Research in the Hadi Kharrazi Lab focuses primarily on contextualizing clinical decision support (CDS) into population health informatics (PHI) to be used at different HIT levels of managed care, including electronic health records (EHRs) and consumer health informatics (CHI) solutions. Our team has modified and regenerated electronic quality measures (eQM) based on PHI-derived CDS to represent a population aspect of the health quality measurements. Through the Center for Population Health IT (CPHIT) at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, we are pursuing PHI research that provides direct population-based CDS to providers, patients and payers.

Work in the Kristin Riekert Lab focuses on methods for improving health care quality and delivery, particularly among underserved and disadvantaged populations. Our research covers a range of important topics, including health beliefs, treatment adherence, doctor-patient communication, self-management interventions, mobile health initiatives, health disparities and patient-reported outcome methodology. We also work with the National Institutes of Health on multiple intervention trials focused on improving adherence and health outcomes in asthma, chronic kidney disease, cystic fibrosis (CF), sickle cell disease and secondhand smoke reduction.

Work in the Kelly Gebo Lab focuses on topics such as evidence-based practice, health utilization, policy generation, health disparities in patient access to health care, HIV/AIDS, aging and hepatitis. As part of the HIV Research Network (HIVRN), our lab gathers clinical and demographic data on HIV-infected patients to help develop a single, nationwide research database. In addition, our ongoing research explores evidence-based practice in relation to the management of hepatitis C as well as HIV/AIDS in mentally ill patients. We also investigate racial and gender disparities in patients who receive highly active antiretroviral therapy.

Research in the Quantitative Imaging Technologies lab — a component of the Imaging for Surgery, Therapy and Radiology (I-STAR) Lab — focuses on novel technologies to derive accurate structural and physiological measurements from medical images. Our team works on optimization of imaging systems and algorithms to support a variety of quantitative applications, with recent focus on orthopedics and bone health. For example, we have developed an ultra-high resolution imaging chain for an orthopedic CT system to enable in-vivo measurements of bone microstructure. Our interests also include automated methods to extract quantitative information from images, including anatomical and micro-structural measurements, and shape analysis.

The primary area of statistical expertise in the Qian-Li Xue Lab is the development and application of statistical methods for: (1) handling the truncation of information on underlying or unobservable outcomes (e.g., disability) as a result of screening, (2) missing data, including outcome (e.g., frailty) censoring by a competing risk (e.g., mortality) and (3) trajectory analysis of multivariate outcomes. Other areas of methodologic research interests include multivariate, latent variable models. In Women's Health and Aging Studies, we have closely collaborated with scientific investigators on the design and analysis of longitudinal data relating biomarkers of inflammation, hormonal dysregulation and micronutrient deficiencies to the development and progression of frailty and disability, as well as characterizing the natural history of change in cognitive and physical function over time.

The Michelle Eakin Lab conducts research on behavioral science and adherence and asthma outcomes in inner-city children. Our studies into behavioral science have included exploring the impact of medication adherence on lung health outcomes in patients with cystic fibrosis, disparities in anti-hypertensive medication adherence in adolescents and other key topics. We also investigate methods for improving asthma care and treatment as well as health disparities among various ethnicities, particularly in pediatric patients.

Research in the Meredith McCormack Lab deals primarily with pulmonary diseases, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and the role of environmental exposures in lung diseases. We have researched the factors that contribute to inner-city asthma, with a focus on how particulate matter air pollution impacts pulmonary function. We are also part of the LIBERATE clinical study, which is focused on patients who experience difficulty breathing and have been diagnosed with severe emphysema. We also have a longstanding interest in the effects of race/ethnicity, poverty and urbanization on nutrition and food allergies.

The Michael Klag Lab focuses on the epidemiology and prevention of kidney disease, cardiovascular disease and hypertension. Our research determined that the U.S. was experiencing an epidemic of end-stage kidney disease, pinpointed the incidence of kidney disease and published scholarship on risk factors for kidney disease such as race, diabetes and socioeconomic status. Our Precursors Study has shown that serum cholesterol measured at age 22 years is a predictor for midlife cardiovascular disease, a finding that has influenced policy about cholesterol screening in young adults. We also research health behaviors that lead to hypertension and study how differences in these behaviors affect urban and non-urban populations.

Research in the Hanan Aboumatar Lab focuses on advancing patient-centered outcomes through improved patient and family involvement. We also focus on multilevel methods to increase the patient-centered focus of care delivery. Recent research examined the impact of a quality-improvement intervention on patient involvement in primary care and treatment with respect and dignity in intensive care.

Dr. Stephen Berry’s research focuses on healthcare quality, safety and costs among persons living with HIV, both in the outpatient and inpatient settings. He conducts observational and interventional studies of sexually transmitted infection screening in HIV clinics, with a focus on improving performance to meet national guidelines. He leads observational studies of rates and reasons for hospitalizations and of 30-day readmission rates among HIV patients. He is conducting a randomized study of a nurse- and pharmacist-based team to reduce inpatient HIV medication errors and increase engagement in outpatient care among persons living with HIV who are hospitalized at The Johns Hopkins Hospital.