Dr. David Schneider serves as Principle Investigator and director of UAB MERIT. Dr. Schneider earned his BS in microbiology and genetics from the University of Georgia and his Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of Wisconsin. After postdoctoral training at the University of California-Irvine, he moved to Alabama and started his lab in the Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics Department at UAB in 2007. His research focuses on the mechanisms by which RNA polymerase activity is controlled in nature and during disease progression. In addition to his roles as mentor and MERIT director, Dr. Schneider is also a Senior Associate Dean for Graduate and International Education. He serves as director of the Graduate Biomedical Sciences Ph.D. Program and co-director of the NIGMS supported UAB PREP post-baccalaureate program.

Dr. Brett Noerager serves as the Co-Director for Institutional Liaison at the University of Montevallo. Dr. Noerager received his B.S. in animal physiology and neuroscience from UCLA in 1993 and his Ph.D. in physiology and biophysics from the UAB in 2002. His dissertation was directed at developing a novel treatment for the autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis. Dr. Noerager teaches anatomy, physiology introductory biology and principles of biology. He maintains a collaborative research program with the UAB Dept of Medicine investigating mechanisms of lung disease.

Dr. Kenneth LaiHing serves as the Co-Director for Institutional Liaison at Oakwood University. Dr. LaiHing earned his BS in Chemistry at City University of New York, a MS in Chemistry from Long Island University, and his PhD in Chemistry from the University of Georgia. He currently serves as Dean of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Chemistry; he has been at Oakwood University since 1982.

Dr. Farah Lubin has served as Co-Director for Research Training since Spring 2017. Dr. Lubin received her undergraduate degree from Alabama State University and her Ph.D. in Cell/Molecular Biology and Immunology from Binghamton University. Dr. Lubin completed two postdoctoral fellowships in Molecular Neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas and in the Department of Neurobiology at UAB. At UAB, Dr. Lubin is an Associate Professor of Neurobiology; Director of the NINDS-funded Neuroscience Roadmap Scholar Program; Associate Scientist in the Comprehensive Center for Healthy Aging; Associate Scientist in the Comprehensive Neuroscience Center; and MERIT Research Mentor. Her research focuses on investigating the molecular and genetic basis of learning, memory and its disorders.

Dr. Scott Snyder serves as Evaluator of the MERIT Program. Dr. Snyder received his PhD in Child Development from Purdue University in 1985. Dr. Snyder was appointed Assistant Professor of educational measurement and research in the School of Education at UAB; he was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 1994. In 2000, Dr. Snyder was appointed Director of the UAB Center for Educational Accountability (CEA), which promotes the improvement of educational outcomes of students, schools, and agencies through responsive and valid data based decisions focused on reform. He previously served as Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Education for the UAB School of Education, Interim Associate Dean for Research for the College of Arts and Sciences at UAB and Interim Director of the Ethics Center at UAB.

Dr. Tracey Wilson serves as the Co-Director for Institutional Liaison at Lawson State. Dr. Wilson holds a Bachelor's degree in Biology from Fisk University and a PhD in Physiology from Meharry Medical College; she completed her postdoctoral training at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Wilson began her tenure at Lawson State in 2000 and currently serves as Chair of the Department of Natural Sciences. In this role, Dr. Wilson is directly responsible for ensuring the success and overall quality and delivery of the departmental curriculum, which leads to associate degrees in several biology-related areas, including but not limited to general biology, biology education, biomedical engineering, and biomedical science. In addition, Dr. Wilson serves as the principal investigator on a NASA Science and Engineering Grant and co-PI on an NIGMS-funded R25 Bridges to the Baccalaureate Program; both of these funding mechanisms focus on STEM education for underrepresented groups.

Dr. Stefanie Varghese has served as the Co-Director for Teaching Instruction since 2022. Dr. Varghese received her PhD in Vision Sciences from UAB in 2013; she also earned her MBA from UAB in 2021 while serving as Program Manager of the UAB Vision Sciences Graduate Program. In 2022, she joined the Office of Professional Studies and Experiential Learning in the UAB Graduate School as the Director of the UAB CIRTL Program; she also directs the Research Communication Certificate program. As director of this higher education teaching certificate program, she has implemented a curriculum redesign to highlight the process of learning and how that relates to common teaching methods that are rooted in pedagogy, and how to assess that learning is occurring to ultimately provide scholars the training and teaching experience needed to be an effective academician.