Member Group: Planning and Evaluation Core Leadership
ChicagoCHEC Role: Planning and Evaluation Core Co-Lead and Evaluation Action Team Lead
Organization: Northwestern University
Wen Wang is a Program Evaluator for Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (NUCATS). Working with NUCATS Evaluation and Continuous Improvement Program, she contributes to internal and external projects and develops strategic priorities and evaluation plans. She has an extensive academic background in biopsychology, human development, mental health, and health communication (MS, PhD). She has years of experience navigating various stages of the research lifecycle including plan development, data collection, data analysis, finding dissemination processes, and the supervision of projects. She has contributed to diverse research and evaluation projects within the realm of human health and development. Wen’s background and expertise will be a valuable resource as an Evaluation Action Team (EvAT) Lead in the Planning and Evaluation Core at ChicagoCHEC.
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ChicagoCHEC Role: Planning and Evaluation Core Co-Leader
Organization: University of Illinois Chicago
Dr. Caryn Peterson is a Research Assistant Professor in Epidemiology in the Division of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Global Health faculty at the School of Public Health (SPH), University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), and Co-Director of UIC’s Cancer Education and Career Development Program. Trained as a cancer/infectious disease epidemiologist (MS, PhD), Dr. Peterson has expertise in implementation evaluation and quantitative analytic methods in social epidemiology. Her work has demonstrated the effects of individual- and community-level socioeconomic variables on ovarian cancer survival, differences in socio-cultural and behavioral characteristics and barriers to receiving care, and the increased risk of HPV-positive head and neck squamous cell carcinomas associated with higher area-level socioeconomic status. Dr. Peterson’s current work explores clinical and community-based solutions to improve HPV vaccination and cervical cancer screening rates in Chicago and French-speaking West Africa.
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ChicagoCHEC Role: Planning and Evaluation Core Co-Leader
Organization: Northeastern Illinois University
Dr. Job Elom Ngwe received his PhD in Public Health from the University of Illinois at Chicago with emphasis on community health sciences. He received both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in education from the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada. Dr. Ngwe joined the Social Work Department at Northeastern Illinois University in 2001. He has more than 30 years of combined teaching, research and administrative experience, including five years with the Chicago Public Schools. Dr. Ngwe has published four books and several peer reviewed articles in the public health and social work area. His past research interests focused on prevention of youth violence, substance abuse and unsafe sexual practices. Recently, Dr. Ngwe has extended his research interest to include prevention of bullying, social ostracism and other real life issues in Chicago and around the world. Dr. Ngwe is an educator, a researcher, a scholar, a mentor, an administrator and an active member of the world community. Professor Ngwe enjoys traveling and spending time with his family.
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ChicagoCHEC Role: Mentoring and Project Team Lead
Organization: Northwestern University
Dr. Murphy is an African American urologist who focuses half his time on prostate cancer disparities research and the other half treating patients. He has conducted several multi-institutional, multidisciplinary prostate cancer research projects that focus on African American men. He is a recipient of a VA Career Development Award and co-leader on several projects. He will continue leveraging access to diverse patients and a multidisciplinary team to uncover the biological underpinnings that underlie African American prostate cancer disparities. His research focuses on prostate cancer disparities experienced by Black men. Dr. Murphys holds an MS in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from Northwestern University, an MBA/MD from the University of Chicago. Dr. Murphy brings with him prior experience as co-PI on a ChicagoCHEC research project on prostate cancer disparities among African American men and as a co-lead on the Mentoring and Project team will assist and onboard junior investigators engaged in cancer heath disparities research.
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ChicagoCHEC Role: Mentoring and Project Team Lead
Organization: Northeastern Illinois University
Joseph E. Hibdon, Jr. (Luiseño), Ph.D., is a descendent of the Rincon Band of Luiseño Mission Indians. Through the support of his family, Joseph received his bachelor’s degree in Mathematics with a minor in Chemistry from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. From there, he went on to receive his Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where he studied fluid mechanics of non-premixed flames. In 2011, Joseph joined the NEIU community as the physical science advisor for the Student Center for Science Engagement. As of 2013 Joseph joined the mathematics department as an assistant professor. Joseph teaches applied mathematics courses and is the Masters of Science in Applied Mathematics and Minor advisor for the department. His current research interests are in fluid mechanics, dynamical systems, and biological modeling. Dr. Hibdon has extensive experience in leading and evaluating NIH research and mentoring grants at NEIU.
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ChicagoCHEC Role: Planning and Evaluation Core Co-Leader
Organization: University of Illinois Chicago
Dr. Lisa Tussing-Humphreys is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Academic Internal Medicine and Geriatrics of the Department of Medicine in the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine. She is nutrition scientist and licensed registered dietitian and has been leading translational research studies and dietary/lifestyle intervention trials for over 8 years. The majority of her dietary/lifestyle intervention research has focused on reducing chronic disease health disparities in racial/ethnic minorities residing in both rural and urban settings.Dr. Tussing-Humphreys also has a personal interest in studying how obesity-related changes to systemic iron metabolism affects risk for colorectal cancer. Across all of her research, she applies epidemiologic, clinical, social, behavioral and molecular tools and assessments to understand complex diet/disease relationships.Her previous studies have laid the groundwork for her current American Cancer Society and National Cancer Institute R01 funded studies examining the impact of diet on colonic health and colon cancer risk. She oversees the collection of the individual-level structural violence related measures, analysis of the neuroendocrine and immune markers in her lab, and supervises the timely completion of lab work conducted by a multidisciplinary team of co-investigators and research core staff.As Director of the University of Illinois at Chicago Cancer Centers Diet and Behavior Shared Resource, she works closely with her Co-PI, Grippo, PhD, to determine the appropriate dietary composition of the diets for the animal study. Dr. Tussing-Humphreys serves as the administrative contact for the study and takes responsibility for the annual reports to NIH and communication with grants and contracts and UIC and UIUC.Her research is focused on environmental influences, lifestyle/dietary behaviors, gut microbial community and colorectal health.
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ChicagoCHEC Role: Planning & Evaluation Core Co-Leader; Pilot Project Co-PI
Organization: University of Illinois at Chicago
Dr. Yamilé Molina is an Associate Professor of Community Health Sciences and Faculty Affiliate of the Center for Research on Women 7 Gender at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She joined the Cancer Center in 2015 and serves as a Member and Academic Partner to the Office of Community Engagement & Implementation Science. She is committed to academic, community, and advocacy efforts that optimize the agency and well-being of women. Toward that end, Dr. Molina has received qualitative and quantitative training that spans across disciplines, including graduate degrees in psychology (MS, PhD) and epidemiology (MPH).She utilizes approaches that rely on interwoven, continuous multi-stakeholder engagement, including community-based participatory research and mixed method designs. Her quantitative and qualitative work largely involves examination of mediating factors/mechanisms through various analytic techniques.Her interests center on characterizing individual and community strengths that promote well-being and optimal healthcare utilization among marginalized and resilient groups, including people of color, LGBTQ-identified people, and people living with chronic conditions. In her role at the Cancer Center, Dr. Molina is involved in several observational and intervention studies that address psychosocial determinants of cancer care uptake.Her research is focused on cancer health equity and cost-effective approaches in underserserved populations.
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ChicagoCHEC Role: Evaluation Action Team Lead
Organization: University of Illinois at Chicago
Core Co-Leader, Planning & Evaluation Core, UIC
Dr. Johnson is Professor Emeritus of Public Administration at UIC. He directed the UIC Survey Research Laboratory for 23 years and served as Deputy Director for Evaluation and Tracking in UIC’s Center for Clinical and Translational Science since its inception in 2009. He has extensive experience in the development and use of logic models for program evaluation, as well as the design and analysis of quasi-experiments for outcomes assessment.
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ChicagoCHEC Role: Evaluation Action Team Lead
Organization: Northeastern Illinois University
Planning & Evaluation Core Co-Leader, NEIU
Raymond Fuller is an Institutional Research Data Specialist in the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment at NEIU. In this role, he provides support for strategic planning using statistical analysis, data analytics, predictive modeling, and surveying. Mr. Fuller oversaw outcomes data analysis for Research Education Core and will continue to provide data management and analysis support.
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ChicagoCHEC Role: Evaluation Action Team Lead
Organization: Northwestern University
Kristi Holmes is Director of Galter Health Sciences Library and Director of Evaluation for the Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (NUCATS). Her research focuses on the representation and dissemination of research findings from across basic science, clinical, and community-based research projects. She is an expert in research impact and co-creator of the Becker Model, a widely-used framework of biomedical indicators in areas such as Advancement of Knowledge, Clinical Implementation, and Community Benefit. This model leverages bibliometric data and other indicators to find, understand, and assess research impact – going far beyond simple citation counts. Her Metrics and Impact Core (MIC) at the Galter Library acquires and manages the tools and data sources necessary for evaluation, producing reports and visualizations to serve evaluative and benchmarking needs for large partnership initiatives. Her combined background in informatics and evaluation provide her with a unique perspective to strive for innovation in evaluation and continuous improvement in an increasingly informatics and data-driven environment.
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ChicagoCHEC Role: Planning & Evaluation Core Co-Leader
Organization: Northeastern Illinois University
Michael Stern is the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies and Research at NEIU where he provides leadership and oversight for research, creative activities, grant projects, and compliance related to Human Subjects Research and Laboratory Animal Care and Use. He has been a professor of Biology or Genetics for more than twenty years and is a developmental biologist with extensive background in basic cancer research. Prior to joining NEIU, Michael was Director of Admissions and Director of Graduate Studies of the Genetics Graduate Program at Yale University School of Medicine, and Associate Dean of the College of Graduate Studies at the University of Central Florida. Michael is committed to equity in education and cancer health outcomes, and to strengthening and expanding the research enterprise at NEIU through effective collaboration.
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ChicagoCHEC Role: Planning & Evaluation Core Co-Leader, Research Project PI
Organization: Northwestern University
Brian Hitsman is Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Brian is a clinical health psychologist by training. His research focuses on the causes and treatment of tobacco use and dependence, especially among underserved populations. Dr. Hitsman has been involved in smoking cessation treatment research since 1993, including large efficacy and effectiveness trials of combination behavior therapy and pharmacotherapy. He has been committed to the integration of primary care and telephone quitline services and theory-based and targeted population outreach as a potentially critical pathway to increase access to and utilization of affordable and effective treatment for underserved smokers, especially socioeconomically disadvantaged smokers.
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ChicagoCHEC Role: Planning & Evaluation Core Co-Leader
Organization: Northwestern University
David Cella is Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Head of the Department of Medical Social Sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. He is also the Associate Director for Cancer Prevention and Control Research, responsible for the development and coordination of the Lurie Cancer Center’s two research programs in Cancer Prevention and Cancer Control, and for fostering interdisciplinary collaborations and inter-programmatic interactions within the division. A top researcher on how to measure outcomes among cancer patients and the quality of life for patients in medical clinical trials, he has authored more than 300 publications in the area of quality of life measurement in clinical trials and clinical practice.
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ChicagoCHEC Role: Planning & Evaluation Core Co-Leader
Organization: University of Illinois at Chicago
Martha Daviglus is a Professor of Medicine, Director of the Institute for Minority Health Research, and Associate Vice Chancellor for Research at UIC. Her research activities have concentrated on the epidemiology and prevention of cardiovascular diseases and minority health disparities, for which she has received numerous grants and awards. Martha has been involved in investigating associations of traditional cardiovascular and nutritional risk factors with long-term coronary and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Dr. Daviglus’ other research interests focus on the benefits in older age, in terms of health care costs and health-related quality of life, of favorable (low risk) cardiovascular risk profile earlier in life, and on women’s health. Dr. Daviglus is the principal investigator on a number of longitudinal studies, including on the Hispanic Community Health Study/ Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) Chicago Field Center, the Chicago Healthy Aging Study, and the UIC Cohort of Patients, Family, and Friends. She also serves as Director of a National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Research Training Program on Cardiovascular Epidemiology and Prevention.
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ChicagoCHEC Role: Principal Investigator, Planning & Evaluation Core Co-Leader, Research Project PI
Organization: Northeastern Illinois University
Christina Ciecierski is a Professor of Economics at NEIU. Her research focuses on the impacts of price and policy variables on consumer lifestyles, particularly in the area of young adult substance use. The course of her career has centered on promoting health equity among young adults, immigrants, populations of low socio-economic status (SES) in the state of Illinois as well as populations native to less and mid-developed countries in the world. Christina’s expertise, leadership, and motivation stem from a productive university teaching career, a strong record of research in the areas of economics and public health and collaborations with local, state and international health organizations and agencies of policy planning. In 2013, she was elected President of the Illinois Economics Association. Since joining NEIU in 2007, she served as Academic Department Head (Coordinator, 2008-2011) for the Economics Department and received two Faculty Excellence Awards for Research (2009) and Service (2014). Christina received her PhD in economics from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
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