Leadership & Faculty

Leadership & Faculty

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Michael Fine, MD, MSc
Director, VA Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion (CHERP)
Staff Physician, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System
Professor of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Dr. Fine is an internationally recognized health services researcher with a longstanding focus on the development and implementation of evidence-based approaches for the management of pneumonia. Publications:Link to PubMed*

Said A. Ibrahim, MD, MPH
Co-Director, VA Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion (CHERP)
Professor of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Research Areas: Understanding how ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and culture impact health care
Publications: Link to PubMed *

Galen Switzer, PhD
Associate Director and Co-Chief, Measurement Core
Health Scientist at VAPHS
Associate Professor of Medicine and Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Dr. Switzer’s research focuses on psychosocial issues in medical settings. In addition to assisting Drs. Fine and Asch in strategic planning and daily operations of the Center, Dr. Switzer is also primarily responsible for providing career mentoring for CHERP’s cadre of PhD investigators and fellows in order to promote successful transitions to independence.
Publications: Link to PubMed *

Marti Trudeau, RN, MPA, CPHQ
Administrative Director

Ms. Trudeau has extensive experience coordinating quantitative and qualitative studies related to health care quality. She advises and supports CHERP leadership in planning, developing, and implementing operations at PVAMC and provides administrative oversight. As Co-Chief of the Qualitative Core, she provides expertise to CHERP investigators in need of qualitative methodological and technical support.
Publications: Link to PubMed *

Alphabetical List of Faculty

David Asch, MD, MBA
Core Investigator and Co-Chief, Communication and Dissemination Core
Staff Physician at PVAMC
Robert D. Eilers Professor of Health Care Management and Economics and Professor of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
The focus of Dr. Asch's research has been on clinician and patient decision making, health policy, medical ethics, technology assessment, health care management, and physician executives.
Publications: Link to PubMed*

Sherrie L. Aspinall, PharmD, MSc
Core Investigator
Associate Professor, University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy
Research Areas: Appropriate and cost-effective use of medications, especially antibiotics. Pharmacoeconomics. Racial variations in medication use.
Publications: Link to PubMed *

Charles Atwood, MD
Core Investigator
Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Director, Sleep Disorders Program, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System
Director, UPMC Sleep Medicine Center
Director of Sleep Medicine Fellowship, UPMC.
Research Areas: Sleep disorders, COPD, Dysphagia
Publications: Link to PubMed *

Sonya Borrero, MD, MS

Core Investigator

Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Lauren Broyles, PhD, RN
Core Investigator
Research Health Scientist
Research Areas: Substance abuse; Vulnerable populations; Bioethics
Publications: Link to PubMed*

Kelly Hyman Burkitt, PhD
Core Investigator, Director of Research Development
Research Areas: Trauma, health psychology, program evaluation
Publications: Link to PubMed *

Carson C. Clark
Communications Coordinator
Co-Chief, Communications and Dissemination Core

Melissa E. Dichter, PhD, MSW
Core Investigator
VA HSR&D Career Development Awardee
Research areas: Women's health, intimate partner violence, qualitative research
Publications:  Link to PubMed *

Mary Ersek, PhD, RN
Core Investigator
Director of PROMISE (Performance Reporting and Outcomes Measurement to Improve the Standard of care at End-of-Life)
Associate Professor of Nursing, Associate Director, Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing and the Center for Integrative Science in Aging, University of Pennsylvania
Research areas: pain and palliative care in older adults, with an emphasis on nursing home residents
PubMed 

Linda Fried, MD, MPH
Core Investigator
Research area: Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Prevention and Treatment
Staff Physician, VAPHS
Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh

Walid Gellad, MD, MPH
Core Investigator
Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Research Areas: Health equity; health economics
Publications: Link to PubMed *

C.Bernie Good, MD, MPH
Core Investigator
Professor of Medicine and Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Research Areas: Health equity
Publications: Link to PubMed *

Adam J. Gordon, MD, MPH
Core Investigator
Associate Professor, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Research Areas: Health Equity, clinical outcomes and processes of care of vulnerable patients undergoing alcohol treatment
Publications: Link to PubMed *

Peter Groeneveld, MD, MSc
Core Investigator
Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Research Areas: Cost effectiveness, emerging medical technologies, health equity
Publications: Link to PubMed *

Leslie R.M. Hausmann, PhD
Core Investigator
Research Areas: Health care culture, Healthy equity
Publications: Link to PubMed

Said A. Ibrahim, MD, MPH
Core Investigator, Co-Director, VA Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion (CHERP)
Professor of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Research Areas: Understanding how ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and culture impact health care
Publications: Link to PubMed *

Samuel T. Kuna, MD, MCSE
Core Investigator
Chief, Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Section, PVAMC
Associate Professor of Medicine, the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Research Areas: Sleep Apnea, Health Equity
Publications: Link to PubMed *

C. Kent Kwoh, MD
Core Investigator
Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Research Areas: Ethnic disparities in rheumatic diseases and rehabilitation/orthopaedic outcomes
Publications: Link to PubMed *

Bruce S. Ling, MD, MPH
Core Investigator
Assistant Professor, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Research Areas: Health equity
Publications: Link to PubMed *

Judith A. Long, MD
Core Investigator
Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Research Areas: Socioeconomic status, health care disparities of vulnerable populations, health services research
Publications: Link to PubMed *

Steven C. Marcus, PhD, MA
Core Investigator
Research Associate Professor of Social Work, University of Pennsylvania
Research area: Health Services and systems

Larissa Myaskovsky, PhD
Core Investigator
Research Areas: Disparities in transplantation and organ donation, quality of life, and health literacy
Publications: Link to PubMed *

David W. Oslin, MD
Core Investigator
Associate Professor, Geriatric and Addiction Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Research Areas: Treatment and consequences of alcohol dependence in older adults
Publications: Link to PubMed *

Diane M. Richardson, PhD, MS
Core Investigator and Senior Statistician
Area of research: Cost and utilization, statistical models, statistical theory and methodology

Keri Rodriguez, PhD
Core Investigator
Research Assistant Professor of Medicine and Sociology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Research Areas: Patient-Provider Communication; End-of-Life Care
Publications: Link to PubMed *

Sylvia E. Rosas, MD, MSCE
Core Investigator
Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Research Areas: Cardiovascular disease in patients with chronic kidney disease
Publications: Link to PubMed *

Armando J. Rotondi, PhD
Core Investigator
Associate Professor of Critical Care Medicine, Department of Health Policy Management
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Research Areas: The design, development, and testing of systems to improve quality, access, and cost performance, of health, mental health, and social services.
Publications: Link to PubMed *

Mary Ann Sevick, ScD
Core Investigator
Associate Professor of Medicine and Public Health, University of Pittsburgh
Research Areas: Adherence, chronic disease
Publications: Link to PubMed *

Judy A. Shea, PhD
Co-chief, Measurement Core
Professor of Medicine, Clinician Educator, Director of Evaluation and Assessment, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Research Areas: Measurement, Instrument Design, Evaluation, Psychometrics
Publications: Link to PubMed *

Roslyn A. Stone, PhD
Co-Chief, Biostatistics and Informatics Core
Associate Professor of Biostatistics, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh
Research Areas: generalized linear models, survival, design and analysis of cluster-randomized studies
Publications: Link to PubMed *

Jennifer G. True, PhD
Core Investigator
Research interests: Qualitative research methods, OEF/OIF post-deployment care

Kevin G. Volpp, MD, PhD
Core Investigator
Professor of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Professor Health Care Systems, The Wharton School
Research Areas: Quality impacts of natural experiments in health policy reform, Risk behavior and non-use of beneficial preventive services
Publications: Link to PubMed *

Mary B. Walsh, RN
Administrative Officer, Pittsburgh
Publications: Link to PubMed *

Steven Weisbord, MD, MSc
Core Investigator
Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Research Areas: Hepatitis, kidney failure, patient satisfaction
Publications: Link to PubMed *

Rachel Werner, MD, PhD
Core Investigator, Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
Research Areas: Health Disparities, Discrimination, Quality of Care, Performance Improvement
Publications: Link to PubMed *

Susan Zickmund, PhD
Core Investigator
Director, Qualitative Research Core
VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System
Associate Professor of Medicine and Clinical & Translational Science
University of Pittsburgh
Research Areas: Qualitative mixed methods, treatment adherence, patient satisfaction
Publications: Link to PubMed *