VIReC Staff

Denise M. Hynes, PhD, MPH, RN, Center Principal Investigator and Research Career Scientist, VA Information Resource Center (VIReC), Research Career Scientist, Center for Management of Complex Chronic Care (CMC3), based at the Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital, Professor (Visiting) of Public Health, Department of Medicine, College of Medicine and School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL and Lecturer, Department of Medicine, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL

Elizabeth Tarlov, PhD, RN

Timothy E. Weddle, PhD, MBA

Joanne Stevens, BSN, RN

Susan Schiffner, RN, BSM, CCM

Erika Whittier (formerly Black), MPH
QUERI Consultation Coordinator

Melissa M. Brown, BS, MPH Candidate
Medicare Data Merge Project Coordinator

Margaret Browning, PhD
Health Information Specialist

Ronald Cornick, MALS
Webmaster

Kristin de Groot (formerly Koelling), MPH
Medicare Data Merge Project Specialist

Bianca Easterly, MPA
Technical and Data Management Specialist

Thomas Haywood, MPH
Technical and Data Management Specialist

James Ibarra
System Administrator

Linda Kok, MA
Data Security and Privacy Specialist

Arika Owens, MPH
Data Quality Project Specialist

Ruth Perrin, MA
Data Management and Analysis Specialist

Jenifer Stelmack, MSW
Dissemination Specialist

Dorothy Wash
Program Support Assistant

Puling Zhang, MA
Medicare Project Analyst

Margaret Ross-Kraft, PhD, RN, Assistant Professor, Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing, Loyola University Chicago. Expertise: VHA Decision Support System clinical applications, data mining, long term care.  Serves as Senior Investigator for long term care.

Todd Lee, PharmD, PhD, Senior Investigator, Center for Management of Complex Chronic Care (CMC³), VA HSR & D Center of Excellence, Edward J. Hines Jr. VA Hospital; Research Assistant Professor at the Institute for Healthcare Studies and Division of General Internal Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University.  Expertise: Pharmaceutical outcomes research, pharmacoeconomics.  Serves as Senior Investigator for pharmacy data.

Dean Reker, PhD, RN, Senior Research Scientist

Kevin T. Stroupe, PhD, Research Health Scientist/Senior Investigator, Center for Management of Complex Chronic Care (CMC³), VA HSR & D Center of Excellence, Edward J. Hines Jr. VA Hospital; Research Assistant Professor, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University. Expertise: Health economics. Serves as Senior Investigator for data quality research.

Gary Rosenthal, MD (Chair), Director, Center for Research in the Implementation of Innovative Strategies in Practice, VA HSR&D Center of Excellence, Iowa City VA Medical Center, Iowa City, IA; Professor and Division Director, General Internal Medicine, Carver College of Medicine, and Professor of Health Management and Policy, College of Public Health, University of Iowa.

Stephan Fihn, MD, MPH, Director, Northwest Center for Outcomes Research In Older Adults, VA HSR&D Center of Excellence, VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA; Professor and Head, Division of General Internal Medicine, and Professor, Department of Health Services, University of Washington (UW).

Marian Fitzgibbon, PhD, Co-Principal investigator for the Center for Management of Complex Chronic Care at the Jesse Brown Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Chicago, IL. Dr. Fitzgibbon is also Director and Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago UIC.

Ann Hendricks, PhD, Director, Health Care Financing and Economics, VA Boston Healthcare System (BHCS) Research and Development Service, Boston, MA; Associate Professor of Health Services, School of Public Health, Boston University.

Morris Weinberger, PhD, Senior Career Scientist, Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care, VA HSR&D Center of Excellence, Durham VA Medical Center, Durham, NC; Vergil N. Slee Distinguished Professor of Healthcare Quality Management, Department of Health Policy and Administration, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Catherine Pfeil, PhD (Chair), Deputy Director, Health Program Services Office, VA Office of Enterprise Development, VHA Office of Information and Technology (OI&T), Oakland, CA.

Francesca Cunningham, PharmD, Director, Center for Medication Safety Patient Safety Center of Inquiry (PSCI) and Program Manager, Outcomes Research, Pharmacy Benefits Management Strategic Healthcare Group, Department of Veterans Affairs, Hines, IL.

John Fortney, PhD, Research Health Scientist, Center for Mental Healthcare and Outcomes Research, VA HSR&D Center of Excellence, Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System Eugene J. Towbin Healthcare Center, Little Rock, AR;  Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR.

Christa M. Hojlo, PhD, RN, NHA, Director, VA Nursing Home Care and Director, State Veterans Home Quality and Survey Oversight, Department of Veterans Affairs.

Nancy Johnson, RN, MSA, BSN, Lead Clinical Analyst, Database Development, VHA DSS Decision Support Office, Bedford, MA.

John Quinn, BS, Chief, VHA National Data Systems, Austin TX.

Todd H. Wagner, Phd, Health Economist, VA Health Economics Resource Center (HERC), VA Center for Healthcare Evaluation (VA HSR&D Center of Excellence), and the VA Cooperative Studies Program Coordinating Center, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA; Consulting Assistant Professor, Department of Health Research and Policy, Stanford University.