Smah Abdelhamid, MHA, MPH, joined IHSI in June 2024 as a visiting REDCap application specialist. In this role, Smah is responsible for helping REDCap users on campus find the best features and design for their research and troubleshooting issues. She will also contribute her expertise to improving the suite of trainings, services, and offerings Illinois REDCap offers to campus. Though Smah has only recently started with the Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Institute, her passion and curiosity have made her a vital contributor to the team, particularly influencing the development our recent inaugural REDCap Day and the new IHSI Affiliate program.
Tell us briefly about your background.
I have a Master’s in Health Administration and B.S in Chemistry from Clayton State University. I also have a Master’s in Public Health from Augusta University. I come from large healthcare systems and research institutes. I have passion for public health and community-based programming, which I spent most of my professional career doing. I enjoy volunteering, particularly in underserved communities.
What excites you about this role?
Being part of all the amazing work happening at IHSI and supporting our researchers.
What do you hope to learn?
How to manage multiple larger diverse projects and work with a multitude of diverse stakeholders.
What’s the coolest feature of REDCap and why should people know about it?
Well, that is a very hard question to answer. I would say the ‘alerts and notifications’ feature which allows you to send automated emails through REDCap. You can schedule emails or send them right away. You can test them before sending them and you can resend them with very little issues. Another REDCap feature that I am pretty excited about is our forthcoming Flight Tracker, which is an external module created by REDCap admins/developers that simply adds on to the system. Flight Tracker allows you to track scholars’ publications, grants, patents and so much more in close to real time as it will get and it is almost all automatic. But there are just so many features that I can talk about.
Where might we find you outside of work?
I am fairly partial to the Premier League (English soccer league) when watching a soccer match. I am a huge Liverpool SC fan. I enjoy playing tennis and watching tennis. I am better at watching it than playing for sure.