MICHELLE S. BALLAN, PhD is Associate Dean for Research and Professor of Social Welfare and Professor of Family, Population and Preventive Medicine at Stony Brook University Health Sciences Center where her research, teaching and service are dedicated to individuals with disabilities. Dr. Ballan focuses on intimate partner violence, bioethics, medical education, and sexual health prevention and treatment interventions for adults with disabilities. She is the Principal Investigator on several grants, including a 2020 grant to include disability content within medical school curriculum funded by the American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry and a Pfizer Foundation grant focused on reducing health disparities for patients with IDD presenting with COVID-19 symptoms. Dr. Ballan is the recipient of numerous teaching and research awards including the 2020 SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching and the 2020 Switzer Distinguished Level Research fellowship from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research. She received her PhD from the University of Texas and has worked as a practitioner and educator in various community settings with individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities, including the New Jersey Brain Injury Association, Women Helping Women, Safeplace, and schools. She was appointed to the S:US Developmental Disabilities Services, Inc. board in April 2011.