Health Department Staff
Linda B. Spurlock, Ph.D.
Linda Spurlock is the Director of Human Health at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. She organizes programming aimed at improving community health, teaching the public about disease prevention, and promoting wellness. Increasing health literacy and reducing health disparities are important foci, as well as providing an evolutionary medicine and natural history perspective for understanding Human Health. For over 20 years Linda has worked as an educator teaching anatomy and physiology, human evolution, primatology, environmental science and forensic sciences at colleges and universities in northern Ohio. She received her Ph.D. in biomedical science from Kent State University and held a post-doctoral position in the Department of Anatomy at NEOUCOMP. Linda is a forensic facial reconstruction artist and provides sketches and sculptures of unidentified persons for Coroners' offices throughout the region. She is also a scientific illustrator who specializes in primate fossil reconstruction and has recently worked on reconstructing the fossil Ardipithecus ramidus pelvis. Check out the media release for details on this world-famous research. See Dr. Spurlock’s website for a short biography and examples of her scientific illustrations and facial reconstructions.
Jeff Day, M.D.
Jeff Day is an enthusiastic science educator with broad interests including health, natural history and art. After graduating from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Jeff was excited to meld all these interests in one place – the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, often incorporating his cartooning into educational programs. Some of his interesting sidebars include the publication of a children’s book on dangerous wildlife that he authored and illustrated (Don't Touch That!), studying native plant medicine in Hawaii, and spending a year in Australia learning zoology and volunteering for wildlife surveys. Check out www.jeffdaycartoons.com for more about Dr. Day!
Melissa Duy, CHES
Melissa Duy is the Health Education Coordinator at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. She teaches distance learning, Health on Wheels, and in-house programming. She also evaluates the Museum's health programming and implements various community programs aimed at health education. Melissa received her Bachelor of Science in Community Health from Kent State University and obtained her Master of Public Health (MPH) through Cleveland State University. For her MPH capstone project, Melissa developed a pilot worksite health promotion program through the use of the Precede-Proceed planning model.
Lee Gambol, American Red Cross Instructor
Lee Gambol is the Distance Learning Coordinator for the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. She has formal training in theater and biology, oversees our outreach "Health On Wheels" & "Science-to-Go!" programs, and also provides videoconferencing presentations to audiences worldwide. Lee has over seven years' experience teaching and developing programs for videoconferencing, and more than 17 years under her belt delivering outreach programs for companies including SeaWorld of Ohio, Mr. Wizard Science Assemblies, the Great Lakes Science Center and HealthSpace Cleveland. She has combined the creative techniques learned at these various venues to make learning at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History lively, engaging and fun for students of all ages. Lee is a certified American Red Cross Instructor and teaches classes at the Museum in First Aid and CPR for students of all ages.
Center for Environmental Health and Human Ecology
Ellen M. Wells, Ph.D., MPH
Ellen Wells is an environmental epidemiologist. Epidemiology (derived from the word "epidemic") is the study of disease within populations; an environmental epidemiologist studies the relationships between environment and disease. We all breathe air, eat food and drink water that comes from the environment: it is not surprising that environmental quality can affect our personal health. As a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, Ellen taught biology and environmental education to Bulgarian children of all ages, sometimes in Bulgarian! A recent graduate of both Yale and Johns Hopkins, she currently has a dual role as the coordinator for the Center for Environmental Health and Human Ecology and as a researcher within the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. At CMNH she supports and organizes health and environmental programming, emphasizing the many and complex connections between our environment and our health. At CWRU, her current scientific research projects focus on pregnancy, infant and child health; lead and mercury exposure; and healthy and green homes.