Meet the team
Core faculty
Director
Expertise
Behavioral health promotion interventions, cultural adaptation, qualitative methods, clinical trials and health disparities
Focus areas
Culturally responsive smoking cessation treatments among indigenous populations; promoting access to evidence-based smoking cessation treatments among underserved populations; family and social network approaches to health promotion; cancer prevention; rural access to healthcare; and digital equity
Co-Investigator
Expertise
Family medicine with obstetrical care
Focus areas
Defining patient engagements in care; delivery of care and healthcare systems; disparities and opportunities within rural healthcare; and how technology can support and hinder care
Co-Investigator
Expertise
Epidemiology and cancer population sciences
Focus areas
Understanding multilevel factors hindering or facilitating the development and equitable implementation of evidence-based cancer prevention and control programs, guidelines, or policies
Co-Investigator
Expertise
Translation of evidence-based care for patients with chronic conditions into practice; and qualitative and mixed-methods research
Focus areas
Minimally disruptive medicine and patient capacity, under-cared-for chronic suffering, and professional development
Andrea L. Cheville, M.D.
Co-Investigator
Expertise
Digital equity and enablement in healthcare delivery, electronic patient reported outcomes (ePROMs), telecare, assessment and management of disability and pain in vulnerable populations
Focus areas
The development and validation of equitable, digitally enabled supportive care delivery approaches that neutralize geographical and financial access barriers, including enhanced assessment and management of disablement and adverse symptoms
Co-Investigator
Expertise
Chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, health disparities, observational studies and clinical trials
Focus areas
Evaluating the role of observational data and interventions to reduce rural-urban disparities for chronic conditions; impact of social determinants of health on rural diabetes care; and individual versus community-level interventions for diabetes prevention in rural areas
Co-Investigator
Expertise
Epidemiology and study design
Focus areas
Impact and outcomes of chronic conditions in the upper Midwest
Core staff
Tabetha A. Brockman, M.A.
Program Manager
Expertise
Management of behavioral health promotion interventions for clinical trials, qualitative methods and community-based participatory research strategies to evaluate behavioral interventions for clinical trials
Focus areas
Addressing health disparities among diverse populations through research program management and coordination; training faculty and staff to facilitate behavioral health interventions
Expertise
Biostatistics, rheumatic disease epidemiology, artificial intelligence, healthcare disparities
Focus areas
Survival analysis; epidemiology of rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus; artificial intelligence solutions for timely diagnosis and improved triaging to rheumatology specialty care; healthcare disparities related to age, sex, rurality and socioeconomic status
Collaborators
Expertise
Physical medicine and rehabilitation, and brain injury rehabilitation medicine
Focus areas
Connecting brain rehabilitation care to individuals in remote areas of the Midwest through partnering with community organizations and state-based agencies; testing complex behavioral interventions to better improve rehabilitation care; reducing traumatic brain injury-related health disparities experienced by American Indian and Alaska Native communities in the upper Great Lakes region
Expertise
Clinical trials, cancer care delivery, digital health, telemedicine and virtual care
Focus areas
Transformation of cancer care delivery with digital health technologies and virtual care, transformation of clinical trials with decentralized capabilities
Expertise
Pediatrics, asthma epidemiology, artificial intelligence, health equity
Focus areas
Asthma epidemiology and immune phenotyping — specifically, asthma-associated infectious and inflammatory multimorbidities; artificial intelligence research on timely asthma diagnosis, management and prognosis; health equity — social and economic inequity, also known as socioeconomic disparities, in health outcomes; strategies for improving health equity
Expertise
Implementation science applications to increase uptake, reach and sustainment of healthcare interventions; qualitative methods; health disparities and digital equity research; shared decision-making to address costs of healthcare
Focus areas
Understanding digital access, uptake and disparities from both patient and provider perspectives; interventions to address substance use disorders in primary care and similar settings; area-based health disparities, including rural-based experiences and disparities; financial toxicity and cost conversations in healthcare encounters
Carolyn Petersen, M.S.
Expertise
Health information technology and health literacy
Focus areas
Patient engagement, person-generated health data and health communication
Joshua C. Pritchett, M.D.
Expertise
Hematology and oncology, cancer care delivery, rural health, digital health, remote patient monitoring, telehealth, digital health economics
Focus areas
The design and implementation of innovative, patient-centered models of cancer care delivery, including a Mayo Clinic remote patient monitoring program for the ambulatory management of cancer patients with neutropenic fever
Pravesh Sharma, M.D.
Expertise
Substance use disorders, addiction treatment disparities, healthcare delivery and community engagement research
Focus areas
Inhaled drug use including tobacco, cannabis and vaping, and associated medical and psychiatric conditions, digital health equity