Get to know the HOPE Study staff!

Get to know our staff!

Ever wonder who is on the other end of those emails or phone calls? Here we are!!!

Christy Porucznik, Principal Investigator

Christy Porucznik, PhD, MSPH is an Assistant Professor in the Public Health Program at the University of Utah. She is the Epidemiologist for the Utah Sports Research Network and also serves on its board of directors. Before joining the faculty, Christy worked at the Utah Department of Health as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and was a lieutenant commander in the United States Public Health Service. She completed graduate training in epidemiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health working with the Epidemiology and Biomarkers Branch of the United States Environmental Protection Agency to complete her research. During graduate school, she taught environmental epidemiology at Duke University and assisted with many courses at UNC. Christy discovered epidemiology as a career after completing a bachelor's degree in chemistry at Ohio State University and working in environmental remediation at Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, Ohio. 

Her research interests have always revolved around the environment (broadly defined) and health. As an EIS Officer, Christy worked on projects as varied as drug overdose deaths, outbreak investigations, and public health emergency response. Her current work includes a study of shoulder injury among volleyball athletes (USRN project) an continued research into the problem of drug use and overdose in Utah.  

Joseph Stanford, Co-Investigator

A native of Utah, Dr. Stanford graduated from the University of Minnesota Medical School in 1988. He completed a Family Medicine Residency and an academic fellowship at the University of Missouri, in Columbia, Missouri. He joined the University of Utah faculty in 1993 and is a professor in the Division of Public Health and Director of the Office of Cooperative Reproductive Health. He also holds adjunct appointments in Obstetrics and Gynecology and Pediatrics. Dr. Stanford teaches and serves as a research mentor for public health students, medical students, and residents and fellows. He currently holds the George D. and Esther S. Gross Endowed Professorship in DFPM. 

Dr. Stanford is board-certified in Family Medicine and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians. He is also certified as a FertilityCare Medical Consultant through the American Academy of FertilityCare Professionals. He provides clinical care in maternal and child health, with particular focus on treating infertile couples with natural procreative technology  ("NaPro Technology"), and treating gynecologic problems in ways to restore or support reproductive function (i.e., treatment alternatives to birth control pills and artificial hormones). 

Dr. Stanford is the principal investigator or co-investigator on several large clinical and epidemiological studies related to fertility, infertility treatment and human development. He is a co-investigator for the University of Utah Vanguard Site of the National Children's Study. Past work has focused on day-specific probabilities of conception, the clinical and demographic implications of fertility awareness and natural family planning, and improving the understanding and measurement of pregnancy intendedness. He has served on national scientific advisory committees for the NICHD (Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) and the FDA (Food and Drug Administration). Dr. Stanford is the recipient of many honors, including the Generalist Physician Faculty Scholar Award from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. 

Kyley Joell Cox, Study Coordinator

Kyley grew up in Star Valley, Wyoming and moved to Utah in 2007 to pursue her education at the University of Utah. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Health Promotion and Education in 2010 and graduated with a Master of Public Health degree in 2012. She has worked with Dr. Christy Porucznik on the Peak Day, Peak Day Plus, and HOPE Studies starting in 2011. She hopes to attend medical school in the future and practice medicine while researching infectious disease and women's health. She enjoys camping, riding dirt bikes, and boating with her husband. 

Becky Crockett, Research Analyst

Becky received her B.S. degree from Purdue University.  She is a Research Analyst in the Public Health Program, and has been involved in many research studies while at the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine.  Her work has included being a study coordinator and database developer.  She loves Utah’s landscape, and is an avid runner, biker, hiker, and camper

Lindsey Schmidt, Participant Coordinator

Lindsey has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Utah in Human Development and Family Studies. She is currently working on her MPH at the University of Utah. She is interested in researching women’s health. She enjoys skiing, playing water polo and watching movies.