We assemble research teams specific to each project, based on the skills and expertise needed. Most of our investigators conduct research in the Center for Gerontology & Healthcare Research, the "sibling" research center that houses Q&I, and have faculty appointments in the Department of Health Services, Policy & Practice. Many are also clinician-researchers with clinical appointments in the community.
Core faculty and staff on our team include:
Linda (primary contact) is our administrative coordinator, responsible for a range of Q&I activities from external communications and website updates to seminars and scheduling.
Melissa serves as investigator on Q&I projects involving primary data collection through survey or observation; for example, a study involving conducting a nursing workforce climate survey to inform strategies to retain scarce staff. She is a Survey Methodologist whose interests integrate survey design, sampling, and psychometric analyses with substantive areas of aging and underserved populations. She is Professor of Health Services, Policy & Practice and of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Read Melissa's research profile.
Faye coordinates Q&I projects related to improving dementia care, including our work with LeadingAge South Carolina and data collection aspects of our Music & Memory trial. She has particular expertise and experience in data management and survey design.
Stefan is principal investigator on numerous Q&I projects related to infectious disease and vaccination, including multiple 800-facility nursing center comparative effectiveness studies of influenza vaccine and a contract to improve antibiotic stewardship in nursing centers. He has a long-standing interest in immunity, inflammation, and aging, especially in the context of vaccines and the nursing center setting. He also has specific interests in quality improvement, the culture of care, and how to improve care transitions. He is a geriatrician and is Professor of Health Services, Policy & Practice and Medicine.
Read Stefan's research profile.
Holly serves as consultant on nursing center quality interventions and is currently assisting with a project to improve nursing center antibiotic stewardship. She has particular expertise in nursing center quality improvement and infection prevention, rooted in her clinical background, experience as an administrator, and role leading American Health Care Association (AHCA) quality work, including AHCA's online Infection Preventionist Specialized Training. She is Associate Vice President of Quality & Clinical Affairs at AHCA.
Jill manages Q&I studies related to pragmatic clinical trials of interventions to improve care for persons living with dementia. She also has a particular interest in patient-centered outcomes research. She is Assistant Professor of the Practice of Health Services, Policy & Practice. Prior to joining the Q&I team in 2019, she was Director of Research for Planetree International, a nonprofit advocacy organization founded by a patient, which provides education on person-centered care to healthcare organizations in 27 countries.
Read Jill's research portfolio.
Julie participates in multiple Q&I studies, in various capacities that leverage her expertise in Medicare data acquisition, human subjects research, and analysis. This includes serving as the Brown principal investigator on a Beth Israel Medical Center-led study involving teleconferences to discuss patients transition from the hospital to the nursing center. Her interests include the Common Rule and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Privacy rule as they relate to human subjects research, as well as nursing center culture change, where she has worked closely with Q&I advisory council member Dr. Susan Miller. She is Assistant Professor in Health Services, Policy & Practice.
Read Julie's research profile.
David coordinates Q&I studies on antimicrobial stewardship and high-need patients. He has particular experience working with nursing center electronic health records to embed decision support and to capture data to measure performance. Early work as a certified nursing assistant in a nursing center also affords him a unique perspective on pragmatic research in this setting.
Ellen is involved in numerous Q&I projects related to arts and science, most significantly as lead investigator and project director for our Music & Memory trial. She is also co-investigator on our feasibility study of programmable, tunable LED lighting. She is Assistant Professor of Health Services, Policy & Practice and has particular expertise in pragmatic trials, evaluation, and data collection involving observation and interview.
Read Ellen's research profile.
Rebecca coordinates Q&I studies related to individualized music and programmable, tunable LED lighting. She also serves as a project coordinator and clinician-researcher in the Center for Alcohol & Addiction Studies, where she has more than 17 years of experience. This affords her a unique mixture of grants management and supervisory experience.
In addition to her role on the Advisory Council, Fox actively participates in Q&I's program of research related to programmable, tunable LED lighting. She brings particular expertise in using qualitative methods to characterize pragmatic research implementation, including the associated barriers and facilitators. She is Professor of Health Services Research, Policy & Practice. Before returning her attention to research, she served as the inaugural Dean of the Brown University School of Public Health.
Read Fox's research profile.