General Internal Medicine Research

Research Description

Dr. Ackermann is Director for Northwestern’s Institute for Public Health and Medicine and for the Center for Diabetes and Metabolism. He is a clinical and population health researcher and practicing primary care clinician who is considered an international expert in the design and evaluation of policies, systems, and programs that have been designed to prevent and manage type 2 diabetes and other chronic conditions and risk factors. Since 2004, he has directed a series of research studies that have helped to inform nationwide implementation of community and health system-based interventions to prevent type 2 diabetes, as well as health payer reimbursements for those services. He also actively conducts research on the comparative effectiveness of new medications and technologies to improve the prevention and care of diabetes and other chronic conditions and risk factors. Over the past 15 years, he has collaborated extensively with patients, clinicians, healthcare leaders, community organizations, advocacy groups, and public officials to advance research and policy action in chronic disease care and prevention.

For more information, visit Dr. Ackermann's faculty profile page.

Publications

View Dr. Ackermann's program publications at PubMed.

Contact

The Ackermann Program 
Phone: 312-503-3323

Ronald T. Ackermann, MD, MPH
Phone: 312-503-6417 

Program Staff

Cassandra Aikman, MPH
Research Project Manager
312-503-3323

Andrew Cooper, MPH
Data Architect, Manager, and Statistical Analyst
312-503-3285

Ray Kang, MA
Statistical Analyst and Programmer
312-503-4563

Nicola Lancki, MPH
Statistical Analyst
312-503-3634

Research Description

Dr. Bailey’s program investigates the definition and measurement of health literacy, its extent and associations with various health outcomes, and the testing of innovative and viable ‘low-literacy’ intervention strategies to help individuals promote, protect, and manage their health. Her lab has research experience and interests extend across various contexts, including disease prevention, medication safety, chronic disease self-management and hospital readmissions. Dr. Bailey’s work also focuses on the broader theme of health inequalities, especially those experienced by individuals with limited English proficiency.

For more information, visit Dr. Bailey's faculty profile page.

Publications

View Dr. Ackermann's program publications at PubMed.

Contact

Stacy Bailey, PhD MPH 
Phone: 312-503-5595

Program Staff

Laurie Hedlund, MA
Research Project Manager
312-503-5537

Research Description

Using underlying theoretical frameworks from the fields of communication, psychology and health education and behavior, the Cameron Lab seeks to create innovative and patient-centered messages to motivate individuals to engage in preventive health behaviors. Research has included funded studies to identify accurate and inaccurate beliefs about influenza and influenza vaccination among African Americans ≥ 65 years of age; creation of multimedia messages to promote influenza vaccination and pneumococcal vaccination, and physician and patient interventions to improve colorectal cancer screening among patients seeking care at Federally Qualified Health Centers. The Lab has also investigated the effects of presentation of a “facts versus myths” format in printed materials on seasonal influenza vaccination, demonstrating that health communication messages that include facts, myths, and evidence to counteract myths appear to be effective in increasing participant’s knowledge. Furthermore, such presentation of facts and myths does not appear counterproductive to patient recall accuracy. Current research is exploring the effects of presenting patients information either at the point of care or prior to a clinic visit via use of the Electronic Health Record.

The Cameron Lab also provides a significant amount of consultation and expertise related to qualitative research methods, working across Departments and Divisions within FSM, including Medical Education, Hospital Medicine, Preventive Medicine, Emergency Medicine, and Medical Social Sciences, among others. Dr. Cameron is a passionate advocate for mentoring the next generation of scholars, recognizing the benefits we gain through transdisciplinary education and collaboration. She is a member of the Feinberg Mentor Academy, and was awarded the Feinberg School of Medicine Mentor of the Year award (2016).

For more information, visit Dr. Cameron's faculty profile page.

Publications

View Dr. Cameron's program publications at PubMed.

Contact

Phone: 312-503-3910
E-Mail: Kenzie A. Cameron, PhD, MPH

Research Description

I am a primary care physician whose work is to support community health partnerships to improve health in immigrant and minority communities. For many years, I have been leading community-engaged research, funded by the National Institutes of Health, to understand and reduce cardiovascular disease disparities in South Asian immigrants. My research advances understanding of the social and cultural determinants of cardiovascular disease from the patients’ perspective and how to use this information to develop more effective interventions.  I am currently leading the South Asian Healthy Lifestyle Intervention (SAHELI) study, which is a multi-sectoral collaboration involving community, public health, and healthcare system partners. Our goal is to implement and test a community-based, culturally tailored lifestyle intervention for South Asian adults with elevated cardiovascular risk.  I am also the Northwestern University PI of the MASALA study, which is the first longitudinal cohort study to investigate heart disease in US South Asians. Results from MASALA show important differences in cardiovascular disease pathophysiology across racial/ethnic groups and can guide tailored treatment and prevention for South Asians. 

For more information, visit Dr. Kandula's faculty profile page.

Publications

View Dr. Kandula's program publications at PubMed.

Contact

Phone: 312-503-6470

Program Staff

Swapna Dave`, MPH, PMP, MBBS
Research Project Manager
312-503-6995

Ankita Puri, PhD
Research Project Coordinator
312-503-3387

Fatima Saifi
Research Study Coordinator
312-503-3309

Research Description

Dr. Kho specializes in health informatics and particularly the development of large scale electronic data-sharing networks for translational, patient centered, and quality improvement research. He has developed expertise in EHR-based phenotyping methods and has been involved in exploring how to incorporate genetic testing back into routine clinical care through the EHR. He has also examined novel applications of Geographic Information Systems including privacy-protecting means to present small-area estimates of disease.  Dr. Kho’s work enables data sharing across diverse stakeholders, linking EHR data across multiple institutions in the Chicago region.  Additionally, he works to identify the quality improvement strategies that work best in practices and to correlate care team composition with patient outcomes.

For more information, visit Dr. Kho's faculty profile page.

Publications

View Dr. Kho's program publications at PubMed.

Contact

Phone: 312-503-6460
Center for Health Information Partnerships: 312-503-8019

Program Staff

Meghan Gelecke 
Program Assistant
312-503-8019

Research Description

Our research is diverse, focusing on many aspects of healthcare and primary care in the United States. We have particular expertise in ambulatory antibiotic prescribing, use of health information technology, using health system data for research, and physician behavior change using social psychology and behavioral economics. We have received funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, industry, and foundations.

For more information, visit Dr. Linder's faculty profile page.

Publications

View Dr. Linder's program publications at PubMed.

Contact

Phone: 312-503-6202

Program Staff

Stephen Persell, MD, MPH
Co-Principle Investigator
312-503-6464

Tiffany Brown, MHP
Research Project Manager
312-503-9068

Ji Young Lee
Research Analyst
312-503-6423

Research Description

Dr. Liss is a health services researcher who tests new, real-world approaches to health care delivery. He has particular expertise in evaluating interventions that deliver team-based care to high-risk populations, such as the patient-centered medical home model of primary care and post-discharge care coordination programs. In addition to conducting quantitative and mixed methods evaluations in observational studies, Dr. Liss has conducted experimental comparative effectiveness research such as cluster-randomized trials and randomized encouragement trials. In recent years, Dr. Liss has led federally funded research to develop new smartphone-based approaches to care coordination and transmission of electronic data across geographic regions.

For more information, visit Dr. Liss's faculty profile page.

Publications

View Dr. Liss's program publications at PubMed.

Contact

Phone: 312-503-3232
David Liss, PhD

Research Description

Dr. McDermott’s laboratory is currently working to identify mechanisms of functional impairment and decline in peripheral artery disease and to identify therapies to improve functional performance in people with peripheral artery disease (PAD).   Her laboratory is funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI).  Dr. McDermott leads an investigative team that is studying associations of lower extremity ischemia with calf skeletal muscle abnormalities that include mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative capacity, abnormalities in autophagy, and other pathologic changes.  Her lab also studies associations of these pathologic changes with functional impairment and decline in PAD. 

Dr. McDermott currently leads several ongoing randomized trials designed to test the following hypotheses:

The LITE Trial, funded by NHLBI (R01-HL122846), is a randomized clinical trial that will determine whether a low intensity, home-based exercise intervention that avoids exercise-related ischemic pain improves walking performance at 52-week follow-up in patients with PAD, compared to a high intensity home based exercise intervention and as compared to an attention control condition.  

The TELEX Trial, funded by NHLBI (R01-HL126117) will establish whether telmisartan combined with supervised treadmill exercise improves walking performance in people with PAD at 6-month follow-up, compared to telmisartan alone and as compared to supervised treadmill exercise alone.  The TELEX Trial will also determine whether telmisartan significantly improves walking performance in people with PAD at 6-month follow-up, compared to placebo.  

The PERMET Trial, funded by NHLBI (R01-HL137701), is a randomized double blinded clinical trial that will determine whether six months of daily metformin improves walking performance in patients with PAD, compared to placebo. 

The COCOA-PAD Trial, funded by the NIA (R21AG050897) is a pilot double blinded randomized clinical trial that will determine whether epicatechin-rich cocoa daily for six months improves walking performance in individuals with PAD compared to a matched placebo without cocoa or epicatechin.   COCOA-PAD will enroll 44 participants.

Dr. McDermott also studies exercise interventions for patients with PAD.  Her investigative team is working to identify exercise interventions that are effective and accessible and acceptable to people with PAD.  She is currently conducting a PCORI- funded randomized clinical trial of a home-based exercise intervention that uses a FItbit and telephone calls from a coach to encourage home-based exercise.

For more information, visit Dr. McDermott's faculty profile page.

Publications

View Dr. McDermott's program publications at PubMed.

Contact

Phone: 312-503-6438
Email: Mary McDermott, MD 

Program Staff

Kathryn Domanchuk 
Clinical Research Associate
312-503-6438

Anna Tanaglia 
Research Study Coordinator
312-503-5226

Research Description

Our work includes the design, implementation and evaluation of multiple different aspects of quality improvement in healthcare, most often applied in primary care settings. The ultimate goal of this work is to improve healthcare and reduce healthcare disparities. Our work relies heavily on applied clinical informatics, care redesign that incorporates team members or technology functioning in different roles, as well as social psychology informed techniques to improve clinician decision making.  We also study the use of electronic health record data for clinician performance measurement and research. Areas of interest include: preventive care, hypertension, preventive cardiology, medication self-management, social determinants of health, ambulatory geriatrics care, reducing overuse of inappropriate services.

For more information, visit Dr. Persell's faculty profile page or his website.

Publications

View Dr. Persell's program publications at PubMed.

Contact

Phone: 312-503-6464
E-Mail: Stephen Persell, MD, MPH 

Program Staff

Jeffrey Linder, MD, MPH
Co-Principle Investigator
312-503-6202

Tiffany Brown, MPH
Research Project Manager
312-503-9068

Lauren Gard, MPH
Research Project Coordinator
312-503-6462

Dawid Lipiszko
Research Study Coordinator
312-503-8026

Yaw A. Peprah, MPH
Research Project Coordinator
312-503-2753

Research Description

The Tedla Lab researches arterial structural and functional abnormalities and their impact on cardiovascular diseases. Special emphasis is placed on hypertension, blood pressure variability, and arterial stiffness. The Lab also works to understand and reduce racial and ethnic disparities in blood pressure control and cardiovascular diseases. It uses big data, including electronic health record data, to conduct clinical research while leveraging robust epidemiologic methods and analytical techniques.

For more information, visit Dr. Tedla's faculty profile page.

Publications

View Dr. Telda's program publications at PubMed.

Contact

Phone: 312-503-7227

Research Description

Dr. Walunas’s primary research interest is the development and application of novel informatics methods to understand the mechanisms of autoimmune disease. This includes EHR-based phenotyping methods to identify autoimmune disease pathways, identification of environmental, social and behavioral determinants of health in medical records, and use of EHRs to track and improve health outcomes for patients with autoimmune disease.

For more information, visit Dr. Walunas's faculty profile page.

Publications

View Dr. Walunas's program publications at PubMed.

Contact

Dr. Walunas Lab: 312-503-3397

Center for Health Information Partnerships: 312-503-8019

Program Staff

Meghan Gelecke
Program Assistant
312-503-8019