Contact us
UMKC Institute for human development
Leadership Team
The UMKC Institute for Human Development (IHD) began in the 1970’s as the Institute for Community Studies, establishing Missouri’s University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) in 1977. Close to a decade later, our name evolved to its present form, but our overall purpose remained constant: identifying and addressing individual, family and community needs with a focus on building long-term capacity.
UMKC IHD has now offered more than four decades of sustained leadership and support for the university’s urban-serving mission. We work with a wide variety of partners across all levels – local, state, regional, and national – tackling persistent challenges people and families face throughout the life span, from infancy to late adulthood. We focus on community inclusion and social belonging for all, striving to improve overall quality of life.
Danielle Chiang
Principle Investigator
Danielle Chiang (Ph.D.) is the Director of the Maternal and Child Health Program at UMKC – Institute for Human Development, and oversees several federally, state, and locally funded grants. She has a broad background in applied research, with specific training and expertise in quantitative methods, psychometric evaluation, and research design in psychological and social science.
Her work at IHD focuses on overseeing effective program evaluation, including measures to utilize, effective data collecting procedures, data storage and management, data analysis, generating statistical conclusions, and making proper inferences for data-driven decision-making. She has also been actively involved in facilitating collaboration and partnership, fostering co-learning and capacity building among partners, and leading to a long-term process and commitment to sustainability.
A few of her long-standing projects include the Team for Infants Exposed to Substance Use Project partnering with Children’s Mercy Hospital, the Kansas City Healthy Start Initiative with Nurture KC, the Maternal Health Action Network with Missouri MCH Title V, the Maternal Health Access Project with Department of Mental Health, advancing MCH oral health project with CareQuest, and the health careers pipeline project with UMKC-School of Medicine.
Bryce Starr
Project Manager
Bryce Starr, MS, BS, ASN, is the Project Manager for the Missouri Maternal Health Action Network (MHAN) at the University of Missouri–Kansas City Institute for Human Development. In this role, he manages and oversees the Network’s day-to-day operations, advancing statewide efforts to improve behavioral health outcomes for mothers, children, and families affected by perinatal substance use and related mental and behavioral health challenges.
Bryce holds a Master of Science in Exercise and Sports Medicine from Western Michigan University, along with degrees in Exercise Science and Nursing. His multidisciplinary background informs a systems-level approach to maternal and child health that bridges clinical, community, and public health perspectives. Drawing on his own lived experiences, Bryce centers the voices of those most directly impacted, ensuring that program planning, policy development, and decision-making are grounded in real-world needs and strengths.
His work focuses on building cross-sector partnerships, addressing barriers to care, and developing sustainable strategies that expand access to critical supports for pregnant and postpartum individuals and their families across Missouri.
In addition to his role at UMKC, Bryce serves on the Community Advisory Board for the HEALthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) Study at Washington University in St. Louis. He is a member of the Missouri Hospital Association’s Executive Leadership Board for The Naloxone Project, represents Missouri within the Perinatal Quality Collaborative through MC-LAN and Project STORK, and serves as a member of the MCH Alliance as directed by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. Bryce also actively collaborates with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services and Mental Health in the development and implementation of Missouri’s Overdose Strategic Plan.