NC SPEED Staff

Cathy L. Melvin, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator

Dr. Melvin is a Senior Research Fellow and the Director of the Child Health Services Program at the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, as well as a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Maternal and Child Health. As Dissemination Core Director, Dr. Melvin draws on extensive background in dissemination research, translation of research into practice, and the application of quality improvement approaches to systems change.

Catherine Rohweder, Dr.P.H.
Program Director for NC SPEED

Dr. Rohweder is the Program Director for NC SPEED and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. She provides consultation on identifying and linking to NC organizations and settings for research efforts, process evaluation using qualitative methods, and developing office systems tools to support evidence-based interventions.

Sandra J. Diehl, M.P.H.
Research Associate, South and Southeastern NC Region

Ms. Diehl is a Regional Research Associate for NC SPEED. She is based in Wilmington and serves the Southern and Southeastern regions of the state.  Ms. Diehl has extensive experience in working with community-based organizations as well as in adult education and graduate medical education. Major topic areas of research and practice include reproductive and perinatal health, health communication, and cancer prevention.

Jane Laping, M.S., M.P.H.
Research Associate, Western NC Region

Ms. Laping is a Regional Research Associate for NC SPEED. She is based in Asheville and serves the Western region of the state. Ms. Laping matches community-identified health priorities with evidence-based interventions for cancer control in Western North Carolina. She is focusing her cancer prevention efforts on increased screening, obesity control and smoking cessation in pregnant women.