REACH EQUITY - Key Persons

Member of the Steering Committee
Director, Julius L. Chambers Biomedical / Biotechnology Research Institute ( BBRI ), North Carolina Central University

Dr. Kimberly S. Johnson

Job Titles:

Professor of Medicine, Division of Geriatrics

Dr. Kimberly S. Johnson, MD, MHS is a Professor with Tenure in the Department of Medicine, Division of Geriatrics, Duke Palliative Care, and Senior Fellow in the Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. Her research focuses on understanding and eliminating racial disparities in palliative and end-of-life care for seriously ill African Americans. She has led large national studies of hospice providers and multi-site studies to improve palliative care delivery. Dr. Johnson has published widely and is nationally recognized for her work investigating how cultural beliefs and preferences and organizational practices and policies may influence the use of hospice care by older African Americans. She is the Director of the Duke Center for Research to Advance Health Care Equity (REACH Equity), one of the NIMHDs Specialized Research Centers of Excellence on Minority Health and Health Disparities. The Center focuses on developing and testing interventions to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in health by improving the quality of patient-centered care in the clinical encounter. In addition to her program of research, Dr. Johnson has substantial experience leading research training programs for early-stage investigators as the Co-director of the Duke CTSA KL2 Program and the Research Education Core of the Duke Pepper Center.

Harvey Jay Cohen

Job Titles:

Member of the Internal Advisory Board
Professor of Medicine, Division of Geriatrics

Dr. Cohen's research program includes clinical research relating to aspects of the pathways to functional decline and reilience with aging, geriatric assessment, and cancer and anemia in the elderly. Pathways to functional decline are being explored through the NIA funded Claude Pepper Older Americans Independence Center, and includes studies of the contributions of age related physiologic change, in particular changes in inflammatory parameters, comorbid diseases and conditions, environment, genetics, and the interactionas among them. Data are derived from several current studies as well as previously collected data sets from the Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (EPESE), National Long Term Care Survey, and the Chinese Longevity Study (with Dr. Zeng Yi). Previous work has demonstrated the important contributions of age related inflammation and coagulation activation to functional status. He is Co-PI of the Pepper Center Physical Performance Across the LifeSpan (PALS) study, which is a longitudinal cohort study of community dwelling adults from age 30-90+and includes functional measures and biomarkers on inflammation and metabolism. Geriatric assessment approaches have been studied in a number of randomized and controlled studies and work is now concentrating on the application of Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment tools to the evaluation and treatment of elderly patients with cancer. This is an extension and continuation of a long standing interest in geriatric oncology. Previous studies have elucidated age-related patterns of disease presentation, treatment approaches, clinical trials, survivorship, quality of life, impact of comrobidities and functional outcomes. Dr. Cohen was co-chair, and now member of the Cancer in the Older Adult Committee of the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology (ALLIANCE). A number of active studies and ongoing data bases aree being utilized to address these questions. Anemia in the older adult is being addressed through an NIA funded U01 consortium (Dr. Cohen Co-PI). the current main study is an observational study followed by a pragmatic treatment trial for anemia in older adults with CHF, in collaboration with the Cardiovascular Research Network (CVRN) of the Health services research network (HSRN).

Hayden Bosworth

Job Titles:

Member of the Internal Advisory Board
Health Services Researcher and Associate Director of the Center for Health Services Research
Professor in Population Health Sciences, Division of General Internal Medicine

Dr. Bosworth is a health services researcher and Associate Director of the Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care at the Durham VA Medical Center. He is also a Professor of Medicine, Psychiatry, and Nursing at Duke University Medical Center and Adjunct Professor in Health Policy and Administration at the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His research interests comprise three overarching areas of research: 1) clinical research that provides knowledge for improving patients' treatment adherence and self-management in chronic care; 2) translation research to improve access to quality of care; and 3) eliminate health care disparities. Dr. Bosworth is the recipient of an American Heart Association established investigator award, the 2013 VA Undersecretary Award for Outstanding Achievement in Health Services Research (The annual award is the highest honor for VA health services researchers), and a VA Senior Career Scientist Award. In terms of self-management, Dr. Bosworth has expertise developing interventions to improve health behaviors related to hypertension, coronary artery disease, and depression, and has been developing and implementing tailored patient interventions to reduce the burden of other chronic diseases. These trials focus on motivating individuals to initiate health behaviors and sustaining them long-term and use members of the healthcare team, particularly pharmacists and nurses. He has been the Principal Investigator of over 20 trials resulting in over 350 peer reviewed publications and four books. This work has been or is being implemented in multiple arenas including Medicaid of North Carolina, The United Kingdom National Health System Direct, Kaiser Health care system, and the Veterans Affairs. Areas of Expertise: Health Behavior, Health Services Research, Implementation Science, Health Measurement, and Health Policy

Howard Eisenson

Job Titles:

Member of the Steering Committee
Chief Medical Officer, Lincoln Community Health Center

Julius Wilder

Job Titles:

Research Vouchers Awardee 2018 - 2019, Transdisciplinary Think Tank Awardee 2018 - 2019

Karen Bullock

Job Titles:

Member of the Steering Committee
Professor & Head of the Dept. of Social Work, North Carolina State University

Kerry Watson

Job Titles:

Member of the Steering Committee
Founder, WLD Foundation, Watson Healthcare Management Solutions

Kimberly Evans

Job Titles:

Member of the Internal Advisory Board
Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Nephrology

L. Ebony Boulware

Job Titles:

Member of the Internal Advisory Board
Chief of the Duke Division of General Internal Medicine
Chief, Division of General Internal Medicine in the Department of Medicine
Physician - Scientist

Dr. Ebony Boulware is a general internist, physician-scientist and clinical epidemiologist focused on improving health and health equity for individuals and communities affected by chronic health conditions such as kidney disease. A national thought leader in health equity, she has identified patient, clinician, system, and community-level barriers that result in disparate outcomes for Black and other minoretized individuals. Using pragmatic trials, she has developed successful interventions, shaped guidelines, raised physician awareness and changed clinical practice. Throughout her work, Dr. Boulware has sought to improve transparency and trustworthiness in science and medicine. Dr. Boulware is also the Chief of the Duke Division of General Internal Medicine in the Department of Medicine, and she directs the Duke Clinical and Translational Science Institute as Vice Dean for Translational Science, and Associate Vice Chancellor for Translational Research. Her research has been continuously funded by the National Institutes for Health, the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute, and other organizations throughout her career. She has published over 190 manuscripts, book chapters, and editorials, and she mentors numerous students, residents, fellows, and faculty members. Dr. Boulware is an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the National Academy of Medicine, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Larissa Aviles-Santa

Job Titles:

Member of the Steering Committee
Director of Clinical and Health Services Research, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities

Laura Linnan

Job Titles:

Member of the Steering Committee
Senior Associate Dean, Academic and Student Affairs Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Leon Herndon

Job Titles:

Member of the Internal Advisory Board
Professor of Ophthalmology, Chief, Glaucoma Ophthalmology

I have an interest in exploring better medical and surgical ways to treat patients and will continue to be involved in clinical trials involving novel drug-delivery systems and new surgical procedures. I also have a research interest in the differential burden of glaucoma on African-derived populations. This question is multi-faceted and involves a comprehensive evaluation of the genetics, economics, accessibility to treatment, and response to therapy of these populations.

Lesley H. Curtis

Job Titles:

Member of the Internal Advisory Board
Professor and Chair of the Department of Population Health Sciences
Professor in Population Health Sciences, Professor in Medicine

Lesley H. Curtis is Professor and Chair of the Department of Population Health Sciences in the Duke School of Medicine. A health services researcher by training, Dr. Curtis is an expert in the use of Medicare claims data for health services and clinical outcomes research, and a leader in national data quality efforts. Dr. Curtis serves as co-PI of the FDA's Sentinel Innovation Center, Co-Investigator of the Data Core for the FDA's Sentinel Initiative to monitor the safety of FDA-regulated medical products, and Chair of the Data Quality Subcommittee for the National Evaluation System for health Technology (NEST) Coordinating Center that generates real-world evidence for health technology and medical devices. She serves as co-Investigator of the coordinating center for PCORI's National Clinical Research Network (PCORnet), working with health systems and patient networks to develop a harmonized network infrastructure that leverages health systems and electronic health record data for robust observational and interventional research. Areas of expertise: Health Services Research and Health Policy