Our Team

Principal Investigator

Tyler G. James, PhD, MCHES
Assistant Professor, University of Michigan

Dr. James is an Assistant Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School. His substantive research interests focus on healthcare access, utilization, and delivery among people with disabilities, with a particular interest in health outcomes among people with sensory disabilities. He is also a research methodologist, with expertise in psychometrics, qualitative, and mixed methods. He is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Mixed Methods Research and on the editorial board of Disability and Health Journal. He regularly teaches mixed methods through the Michigan Mixed Methods Program, and also teaches social epidemiology for the University of Michigan Department of Epidemiology.

Dr. James is a Master Certified Health Education Specialist, with over 10 years of experience in health education and health promotion evaluation and needs assessment. He received his Ph.D. in Health Behavior ('21) from the University of Florida, where he also received his M.S. in Health Education and Behavior ('17), and B.S. in Psychology ('16). He was a 2023 Davenport Fellow with the CHARGE Syndrome Foundation, a 2023-24 Long-term Cohort Member of the Michigan Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (MI-LEND), and also in the 2023-24 cohort for the Rare Disease Clinical Research Training Program. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Disability Rights Florida (Sept. 2023 - present) and the Executive Committee of the American Public Health Association-Disability Section.

Research Staff

Logan Roberts, MS, CHES
Study Coordinator

Logan Roberts is a Research Associate in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Michigan. She completed her undergraduate and graduate studies in the Department of Health Education and Behavior at the University of Florida. She completed her senior undergraduate internship in Dr. James's research group, before joining as staff.

Lisa Pizzo, B.S., CRS-A/D
Research Area Specialist, University of Michigan

Lisa Pizzo is a Research Area Specialist in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Michigan. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Public and Community Health from the University of Maryland School of Public Health. She is also a member of the Inform USA and received her certificate as a Community Resource Specialist - Aging/Disabilities. She is interested in making high-quality health education easily accessible to all. Lisa supports Dr. James's National Library of Medicine grant, which focuses on developing patient health education materials for people with sensory disabilities.

Ariana Nigoghosian, B.S.
Medical Student, Universisty of Michigan

Ariana is a University of Michigan alumna (major: neuroscience) and current medical student at the University of Michigan Medical School. She completed a 2023 internship with the MDisability Program at the University of Michigan. Her goal is to be a pediatric neurologist. She is providing support on Dr. James's studies on healthcare coordination among people with CHARGE syndrome.

A blond labrador wearing a sweater in front of a computer.

Oliver Otero
Friend of the Lab

Oliver has been here for all of our publications, and several team meetings. His interests include canine-human interaction, verbal and gestural cues, and barking at cats.