Virtual Indigenous Data Science Academy
VIDS Faculty
Corey B. Smith, Ph.D. (Medical Informatics)
Assistant Professor, Pathology
University of North Dakota
School of Medicine & Health Sciences
Grand Forks, ND 58202-9037
Office Phone: 701.777.2561
Dr. Smith is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences. He teaches health informatics to health professions students and directs the medical informatics core for the North Dakota INBRE. Prior to joining the faculty, he served for 12 years as the Director of Science and Applied Informatics for the Great Plains Tribal Chairmen's Health Board (GPTCHB) where he provided scientific leadership and technical assistance on initiatives aimed at developing and expanding the research and public health capacity of tribal communities throughout the Great Plains region. Dr. Smith earned the Master of Health Sciences and PhD degrees in psychiatric epidemiology from the Bloomberg Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. He went on to become a National Library of Medicine postdoctoral fellow in health sciences informatics at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
S. Cristina Oancea, Ph.D. (Public Health Program)
Associate Professor
Department of Population Health
Dr. S. Cristina Oancea is an Associate Professor in the Department of Population Health at School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND. Dr. Oancea is also the lead epidemiologist for the North Dakota Statewide Cancer Registry and the senior associate editor for the Global Epidemiology journal. She has received her BS degree in Mathematics and Informatics from the University “Lucian Blaga” Sibiu, Romania; two MS degrees, in Theoretical Mathematics and in Theoretical Statistics, from Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, OK; her PhD in Cancer Epidemiology within Environmental Health with completed PhD Biostatistics coursework, from University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, MN. Dr. Oancea has completed her post-doctoral research work in Cancer Epidemiology at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN. r. Oancea has over 25 years of teaching experience and has taught a wide variety of courses, both at undergraduate and graduate level, in mathematics, statistics, biostatistics, epidemiology and environmental health. Her research expertise is in the area of depression among cancer survivors and general population in the US and Brazil. In addition, she is working on identifying potential environmental risk factors for rare cancers.
Brent Voels, Ph.D.
Science Instructor
Cankdeska Cikana Community College
Brent Voels has been faculty at Cankdeska Cikana Community College since 2014. He earned his doctorate degree in biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of North Dakota, where his research focused on gene expression in breast cancer cell lines. He continues to collaborate in research efforts with his mentors from UND, and focuses on providing Tribal College students research opportunities in the place they call home.
Adrienne Salentiny, Ph.D. (Instructional Design)
Instructional Design and Faculty Development
Education Resources
Dr. Salentiny has over 20 years' experience in instructional design, education, and technology. Her work at UND and at other institutions has contributed to the success of undergraduate, graduate, professional, and non-credit activities including arts and sciences programs; continuing education and outreach; aviation education; medical, nursing, and health care education; and government-required environmental safety compliance training. In her role at the University of North Dakota (UND) School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS), she works with leadership across 11 medicine and health sciences programs on curriculum evaluation and management, curricular change, faculty/staff development, supporting instructional experiences that meet the needs of faculty, students, and accreditors. She has designed, developed, and taught graduate courses on topics including instructional design, educational research, program and curricular assessment, and technology-based instructional methods.