Useful Links
|
Research Investigators Michael Weiner, MD MPH
Dr. Weiner's clinical and health-services research focuses on measuring and improving the quality, coordination, and delivery of health services for older adults. He studies the effects of health information and information technology on physicians' practices and patients' outcomes. Dr. Weiner has conducted studies of specialty referral, patient-physician videoconferencing, and other forms of telecommunication to improve healthcare.
Current research includes development, implementation, and study of information systems to promote clinical handoffs, management of medications, patient-centered geriatrics care, and clinical decision support.
|
Principal Investigator
 Investigator Matthew.Bair@va.gov |
 |
Matthew J. Bair, MD, MS is a core investigator of the CIEBP. He is also a research scientist at the Regenstrief Institute, Inc., and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine. His primary research interests include: the relationship between depression and pain; improving pain management in the primary care setting, and designing interventions that combine pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic approaches for chronic pain.
Dr. Bair recently received a HSR&D CDTA (“Care Management for the Effective Use of Opiods”) and is currently a recipient a of Merit Review grant from RR&D to conduct a RCT (“Evaluation of Stepped Care for Chronic Pain” (ESCAPE)). ESCAPE is comparing a combination of pain treatments, including algorithm-based analgesics, pain self-management and cognitive behavioral therapy versus usual care and is the first intervention for chronic pain treatment of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom veterans. He is the Chair of the VA Pain in Primary Care Working Group and a member of the National VA Pain Management Coordinating Committee. He leads and coordinates the complex intervention research focus.
Dawn M. Bravata, MD, MS
Dawn M. Bravata, MD, MS is a core investigator of the CIEBP, the clinical coordinator of the HSR&D Stroke QUERI, an Associate Professor in the IU Department of Medicine and a research scientist at the Regenstrief Institute. Dr. Bravata is a former VA CDA/ARCDA awardee who brings expertise in intervention and implementation research focused on improving the quality of care for patients with cerebrovascular disease. In particular, she is interested in three topics within this larger domain: the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions for patients with acute ischemic stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA), the quality of care received by patients with stroke and TIA, and the identification and treatment of medical co-morbidities in patients with cerebrovascular disease. Congruent with these interests, Dr. Bravata recently completed a VA HSR&D IIR study, “The Quality Evaluation in Stroke and Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA)” (QUEST) Project. She is currently a PI of a HSR&D IIR, “Diagnosis and Treatment of Sleep Apnea in Cerebrovascular Disease”, which is an effectiveness strategy trial of patients with chronic stroke and ITA seeking to improve blood pressure control. She was the PI of a locally funded grant on a healthcare system redesign approach to improving the delivery of dysphagia care. Dr. Bravata serves on a variety of committees for the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association including as Chair of the Stroke Outcomes and Quality Committee. Dr. Bravata participates as an investigator in the complex intervention and organizational change foci. |
Neale R. Chumber, PhD
Neale R. Chumbler, PhD, is the Chair of the Sociology Department at the IU School of Liberal Arts and a Regenstrief Institute, Inc. Scientist. Over the past decade he has had extensive experience developing and evaluating VA implementation studies, many of which involved health informatics tools that focus on delivering accessible care for functionally impaired individuals and in evaluating VA stroke quality performance indicators. He is currently the PI of a RR&D IIR study (“Home-based Telehealth Stroke Care: A Randomized Trial for Veterans”) and recently completed an HSR&D grant that identified factors impacting patient use of the VA’s My HealtheVet. He is the director of the four fellowship programs in the Center. Dr. Chumbler participates as an investigator in the health informatics and complex intervention research foci. Stroke Care: A Randomized Trial for Veterans”) and recently completed an HSR&D grant that identified factors impacting patient use of the VA’s My HealtheVet. |
Investigator
Teresa M. Damush, PhD
 Teresa.Damush@va.gov |
 |
Teresa M. Damush, PhD, is a core investigator of the CIEBP, the Implementation Research Coordinator of the VA HSR&D Stroke QUERI Center and a Research Scientist in the IU Center for Aging Research and the Regenstrief Institute, Inc, Indianapolis. Dr. Damush is an expert on active implementation methodology and patient self-management. She is the PI of a HSR&D IIR using mixed methodology to locally adapt and implement secondary stroke prevention to veterans with stroke.
In addition, Dr. Damush collaborates as a co-investigator on several multi-disciplinary HSRD and QUERI funded projects providing expertise on implementation and qualitative methodology. Dr. Damush mentors a VA nurse predoctoral candidate and a VA Rehabilitation and Research Career Development Awardee. Locally, Dr. Damush contributes lectures for the Implementation Science Course on campus and provides peer reviews of HSRD grant proposals prior to submission. Nationally, Dr. Damush has served on the planning committees of the National HSRD and QUERI meetings and currently serves as a member of the VA HSR&D Scientific Member Review Board for Chronic Disease and Quality of Life Outcomes. She is an investigator in complex intervention research.
Bradley N. Doebbeling, MD, MSc
Bradley N. Doebbeling, MD, MSc, is a core investigator of the CIEBP and is a Professor in Health Services Research at the IU School of Medicine. From 2004 to February 1, 2009, he served as the PI of the CIEBP. He has served on QUERI’s Research Methodology Committee, VA’s National Clinical Practice Guidelines Council’s (NCPGC) Implementation and Education Subcommittee, and several IOM panels. He collaborates in multiple VA studies of organizational factors and implementation and is currently a site PI for the VA Consortium for Healthcare Informatics which involves data mining of structured and unstructured clinical data in CPRS for identifying patients at risk of MRSA infections and PTSD. He has been primary mentor for several postdoctoral trainees and has served on career development review panels for VA and NIH. He has been continuously funded since 1993 studying organizational factors which influence implementation of evidence. He participates as an investigator in health informatics, and will continue to provide key leadership and linkages to VA System Redesign and health IT operations. |
Investigator 
Richard M. Frankel, PhD
 InvestigatorRichard.Frankel@va.gov |
 |
Richard M. Frankel, PhD, is a core investigator of the CIEBP, Professor of Medicine and Geriatrics at IU School of Medicine and Senior Research Scientist at the Regenstrief Institute. His research focuses on clinician-patient communication and its effects on quality and safety, the effects of exam room computing on physician patient communication and effective organizational change strategies. This important work has translated into a currently funded HSR&D IIR “Improving Transfers of Care in VA Nursing and Medical Services”. He has a second IIR that was recently reviewed, with very positive scores “Understanding Variations in CPRS Use Among Primary Care Clinicians”. He leads the VA inter-professional fellowship program in patient safety and is involved in several safety related VA research projects.
Dr. Frankel has won numerous honors and awards. He was recipient of the American Academy on Physician and Patient’s George Engel Award for outstanding contributions to research on communication in the medical encounter and won the Lynn Payer award for contributions to teaching and scholarship in clinician patient communication. He has published more than 150 research papers in the area of clinician-patient communication and serves on a number of editorial boards including the Journal of General Internal Medicine, The Permanente Journal, BMC Education, and Communication and Medicine. He has served on several national boards and study sections, including both VA and AHRQ grant review panels. He is a member of the organizational change research focus and the CIEBP Executive Council.
Dustin D. French, PhD
|
David A. Haggstrom, MD
 David.Haggstrom@va.gov |
 |
David A. Haggstrom, MD is a core investigator of the CIEBP, a general internist, an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine at the IUSM. In 2008, Dr. Haggstrom received a VA HSR&D Career Development Award that identifies patterns of surveillance care and its patient determinants among veteran colorectal cancer survivors and is pilot testing a colorectal cancer survivor’s Web-based personal health record. He is particularly interested in implementation research and shared models of care delivery between primary care and specialty physicians. He has developed expertise in personal health records and plans to develop and evaluate a patient-controlled health record for use by cancer survivors.
Dr. Haggstrom currently serves on the Cancer Care Collaborative Steering Team as well as the My HealtheVet Clinical Advisory Board’s Performance Evaluation Workgroup. Dr. Haggstrom is an active member in the health informatics research focus.
Thomas Imperiale, MD
Thomas Imperiale, MD's primary research interests include tailoring screening for colorectal cancer based on individual patient risk and using quantitative research methods in studying prevention of the complications of cirrhosis. Secondary research interests include prognosis and management of acute upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage and assesment of new technologies to the application of digestive diseases. |
Investigator
Erin E. Krebs, MD, MPH
Erin E. Krebs, MD, MPH is a core investigator of the CIEBP and an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine at the IUSM. She joined the CIEBP in 2006 after completing her fellowship as a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her primary research focus is the assessment and management of chronic pain in primary care, especially related to medication safety and effectiveness, which is the primary focus of her recently, awarded VA Career Development Award (“Improving the Quality and Safety of Opioid Prescribing in Primary Care).” This past year, she also received a Department of Defense award to study PTSD and pain comorbidity among veterans receiving care in VISN 11. In addition, she is a co-investigator and Indianapolis site-PI for the Women Veterans Cohort Study, which aims to compare female and male OIF/OEF veterans in terms of health care service use, stress-associated conditions (e.g., chronic pain, depression, PTSD), and satisfaction with VA care. Dr. Krebs participates in the complex interventions focus. |
Kurt Kroenke, MD
Kurt Kroenke, MD is a core investigator of the CIEBP, a Professor of Medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics at IUSM, and Senior Research Scientist in the Regenstrief Institute where he is Director of Fellowship Training. He is currently the recipient of a HSR&D IIR (“Stepped Care to Optimize Pain care Effectiveness (SCOPE)), which is a randomized trial to assess the effectiveness of a collaborative care intervention for veteran primary care patients suffering from chronic musculoskeletal pain. His principal research interests include the evidence-based evaluation and treatment of common symptoms in medical patients including pain, depression, and somatization. He is Co-PI for the IU CTSI and Clinical Investigator Training Enhancement (CITE) Program and Director of the IU Graduate School Master of Science in Clinical Research program. He serves as a core investigator in complex interventions and serves on the Center’s Executive Council, where he co-leads the investigator recruitment area. |
Marianne Matthias, PhD
Marianne S. Matthias, Ph.D., is a core investigator of the CIEBP and adjunct assistant professor of communication studies at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. She first joined the CIEBP as a post-doctoral fellow in 2007, then as an investigator in 2009. Her research focuses on patient-provider communication and clinical decision making. Dr. Matthias is particularly interested in communication in chronic pain care and in mental health. She is currently principal investigator on a pilot grant that is a formative evaluation of a clinical trial focused on improving pain care for veterans, and is involved in research pertaining to patient activation and shared decision making in mental health care. Dr. Matthias is also developing a research plan, via a career development award (under review), that will focus on evaluating and improving patient-provider communication between primary care providers and patients with chronic pain. |
Edward J. Miech, EdD
|
Laura J. Myers, PhD
 Laura.Myers2@va.gov |
 Also search, Jones, LE |
Laura J. Myers, PhD, is a core investigator of the CIEBP and a former CIEBP postdoctoral fellow in medical informatics. She is an epidemiologist who uses existing VA databases to conduct studies focused on cancer care quality, cancer outcomes, and cancer survivorship. She (with Dr. Haggstrom) previously received an HSR&D pilot grant to develop methodology to identify colorectal cancer cases in VA databases using VA cancer registry data as the “gold standard” for cancer case identification.
She is also a co-investigator: (1) on a Department of Defense study that will develop methodology to link Indianapolis VA electronic medical record and Indianapolis Network for Patient Care databases to obtain more complete data on cancer screening, treatment, and survivorship care in veterans with cancer and (2) on a cancer care engineering (CCE) project funded by the Regenstrief Foundation to create tools to improve prevention, treatment, and care for persons with colorectal cancer in Indiana. She participates in the health informatics and organizational change research foci.
Alissa L. Russ, PhD
Alissa L. Russ, PhD, is a core investigator with the CIEBP. Dr. Russ is a biomedical engineer and human factors engineering specialist. She completed her graduate work at Purdue University and brings a unique interdisciplinary perspective, with a background in both engineering and clinical sciences, that translates into expertise in the design of tools to enhance medical care. Dr. Russ has received numerous scholarly awards and her interests include electronic health records (EHRs), implementation, and patient safety. Her primary research focuses on computerized medication order checks (e.g., drug-drug interaction alerts) and how their design influences clinical workflow, prescriber decision-making, and medication safety. |
Investigator 
Jason J. Saleem, PhD
 Jason.Saleem@va.gov |
 |
Jason J. Saleem, PhD, is a core investigator of the CIEBP and an Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at IUPUI. Dr. Saleem has led the development and implementation of the Human-Computer Interaction / Information technology Laboratory at the CIEBP. His current research involves application of human factors engineering and human computer interaction to enhance clinical information systems, including electronic decision support, as well as redesign of healthcare processes for improved safety.
He has studied VA’s CPRS clinical reminder system through funding from VA HSR&D (Asch & Patterson PIs) and funding from the VHA Office of Information to plan the reengineering of CPRS. Via his planned CDA (in review) he will continue to investigate how innovation in the design and implementation of electronic health records and computerized clinical decision support can better integrate these systems into VHA clinical workflow and support higher quality care. He serves on the Executive Council, co-leads the research portfolio for the health informatics research focus area, and is an active member of the organizational change research foci.
Michelle P. Salyers, PhD
Dr. Salyers is also a co-PI of a submitted IIR that studies cost-effective, yet reliable and valid approaches to fidelity assessment. Over the past several years, she has collaborated with the VA Special Needs Project, a multi-site intervention for homeless veterans with dual disorders, has assisted with implementation of IMR at the New Haven VAMC, and has provided training for local recovery coordinators nationally. She participates as an investigator primarily in the complex intervention research focus. |
Arlene A. Schmid, PhD, OTR
 Investigator Arlene.Schmid@va.gov |
 |
Arlene A. Schmid, PhD, OTR, is a core investigator of the CIEBP and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at IUPUI. After completing her VA health services research fellowship in the CIEBP in 2007 she recently was awarded a 4 year VA RR&D CDA that is focused on developing system-based interventions to improve veterans’ mobility and participation post-stroke. Her primary interests include stroke rehabilitation, the development and impact of post-stroke fear of falling, and the enhancement of social participation and community re-integration after stroke. Dr. Schmid is a member of the complex interventions focus.
Linda S. Williams, MD
Linda S. Williams, MD is the Research Coordinator of the HSR&D Stroke QUERI, an Associate Professor of Neurology (with tenure) at IUSM, a Regenstrief Institute Research Scientist, and a former VA CDA/ARCDA awardee. She brings expertise in intervention and implementation research, patient-centered implementation of best evidence, and quantitative measurement. Her research focuses on improving stroke care, with an emphasis on stroke quality measurement and improvement and on improving detection and treatment of post-stroke depression. She leads the Stroke QUERI strategic planning, manages the QUERI portfolio of research, and collaborates with VACO to identify key opportunities and partnerships to improve VA stroke care. Dr. Williams is currently the PI of an HSR&D IIR focused on developing and implementing a CPRS-based depression screening tool to improve outpatient detection and treatment of depression after stroke. She is also co-PI of a HSR&D QUERI Service Directed Project to develop a web-based stroke quality decision support tool that will interface with CPRS at the point of acute stroke care. She has served on guidelines development committees for the American Heart Association (AHA) and American Academy of Neurology (AAN) and on the AHA Cerebrovascular Quality of Care and Outcomes Group. She currently serves on the Scientific Publishing Committee of the AHA which provides scientific oversight for all AHA journals. She is an investigator in the complex intervention studies and organizational change foci. |
Alan J. Zillich, PharmD
 Alan.Zillich@va.gov |
 |
Alan J. Zillich, PharmD., is a core investigator of the CIEBP and an Assistant Professor, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Purdue University. He currently holds a HSR&D CDA that examines factors associated with evidence-based medication prescribing in VA primary care. His research interests involve (1) the roles of professional collaborative relationships between pharmacists and other health care providers; and (2) the effectiveness of pharmacy-based services on improved medication prescribing, patient safety, and patient health outcomes, and (3) methods to improve prescribing and utilization of medications. He is a member of the organizational change research focus.
