Leadership
Michael Schmidt, PhD, MGD
Dr. Michael Schmidt is the director of the Institute for Arts and Health and Associate Dean of Research and Community Engagement for the College of Communication and Fine Arts. He is a full professor of graphic design in the Department of Art and Design and an affiliate faculty member in the School of Public Health. Dr. Schmidt has managed over 90 externally funded projects, the majority as PI, and has been recognized by the university and community for his contributions to engaged scholarship. He consistently engages in transdisciplinary research, merging insights and methods from art, design, the social and behavioral sciences, epidemiology, and intervention design and evaluation. His work also crosses sectors, including government, non-governmental and non-profit organizations, for-profit corporations, education, and healthcare. He has made novel contributions to children鈥檚 rights impact assessment, pediatric bioethics, domestic violence prevention and intervention, smoking and vaping cessation, transdisciplinary research, and design history and theory.
Debra Burns, PhD, MT-BC
Dr. Debra Burns is the Dean of the College of Communication and Fine Arts, IAH鈥檚 administrative home. Dr. Burns is an established leader of music therapy known around the world for her research into the link between the arts and well-being. She specializes in music-based intervention research using mixed methodologies across the cancer treatment continuum from disease-directed treatment, survivorship and end of life. She has collaborated and consulted on several studies funded by the National Institutes of Health specializing in research methodology, determining the essential components of music interventions, designing appropriate control conditions and monitoring treatment fidelity.
Burns holds a Ph.D. in music education and music therapy from the University of Kansas, a master鈥檚 in music therapy from Illinois State University, and a Bachelor of Arts in music education from Glenville State College in West Virginia. She completed five years of postdoctoral training funded by the Walther Cancer Institute and the National Institutes of Health/National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
Her publication record includes over 25 papers published in journals such as Journal of Music Therapy, Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, and Supportive Care in Cancer. She has been an active member of the American Music Therapy Association since 1989.