Senior Research Scientist, RTI International
Volunteer attending physician, Durham VA Medical Center
I had an interest in epidemiology and public health in college, and after a brief detour through medical school, family medicine residency, and primary care practice, I came to UNC for Preventive Medicine training. I co-enrolled in the NRSA Primary Care Research Fellowship through the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research and the Department of Family Medicine, which provided me with a solid set of research skills. Linda Kinsinger, Russ Harris, and Don Pathman were important mentors during that time and I went on to work as Linda’s Deputy Chief Consultant for Preventive Medicine at the VA National Center for Prevention where I had the opportunity to put clinical prevention into practice within a large health system and evaluate such services.
In 2012, I joined RTI to further develop my research and evaluation skills and take on a broader portfolio of work. At RTI, my main work focuses on evidence synthesis (i.e., systematic reviews, meta-analysis) and related methods research. A core piece of this work is leading systematic reviews for the US Preventive Services Task Force through the RTI-UNC Evidence-based Practice Center, where I serve as an Associate Director. My training in both Preventive Medicine and primary care is quite useful to this specific work but also provided me with exposure to population health thinking and healthcare policy and financing concepts, which are now both cornerstones of the current transformation in health care.