Editors

Editor-in-Chief

Randy Wykoff, MD, MPH & TM

Randy Wykoff is Founding Dean of the College of Public Health at East Tennessee State University, in Johnson City, Tennessee. Trained as a physician (Preventive Medicine and Pediatrics), he now focuses on the public health challenges facing rural and other resource-limited settings. He received his dual MD–MPH &TM from Tulane in 1981. From 1999 to 2002, Dr. Wykoff served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health (Disease Prevention and Health Promotion) for the United States Department of Health and Human Services, which included a stint as Acting Executive Director for the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports (2001). He has also held positions within the US Food and Drug Administration and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. More recently, Dr. Wykoff served as Co-Editor (alongside the late Dr. F. Douglas Scutchfield) of Appalachian Health: Culture, Challenges, and Capacity (2022), published by the University Press of Kentucky to highlight long-term trends affecting the health and well-being of the people of Appalachia.

Dr. Wykoff has no competing editorial or research interests regarding his role as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Appalachian Health.

Senior Associate Editor

Matthew Fifolt, PhD

Matthew Fifolt is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Organization in the School of Public Health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). He also serves as Director of the Survey Research Unit and Senior Evaluator for the Applied Evaluation and Assessment Collaborative. Dr. Fifolt is the Principal Investigator on multiple state and federal grants and cooperative agreements, with a strong emphasis on initiatives designed to address the needs of under-resourced populations.

Dr. Fifolt has no competing editorial or research interests regarding her role as Senior Associate Editor of the Journal of Appalachian Health.

Managing Editor

Emily Wilson

Emily, is an editor and former English composition instructor. She is a lifelong resident of Northeast Tennessee and holds a deep love and sense of connection to the Appalachian Region, as well as the people who reside within it. Her interest in public health is part and parcel of her investment in the wellbeing and uplifting of Appalachia’s voices. Her particular areas of interest include LGBTQ+ healthcare, rural healthcare equity, and transgender advocacy.

Emily received their Master of the Arts in English Literature from East Tennessee State University in May 2024. There, she served as one of two executive editors of ETSU’s creative writing magazine, The Mockingbird, and used her platform as editor to amplify LGBTQ+ voices on campus.

Ms. Wilson has no competing editorial or research interests regarding her role as managing editor of the Journal of Appalachian Health.

Media & Marketing Coordinator

Bradley Firchow

Bradley Firchow is a medical student in the Rural Physician Leadership Program at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. His primary research focus is local health department accreditation. Bradley is a National Health Service Corps scholar and plans to practice primary care in rural Central Appalachia upon completing residency. He currently serves on the board of the National Rural Health Association Student Constituency Group, where he leads initiatives to engage students in rural health scholarship and advocacy.

From 2017 to 2021, Bradley was a researcher and health communications specialist for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where he worked on the Child Development Studies Team and served in the Joint Information Center for U.S. COVID-19 Pandemic response.

Mr. Firchow has no competing editorial or research interests regarding his role as Media & Marketing Coordinator for the Journal of Appalachian Health.