COHO

Faculty

Bull, Sheana PhD, MPH
Sr. Behavioral Scientist
Associate Professor, Family Medicine
Tel: 303-724-1238
Email: Sheana.bull@uchsc.edu

Kempe, Allison MD, MPH
Director, Children’s Outcomes Research
Director, Primary Care Research Fellowships
Professor, Pediatrics
Tel: 303-724-1176
Email: Kempe.Allison@tchden.org

Daley, Matthew MD
Asst. Professor, Pediatrics
Tel: 303-724-1079
Email: Daley.Matthew@tchden.org

Main, Debbi PhD
Professor, Family Medicine
Tel: 303-724-1172
Email: Debbi.Main@uchsc.edu

Fairclough, Diane DrPH
Sr. Biostatistician
Professor, Preventive Medicine and Biometrics
Tel: 303-724-1168
Email: Diane.fairclough@uchsc.edu

Min, Sung-Joon (Max) PhD
Biostatistician
Asst. Professor,Health Care Policy & Research
Tel: 303-724-1534
Email: Sung-Joon.min@uchsc.edu

Hammermeister, Karl MD
Professor, Cardiology
Tel: 303-724-0164
Email: Karl.hammermeister@uchsc.edu

Morroto, Elaine DrPH, MPH
Asst. Professor, Pediatrics
Tel: 303-724-1535
Email: Elaine.morroto@uchsc.edu

Henderson, Bill PhD
Professor, Preventive Medicine and Biometrics
Tel: 303-724-1165
Email: William.henderson@uchsc.edu

Steiner, John  MD, MPH
Director, Colorado Health Outcomes Program
Director, Clinical Faculty Scholars
Professor, Medicine
Tel: 303-724-1170
Email: John.steiner@uchsc.edu


Staff


Babbel, Christine MSPH
Professional Research Assistant
Tel: 303-724-1083
Email: Christine.babbel@uchsc.edu

Janosz, Tara
Program Assistant
Tel: 303-724-1171
Email: Tara.janosz@uchsc.edu

Barnard, Juliana (Juli) MA
Sr. Professional Research Assistant
Tel: 303-724-0112
Email: Juliana.barnard@uchsc.edu

Madison, Matt
Sr. Professional Research Assistant
Tel: 303-724-0334
Email: Matthew.madison@uchsc.edu

Barrow, Jennifer MSPH
Sr. Professional Research Assistant
Tel: 303-724-1029
Email: Jennifer.barrow@uchsc.edu

Nowels, Carolyn MSPH
Sr. Professional Research Assistant
Tel: 303-724-1173
Email: Carolyn.nowels@uchsc.edu

Beaty, Brenda MSPH
Analytic Coordinator
Tel: 303-724-1076
Email: Brenda.beaty@uchsc.edu

Nyirenda, Carsie MPH
Professional Research Assistant
Tel: 303-724-1531
Email: Carsie.nyirenda@uchsc.edu

Benton, Katie MSPH
Data Analyst
Tel: 303-724-1371
Email: Kathryn.benton@uchsc.edu

Ortiz, Charlene
Sr. Professional Research Assistant
Tel:  303-724-1700
Email: Charlene.ortiz@uchsc.edu

Black, Sandra DVM, CSPH
Data Analyst
Tel:  303-724-1232
Email: Sandra.black@uchsc.edu

Osborn, Kyle
COHO/COR Administrator
Tel: 303-724-1177
Email: Kyle.osborn@uchsc.edu

Blatchford, Patrick (Jud) PhD
Biostatistician
Tel: 303-724-0838
Email: Patrick.blatchford@uchsc.edu

Oxley, Renee
Grants Coordinator
Tel:  303-724-1175
Email: Renee.oxley@uchsc.edu

Campagna, Elizabeth
Sr. Data Analyst
Tel: 303-724-0382
Email: Elizabeth.campagna@uchsc.edu

Phibbs, Stephanie MPH
Sr. Professional Research Assistant
Tel:  303-724-1080
Email: Stephanie.phibbs@uchsc.edu

Chandramouli, Usha MS
Sr. Data Analyst
Tel: 303-724-1197
Email: Usha.chandramouli@uchsc.edu

Pyrzanowski, Jennifer
Professional Research Assistant
Tel: 303-724-0769
Email: Jennifer.pyrzanowski@uchsc.edu

Gutierrez-Raghunath, Sylvia MBA
Sr. Professional Research Assistant
Tel: 303-724-1239
Email: Sylvia.raghunath@uchsc.edu

Saville, Alison MSPH, MSW
Professional Research Assistant
Tel: 303-724-0906
Email: Alison.saville@uchsc.edu

Haverhals, Leah MA
Professional Research Assistant
Tel:  303-724-0381
Email: Leah.m.haverhals@uchsc.edu

Shobe, Trish MPH
Professional Research Assistant
Tel:  303-724-0408
Email: Patricia.shobe@uchsc.edu

Hosokawa, Patrick
Sr. Professional Research Assistant
Tel: 303-724-1198
Email: Patrick.hosokawa@uchsc.edu

Weister, Vicki
Professional Research Assistant
Tel:  303-724-1231
Email: Vicki.weister@uchsc.edu

Iwasaki, Patricia (Patti) MSW
Sr. Professional Research Assistant
Tel: 303-724-0602
Email: Patti.iwasaki@uchsc.edu

 


Meet the Faculty and Staff

Alphabetical listing:  A-F         G-L         M-R           S-Z 

A-F 

Christine Babbel


Christine Babbel
graduated with honors with a bachelor of Environmental Health Sciences degree from Colorado State University in 1999. She obtained her Master of Science in Public Health from the University of Colorado Denver in August 2006. Ms. Babbel joined the University of Colorado Denver in 1999 and has worked on a variety of studies including the DAISY study (Diabetes Autoimmunity Study in the Young), the CACTI study (Coronary Artery Calcification in Type I Diabetes), and the Colorado Weigh Program, a community-based weight loss program through the Center for Human Nutrition. She joined the Colorado Health Outcomes and Children’s Outcomes Research Programs in December 2004 as the Project Coordinator for the Vaccine Policy Collaborative Initiative, a program that is collaborating with the CDC to conduct and analyze surveys of providers in order to respond to issues relevant to immunization delivery policy. 


Juliana Barnard


Juliana Barnard
received her Master of Arts in Sociology from the University of Oklahoma in 1994. She joined the Children’s Outcomes Research Program (COR) in September, 2007 following twelve years as an Epidemiologist /Research Coordinator in the Division of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences at National Jewish Medical and Research Center. While there, Ms. Barnard was part of a research team investigating the etiology and treatment of granulomatous lung diseases and co-authored several publications. At COR, Ms. Barnard is studying the quality of life outcomes in disabled children following orthaepedic surgery in collaboration with investigators at the Children’s Hospital in Aurora, Colorado. Back to top.


Jennifer Barrow


Jennifer Barrow
received her Bachelor of Economics from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1990. In 1998, she completed a Master of Science in Public Health from the University of Colorado Denver. Ms. Barrow has over 10 years of project management experience, primarily at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, and the University of Colorado Denver. She has worked on a variety of children’s health issues including evaluating HIV prevention programs for youth, implementing and evaluating the CHP+ program, and, most recently, vaccine related projects. Her research experience includes study design and implementation, survey development, qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis, budgeting, reporting and manuscript preparation. Ms. Barrow joined the Colorado Health Outcomes and Children’s Outcomes Research Programs in January 2002 as the Project Manager for a study examining the uptake of new and targeted vaccines for high-risk children. She is now co-manager for the Vaccine Policy Collaborative Initiative, a project implementing quick turnaround surveys with physicians on current vaccine policy topics. Additionally, she co-manages two additional studies focused on improving immunization delivery with adolescents. Ms. Barrow has co-authored several articles. Back to top.

Brenda Beaty


Brenda Beaty
joined the Colorado Health Outcomes Program in 2002 and has served as analytic coordinator since that time. She manages the efforts of the COHO analytic team as well as performing data analysis on a number of projects. She became a SAS Certified Base Programmer in June of 2003, and founded the Health Sciences Center SAS Users Group in March, 2004. Brenda currently serves as the Chair for the Denver SAS Users Group. She works with projects both at COHO and the Children's Outcomes Research Program (COR) in the Department of Pediatrics. From 1997 to 2001 she worked on the Colorado Rural Immunization Services Project in the Department of Pediatrics. She also worked for the Diabetes Autoimmunity Study in the Young in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics.  She received her Master of Science in Public Health in 1993 from the University of Colorado Denver and her Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering with distinction from Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado in 1989. Back to top.

Katie Benton


Katie Benton
joined COHO in January, 2006. She works as a biostatistician on a number of COHO and COR projects. She is also an active member of the Denver SAS Users Group, for which she organizes the newsletters and website. Before coming to COHO, she was a biostatistician for the Respiratory Diseases Branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. Katie received her Master of Science in Public Health in Biostatistics from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in 2005.  At Tulane she researched various arboviral diseases, specifically West Nile Virus. She received her Bachelor of Science in Health and Exercise Science from Colorado State University in 2003. When not analyzing data, Katie enjoys mountain biking, rock climbing, dancing, and reading. Back to top.


Sandra Black


Sandra Black
graduated from University of California, Berkeley with a bachelor’s degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology. She worked in a gene targeting laboratory for three years before entering Veterinary Medical School at University of California Davis in 1996. After completing her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine, Sandra moved to Nevada and worked as a small and exotic animal general practitioner for two years. She moved to Colorado in 2002 and currently pursues a career as an Epidemiologist at University of Colorado Denver. She started as a Data Analyst at COR and COHO in February, 2008. She has two children, one fish, three frogs, a husband and a house in the country outside of Boulder. Before kids, she enjoyed rock climbing, modern dance, and sleep. Now she enjoys cycling with the children. Back to top.


Jud Blatchford


Jud Blatchford
graduated from Pepperdine University in 1991 with a bachelor’s degree in both Sports Medicine and Physical Education. In 1992 he completed his Master of Education at the University of California Los Angeles. After teaching in Santa Monica for a year, he and his wife moved to Colorado in 1993. Jud taught mathematics at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado from 1993 to 2003. He decided to pursue a degree in statistics, and graduated in 2007 with a Ph.D. in Biostatistics from the University of Colorado Denver. He worked as a professional research assistant in the UCD Department of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics from 2004 through 2007. His research interests are in the field of group sequential clinical trials. Back to top.


Sheana Bull


Sheana Bull
received her Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from the University of California, Davis, in 1988. After completing her undergraduate degree she worked as a US Peace Corps volunteer in Paraguay, and later received a Master of Science in Public Health from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. While on faculty with the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University of Atlanta, she participated in large-scale reproductive health surveillance projects in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and worked on research projects that investigated links between race/ethnicity and negative birth outcomes. She completed a doctoral degree in Sociology in 1997 and moved to Denver, where she has concentrated on research related to sexually transmitted infection (STI) and unintended pregnancy prevention, and chronic illness prevention. Dr. Bull has most recently focused on the development and use of information technology applications for health promotion among groups at high risk for chronic illness and STI. Back to top.

Katherine Pratte


Elizabeth Campagna
obtained her Master of Science in Biostatistics from the University of Michigan in April 2006. She joined the Colorado Health Outcomes Program in May 2008.  Previously she has worked at the University of Michigan Cancer Center with survival analysis in relation to prostate cancer measures of aggressiveness, the Cleveland Clinic assessing proposed quality of life measures specific to Crohn’s disease, and at the Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center with the Researched Abuse, Diversion and Addiction-Related Surveillance (RADARS®) System as well as clinical trials. She received her Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering with a specialty in Structural Engineering from Purdue University in 2001. Back to top.

 

Usha Chandramouli

Usha Chandramouli received her Bachelor of Science in Statistics in India and her Master of Science in Statistics from Colorado State University in 1992. From 1993 to 1995, she served as a Data Analyst at the Center for Health Policy Research. She worked as an Independent Analyst from 1995 to 1998 on projects at University of Colorado Denver that had large secondary data analysis. She was with the Department of Internal Medicine from 1998 to 2001 and with the Department of Pediatrics from 2001 to 2003. She has experience working on large datasets and developing database applications in MS-ACCESS. Back to top.



Matthew Daley


Matthew Daley
received his medical degree from the Stanford University School of Medicine in 1995. He completed a residency in pediatrics at the University of Colorado Denver and The Children's Hospital in 1999, and a primary care research fellowship at the University of Colorado Denver in 2001. Dr. Daley is board-certified in General Pediatrics, and is a member of the Ambulatory Pediatrics Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Colorado. He serves as a faculty mentor to pediatric residents and also directs an international adoption clinic. His research interests include a variety of immunization-related issues (implementing new immunization recommendations; adolescent immunization; disparities in immunization rates; influenza vaccination practice and policy; reminder/recall; and vaccine safety) as well as broader issues of health care access, and delivery of preventive medical and dental services to children. He is currently the principal investigator on a federal grant examining the feasibility of adolescent immunization in diverse medical settings, and is a co-investigator in the Vaccine Policy Collaborative Initiative and the Vaccine Safety Datalink projects. Back to top.

Diane Fairclough


Diane Fairclough
received her doctoral degree in Biostatistics from the University of North Carolina. She has held appointments at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Harvard School of Public Health, AMC Cancer Research Center and the University of Colorado Denver. She has over 150 peer-reviewed publications on the psychosocial sequelae of cancer and its therapy. Dr Fairclough’s primary research interest is Quality of Life and psychosocial sequelae of cancer and its therapy in pediatric and adult patients. This includes the neuropsychological sequelae of therapy in pediatric patients treated for brain tumors or receiving CNS prophylaxis (primarily ALL), long-term outcomes for survivors, the impact of therapy on QOL, and end of life issues including attitudes concerning PAS and euthanasia. In the area of statistical methodology, Dr. Fairclough’s research interests include the design and analysis of longitudinal studies with non-random missing data due to disease morbidity or mortality. She is the author of Design and Analysis of Quality of Life Studies in Clinical Trials (2002). Back to top.

G-L

Silvia Guitierrez-Raghunath

Silvia Gutierrez-Raghunath is a native of Costa Rica. She obtained a master’s degree in Business Administration in 1994 at the Universidad de Costa Rica and has been living and working in the US for the past 8 years. She has 11 years of experience in project management and is currently a Professional Research Assistant on the Resources for Health project, a bilingual chronic illness self-management education study. Sylvia is very active in, and is a strong advocate for, the Latino community in Denver. She currently volunteers on the Leadership and Advocacy Committee at the Colorado Minority Health Forum (CMHF). She is also on the Latin Advisory Committee of the Alzheimer’s Association and is a part of the Circle of Latina Leadership of the Mestizo Leadership Program in Denver. Back to top.



Karl Hammermeister


Karl Hammermeister
received his undergraduate and medical school education, as well as most of his postgraduate training, at the University of Washington in Seattle. He retired from the VA in July 2004 following 34 years of service as a cardiologist. He continues to hold an appointment of Professor of Medicine and continues his long-time research interest in measuring and improving the quality of the life as part-time investigator at COHO. His primary research interest is evaluation of outcomes of care, particularly the use of risk-adjusted outcomes as measures of quality of care. He is one of the originators (together with Frederick L. Grover, MD) in 1987 of the ongoing VA Continuous Improvement in Cardiac Surgery Program, where risk-adjusted outcomes have been used to assess and improve the quality of cardiac surgery throughout the VA. Currently funded outcomes research includes: the assessment of the effect of intra-operative changes in blood pressure, heart rate, and oxygen saturation on late mortality; predictors of length of stay; and the development of automated, point-of-care decisions support to reduce perioperative complications. Back to top.

Leah Haverhals


Leah Haverhals
graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication and Spanish from Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa in May, 2001, and completed her Masters in Telecommunications at Indiana University Bloomington in 2003 where her research focused on information processing of mediated messages and health communication. At IUB Leah was a member of the Institute for Communication Research Laboratory where she worked on and conducted several research projects, including her master’s thesis that addressed stigmatizing attitudes towards mental illness and direct-to-consumer advertising on television. She moved to Denver in September, 2003 and taught inner-city youth computer and video production classes at Curtis Park Community Center for a year before coming to COHO. She is currently coordinating two projects including the Taking Neighborhood Health to Heart research study, which is studying the health and built environments of five Metro Denver neighborhoods through performing walking audits of the neighborhoods and surveying 1,000 households. She is also working with Steve Ross, MD, on the Project Health Design research project interviewing older adults and their caregivers about how they manage their health information, with the purpose of designing an electronic tool to help with management of medications. Back to top.

Bill Henderson


Bill Henderson
received his BA degree in mathematics from Pomona College, Claremont, California, in 1965, and his Master of Public Health and PhD degrees in biostatistics from the University of Michigan in 1967 and 1970. From 1970-71, he served as a mathematical statistician at the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke, and from 1971-76, he was a biostatistics faculty member at the University of Iowa. In 1976, Dr. Henderson joined the VA Cooperative Studies Program Coordinating Center in Hines, Illinois, to conduct large-scale research that would have an impact on clinical practice. He became the Director of the Center in 1978. During his tenure at the VA Cooperative Studies Program Dr. Henderson helped design, implement, conduct, analyze, and publish over 40 multicenter clinical trials in the VA system in many different disease areas. Dr. Henderson retired from the VA in 2002 and is now Director of the Biostatistics Core in the Colorado Health Outcomes Program, and a Professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine at the University of Colorado. Dr. Henderson is a member of the Board of Directors of the Society for Clinical Trials. He helped design the 5-day clinical trials course for the American College of Surgeons and helped design and coordinate a similar course in the VA. Dr. Henderson currently serves as co-chair of the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP), and manages the NSQIP Data Coordinating Center located at COHO. The NSQIP is a quality assurance program that collects pre-operative risk factors, intra-operative data, and 30-day post-operative mortality and morbidity outcomes in patients undergoing major surgery and feeds back the patient risk-adjusted outcomes to the Chiefs of Surgery at participating institutions. The NSQIP currently has all 123 VA medical centers that perform major surgery participating in the program and 14 non-VA private institutions under a grant from AHRQ. There are plans to expand the program to other interested private hospitals throughout the country. Back to top.

Patrick Hosokawa


Patrick Hosokawa
joined COHO in 2007. He works on the ACS-NSQIP, a quality-improvement initiative analyzing surgical data from approximately 200 hospitals around the country. He has a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of Colorado Boulder and was previously a web and database developer. He is currently pursuing an MS in Biostatistics from the University of Colorado Denver. Back to top.



Patti Iwasaki

Patti Iwasaki began work at COHO in May 2007 with Taking Neighborhood Health to Heart, a community-based participatory study of five communities in and around Stapleton (the old Denver airport), and with a qualitative analysis of a multi-site pediatric immunization study. Patti obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from UCLA and her master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Denver. She has worked over 10 years in cancer prevention and control, having worked on a cancer information and counseling line at AMC Cancer Research Center, in tobacco control in Jefferson County, at MD Anderson Comprehensive Cancer Center in Texas, and with a Latino research network that focused public health studies along the U.S. Mexico border. In England, she worked with the Whitehall Stress and Health Study that examined locus of control and workplace differences among government workers in various socioeconomic positions. Patti’s passion has been community-based participatory studies of health disparities, having worked with Asian American and Latino communities. Patti is hoping to complete a doctorate in health and behavioral science before turning 82. Back to top.

Tara Janosz


Tara Janosz
graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a bachelor’s degree in Microbiology in 2000. Her background includes microbiology bench work for biotechnology companies as well as being a Project Coordinator for Brigham and Women’s Clinical Endpoint Center and Cardiac Imaging Core Labs. Tara moved from the East coast to Boulder in 2005 to play outside and is currently working on her MPH at the University of Colorado Denver. She joined COHO in 2007 as a Program Assistant working on a variety of projects. Back to top.



Allison Kempe
, Director of Children’s Outcomes Research Program, is a graduate of Oberlin College and the University of Colorado School of Medicine. She was a resident in pediatrics at the Strong Memorial Hospital at University of Rochester, and a fellow in the Robert Wood Johnson General Pediatrics Academic Development Program at the University of Rochester, where she received a Master of Public Health degree. She has been a faculty member at the University of Colorado Denver since 1992. She is currently an Associate Professor of Pediatrics, and Director of the Research Division of General Academic Pediatrics and of the Primary Care Research Fellowship and Faculty Development Fellowship. Additionally, she remains actively involved in junior faculty development. Dr. Kempe is a member of the Pediatric Academic Society and the American Academy of Pediatrics. Back to top.

M-R

Matthew Madison


Matthew Madison
is a Senior Professional Research Assistant. He supports the AHRQ federal contract funding the implementation of a health information exchange known as the Colorado Regional Health Information Organization (CORHIO). He has over ten years experience in the health care industry as an analyst and product manager (McKesson Health Solutions, Access Health Solutions and Blue Shield of California). Back to top.





Debbi Main, PhD


Debbi Main, PhD
, is a Professor of Family Medicine and Co-Director of a new community-academic partnership called Stapleton 2040. She has more than 20 years of experience in public health and primary care research. She is currently Principal Investigator on a National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute-funded grant that uses community-based participatory methods to study the influence of the built environment on physical activity, healthy eating and cardiovascular risk among adults in five diverse neighborhoods. Her current research interests focus on understanding the influence of built and social environments on health and health outcomes analysis. Back to top.


Sung-Joon (Max) Min


Sung-Joon (Max) Min
received his PhD in Biostatistics and AM in Economics from the University of Michigan. He is currently Assistant Professor of Medicine (in the Division of Health Care Policy and Research) with a secondary appointment in the Department of Biostatistics. At COHO he is mainly involved with projects related to the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP). Prior to joining UCD, he was a biostatistician for the Colorado Foundation for Medical Care. Dr. Min's research interests lie in the application of modern statistical methods to biomedical and health care research, and the development of applicable statistical methods to aid collaborative research. He is particularly interested in health care financing issues (such as improving health care quality while containing costs) and twin fetal growth curve estimation. His primary methodologic interests are in group sequential design and economic evaluation of longitudinal clinical trials. Additionally, he is interested in econometric methods for non-normally distributed variables often found in health care settings. Back to top.

Elaine Morrato


Elaine Morrato
received her Bachelors of Science in Biology at Purdue University in 1988 with Highest Distinction. She was an R&D manager at Procter & Gamble for 14 years where she had responsibility for leading prescription and over-the-counter drug development programs including Phase III, IIIb, and IV clinical programs; epidemiology and pharmacoeconomic studies; and qualitative and quantitative survey research with physicians and patients. Her experience encompasses the US, Canadian, and European health care systems and covers a variety of therapeutic categories, including cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and periodontal diseases. In 2003, she earned her master’s degree in Public Health at Johns Hopkins University followed by her Doctor of Public Health in Epidemiology in 2006. She completed a Fellowship in Outcomes Research at the University of Colorado, School of Pharmacy. She is now an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Colorado with appointments in the Departments of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics and Clinical Pharmacy and senior methodologist for the Children’s Outcomes Research Program sponsored by The Children’s Hospital. Dr. Morrato’s research interests include child health outcomes, FDA policy evaluation, and practice-based interventions to improve patient safety. Back to top.

Carolyn Nowels


Carolyn Nowels
joined the Colorado Health Outcomes Program in 2004 and has served as a senior professional research assistant since that time. Over the past 15 years, she has worked at the University of Washington (1991-1993) and the University of Colorado Denver in qualitative research and evaluation on a variety of projects, including two National Cancer Institute studies related to survivors’ return to work and patient navigation programs within cancer care settings. Carolyn received her Master of Science in Public Health in 1988 from the University of Colorado Department of Preventive Medicine. Previous degrees include a BA in social work from Colorado State University, and BA in English from University of Massachusetts. Back to top.


Carsie Nyirenda


Carsie Nyirenda received her BSc in Human Physiology from the University of Zambia in 1990, followed by an MB ChB in 1994. She later received a Master of Public Health from the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in 1997. She has worked in a variety of public health fields, including infectious disease, cardiovascular research and tumor registry. She relocated to the Denver area in 2005 and joined COHO in 2006, where she works with Dr. Henderson as a Professional Research Assistant. Back to top.



Charlene Barrientos Ortiz


Charlene Barrientos Ortiz
began her health career at Denver Public Health in 1994 where she was a Senior Clinical Care Associate. Ms. Barrientos Ortiz has a strong interest in community activism. From 1990 to 2000 she worked as a Dollar A Day Counselor at Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains in Denver. Ms. Barrientos Ortiz is a founding board member of COLOR (Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights) and continues as a volunteer, a board member of National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (NLIRH), and a member of the Cesar Chavez Peace and Justice Committee of Denver. Ms. Barrientos Ortiz is currently working on Training for multicultural care and research: Toolkits to promote cultural proficiency as project coordinator and lead trainer, LUCHAR (Latinos Using Cardio Health Actions to Reduce Risk) coordinating monthly cultural proficiency activities for research team; and is on the research team of Taking Neighborhood to Health research project. She is a member of the Colorado Health Outcomes Programs’ Cultural Proficiency Learning Group and a coordinating member of UCD’s Foundations for Cultural Dimensions bi-monthly sessions. Back to top.

Kyle Osborn


Kyle Osborn
received his bachelor’s degree in Community Health Promotion from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, in 1988. He joined the American Cancer Society in 1989 as a Public Education Coordinator and, in 1991, became the Executive Director of the Adams County Unit, overseeing fundraising, programs, and administration for the Society. He then joined Project ASSIST, a nation-wide initiative to reduce tobacco use, as the Denver Field Coordinator and aided in implementing smoke-free ordinances throughout the Denver area. In 1995, he began working with the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control at the University of Colorado Comprehensive Cancer Center. Mr. Osborn joined the Colorado Health Outcomes Program in 2002 as the Administrator, where he is responsible for long-range planning, strategic development, human resources issues and budgetary oversight. Back to top.


Renee Oxley


Renee Oxley
joined the Colorado Health Outcomes Program in 2004 after working at The Cooper Institute for over two years in the Center for Research Methods and Biometry as a grants administrator and administrative assistant. Prior to The Cooper Institute, she worked in the same capacity at AMC Cancer Research Center. While living in Southern California, Renee worked as the office manager in the Hematology/Oncology Research Lab at Children’s Hospital of Orange County. Renee and her husband enjoy riding their Harley (when the weather is nice) and spending time with family and friends. They are also huge NASCAR fans – Dale Jr. for Renee and Jeff Gordon for John! Back to top.


Stephanie Phibbs


Stephanie Phibbs
received her BA in Biology and Research in 1993 from the University of Redlands in Redlands, California. A Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship allowed her to study at the University of Nottingham where she earned a Master of Public Health in 1995. She is now pursuing a doctorate degree in Health and Behavioral Sciences at UCD. Ms. Phibbs has over 12 years of project management experience, much of that work focusing on preventive health in communities of color. Her research experience includes study design and implementation, survey development, qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis, budgeting, reporting, and manuscript preparation. Currently Ms. Phibbs is working on two evaluations with Dr. Main. One focuses on use of clinical guidelines to improve immunization provision, and the other is the statewide evaluation of Amendment 35 funding A35 Program Evaluation Group. Ms. Phibbs has co-authored several articles and one book on related health services research interests. Back to top.

 



Jennifer Pyrzanowski


Jennifer Pyrzanowski
joined the Colorado Health Outcomes and Children’s Outcomes Research Programs as a professional research assistant in December of 2006. She is the project coordinator for a study assessing the feasibility and acceptability of vaccinating adolescents in complementary health care settings. She is currently completing her Master of Science in Public Health at the University of Colorado Denver. She comes to COHO from Jefferson County Department of Health and Environment where she worked as a public health researcher within the Tobacco Prevention Initiative Program. Back to top.




S-Z

Alison Saville


Alison Saville
graduated from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill in 2005 with a dual master’s degree in Public Health and Social Work. She has a variety of experiences both in community-based programs and research working mostly with nonprofits and academic institutions. Between undergraduate studies and graduate school, she worked with children with developmental disabilities and also directed an employment assistance program for homeless adults in Dallas, Texas. Most recently, Alison directed a community-wide obesity prevention program in Wilmington, North Carolina. Her main research/project interests are working to improve health outcomes for vulnerable populations, particularly women and children. Alison moved to Denver with her husband in August 2007 and began work with the Children’s Outcomes Research program in October. Currently, she is the project manager for a CDC funded study evaluating the effectiveness of vaccine reminder/recall systems for adolescent patients. Back to top.

Patricia Shobe


Patricia Shobe
received her Bachelor of Psychology from the University of Maryland in 1992. She completed a Master of Public Health at the University of Denver in 2002. Ms. Shobe has over 15 years experience working in public health, primarily maternal and child health. She has worked in non-profit settings both behind the scenes and out with the public. Her research experience includes project coordination, study implementation, quantitative data collection, and manuscript preparation. She is fluent in Spanish and has worked with many underserved populations. She joined the Colorado Health Outcomes and Children’s Outcomes Research Programs in January, 2005, as the Project Manager for a study evaluating an innovative telephone intervention to improve breastfeeding with Latina first time moms at Denver Health Medical Center. Currently, she is the Project Manager for an oral health care intervention in children, and she helps recruit patients for a study at Children’s Hospital about parent perceptions of weight status. Back to top.


John Steiner
, Director of the Colorado Health Outcomes program, is a graduate of Yale College and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He was a resident in primary care internal medicine at the University of Colorado and a fellow in the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program at the University of Washington, where he received a MPH degree. He has been a faculty member at the University of Colorado since 1987 and is currently a Professor of Medicine, Preventive Medicine and Biometrics, and Family Medicine. From 1988-2002 he was the director of the integrated primary care research fellowship. He is currently the director of the Clinical Faculty Scholars Program, an interdepartmental development program for junior faculty members. His research interests include practice-based interventions to improve the quality of care, evaluation of programs to improve access to health care and reduce disparities, and medication adherence. In 2005, he received the Florence Rena Sabin Award at the University of Colorado commencement for his service to the University and the people of Colorado. From 2007-2011, he is the chair of the Health Systems Research grant review panel for the Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research (AHRQ). Back to top.

Vicki Weister


Vicki Weister
joined the Colorado Health Outcomes Program as a research assistant in July, 2007. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology, SCL, from the University of Colorado Denver in May, 2007, and is rejoining the professional world after several years as a full-time mom and part-time student. Vicki is working with Dr. Main on the statewide evaluation of Amendment 35 funding. She hopes to begin work on her master’s degree once her kids graduate from college! Back to top.