BIOS

Dr. Stephanie Sullivan is a scientist and chiropractor whose work focuses on advancing human resilience and deciphering the mechanisms of action for chiropractic care.  Dr. Sullivan is the associate vice president of research and director of the Dr. Sid E. Williams Center for Chiropractic Research (CCR) at Life University, where she works with her team and collaborators to advance the center’s mission-driven research. Dr. Sullivan also provides leadership and guidance for the Complementary Healthcare Advanced Research and Leadership Institute (CHARLI) at Life University.  

 Dr. Sullivan earned her Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Life University and holds a Ph.D. in neuroscience from the Biomedical and Health Sciences Institute at the University of Georgia. Her professional background includes a career in banking and marketing before she decided to return to school for research and chiropractic studies. Leveraging her past expertise, Dr. Sullivan has worked to propel the CCR forward, conducting impactful research studies, and disseminating valuable information through various media channels, such as presentations, peer-reviewed publications, and open-access venues.

 Dr. Sullivan’s research currently focuses on brain-based and autonomic changes following chiropractic care. She is particularly interested in exploring the role of chiropractic care in fostering stress resilience among active duty and veteran military service members and first responders. Dr. Sullivan’s research portfolio extends to developing the Well-being and Health Expression Evaluation List (WHEEL) and establishing a research-based learning healthcare community.

 Outside of her research commitments and university support endeavors, Dr. Sullivan enjoys spending quality time with her family, participating in outdoor activities, and working with her husband on their farm in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Dr. Kwon completed her Doctor of Chiropractic degree within the Research Track at Life University, with Pi Tau Delta honors.  She holds a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering with a minor in Computer Science and Master of Science in Biotechnology degrees from Johns Hopkins University, and a Master of Public Health degree from Emory University, with Delta Omega honors.  She has also studied Health Policy at the Harvard School of Public Health and completed a Visiting Fellowship in Functional MRI at the Harvard Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging.

 She is a full-time faculty member and Research Chair at Life University. Additionally, she serves as a Board Member and Research Fellow with the Foundation for Vertebral Subluxation, the Alumni Council of Johns Hopkins University, the Clinical Advisory Panel for the Australian Spinal Research Foundation, and the Board of the Academy of Chiropractic Family Practice.

 Dr. Kwon is involved in subluxation-based chiropractic research focused on the epidemiology of vertebral subluxation.  She has also engaged in chiropractic and public health research related to maternal and child health outcomes and is interested in studies on the utilization of fMRI in special populations under care.  Her research background includes work with the Emory Child Health and Mortality Prevention Study (CHAMPS), the former National Cancer Institute’s American Health Foundation, the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine – Neurology Institute for Cell Engineering, the Johns Hopkins Hospital Harriet Lane Adolescent Clinic, and the Engineering Research Center for Computer Integrated Surgical Systems and Technology.  She is also a former intern with the United Nations’ Economic and Social Council Health Committee.  In 2021, she was named Chiropractic Researcher of the Year by the ICA’s Upper Cervical Council, and Chiropractic Researcher of the Year by the FVS in 2023.  She has presented her work to chiropractors, educators, and other healthcare professionals from a diverse array of disciplines all over the world.

I am the leader of the Art of the Adjustment research team. Our work is meant to characterize the kinematic and kinetic characteristics – motions and forces – of chiropractic adjustments. The ideal achievement is to create a database of profiles of expert DCs, along with other defined groups (e.g., practitioners of a specific technique, or students, etc.) Projects undertaken by the AotA team provide documentation of regional and major-joint motion patterns of DCs while performing manually applied adjustments, the motions experienced by patients, the amount of force projected from the practitioner’s hands, and the speed at which it is delivered, and the vector in which it is directed.

 Some of my other work has been in support roles in other projects for students, other faculty members, or alumni – biomechanical topics relevant to chiropractors, mostly involving assessment of motion and force. Motion assessment projects have included students wearing backpacks, pianists playing the piano, and the examination of arm symmetry during normal walking.

 I am currently the chair of Life University’s research ethics committee (the Institutional Review Board); a member of the Research Advisory Council, evaluating proposals for internal funding; and one of the advisors for the Research Track, an alternative curriculum with scholarship support for chiropractic students who receive academic credit during their pursuit of research projects. I am also a member of the Georgia Chiropractic Association and the Chiropractic Educators Research Forum.

I am a trained functional anatomist, with an interest in vertebrate evolution. After moving from the UK, I started working at a small state college called Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC) in Tifton, Georgia. It was at ABAC where I started to learn the importance of student engagement in the classroom. After reading ‘make it stick’ by Peter Brown and colleagues (a fantastic book if you are interested in the science of learning), I started experimenting with techniques in my classroom that allowed students to engage with my teaching materials. For example, I use the learning platform, TopHat in my classroom at Life University. TopHat is the industry leader in digital textbooks. Digital tools and multimedia can be used to create engaging and interactive learning experiences.

When I arrived at Life U in 2021 I started using the teaching method Team Based Learning (TBL).  Students are placed into diverse teams for the whole quarter and work together to explore different assignments/scenarios. TBL has worked brilliantly here due to the longer class periods, smaller class sizes and large population of student athletics (who are experienced with working in teams from the get-go!). Please contact me for more information on Team Based Learning. 

As well as trying to engage students in the classroom, I also conduct research here at Life University. My research primarily involves quantifying form and function of vertebrate animals. I use several different techniques including image processing, geometric morphometrics and multivariate statistical analysis. I am always interested in adding more students to my research lab. If you are a student interested in being involved in undergraduate research, please reach out. I have several opportunities for paid research.

Thomas Fabisiak is Assistant Dean of Social Sciences at Life University. Thomas joined Life University in 2015 to support the launch of the Chillon Project, the first college degree program to be offered by a Georgia college or university inside a prison in over twenty years. While serving as Director of Chillon, Thomas co-founded the Georgia Coalition for Higher Education in Prison, a statewide partnership to expand higher education for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people. Thomas now serves as Co-Executive Director of GACHEP. In that capacity, he has authored and is administering significant federal and private foundation grants to build the infrastructure for higher education in prison to grown in Georgia. Thomas has published work on secularism and religion as well as on higher education in prison. His current research focuses on moral injury and moral disengagement in the prison system.