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Second Round of Computational Modeling Pilot Grants Awarded


As part of GSPH’s ongoing initiative to support computational approaches in modeling and simulation across the campus, GSPH has instituted a Computational and Systems Models in Public Health pilot grant program. The second round of these grants has been awarded to investigators who will use computational models to improve our understanding of complex public health issues. Each grant amount is $20,000 and covers the period from February 1, 2009, to January 31, 2010.

While the application stipulated that the principal investigator be a full-time faculty member with a primary appointment at GSPH, it also required that the PI identify co-investigator(s) from other schools on campus, fostering an interdisciplinary focus. Further, investigators new to the area were to pair with a more seasoned computational investigator. The five principal investigators of these pilot grants, the titles of their projects, and their co-investigators are:

Stephanie R. Land, PhD, research associate professor, Department of Biostatistics: “Social Networks and Tobacco Use in First-Year College Students”
Co-investigators:
• Brian Primack, MD, EdM, MS, assistant professor of medicine and pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh
• Deborah Moss, MD, MPH, assistant professor of pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh
Consultant:
• Ju-Sung Lee, PhD, post-doctoral researcher, Center for the Analysis of Computational and Organizational Systems, Carnegie Mellon University

Stephen B. Thomas, PhD, Philip Hallen Professor of Community Health & Social Justice, director, Center for Minority Health, Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences: “Developing an Agent-Based Model to Assess Racial Differences in Medical Discrimination, Social Support, and Trust”
Co-investigators:
• Mary A. Garza, PhD, deputy director, Center for Minority Health; assistant professor, Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences
• Joshua M. Epstein, PhD, visiting professor, Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences; senior fellow, economic studies program director, Center on Social and Economic Dynamics, The Brookings Institution
• Craig S. Fryer, DrPH, MPH, assistant director, Center for Minority Health; assistant professor Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences
• Donald Musa, PhD, research associate, University Center for Social and Urban Research, University of Pittsburgh
Consultant:
Patrick Grim, PhD, Group for Logic and Formal Semantics, Department of Philosophy, SUNY at Stony Brook

Janice C. Zgibor, RPh, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Epidemiology; director of evaluation, University of Pittsburgh Diabetes Institute: “Application of the Archimedes Model to Estimate Clinical Outcomes and Cost-Effectiveness in Diabetes Treatment and Prevention Research”
Co-Investigators:
• Mark S. Roberts, MD, MPP, professor of medicine, health policy and management, and industrial engineering; chief, Section of Decision Sciences and Clinical Systems Modeling, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
• Cindy L. Bryce, PhD, associate professor of medicine and the associate director of degree-granting programs, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; primary faculty, Section of Decision Sciences and Clinical Systems Modeling, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
• Kenneth J. Smith, MD, MS, associate professor of medicine, University of Pittsburgh; primary faculty, Section of Decision Sciences and Clinical Systems Modeling, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
• Shihchen (Stanley) Kuo, RPh, MSCP, doctoral student, Department of Epidemiology; senior research assistant, Department of Epidemiology

Yuting Zhang, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Health Policy & Management
Mentor: Judith R. Lave, PhD, chair, Department of Health Policy & Management: “Fill the Gap: Modeling Total Medicare Spending Among the Elderly”
Co-investigators:
• Jennifer Shang, PhD, associate professor of business administration, Joseph M. Katz School of Business
• Walid Gellad, MD, MPH, RAND Corporation, VA Pittsburgh

Each of these investigators will present a synopsis of his or her project at a kick-off symposium on Tuesday, March 3, 2009, 4-5:30 p.m., A115 Crabtree Hall. Another symposium will be scheduled near the end of the grant period so that each investigator can report on the results of the projects.



2/17/2009

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