Our Team

Julie M. croff, PhD, MPH, FAAHB

Dr. Croff is the principal investigator and lead of FAB. Originally from Norman, she has was raised in La Mesa (San Diego) and has lived in Boston, Stillwater, and Tulsa. She loves to swim and ride her bike. Her insta is full of food pictures - most emphasize the beauty of fruits and veggies.

Dr. Croff is classically trained in public health, with emphasis on substance use, including alcohol and other drug use. Her research focuses on capturing human behaviors in unobtrusive ways (using wearables and other ways to capture data). She used to spend a lot of time at bars and parties interviewing research participants. She wants to understand how people behave, how behaviors act together, and how that influences people's long-term health outcomes. 

Hannah Appleseth, MS

Hannah is a doctoral student in counseling psychology. She is currently supported on an NIH dissertation award to study the impact of vapor and combustible tobacco and cannabis on youth via secondary data analysis of the ECHO cohort data.

Ashleigh Chiaf, MPH

Originally from Edmond, OK, Ashleigh was an original data collector and later project manager for FAB. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Master of Public Health from Oklahoma State University in Stillwater. While she now primarily works on other projects, she is frequently a co-author on manuscripts. In her spare time, Ashleigh can be found outside on a bike, on a hike, and even on a snowboard.

Erica Crockett Barbera, MPH

Erica Crockett is from Stillwater, OK. She earned a bachelor of science in Nutrition and a Master of Public Health from Oklahoma State University. She is currently a PhD candidate in Biomedical Sciences at Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences in Tulsa. She has a passion for how food impacts the body and our long-term health.

Quinn Leffingwell, MPH

Originally from Stillwater, Oklahoma, Quinn’s full time job is working on the HBCD study. He spends his evenings and weekends crunching numbers and working on FAB papers.

Salena King Coughlan, PhD

Originally from Cleveland, Oklahoma, Dr. King Coughlan holds a PhD in Human Development and Family Science and is credentialed as an Infant Mental Health Specialist (IMH-E®) and a Certified Family Life Educator (CFLE). Her work focuses on infant and early childhood mental health and early relational health within family and caregiving contexts, with particular attention to early-life stress, trauma, and maternal well-being. As a qualitative and mixed-methods researcher, she contributes a developmental and relational lens to translational research that bridges empirical evidence and real-world practice.

Emily Doherty, PhD

Originally from South Carolina, Dr. Doherty has been working with the FAB team on analysis and publication for the last 2 years. Her research trajectory focuses on maternal wellbeing and outcomes, including maternal mental health and substance use.

Jordan Love is originally from Tonkawa, Oklahoma. She earned her BS and MS degrees from Oklahoma State University and is currently the Project Director for the HEALthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) Study at OSU-CHS. Jordan enjoys spending time in nature with her children and making new memories with family and friends.