Our Scholars

Investigating the impact of urological disease on quality of life in the elderly population, as well as comparing surgical quality outcomes in low and middle income countries to high income countries.

Examining how the integration of community health workers into primary care systems affects patients’ health outcomes and primary care utilization as well as population level health disparities and chronic disease risks.

Improving healthcare delivery and care coordination for children in foster care; identifying trends in healthcare utilization for children in foster care; reducing child maltreatment through community prevention strategies.

Evaluating the factors influencing the research-to-practice gap in critical care settings, and testing implementation strategies targeting the interprofessional team to improve the uptake of evidence-based care. 

Investigating avenues to improve surgical outcomes for plastic surgery patients at lower costs and eliminating disparities. Finding drivers for healthcare variations to provide high-value healthcare.

Examining human trafficking within the United States, and exploring the grey California prison population and the experiences of released elderly prisoners as they navigate the safety net health system.

Investigating how policy affects disparities in bariatric and general surgery and identifying barriers to accessing obesity management and treatment in order to design effective change and to advocate for patients

Investigating human-centered design and behavioral economics in healthcare delivery, community-participatory social entrepreneurship, and digital technology in medicine.

Utilizing health services research, policy, and system interventions to address interpersonal violence, child maltreatment trauma, and trauma-related mental illness.

Evaluating peripartum initiatives to improve the quality of care and increase patient safety in labor and delivery units.

Analyzing how to leverage the patient-centered medical home as a vehicle for addressing social determinants of health and improving health equity, with a goal of redefining the narrative around the achievement potential of black male youth.

Investigating enhanced recovery pathways in surgery for older adults and vulnerable patients to improve outcomes and care.

Investigating comparative efficacy of oral anticoagulants for prevention of recurrent VTE, and also conducting research studies on ownership of patient care in trainees.

Investigating factors associated with high-quality palliative and end-of-life care for individuals with non-cancer conditions and utilizing medical informatics techniques to capture palliative care delivery in large amounts of data.

Evaluating healthcare delivery and care coordination of geriatric patients in the emergency department to improve system-wide quality, efficiency, and access to care.

Improving access to surgical care for pediatric patients, optimizing quality of care in the preoperative period, identifying narcotic prescribing to children and adolescents in perioperative contributing to the national opioid epidemic.

Using technology and health policy to improve access to dermatologic care. Providing tele-dermatology as a tool to increase access to underserved veteran and Medicaid insured patient populations.

Understanding how social and structural forces, such as criminal justice policy, create vulnerable populations and impact health in order to identify remedies and promote greater health equity in our society.

Assessing the discriminatory impact of artificial intelligence in healthcare, and using "big data" tools to narrow health disparities and improve the quality of emergency department care for underserved populations.

Investigating barriers to the utilization of evidence based addiction treatment within high risk populations and developing implementation strategies to improve treatment access and fidelity.

Evaluating plan behavior and care quality in Medicaid manage care, helping communities and the nation rethink how health care services are made available to immigrant, refugee, and other underserved US Populations, engaging leaders, insurers, and policy makers toward patient-centered and cost-effective solutions.

Improving the quality of medical care and social service delivery for vulnerable populations, with a focus on individuals with a history of incarceration and those with substance use disorder. 

Designing novel models of health care provision which intergrate mental health and primary care for vulnerable populations both domestically and internationally.

Bridging the fields of public health and pathology, studying the relationship between social disparities and chronic kidney disease, understanding how specific factors like race, minority status, income, and structural inequalities translate into physical manifestations of disease by studying the morphology of the kidney.

Exploring surgical outcomes and disparities at safety-net hospitals, access to surgical care in underserved communities, and the impact of insurance expansion and payment reform on surgical care.

Investigating the impact of policy and care delivery related to substance use disorders and identifying innovative interventions to improve outcomes for individuals and communities impacted by the opioid epidemic.

Streamlining care delivery systems using a scope-sensitive, multidisciplinary model to improve treatment experiences among Latino and African American older adults living with co-occurring physical and mental illness.

Investigating clinical outcomes as well as the organization structure and delivery of care in the modern cardiac intensive care unit.

Improving access to mental health care through health system redesign and informatics initiatives; investigating care delivery for people who are homeless with mental illness and/or substance use disorders. 

Understanding behavioral, structural and social determinants of ambulatory care utilization in order to inform the design of delivery platforms that effecitvely allign payer, provider, patient and public interests.

Investigating network adequacy of Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs) for effective care delivery and quality health outcomes for low-income and at-risk pediatric populations.

Identifying how childhood experiences and lifestyle factors influence health and chronic disease outcomes throughout the life course by studying biomarkers and epigentics and demonstrating how to mitigate risk by interventions that build resilience. 

Exploring new modalities of care delivery to improving outcomes and patient centeredness, increasing clinical consistency and efficiency in pregnancy and the postpartum period.

Investigating quality and disruptions to care within Medicaid and managed care and evaluating innovative health care delivery models for primary care.

Improving the value of care delivery by exploring high needs high cost care and spreading innovation within Medicaid. 

Designing patient- and community-centered systems and policy interventions to promote patient self-efficacy and to address social determinants of health

Examining the interplay of the laws, economics, and care delivery models that shape the health of communities with a specific interest in nursing professionals and older adults.

Understanding health effects of public policies, how effective policies and interventions can be formulated and implemented, with a focus on improving  access and health status among racial/ethnic minorities and immigrant communities, and how diversity, inclusion and equity strategies also apply to the healthcare workforce.

Examining Medicaid expansion, single payer healthcare systems, and emergency room utilization, and evaluating the cost and financial impact of targeted cancer therapies.

Examining the use of narcotics used in the perioperative settings. Understanding how to decrease excess prescriptions through standardization and patient and physician education, and gaining a deeper perspective into the decision making processes used for prescribing habits. 

Investigating socio-cultural influences of gender-based violence, the impact of trauma-informed care, and sexual violence healing and recovery.

Examining how Medicaid access and community resources impact health disparities in terms of women's reproductive health outcomes and utilization of emergency care.

Creating welcoming environments in which LGBTQ people receive knowledgeable and informed care, teaching, advocating, and affect policies relating to health and care of gender and sexual minorities. Conducting research on the health needs of LGBTQ people.

Understanding the role of policy, structural violence, and adverse childhood experiences in shaping health disparities across the lifespan and exploring equitable interventions, particularly as it relates to incarceration and health.

Understanding pressing problems faced by emergency room patients, including interpersonal violence, substance abuse and addiction, and the societal deficit of acute psychiatric care in the United States.

Leveraging a solid background in clinical experience and research methodology to advocate for mental health policy changes, with an interest in benefitting military service members and veterans suffering from trauma/PTSD, substance use disorders, and poor access to care.