing an Optimized and emPowered Pregnancy for You (POPPY)
Role: Co-Investigator

TRAINING GRANTS

T71MC24209-11-00 (Coyne-Beasley)
HRSA: Leadership Education in Adolescent Health (LEAH)
Role: Co-Investigator / Director of Research

UL1TR001427 (Site PI: Wang)
NIH: Transforming and Translating Discovery to Improve Health, CTSI
Role: Co-Director of the KL2 Program

D43TW012274 (Charurat, Turan, Mandalakas, Nimgaonkar)
NIH/FIC: Integrated Networks of Scholars in Global Health Research Training (INSIGHT)
Role: Co-Investigator / Steering Committee United States Lead for Key Populations

22HERNCMI980273 (Tita)
American Heart Association: P3 Enhancing Access and Quality to Achieve Equitable Maternal and Infant Health (EQUATE) Network Training Core
Role: Co-Investigator

PUBLICATIONS

Full list of publications can be found on Google Scholar