Mental Health QUERI Staff

Richard R. Owen, MD, a psychiatrist, is Research Coordinator for Mental Health QUERI. He is also Principal Investigator of the Center for Mental Healthcare & Outcomes Research (an HSR&D Research Enhancement Award Program) and Staff Psychiatrist with the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System. Dr. Owen is Professor of Psychiatry in the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Medicine and Professor of Epidemiology in the UAMS College of Public Health. He has served on VA working groups for the development of clinical practice guidelines for depression and schizophrenia. His research interests are: quality and outcomes of care for mental illnesses; implementation research; and medication adherence.

Stephen Marder, MD, is Co-Clinical Coordinator for Mental Health QUERI, focusing on schizophrenia. He is also Director of the VISN 22 Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC) for the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Director of the Section on Psychosis at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. He is the leader of the NIMH MATRICS program for facilitating the development of drugs for improving neurocognition in schizophrenia and the Principal Investigator of the NIMH Treatment Units for Research on Neurocognition in Schizophrenia. Dr. Marder has received the Exemplary Psychiatrist Award from the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, the Stanley Dean Research Award of the American College of Psychiatry, the Alexander Gralnick Award from the American Psychiatric Association, and the Kempf Award from the American Psychiatric Association. He is listed in The Best Doctors in America and America's Top Doctors.

Lisa Rubenstein, MD, MSPH, a practicing general internist and geriatrician, is Co-Clinical Coordinator for Mental Health QUERI, focusing on depression. Dr. Rubenstein directs the VA Health Services Research & Development Center of Excellence for the Study of Healthcare Provider Behavior. She is Professor of Medicine at VA Greater Los Angeles and UCLA, and a Senior Natural Scientist at RAND. Dr. Rubenstein has a long history of clinical and research leadership in improving quality of care and patient quality of life, with particular emphasis on primary care settings. She is an expert on implementation of the collaborative care model for depression in primary care settings.

Geoffrey Curran, PhD, is Associate Director of the Mental Health QUERI Coordinating Center. A medical sociologist, he is also a CeMHOR core investigator and an affiliate research investigator for the South Central MIRECC. He is Associate Professor of Psychiatry in the UAMS College of Medicine. Within the Department of Psychiatry, Dr. Curran serves as Associate Director of the Division of Behavioral Health Services Research and Director of the post-doctoral fellowship program in mental health services research, which is sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health. His research interest areas are diffusion of innovations, substance use and psychiatric comorbidity, substance use disorder treatment outcomes, and qualitative methods.

Jeffrey Smith, PhD Candidate, is Implementation Research Coordinator (IRC) for Mental Health QUERI. He is also an Instructor in the Department of Psychiatry, UAMS College of Medicine. In the role of IRC, he helps execute Mental Health QUERI's strategic plan by leading implementation research projects, disseminating findings, and collaborating with other QUERI researchers and clinical leaders. He serves as a liaison and resource to affiliated MH QUERI investigators on implementation theory and methods, and provides training to partnering clinical staff on implementation strategies. Further, he helps foster broader VA implementation efforts through collaboration and coordination with IRCs and investigators from other QUERI groups on cross-cutting projects and dissemination activities to advance the field of implementation science. His research interests include implementation research and study of quality and outcomes of care for depression and schizophrenia.

Mona Ritchie, MSW, is Administrative Coordinator for Mental Health QUERI. She provides direction for the day-to-day operations of the Coordinating Center, facilitates development and implementation of MH QUERI's operational & strategic planning processes and programs, as well as dissemination of scientific and administrative information, and provides leadership for implementation research projects. She is a social worker with extensive experience in research, clinical care, and quality improvement processes in clinical settings and is currently a public policy doctoral student. Her research interests include implementation research and organizational change.