GWEP Subject Matter Experts

Vincent Guida, M.D., FACP, received his medical degree from Albany Medical College of Union University. Following his graduation, he completed a medical residency at Montefiore Hospital Medical Center of Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, New York.

Guida spent the next seven years in private practice and as a clinical assistant professor at Einstein College of Medicine. In 1982, Guida moved to Florida to enter private practice. The American Board of Internal Medicine in 1987 established certification of added qualification in geriatrics, which Guida earned. 

In 2017, Guida joined the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine faculty as a member of the Department of Geriatrics. In his capacity as an associate professor, he continues to care for patients and instructs students, residents and fellows in clinical geriatrics. In addition, he participates in classroom instruction and is a lecturer participating in the Geriatric Workforce Education Program.

A graduate of the NSU Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine, Masri currently works in Davie, FL and specializes in family and geriatric medicine. He serves as an associate professor at NSU-KPCOM and is affiliated with Broward Health Medical Center and Westside Regional Medical Center. Masri is board-certified in family practice/OMT.  

Andrea Levin is an assistant professor of pharmacy practice at Nova Southeastern University’s College of Pharmacy with a practice specialty and board certification in ambulatory care. She received her Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.), degrees from NSU. After earning her Pharm.D., she completed a PGY1 pharmacy practice residency, with an emphasis in ambulatory care and academia from Florida Hospital-Celebration Health. Levin then became an assistant professor at Long Island University’s Arnold and Marie Schwartz College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, as well as the clinical pharmacy manager for ambulatory care at Montefiore Medical Center, where she managed patients’ anticoagulation, hypertension, dyslipidemia, contraception, and diabetes needs.

Currently, Levin assists in the care of adults with type two diabetes, hypertension, and/or dyslipidemia in the primary care setting, where she takes students on rotation and teaches in the pharmacotherapy and immunization certification courses at the College of Pharmacy. Levin has presented for continuing education programs on diabetes, contraception, and deprescribing, as well as presented to pharmacists, nurses, and physicians on diabetes and anticoagulation management.

Dr. Shari Rone-Adams, PT, MHSA, DBA is a Professor and Chair of the Physical Therapy Department at Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL. She has been licensed to practice physical therapy in Florida since the start of her career. Dr. Rone-Adams holds a Doctor of Business Administration with a specialty in Human Resource Administration and Master of Health Services, both from NSU.

She has clinical experience across the healthcare continuum including management and health policy. A large majority of her time in the clinic was spent in Rehabilitation settings and skilled nursing facilities treating older adults. She was previous certified as a Geriatric Clinical Specialist by the American Physical Therapy Association. Her diverse clinical and educational experience has fostered relevant research, textbook contributions, peer reviewed publications, presentations in the U.S. and internationally. Dr. Rone-Adams lived and taught Physical Therapy in London England, developing the first online advanced master’s degree program in Physical Therapy. She also lived and taught in Dublin Ireland, overseeing the research curriculum and the student clinic.

Dr. Rone-Adams research interests include clinical education, simulation and IPE, balance and falls, cognitive decline and outcomes. She supervises students in community outreach for balance and fall related screening. She was one of 2 recipients doing the first research on integrated clinical experiences, which is now mandatory in PT education. Dr. Rone-Adams has served on many state and national committees through the American Physical Therapy Association, the American Council of Academic Physical Therapy and the Federation of State Board of Physical Therapy

Melinda Luis earned her M.S. in Dietetics and Nutrition from Florida International University and is currently working on her Doctor of Clinical Nutrition from the University of North Florida. Her early career involved clinical practice in hospital and extended-care settings. Her graduate work emphasized eating and cognitive challenges in older adults. She enjoys exploring the nutritional patterns of culturally diverse populations worldwide and created a unique course at NSU on world culture, food, and nutrition. Her teaching experience ranges from cooking and nutrition skill classes for children to extensive work in higher education. For fun, Luis enjoys family time, relaxing at the beach, and scrapbooking.

In addition to 17 years of experience in academia, Alina M. Perez brings more than 15 years of practical experience as a licensed clinical social worker in the areas of inpatient and outpatient mental health, inpatient oncology, emergency care, and hospice care. Her clinical practice, scholarship, and community involvement have focused extensively on addressing legal, ethical, and public health issues of the aging population, minorities, and the underserved. She has presented at many local, national, and international conferences and frequently provides lectures and continuing education sessions for students and professionals in the community and other NSU colleges.

Raymond Ownby is a professor and chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at NSU’s Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine and a professor in the public health and biomedical informatics programs. He completed his undergraduate education at Ohio University, where he was elected as member in Phi Beta Kappa, and completed his medical education at the Northeastern Ohio Medical University College of Medicine, where he was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha.

Ownby has been selected for inclusion in Best Doctors in America and is board certified in adult psychiatry, psychosomatic medicine, clinical neuropsychology and neuropsychiatry. He has published more than 200 research articles and has been the recipient of several research grants from the National Institutes of Health. He was awarded the NSU Provost’s Research and Scholarship Award in 2014. He was formerly the director of the Memory Disorders Program at the University of Miami.

His current research includes two projects funded by the National Institutes of Health. These include the development of a mobile app targeting older individuals with low health literacy that is designed to help them improve their ability to manage chronic health conditions. The other project investigates whether the use of transcranial direct current stimulation in combination with computer-based cognitive training can improve cognitive problems in persons 50 years of age and older with an HIV infection.

Stephen E. Bronsburg is the Director of the Master of Science in Health Informatics (MSHI) Program at Nova Southeastern University (NSU) Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine (KPCOM), Department of Health Informatics, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He is also an Associate Professor, Academic Advisor and Practicum Course Director for the MSHI program. He is a board member of the South Florida Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (SFHIMSS). He has conducted and collaborated on numerous health information technology (HIT) research projects with health professionals and graduate students. Selected past research includes developing Avatars to teach addiction counseling skills to healthcare providers, developed and implemented a phone application to address addiction, and incorporating mHealth technology interventions addressing chronic disease and addiction. Selected national and international scholarly activities include peer reviewed presentations, conference proceedings, and journal publications. He sits on the review board of the Online Journal of Applied Knowledge Management a publication of the International Institute for Applied Knowledge Management. He is a reviewer for the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA), and has reviewed HIT focused textbooks.

Ashley Stripling is an assistant professor at NSU’s College of Psychology. Her research interests include geropsychology, clinical training, research and advocacy, promotion of successful, healthy aging through advocacy and clinical interventions, understanding ageism, subjective aging, and the intersection of aging language and perceptions, as well as combating ageist stereotypes.

So-Yeon Sharon Lee obtained her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC, in 2002 and earned her Doctor of Optometry degree from the Illinois College of Optometry in 2006. She then completed a residency in low vision rehabilitation at Southern College of Optometry (SCO). Prior to joining NSU in 2015, Lee was a full-time faculty member at SCO for eight years.

Lee currently holds the rank of assistant professor at NSU and serves as the chief of Low Vision and Geriatric Service. She is also the instructor of record for the low vision didactic course, residency supervisor for the residency program in primary care with an emphasis in low vision, and an attending physician in the primary care and low vision services at Davie and Lighthouse of Broward clinics.

She has presented numerous poster publications at the American Academy of Optometry (AAO), American Optometric Association, and Southeastern Educational Congress of Optometry (SECO) international annual meetings. She has also lectured at AAO and SECO meetings, as well as internationally. Lee is board certified by the American Board of Optometry, a fellow of the American Academy of Optometry, and a member of the American Optometric Association.

Lee held leadership positions in the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry Low Vision Special Interest Group. She has served as a clinical examiner for the National Board of Examiners of Optometry and residency site chair for the Accreditation for College of Optometry Education organization. She is also an active Association of Regulatory Boards of Optometry reviewer.

Theresa Schilthorn is the special projects manager for the Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) Program in the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine. She earned an M.S. in Child Development and Family Relations from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, along with an M.S. in Mental Health Counseling and Medical Education from Nova Southeastern University. Schilthorn has completed additional graduate work and clinical practice in pastoral ministry.

Schilthorn has worked for thirty years in developing and providing community-based primary care and public health initiatives for medically underserved communities in Florida through her work with the AHEC Program at NSU and the University of Miami Miami-Dade AHEC Center. Her community initiatives have included development of primary care clinics, school and community health promotion programs and applied community-based internship and continuing education programs. She served for more than 10 years on local geriatric education advisory boards, provided continuing education to health care professionals and students to increase awareness of and sensitivity to geriatric health care needs and implemented the provision of ongoing community education programs to elders on osteoporosis, fall prevention, diabetes, cardiovascular health, and emergency preparation. She is currently working to increase education and treatment of opioid misuse in the elderly, as well as to increase the provision of tobacco cessation services to the geriatric community.

Cheryl Atherley-Todd, M.D., CMD, FAAFP, is an associate professor at the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine. She is a graduate of the University of the West Indies and is board certified in family medicine and geriatrics. She teaches medical students from first year to final year, while being the course director for the Gastrointestinal System course and Family Medicine virtual course.

Atherley-Todd is a certified medical director of long-term care and has presented many talks on elder abuse, the hazards of driving in the elderly, diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, the effects of retirement on aging and many other topics. She is also very passionate about community work, as she has organized and led several international medical outreach trips to Jamaica and the Dominican Republic.

Joe Baldelomar, is the program manager for the Alzheimer’s Association Southeast Florida Chapter. Joe earned an M.S. in Neuropsychology from Boston College, along with a foundation degree in Philosophy and Theology from Boston College’s School of Theology and Ministry.

Baldelomar, specialize in providing educational programs for the general public and professionals both online and in-person. The educational programs focus on topics such as diagnosis, warning signs, communication, living with Alzheimer’s disease and caregiving techniques, as well as awareness campaigns explaining the difference between Alzheimer’s and typical aging, and the power of early detection. He also facilitates support groups; to provide care and support for all those affected by Alzheimer’s and other dementias. Joe has been a guest speaker.

Professor Kathy Cerminara bridges the medical and legal professions with her work on patients’ rights in the end-of-life decision-making arena. She co-authors the nationally known treatise, The Right to Die: The Law of End-of-Life Decisionmaking, and is a reviewer for several medical and medical-legal journals. Her scholarship most recently has focused on the intersection between end-of-life care, palliative care, and health care coverage policy. At the Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law, she is a full professor. She is also an affiliate faculty member at NSU’s Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine.

Professor Cerminara teaches Torts; Health Policy, Bioethics & Quality of Care; Administrative Law; Civil Procedure; Bioethics; and other health-law-related courses. She also created and was the initial director of the online Master of Science in Health Law program for non-lawyers. In 2017, she received a Scholars Award for innovative interprofessional work with the Broward County Mental Health Court.

Since 2012, she has been a member of the International Scientific Committee for the International Academy of Law & Mental Health, based in Montreal, Canada. In that position, she has co-organized the stream of therapeutic jurisprudence presentations for four of the Academy’s bi-annual Congresses: one in Amsterdam in 2013, one in Vienna in 2015, one in Prague in 2017, and one in Rome in 2019. In recognition of that work, in 2017, the International Society of Therapeutic Jurisprudence awarded her and her co-organizer the first-ever Wexler/Winick Distinguished Service Award in Prague.

Prior to joining the College of Law faculty, Professor Cerminara taught at the University of Miami School of Law and St. Thomas University School of Law, clerked in the Western District of Pennsylvania and the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and practiced law with Reed Smith Shaw & McClay in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Professor Cerminara received her J.D. magna cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh and her LL.M. and J.S.D. from Columbia University. She is an affiliate member of the Health Law and Tort Trial and Insurance sections of The Florida Bar, a retired member of the Pennsylvania Bar, and a member of organizations such as the American Bar Association, the American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics and the American Health Lawyers Association.

Dayne DuVall is a nationally certified Alzheimer's educator (CAEd) and is approved by the state of Florida to provide state-required Alzheimer’s and dementia education and training. He is the dementia education coordinator at the Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP). He also is the lead for the GWEP COVID Telehealth for Underserved Populations Program.

DuVall continues to dedicate his life to educating health care and elder care staff and family members, as well as the general public, about the importance of providing informed, proper care to people living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.