Faculty Advisors
2023-2024 GSA Faculty Advisors
Dr. Matthew Christians
Dr. Matthew Christians joined the Cell and Molecular Biology Department at GVSU in 2012. He received his PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of California Riverside, and held a postdoctoral position at the University of Wisconsin Madison before coming to GVSU. Dr. Christians teaches a variety of classes at GVSU, including Cell and Molecular biology, Biotechnology, and Brewing at both the undergraduate and graduate level. He enjoys mentoring students in research projects in areas including plant biology, protein degradation, phytohormone and light signal transduction.
Dr. Sarah Nechuta
Sarah Nechuta is an Assistant Professor for the Master of Public Health (MPH) program in the College of Health Professions, School of Interdisciplinary Health at Grand Valley State University (GVSU). She obtained her MPH from the University of Michigan and PhD in epidemiology from Michigan State University. She joined the GVSU MPH faculty in August 2019 after moving from Nashville, TN to Michigan with her family. Her main areas of scholarship include cancer epidemiology, perinatal epidemiology, injury epidemiology, and epidemiologic methods. She teaches and mentors graduate students in epidemiology, public health science, and applied data analysis. One of her passions is teaching students how to use data to design and conduct impactful data analyses for public health research and practice. She is a faculty advisor to MPH graduate students and provides one-on-one mentorship for students’ public health research and practice projects.
Dr. Tonisha Jones
Dr. Tonisha Jones joined the Grand Valley State University School of Criminology, Criminal Justice, and Legal Studies (SCCJLS) faculty in 2012. Dr. Jones teaches undergraduate-level courses and in the Master of Science in Criminal Justice Program. Her areas of research interests are Feminist Criminology, Victimology, Critical Criminology and Social Justice, and Program Evaluation. Dr. Jones’ research work has appeared in various peer-reviewed journals. She has also authored and co-authored book chapters and served as the Principal Investigator on several community-based program evaluations. Prior to joining the SCCJLS faculty, Dr. Jones worked as a Civil Rights Investigator at Washington State University.