Director
Kerri Cavanaugh, MD, MHS
Associate Professor of Medicine
Director, Center for Effective Health Communication
Associate Director, Effective Health Communication Core
Division of Nephrology
VUMC Department of Medicine Faculty Page
Dr. Cavanaugh received her bachelor´s degree in Chemistry and Psychology from Dartmouth College in 1995. She received her M.D. from Yale in 1999. After this, Dr. Cavanaugh completed an Internal Medicine Residency and fellowship in Nephrology in 2005. During this time she also served as Chief Resident of Internal Medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital. In 2006, she graduated from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health with a Masters in Health Science (M.H.S.) degree with a focus in clinical epidemiology. In 2006, she joined the faculty at Vanderbilt in Internal Medicine Division of Nephrology and the Vanderbilt Center for Health Services Research. Dr. Cavanaugh´s current research focuses on exploring the role of patient awareness and education regarding chronic disease self-management. This includes elucidating the role of health literacy and numeracy in the communication between patients and providers as well as potential barriers to effective self-management in patients with diabetes, hypertension and kidney disease. She has been funded by the NIH and the National Kidney Foundation.
Faculty
Sunil Kripalani, MD, MSc, SFHM, FACP
Professor of Medicine
Vice President, Health System Sciences
Director, Center for Health Services Research
VUMC Department of Medicine Faculty Page
Dr. Kripalani is a Professor of Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He directs the Center for Health Services Research and, as Vice President for Health System Sciences, is active in developing VUMC’s growing learning health system. He is an applied implementation scientist whose research interests include health communication, medication safety, care transitions, social determinants of health, implementation of evidence-based practice, and de-implementation of low-value care. His research has been funded by the NIH, AHRQ, PCORI, and CMS. He is PI on three NIH-funded studies to implement social drivers of health, genomic discoveries, and predictive models into clinical practice. Dr. Kripalani co-leads VUMC’s Health Systems Implementation Initiative and Learning Health Systems Embedded Scientist Training and Research Center (RAPID-LHS). Supports implementation science activities for the Vanderbilt CTSA and Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, and leads the research committee of the STAR Clinical Research Network. He has served as the PI or lead implementation science mentor on several postdoctoral research fellowships and faculty career development programs. Dr. Kripalani serves on the AHRQ National Advisory Council and on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Hospital Medicine.
Dr. Kripalani graduated from Rice University, received his MD from Baylor College of Medicine, and trained in Internal Medicine at Emory University, where he also completed a Hospital Medicine Fellowship and a Master of Science in Clinical Research. His research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute.
William Heerman, MD, MPH
Associate Professor of Pediatrics, General Pediatrics
William K. Warren Foundation Chair in Medicine
Director, Division of Academic General Pediatrics
Program Director, Academic General Pediatrics Fellowship
VUMC Department of Pediatrics Faculty Page
Dr. Heerman is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics. He is the Director of the Division of Academic General Pediatrics and Program Director for the Academic General Pediatrics Fellowship. He also co-leads the Epidemiology Track of Vanderbilt's Master in Public Health Program. His research focuses on improving maternal-child health outcomes related to obesity in communities through the development and implementation of behavioral interventions to support healthy childhood growth. He has a particular focus on low-income and minority populations. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics and is committed to creating multi-generational solutions to health disparities.
Gretchen Jackson, MD, PhD, FACS, FACMI, FAMIA
Associate Professor, Pediatric Surgery, and Biomedical Informatics
Vice President, Scientific Medical Officer, Digital at Intuitive Surgical
President and Board Chair, American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA)
VUMC Division of Surgical Sciences Faculty Page
Dr. Jackson is the Vice President and Chief Science Officer at IBM Watson Health and an Associate Professor of Surgery, Pediatrics, and Biomedical Informatics at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She is an internationally recognized informatician and accomplished clinical surgeon with over 25 years of contributions to informatics research, innovations in health information technologies, and surgical science. She is a member of the Board of Directors for the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) and an elected fellow of the American College of Medical Informatics (ACMI).
Candace McNaughton, MD, PhD, MPH
Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine
Vanderbilt Translational and Clinical Cardiovascular Research Faculty Page
Dr. McNaughton’s research interests include determinants of hypertension control such as numeracy, health literacy, and medication adherence, with an emphasis on patients who seek care in the emergency department. She attended Brigham Young University, followed by Washington University in St. Louis for medical school. Following residency training in emergency medicine at Vanderbilt in emergency, she obtained a Masters of Public Health from Vanderbilt, completed the two year VA Quality Scholars fellowship, and a doctoral degree in epidemiology. In addition to a focus on hypertension among patients who seek emergency care, her research interests include health determinants for patients with diabetes and heart failure, health communication, and resistant hypertension.
Shelagh Mulvaney, PhD
Associate Professor of Nursing, Biomedical Informatics & Pediatrics
Vanderbilt School of Nursing Faculty Page
Dr. Mulvaney is a Associate Professor of Nursing, Pediatrics, and Biomedical Informatics at Vanderbilt University. A Clinical Psychologist by training, her research interests focus generally on consumer health informatics. She leads NIH and foundation-funded research to improve the assessment and integration of psychosocial factors in the design and evaluation of technology- and informatics-mediated behavior change support systems. Her research has led to efficacious internet, mobile, and informatics-based data integration and self-management interventions for youth and adults with diabetes. Several key aspects of her research are the use of social learning mechanisms to promote behavior change, the integration of processes that engage patients with their health data in daily environments, development of patient-reported outcomes clinical informatics systems, and tailored mobile patient health communications. Current research integrates wearable sensors, blood glucose, and momentary assessment of social context, affect, cognition, and behavior for personalized just-in-time feedback. Dr. Mulvaney is a dedicated teacher in graduate education related to quantitative research design, socio-cultural aspects of science and science education, and consumer health informatics. She serves as an Associate Editor of PLOS Digital Health and reviews grant submissions for NIH CIDH, NSF, and Diabetes UK.
Professor, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, & Health Policy
Ingram Chair in Integrative and Population Health
Senior Vice President, Population and Public Health
Associate Dean, Population Health Sciences
Director, Institute for Medicine and Public Health
VUMC Department of Medicine Faculty Page
Dr. Rothman is Professor of Internal Medicine, Pediatrics and Health Policy, Ingram Professor of Integrative and Population Health, and the Senior Vice President for Population and Public Health at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He also serves as the Director of the Institute for Medicine and Public Health and Associate Dean for Population Health Sciences. The Institute for Medicine and Public Health engages over 250 faculty involved in research and education related to global health, epidemiology, health services research, health policy, biomedical ethics, biostatistics, and other fields. Key areas of research include implementation science, population health, behavioral research, health disparities, quality improvement, learning health system approaches, and other areas aimed at improving health outcomes. Dr. Rothman is an expert in health services research and health communication. His research focuses on improving care for adult and pediatric patients with diabetes, obesity and other chronic diseases. His research focuses on addressing health communication, health literacy/numeracy, and other social and behavioral factors to improve health. He has been the Principal Investigator on over $100 million in funded research and has authored over 200 publications (h index 67).
Matthew Weinger, MD
Professor of Anesthesiology, Biomedical Informatics, and Medical Education
Norman Ty Smith Chair in Patient Safety & Medical Simulation
Director, Center for Research and Innovation in Systems Safety (CRISS)
Vice Chair for Academic Affairs, Department of Anesthesiology
Director of Simulation Research, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Vanderbilt Clinical Informatics Center Faculty Page
Dr. Weinger is an innovator, researcher, and educator who holds the Norman Ty Smith Chair in Patient Safety and Medical Simulation and is a Professor of Anesthesiology, Biomedical Informatics, and Medical Education at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He is a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering (Risk and Reliability) in the School of Engineering. At Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), he founded CRISS. He is the Director of Research, Outreach and Industry Relations at the Center for Experiential Learning and Assessment (CELA).
Consuelo Wilkins, MD, MSCI
Professor of Medicine, Division of Geriatric Medicine
Senior Vice President and Senior Associate Dean,
for Health Equity and Inclusive Excellence
Associate Director, Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Science
Geriatric Medicine Fellowship Program Faculty
Engagement Core Director, All of Us Research Program
VUMC Department of Medicine Faculty Page
Dr. Wilkins is a nationally recognized physician-scientist leader in health equity research focused on integrating social, cultural, and environmental factors into clinical and translational research. She is a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Geriatric Medicine within the Department of Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She is Senior Vice President, Health Equity and Inclusive Excellence, VUMC; and Senior Associate Dean, Health Equity and Inclusive Excellence, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
Ebele M. Umeukeje, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Nephrology and Hypertension
Department of Medicine Diversity Liaison
VUMC Department of Medicine Faculty Page
Dr. Umeukeje is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension at VUMC. She serves as the Diversity Liaison for the Division of Nephrology and is a member of the Diversity Committee of the American Society of Nephrology (ASN). She is a member of the editorial boards of the American Journal of Kidney Diseases (AJKD), and the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) Kidney 360 journal. Her research aims to reduce the high morbidity and mortality associated with kidney disease by improving self-care in vulnerable populations, addressing psychosocial determinants. She has expertise in examining novel multi-level psychosocial factors associated with medication and dialysis treatment adherence in African Americans with end-stage kidney disease. She has developed and tested novel, culturally sensitive strategies to improve delivery of care and outcomes in advanced kidney disease.
William Martinez, MD, MS
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Internal Medicine and Public Health
VUMC Department of Medicine Faculty Page
Dr. Martinez is an Assistant Professor in the Division of General Internal Medicine and Public Health within the Department of Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Martinez conducts foundation, NIH, and AHRQ funded research in the areas of professionalism, patient safety culture, and use of health information technology to support chronic disease management and disease prevention. He maintains an active primary care general internal medicine practice, and serves a clinic preceptor for internal medicine residents.
Lyndsay Nelson, PhD
Research Assistant Professor
Division of Internal Medicine and Public Health
VUMC Department of Medicine Faculty Page
Dr. Nelson is a social psychologist with expertise in experimental and translational health psychology. Dr. Nelson received her MA in Experimental Psychology from Appalachian State University and her PhD in Social/Experimental Psychology from East Tennessee State University. Her research is grounded in self-care promotion for type 2 diabetes and technology- and community-based health interventions for underserved populations. Dr. Nelson has examined user engagement, usability, and effectiveness of several technology-delivered health interventions for diabetes but is particularly passionate about researching and optimizing technologies which are shared across socioeconomic status and racial/ethnic groups, namely text messaging, to reduce disparities. Her recent work is focused on examining more critically how users engage with text message-delivered interventions, to design and implement interventions that help sustain engagement, and therefore potentiate impact. Dr. Nelson is a former postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Medicine at Vanderbilt and is affiliated with the Center for Health Behavior and Health Education.
Daniel A. Barocas, MD, MPH, FACS
Associate Professor, Department of Urology
Executive Vice Chair, Department of Urology
Division of Urologic Oncology
VUMC Department of Urology Faculty Page
Dr. Barocas is an Associate Professor and Vice Chair of Urology at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and the Vanderbilt Ingraham Cancer Center. He has clinical and research interests in urologic cancers, and the measurement of patient outcomes and quality of care. His work has focused on patient satisfaction, patient outcomes, and developing risk prediction measures to assist in counseling patients. Dr. Barocas is currently PI of the CEASAR study (Comparative Effectiveness Assessment of Surgery and Radiation), funded by NCI to study oncologic and patient-reported outcomes in a large prospective, population-based cohort study. He is also involved with national organizations, including the American Urological Association and Commission on Cancer, and in development of quality measures for urologic cancer care.
Lindsay Mayberry, PhD
Associate Professor of Medicine
Co-Director, Center for Health Behavior and Health Education
Associate Professor of Biomedical Informatics
VUMC Department of Medicine Faculty Page
Dr. Mayberry received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Vanderbilt University in 2006. In 2008, she received her master’s degree in Community Counseling, with an emphasis on couples and families from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. She completed her Ph.D. in an interdisciplinary program called Community Research and Action in the department of Human and Organizational Development at Peabody College, Vanderbilt University in 2012, and began a postdoctoral fellowship in Health Services Research at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Her research focuses on families’ experiences with the health and mental health care systems, and interactions between family members and health care providers in the context of chronic illness. Her current work focuses on the role of family member support in diabetes self-management behaviors among adults to inform the development of family-based interventions.
Elisa Gordon, PhD, MPH, FSfAA, FAST
Professor of Surgery
Core Faculty, Center for Biomedical Ethics and Society
Director, Surgical Outcomes Research
Director, Transplant Outcomes Research
Section of Surgical Sciences
Vanderbilt Section of Surgical Sciences Faculty
Dr. Gordon is a Professor in the Department of Surgery, and the Center for Biomedical Ethics and Society at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN. Dr. Gordon is a medical anthropologist, and trained in clinical medical ethics and in Community Health. Her scholarship focuses on ethical issues in organ transplantation and donation. Dr. Gordon’s research entails developing and evaluating culturally targeted health communication interventions to improve informed consent, reduce health disparities, and facilitate treatment decision-making using implementation science and qualitative and mixed-methods. She is Fellow of the Society for Applied Anthropology and of the American Society of Transplantation.
Staff
Erin Bergner, PhD, MPH
Erin is a Staff Scientist and works on various operational and research initiatives across the Center for Effective Health Communication and Effective Health Communication Core. In her role, she develops health literacy- and numeracy-appropriate patient-facing materials, and also has experience disseminating health information to diverse populations. Erin received her bachelor’s in sociology and psychology from Tulane University, an MPH from Emory University, and a PhD in sociology from Vanderbilt University.
Beverly Fetterman, BS
Beverly has been a dedicated member of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center team for six years. She began her journey as an Administrative Assistant for the Division of Internal Medicine and Public Health, as well as Health Services Research. Recently, Beverly has advanced to the role of Program Manager within Health Services Research, where she collaborates closely with CEHC, CCQIR, and other affiliated programs. She holds a bachelor's degree in Family and Consumer Science from Middle Tennessee State University, class of 2017. Beverly is passionate about improving healthcare systems and fostering collaborative research environments.