Clemson faculty appointed newest CUSHR faculty fellows

Clemson University faculty members Ashley Hedrick McKenzie and Melinda Harman are the newest Clemson University School of Health Research (CUSHR) Faculty Fellows.

Faculty Fellows are faculty members embedded in a Prisma Health System department for the 2025 academic year to produce health-related research. Through this program, Faculty Fellows shift their focus from regular teaching duties to a comprehensive health research agenda that fosters collaborative health research between Clemson and Prisma Health, said Clemson University Associate Vice President for Health Research Windsor Westbrook Sherrill.

Melinda Harman, associate professor in the Department of Bioengineering, has more than 30 years of biomedical experience. Her research focuses on improving the safety and effectiveness of medical technology in various stages of development. Harman also serves as the director of  CUBEInC, Clemson’s research incubator at the Prisma Patewood campus. 

Harman has collaborated on research with numerous healthcare systems across South Carolina and worked with healthcare professionals from a variety of areas of interest. Her work addresses strategic areas of regulatory science from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and aligning overall human health objectives in Healthy People 2030.

As a Faculty Fellow during the spring and summer, Harman plans to use the CUSHR fellowship to explore issues of quality and safety in patient care following ostomy surgery and address satisfaction issues with ambulatory surgeries through wearable monitoring technology. These activities of focus under Harman’s fellowship can increase the safety, quality, and satisfaction of healthcare systems.

McKenzie, assistant professor of communication in the College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences, will focus her summer and fall fellowship on continuing the development of a health intervention titled “The Ally Pledge (TAP).” TAP’s goal is to make cervical and breast cancer screenings more accessible to survivors of gender-based violence, who have heightened risks for cancers. She will develop health training for health care providers who deliver cervical and breast cancer screenings about trauma-informed care and communication strategies.

McKenzie has extensive experience in health communication, earning her Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. With this position as a Faculty Fellow, McKenzie plans to use this position to continue developing training for care providers, a communication campaign to reach survivors, and funding proposals for TAP.