Director, Dartmouth Center for Implementation Science | Faculty Director, MS in Implementation Science, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth

Dr. Brown is the founding Director of the Dartmouth Center for Implementation Science established to develop an academic home at Dartmouth to accelerate implementation science trials and research. He recently founded one of the first master’s programs in implementation science hosted by the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. He received his MS in 2003 and PhD in 2006 from the Center for the Evaluative Clinical Sciences at Dartmouth. He is a tenured professor of Epidemiology with joint appointments in Biomedical Data Science, and Health Policy and Clinical Practice. He was the recent NIH Study Section Chair of the Science for Implementation in Health and Healthcare (SIHH). Dr. Brown is funded by NHBLI, NIAID, and NIDDK. He specializes in running national implementation hybrid effectiveness-implementation randomized trials including two trials that span 32 medical centers nationally using team-based coaching and EHR-based clinical decision support tools. Dr. Brown also has expertise in predictive analytics using structured or unstructured EHR data for use in developing healthcare informatics predictive toolkits, clinical decision support, and clinical-facing informatics implementation. 

Program Manager, Dartmouth Center for Implementation Science

Julia Shaw, MPH has over ten years of experience in health care research, project management, quality improvement, policy, advocacy, and implementation. Julia's areas of experience include HIV and hepatitis C prevention and treatment, substance use disorder treatment best practices, and health care access and affordability. She has completed post-graduate certificate programs in Data Visualization and Program Evaluation.

Director, MS in Implementation Science, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth

Gayle Cohen, MEd is the Director of the MS-IS program at Dartmouth. She will be facilitating the Capstone IMPACT Project and will serve as students' main point of contact throughout the program. Gayle has an extensive background in academic program management and student support with undergraduate, graduate, and medical students. She previously served as the Director of the MS in Business Data Science and Analytics for the Broad College of Business at Michigan State University. She has conducted research and given presentations on Advisors as Teachers, Generational Cohort Theory, and adult/professional learners. Gayle's goal is to ensure the success of all learners in the program, making sure each student feels represented and supported to meet their personal and academic objectives while enrolled in the program. 

Associate Professor of Psychiatry | Co-Director, Dartmouth Center for Implementation Science

Kelly Aschbrenner, PhD is a health services researcher and implementation scientist with over 15 years experience conducting research and applying knowledge to improve the health and health care of at-risk communities. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and a Senior Scientist at Dartmouth Health. Dr. Aschbrenner holds several leadership roles in implementation research and practice including Director of a Center of Excellence at Dartmouth Health that provides training to mental health providers in evidence-based care and Director of a Research Methods Unit at an Implementation Science Center for Cancer Control Equity (ISCCCE) funded by the National Cancer Institute.

Professor of Health Services Policy and Practice, Brown University School of Public Health

Omar Galárraga, a health economist and health services researcher, is the Director of the International Health Institute (IHI) at the Brown University School of Public Health, where he is a tenured Professor of Health Services Policy and Practice. At Brown, he also serves in the steering committee for the Population Studies and Training Center (PSTC), on the advisory committee for the Center for Latin American Studies (CLACS), and the advisory board for the Data Science Institute (DSI).

His research uses insights from health and behavioral economics with a special focus on HIV treatment and prevention, health systems, and applied health econometric analysis. He evaluates economic-based interventions using experimental and rigorous non-experimental methods; his contributions have appeared in over 130 publications in health economics, public health and health services research.

Dr. Galárraga serves as Associate Editor for Health Economics; as standing member of the NIH Science of Implementation in Health and Healthcare (SIHH) study section; and as an appointed member of the Office of AIDS Research Advisory Council (OARAC).  He conducts research in Ecuador, Ghana, Kenya, Mexico, South Africa, and the U.S. in collaboration with community and academic partners.

Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth

Dr. Ferron is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry whose research focuses on the study of tobacco and nicotine addiction in people with severe mental illness (SMI). She also specializes in the development of treatments (technology-based and in-person) for this vulnerable population. Over the past 15 years, Dr. Ferron has focused on the development and research of health behavioral interventions for adults with SMI. She also has professional interest in psychometrics, evidence-based, and motivational interventions.  

Professor of Pharmacy and Psychiatry, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Faculty, MS in Implementation Science, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth

Geoffrey Curran, PhD will be co-teaching Experimental Designs in the MS-IS program with Dr. Robert Brady. Dr. Curran is a professor in the departments of pharmacy and psychiatry at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) as well as the Director for the Center for Implementation Research at UAMS. He is trained as a medical sociologist and began his career looking at the complex etiology of substance use disorders. Later, Dr. Curran became interested in health services research and began to investigate predictors of treatment engagement and outcomes for substance use disorders. The Center for Implementation Research at UAMS is a joint effort between the University of Arkansas departments of pharmacy and medicine, and is devoted to developing and testing implementation strategies across a wide range of service contexts, assisting with the implementation of practices within UAMS clinics and community practices, and training the next generation of implementation scientists. 

Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth Faculty, MS in Implementation Science, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth

Robert Brady, PhD will be co-teaching Experimental Designs in the MS-IS program with Dr. Geoffrey Curran. Dr. Brady is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Dartmouth and conducts research aimed at increasing use and access to evidence-based treatments for psychiatric disorders. Dr. Brady also leads the Anxiety Disorders Service at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, which specializes in the assessment and treatment of these disorders. 

Associate Professor of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison Faculty, MS in Implementation Science, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth

Andrew Quanbeck, PhD is an associate professor in the University of Wisconsin’s Department of Family Medicine and Community Health and an honorary associate of the University of Wisconsin’s Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering. Dr. Quanbeck heads the Implementation Science and Engineering Lab at UW-Madison. His research draws upon concepts from systems engineering to develop innovative approaches to implementing evidence-based practices. Dr. Quanbeck is currently the principal investigator on four NIH-funded R01 grants that use innovative systems engineering approaches to promote the implementation of evidence-based interventions for the prevention and treatment of substance use disorders in healthcare and community settings.

Implementation Specialist, University of North Carolina Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute Faculty, MS in Implementation Science, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth

Yolanda Perkins, EdS is an implementation specialist at the UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute (FPG). Ms. Perkins has more than 20 years of experience working in the field of special education in a variety of capacities including district administrator, teacher, coach, college instructor, and research educational consultant. She has extensive experience providing training, coaching, and technical assistance to state, district, and school-based educators on the application of implementation science practices to improve outcomes for individuals with marginalized identities. As part of the National Implementation Research Network (NIRN), Ms. Perkins serves as the co-principal investigator on the NY Math Network project, facilitating and supporting a cadre of New York state school districts to address the systemic implementation vision of high-quality math instruction. She also works with the UNC-based Work Together NC team on the state of North Carolina's Inclusion Works project aimed at improving competitive integrated employment opportunities for individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities. 

Faculty, MS in Implementation Science, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth

Ms. Reardon studied Health Behavior and Health Education at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. She is a qualitative scientist and a developer of both the updated CFIR and the CFIR Outcomes Addendum. Ms. Reardon was trained and mentored by Ms. Laura Damschroder, the lead developer of the original CFIR, and has over 10 years of experience using the framework to plan and evaluate the implementation of diverse evidence-informed practices within and outside of healthcare settings; she has conducted and analyzed hundreds of CFIR-based interviews. In addition, she has worked with and/or trained over 100 investigators and analysts in the US and abroad on using the CFIR. 

Research Associate Professor, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis Faculty, MS in Implementation Science, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth

Rachel Tabak, RD, PhD will be co-teaching Measuring Implementation Science Context, Process, and Outcomes with Dr. Sara Malone. Dr. Tabak is Research Associate Professor at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. She is part of the Prevention Research Center and the Envolve Center for Health Behavior Change and works in obesity prevention and community-based physical activity and nutrition strategies, with a focus on dissemination and implementation research. Dr. Tabak's research examines interventions to promote healthy nutrition and activity behaviors in families, particularly in the home environment. She also evaluates the effect of worksite policies and environments on worker health behaviors. Dr. Tabak’s work includes translation and evaluation of evidence-based obesity prevention interventions that allow for broad reach. She examines how key stakeholders, including researchers, advocates, and policymakers, affect how research evidence is transformed into programs and policies. 

Assistant Professor of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis Faculty, MS in Implementation Science, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth

Sara Malone, MSW, PhD will be co-teaching Measuring Implementation Science Context, Process, and Outcomes in the MS-IS program with Dr. Rachel Tabak. Dr. Malone is Assistant Professor of Surgery at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Her work focuses on evidence-based care delivery, primarily in pediatric settings. She is interested in improving the quality of care provided to children admitted to the hospital, particularly in acute and emergent settings. To do this, she uses theory and methods from implementation science and systems science to study how teams in these settings can best implement and sustain evidence-based programs and practices.

Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Pediatrics and Biomedical Data Sciences, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth Co-Director, Dartmouth Center for Implementation Science Faculty, MS in Implementation Science, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth

Sarah Lord, PhD, is a clinical developmental psychologist and health services and implementation science researcher with over 20 years of experience conducting research focused on development, evaluation, and implementation of digital assessment, treatment and care management tools targeting substance use and mental health across a range of populations. Dr. Lord is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Pediatrics and Biomedical Data Sciences at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and Director of the Dissemination and Implementation Core at the Dartmouth Center for Technology and Behavioral Health (CTBH).

Charles H. Gaut & Charles A. Norberg Assistant Professor of Engineering, Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth Faculty, MS in Implementation Science, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth

Dr. Murnane specializes in human factors, information science, and human-computer interaction, with a focus on applications in public health, STEM education, and environmental sustainability. The bulk of her research is in the domain of digital health, with an emphasis on developing personal informatics tools that promote patient experience and health equity. At Dartmouth, she founded and directs the Empower Lab, a team of students and research scientists working together to create behavioral intervention technologies that aim to positively shape knowledge, attitudes, and actions through a user-empowerment approach.