Current Scientists
Katherine Musacchio Schafer, PhD, MS, MEd
Dr. Katherine Musacchio Schafer is a clinical psychologist and Assistant Professor with the Department of Biomedical Informatics and Department of Behavioral Sciences and Psychiatry at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Clinically her work focuses on the treatment of PTSD through Prolonged Exposure Therapy, Cognitive Processing Therapy, and Written Exposure Therapy. Her research work centers on patient and provider centered care in the improvement of processes connecting high risk patients to mental health referrals. She completed a Master’s of Science and Doctorate of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology at Florida State University (Tallahassee, Florida). She subsequently completed her pre-doctoral clinical internship at the Southeast Louisiana Health Care (New Orleans, Louisiana VA) and post-doctoral fellowship in healthcare quality improvement with the VA Quality Scholars at the Tennessee Valley Healthcare Systems (Nashville, Tennessee VA). Dr. Schafer is broadly interested in using informatics tools to improve access to and delivery of mental health treatments.
Brett Cohen, MD
Dr. Brett Cohen is an Assistant Professor and board-certified emergency physician in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He completed his residency in emergency medicine at Northwestern University in 2021 and a two-year administrative fellowship at Stanford University in 2023, focusing on clinical operations, quality improvement, and telehealth implementation. Dr. Cohen has led numerous process improvement initiatives and developed telehealth applications to enhance patient care. As an operational scientist in the RAPID-LHS Center at Vanderbilt University, he aims to become an expert in bridging technological innovations to the bedside, improving access to care, and reducing health disparities through innovative digital health solutions.
Debra Dixon, MD, MS
Dr. Dixon is an Instructor in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine. She is a graduate of the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, where she earned both her medical doctorate and Master of Science in Clinical Research. She completed a Sarnoff Cardiovascular Research Fellowship during her undergraduate medical training. She subsequently completed an Internal Medicine Residency and a Cardiovascular Medicine Fellowship at Vanderbilt as part of the Harrison Society ABIM Research Pathway. Dr. Dixon’s research focuses on the design and implementation of interventions that address drivers of disparities and inequities in heart failure incidence, care, and outcomes in historically marginalized populations.
Brian Douthit, PhD, RN, NI-BC
Dr. Brian Douthit is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Informatics. He earned his Bachelor’s in Nursing from The Pennsylvania State University and practiced as a floor nurse in inpatient medical/surgical and palliative care units. As the health system progressed to having a full electronic health record, he became engaged in clinical informatics and held a role at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). He subsequently took a role as a clinical research nurse coordinator at Duke Health while attending Duke University and completing a Master of Science in Nursing Informatics degree. He continued his education by completing a PhD in nursing at Duke, followed by a post-doctoral fellowship at the Department of Veterans Affairs and a Master of Science in Biomedical Informatics at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Douthit is broadly interested in reducing nursing documentation load while improving nursing sensitive outcomes through EHR-based interventions.
Cristin Fritz, MD, MPH
Dr. Cristin Fritz is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics within the Division of Pediatric Hospital Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Fritz earned her medical degree and a Master of Public Health at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. She completed a Pediatrics residency at Vanderbilt and a Pediatric Hospital Medicine fellowship at Children’s Hospital Colorado. Her research focuses on developing and implementing effective strategies for equitably connecting families with social risks identified during medical care to resources in their community, with a specific focus on Food Insecurity.