Meet Our Director

George L. Stewart, PhD

Position:  Chair of Biology and Director of the School of Allied Health and Life Sciences  SAHLS Membership:  Director, SAHLS ('06-present); Head, Division of Life and Health Sciences ('02-'06)  Contact:  gstewart@uwf.edu / Tele: (850) 473-7226 / Fax: (850) 474-2749 George Stewart's area of expertise is in infectious and parasitic diseases. He studied parasitology under Dr. Clark Read at Rice University and has collaborated on a variety of studies with USAMRIID, CDC and WHO. Dr. Stewart has consulted with a long list of drug and diagnostic companies on problems in the treatment and diagnosis of infectious diseases. His areas of research include pathophysiology and pathobiochemistry of infectious diseases and modulation of mammalian immune response by disease agents. Dr. Stewart has taught Epidemiology of Infectious Disease, Parasitology, Immunology, Medical Microbiology, Bioterrorism and Human Sexuality. He is currently Chair of Biology and Director of the School of Allied Health and Life Sciences under which is included Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Biology, Nursing, Medical Informatics, Health Care Ethics, the Master of Public Health and the Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences degree programs. Listen to Dr. Stewart discuss the vision of the School's initiatives in allied health and life sciences.

Accreditation Partners

Courses and programs in SAHLS have received or are pursuing* the following accreditations:

• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS)
• National Accrediting Agency for Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS)
  • Clinical Laboratory Sciences (2007)
• Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE)
  • Nursing (2006)
• Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) (2008)

The Master of Public Health degree program at UWF, is currently going through re-accreditation from the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH). CEPH contact information is available here.

Our Commitment to Quality

The School of Allied Health and Life Sciences (SAHLS) is committed to creating and conducting educational programs directed at solving regional problems and enhancing the quality of life in Northwest Florida. This commitment includes contributing within the areas of life and health sciences, to the economic development of the Northwest Florida region and the State of Florida, and to developing educational programs in the environmental and community health-related sciences which educate the public on relevant regional, state, national and international environmental issues. We actively recruit and support faculty that share this vision, with expertise in a variety of areas and community involvement that directly impacts quality of life, intelligent econonomic development, and preservation of the natural environment. Feel free to visit the SAHLS Press Room for related newspaper clippings and radio spots involving dedicated members of our team.

SAHLS is also committed to advocating, championing, and employing an open source paradigm in assessment to expand the use and collaborative improvement of innovative instructional methods in both traditional (face to face) and nontraditional (online) programs. Courses in programs in SAHLS are reviewed for quality by assessment personnel within the School of Allied Health and Life Sciences to meet national standards established by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the Council on Education for Public Health, and other organizations recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. SAHLS also reports annually on internal quality enhancement initiatives. Initiatives in online program development are in line with our theme, "High Quality, with Innovation to Build and Support an Engaged Online Learning Community". Read more about this in the SALHS bibliography.

Some online courses may require exams to be taken under the supervision of an approved proctor within the geographic location of the student or with Webcam conferencing equipment and software. Some online programs also include internship hours which can be completed with an approved preceptor at the student’s geographic location. The purpose of internship opportunities in various programs is to provide supervised, real-world work experience in preparation for the career paths students may enter upon graduation.

Stay tuned in for more updates! We maintain an RSS Feed for this site to provide outreach to middle and high school students and parents and to alert our educational partners and prospective students about new initiatives.

Steve Celestial, Academic Advisor and Program Coordinator

Position: Academic Advisor and Program Coordinator SAHLS Membership: SAHLS Advisory Committee (2002-present) Contact: scelestial@uwf.edu or (850) 474-2885 Steve Celestial is the Academic Advisor and Program Coordinator for the Department of Biology. He helped to develop the extensive Frequently Asked Questions page to assist students with common registration and advising problems and attends numerous off-campus recruiting visits to facilitate registration for students across the region.

Raid Amin, PhD

Position: Professor, Department of Mathematics & Statistics; Director, UWF Statistical Consulting Services Contact: ramin@uwf.edu Dr. Raid Amin's area of expertise is in computational statistics and process control. He studied statistics under Dr. Marion R. Reynolds, Jr. and Dr. Jesse C. Arnold at Virginia Tech (Statistics Department) and has published extensively with many collaborating professors and engineers. His areas of research include properties of univariate and multivariate control charts, in addition to studying the effects of autocorrelation and designing tolerance intervals that can be applied to a variety of processes, ranging from chemical to environmental and medical. Dr. Amin has taught Biostatistics, Regression Analysis, Experimental Design, Nonparametric Statistics, Multivariate Statistics, Quality Control, and several other statistics courses. He is currently Professor and Director of UWF Statistical Consulting Services, which provides statistical consulting services to UWF students and faculty, in addition to external clients. In the Master of Public Health program, Dr. Amin teaches the course Biostatistics. Watch his welcome lecture here [] with this free player.

David Di Loreto, MD, MBA

Position: Adjunct Instructor, SAHLS (2006-present) Contact: ddiloreto@uwf.edu Dr. David Di Loreto is the Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice-President for Medical Affairs at Baptist Health Care in Pensacola, FL. He previously was Associate Professor and Medical Director at LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans. He is a board-certified ophthalmologist and has practiced clinically for 18 years. He was awarded a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Florida and a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Emory University. His undergraduate degree is in Biological Sciences from Loyola University. Dr. Di Loreto publishes and lectures actively on clinical and business topics. In the Nursing Administration track of the Master of Science in Administration, Dr. Di Loreto teaches the course Health Economics.

Angela Hahn, PhD

Position: Adjunct Instructor, SAHLS (2006-present) SAHLS Membership: SAHLS Advisory Committee, Emerald Coast (2006-present) Contact: ahahn@uwf.edu Dr. Angela Hahn received her B.S. in Biology from the University of West Florida (UWF) in 1996 and her Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) in 2005. She worked in the field of immunology research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center before beginning graduate work in molecular virology at UNC-CH. She taught Medical Microbiology at UNC-CH and General Biology in the North Carolina community college system. Dr. Hahn returned as an Adjunct Instructor to UWF during the summer of 2006 to teach for the School of Allied Health and Life Sciences. In addition to teaching Dr. Hahn works part-time as a science writer/editor. In the Biomedical/Pharmaceutical track of the Master of Science in Administration, Dr. Hahn teaches the course Advances in Biomedical Sciences. Watch a sample lecture here [] with this free player. Dr. Hahn also teaches Advances in Health Science Technology and Health Sciences Research Seminar in the Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences degree program.

Robert Hoyt, MD

Position: Associate Director and Adjunct Instructor, Medical Informatics Program, SAHLS (2002-present) SAHLS Membership: Advisory Committee/Medical Informatics Working Group (2002-present), Mobile and Wireless Solutions Working Group (2006-present) Contact: rhoyt@uwf.edu Dr. Robert Hoyt received his MD and residency in Internal Medicine from Virginia Commonwealth University. After 15 years in private practice in Virginia he returned to active duty and has been stationed at the Naval Hospital Pensacola for the past 13 years. In 2006 he transferred to the Naval Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory where he is a Principle Investigator. He has been involved with Medical Informatics for the past decade and specifically with the University of West Florida since the inception of the Medical Informatics Certificate Program. In the Medical Informatics Certificate Program, Dr. Hoyt teaches the course Introduction to Medical Informatics.

John Lanza, MD, PhD, MPH, FAAP

Position: Adjunct Instructor, SAHLS (2005-present) SAHLS Membership: Advisory Committee/MPH Working Group (2002-present); MPH Steering Committee (2007-present) Contact: John_Lanza@doh.state.fl.us John Lanza is a board-certified pediatrician with a Ph.D. in Nuclear & Radiological Engineering (Medical Radiation Physics) from the University of Florida. He is a graduate of the UTESA School of Medicine, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Dr. Lanza has been the Director of the Florida Department of Health Escambia County Health Department since May 1996 and has been in public health for over 13 years. In 2002, Dr. Lanza completed a Master of Public Health degree from the University of South Florida College of Public Health. In addition to other faculty positions at the University of West Florida, he is a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Clinical Sciences at the Florida State University College of Medicine (FSUCOM). Dr. Lanza directs public health experiences for both pediatric and obstetrics and gynecology residents at the FSUCOM residency programs in Pensacola as well as aerospace medicine residents from the Naval Aerospace Medicine Institute at Naval Air Station Pensacola and family medicine residents from Naval Hospital Pensacola. In the Master of Public Health program, Dr. Lanza teaches the course Environmental Health in the Urban Community and Epidemiology for Public Health Professionals.

Justice Mbizo, Dr.PH

Position: SAHLS Adjunct Instructor (2005-2007); Instructor (2007-present) SAHLS Membership: Medical Informatics Working Group (2004-present); MPH Steering Committee (2007-present) Contact: jmbizo@uwf.edu Justice Mbizo received his Doctor of Public Health degree form Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland and a Masters of Science in Administration (Health Services) from Central Michigan University. He has been co-teaching and teaching courses in the School of Allied Health and Life Sciences since 2005 and became a full-time instructor in 2007. In the Master of Public Health program, Dr. Mbizo teaches the courses Epidemiological Design and Statistical Methods, Computer Applications in Public Health, Strategies for the Prevention of Infectious Diseases, and Healthcare Quality, Statistics and Database Management.

Enid Sisskin, PhD

Position: WUWF; SAHLS Adjunct Instructor (2005-present) SAHLS Membership: Advisory Committee/MPH Working Group (2002-present); MPH Steering Committee (2007-present) Contact: esisskin@uwf.edu Enid Sisskin received a BA from Queens College of the City University of NY and an MS from Southern Illinois University. Her PhD in Pathobiology was awarded under the direction of Dr I. Bernard Weinstein, Professor of Environmental Health Sciences, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University. Upon graduation she completed a postdoc at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences of the National Institutes of Health, and continued with research at Everglades National Park’s South Florida Research Center. She also worked in the park in the Resource Management division. Enid sits on the board of directors of several local and regional environmental organizations, including the Gulf Coast Environmental Defense, the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, and the Florida Conservation Alliance. In the Master of Public Health program, Dr. Sisskin teaches the courses Survey of Environmental Problems and Environmental Toxicology. Visit the SAHLS Press Room to see newspaper clippings and hear radio spots with Dr. Sisskin.

The Advisory Committee to the School of Allied Health and Life Sciences consists of members from health-related programs at UWF and members from the regional health care community. This committee is responsible for identifying and evaluating educational programs designed to fill regional workforce needs in health care. General comments and suggestions regarding the educational initiatives in health care planned by the School are welcome and appreciated and may be communicated via phone, FAX, or email!