Dr. Gerald is a leader in the field of clinical, behavioral, and community research and has had continuous funding from NHLBI for over 20 years. She has served as a member of the Clinical Trials Review Study Section for the NIH/NHLBI and has held leadership positions in the American Thoracic Society including serving on the Board of Directors; Chair of the Behavioral Science and Health Services Research Assembly; Co-Chair of the Membership Committee and Co-Chair of the Research Advocacy Committee. She currently serves on the Health Equity and Diversity Committee and the Pediatric Policy Committee of the American Thoracic Society.
Dr. Gerald has also worked in the field of health policy. She and her team worked with schools and local health departments to design and implement school-based health programs. She was instrumental in passing legislation allowing stock albuterol inhalers for schools in Arizona. In 2018, Dr. Gerald collaborated with the Pima County Health Department and the Pima County Superintendent’s Office to perform the first large scale implementation and evaluation of a stock inhaler program in all 300 Pima County (Tucson area) schools. The program continues today and has expanded statewide. She currently serves as a consultant for other states seeking to pass similar legislation and conduct implementation.
Dr. Gerald is currently the Co-PI of an NHLBI funded project where she collaborates with the Navajo Nation to improve pediatric health disparities in asthma. She has served as PI or Investigator on many NIH funded multi-center clinical trial networks including: PI for the ALA-ACRC (at the University of Arizona and the University of Alabama at Birmingham); Investigator for AsthmaNet; Investigator for the Lung Health Studies; Investigator for the COPD Clinical Research Network; and Investigator for the Precision Interventions for Severe and/or Exacerbation-Prone Asthma Network (PrecISE). She has authored more than 135 peer-reviewed articles in scientific journals covering a range of topics including stakeholder engagement and recruitment & retention in clinical and community-based studies comparing educational, lifestyle, and pharmacologic interventions.
Dr. Gerald has received several awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Behavioral Sciences and Health Services Research Assembly of the American Thoracic Society, the Senator Andy Nichols Award from the Arizona Public Health Association for outstanding contributions to public health through public health policy, the Distinguished Service Alumni Award from the Department of Psychology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham to recognize an alumnus for exemplary leadership, outstanding human qualities, and contributions to the University and society.
She received a BS in Psychology and Gerontology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (1990), MA in Sociology from the University of South Alabama (1992), and a MSPH in Epidemiology and PhD in Medical Sociology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (1997).
