Center for Research on Health Care

Data Center Resources

Other Resources

Multidisciplinary Clinical Research Scholars Program

Institute for Clinical Research Education

Center for Research on Health Care (CRHC) Data Center
200 Meyran Ave,
Suite 200,
Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3221
Phone: 412-692-4826
E-mail contact:
dcweb@pitt.edu

Data Center: Team Members

To view the structure of the Center for Research on Health Care (CRHC) Data Center, click here. To find out more about our team members, click on the names listed below.

Director

Doris Rubio, PhD

Professor of Medicine, Biostatistics, Nursing, and Clinical and Translational Science

Specialties: Measurement; structural equation modeling.

Doris Rubio joined the faculty in 2002 as the director of the Data Center. In this role, she has dramatically expanded the services offered. Over the past 5 years, the Data Center has worked on over 400 research projects. The Data Center has provided data management and statistical support for numerous grants, such as R01, R21, R34, P30, U01, and K awards. It has also worked on projects ranging from pilot studies to multisite randomized clinical trials. It specializes in the development of paperless data collection systems, using both the Internet and tablet PCs.

The Data Center serves as the data coordinating center for the following: the Pittsburgh Pepper Center, which is funded through a P30 grant from the National Institute on Aging (NIA); the Multidisciplinary Clinical Research Scholars Program, which is funded through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA); and the Consortium of Radiologic Imaging Studies of Polycystic Kidney Disease (CRISP) and the HALT Progression of Polycystic Kidney Disease (HALT-PKD) Study, both of which are funded through a cooperative agreement with the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).

Dr. Rubio co-directs the Clinical Research Scholars Program, which was initially funded through the Roadmap K12 mechanism. She directs two cores in the Clinical and Translational Science Institute (the Design, Biostatistics, and Clinical Research Ethics Core and the Evaluation Core), and she also leads other data management cores and data coordinating centers. She has maintained consistent productivity, as evidenced by her publication record and her mentoring of more than 50 graduate students, 6 postdoctoral scholars, and 5 junior faculty members. Dr. Rubio's research focuses on alcohol use and depression in women.

Phone: 412-692-2023
Fax: 412-246-6954
E-mail: rubiodm@upmc.edu
Website

Faculty

Kaleab Abebe, PhD

Assistant Professor of Medicine, Biostatistics, and Clinical and Translational Science

Specialties: Longitudinal analysis; multisite clinical trials; simulation.

Kaleab Abebe joined the faculty in 2009 as an assistant professor of medicine in the Institute for Clinical Research Education at the University of Pittsburgh. He works with the Clinical Research Scholars Program, providing biostatistical support and training for clinical researchers. In addition, he is a statistician with the CRHC Data Center. His research interests focus on identifying methods to explain treatment-by-site interaction in multisite clinical trials.

Phone: 412-246-6931
Fax: 412-586-9672
E-mail: abebekz@upmc.edu
Website

Douglas Landsittel, PhD

Associate Professor of Medicine and Clinical and Translational Science

Specialties: Classification and modern regression methods; model complexity; occupational and injury epidemiology; cancer detection and biomarkers; simulation and computational methods.

Doug Landsittel joined the faculty in 2009 as an associate professor of medicine. His primary responsibilities at the CRHC Data Center are to coordinate statistical activities, supervise related operations and staff, and collaborate with a wide range of investigators through the Clinical and Translational Science Institute. He will also be teaching multiple courses for the Institute for Clinical Research Education. Previously, Dr. Landsittel held appointments at Duquesne University, at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI), and in three different divisions of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (CDC/NIOSH) in Morgantown, West Virginia. At UPCI, he was the associate director of biostatistics. At the CDC/NIOSH, he served as the team leader of the Division of Safety Research in the Analysis and Technical Evaluations Branch, as the acting chief of the Analysis and Field Evaluations Branch, as the senior statistician for the Health Effects and Laboratory Division of the Biostatistics Branch, and as the senior statistician for the National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory. He has published about 65 papers and frequently serves as a grant reviewer for numerous institutes within the CDC, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Department of Defense.

Phone: 412-864-3019
Fax: 412-586-9672
E-mail: landsitteldp@upmc.edu
Website

Charity Moore, PhD

Associate Professor of Medicine, Biostatistics, and Clinical and Translational Science

Specialties: Health services research (including research on rural health); statistical methods in clinical research; clinical trials; complex survey sampling; analysis of secondary data.

Charity Moore joined the faculty in 2007 as an associate professor of medicine in the Institute for Clinical Research Education at the University of Pittsburgh. She provides statistical support and training for clinical researchers, particularly those in the Multidisciplinary Clinical Research Scholars Program. Before joining the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Moore was an assistant professor of medicine and biostatistics at the University of North Carolina.

Phone: 412-246-6961
Fax: 412-586-9672
E-mail: moorecg@upmc.edu
Website

Seo Young Park, PhD

Assistant Professor of Medicine

Specialties: Statistical machine learning and data mining; nonparametric statistics; high-dimensional data analysis.

Seo Young Park joined the faculty in 2011 as an assistant professor of medicine in the Institute for Clinical Research Education and CRHC Data Center. She collaborates with investigators on the development of clinical research projects. Before joining the University of Pittsburgh, she worked as a research associate (assistant professor) in the Biostatistics Lab, Department of Health Studies, at the University of Chicago.

Phone: 412-864-3022
Fax: 412-586-9672
E-mail: parksy@upmc.edu
Website

Dana Tudorascu, PhD

Assistant Professor of Medicine and Biostatistics

Specialties: Dimension reduction techniques for neuroimaging data; data with missing covariates; longitudinal analysis.

Dana Tudorascu joined the faculty in 2011 as an assistant professor of medicine and biostatistics. She collaborates with investigators on design and analysis of clinical research projects. Before joining the University of Pittsburgh, she was an assistant researcher at the Waisman Brain Imaging Lab at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where she provided statistical consulting services for functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), positron emission tomography (PET), and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) study design and analysis. She received her PhD in Biostatistics from the University of Pittsburgh in June 2009.

Phone: 412-864-3023
Fax: 412-586-9672
E-mail: tudorascudl@upmc.edu
Website

Jonathan Yabes, PhD

Assistant Professor of Medicine

Specialties: Survival/time-to-event regression methods, longitudinal data analysis, missing data, joint modeling

Jonathan Yabes joined the faculty in September 2012 as an assistant professor of medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine. He is a statistician in the Center for Research on Health Care (CRHC) Data Center and collaborates with investigators on various clinical research projects. He works with KL2 scholars and other investigators on the design and analysis of biomedical studies. His methodological research interests include time-to-event regression methods, longitudinal data analysis, and missing data techniques. He obtained his PhD in Biostatistics from the University of Pittsburgh in August 2012.

Phone: 412-605-0158
Fax: 412-586-9672
E-mail: yabesjg@upmc.edu
Website

Lan Yu, PhD

Assistant Professor of Medicine and Psychiatry

Specialties: survey data, psychometrics, item response theory, and differential item functioning.

Dr. Yu joined the faculty in 2012 as an assistant professor of medicine and psychiatry. Her research is focused on the applications of advanced psychometric theories such as item response theory (IRT) methods to health outcome measurement. She collaborates with investigators on the development and validation of item banks for various constructs using IRT. She is the lead psychometrician in developing the Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System (PROMIS) item banks for Sleep and Alcohol Use.

Phone: 412-864-3020
Fax: 412-586-9672
E-mail: yul2@upmc.edu
Website

Staff

Administrator

Patrick Reitz, MA

Specialties: Personnel and financial management.

Patrick Reitz provides general administrative support to the CRHC Data Center, particularly in the area of personnel management. Patrick worked as a research coordinator and administrator in the Department of Psychiatry for 10 years before joining the Division of General Internal Medicine in 2007 as the administrator of the Institute for Clinical Research Education.

Phone: 412-692-2018
Fax: 412-586-9672
E-mail: reitzpm@upmc.edu

Data Analysts

Elan Cohen, MS

Specialties: Analysis of large longitudinal and hierarchical datasets; statistical programming.

Elan Cohen works primarily with large observational datasets, either longitudinal or hierarchical in structure, and uses random-effects models, generalized estimating equations, and other generalized linear models for data analysis. He does most of his statistical programming in R, Stata, Mplus, and SAS. Elan obtained an MS in statistics from Carnegie Mellon University in 2005.

Phone: 412-864-3014
Fax: 412-586-9672
E-mail: cohened@upmc.edu

Diane Comer

Specialties: Data analysis.

Since 1995, Diane Comer has been performing data analysis for investigators, initially using the SAS Software System and more recently using SPSS. She holds a bachelor of arts degree and has completed some coursework in the Department of Biostatistics in the Graduate School of Public Health.

Phone: 412-692-4896
Fax: 412-246-6954
E-mail: comerdm@upmc.edu

Patrice Gibbs, MS

Specialties: Statistical analysis

Patrice Gibbs joined the data center in August 2012. She performs most of her analyses using Stata but is also familiar with R and SAS. Her particular areas of interest are in Data Mining and Survival Analysis. She earned a Masters in Statistical Practice in May 2012 from Carnegie Mellon.

Phone: 412-864-3015
Fax: 412-586-9672
E-mail: gibbspa@upmc.edu

Irina Karpov, MS

Specialties: Statistical data analysis.

Irina Karpov works on statistical data analysis for medical investigators, primarily using SAS software. She holds an MS in biostatistics from the University of Pittsburgh.

Phone: 412-246-6924
Fax: 412-586-9672
E-mail: karpovio@upmc.edu

Jie Li, MS

Specialties: Data analysis; measurement; psychometrics; survey design and analysis; simulation study; and geographic information science (GIS).

Jie Li has been working on GIS for spatial data analysis and mapping design. She holds an MS in research methodology and cartography. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh and she has experience in SAS, SPSS, and ArcView for statistical analysis and spatial data analysis.

Phone: 412-246-6955
Fax: 412-586-9672
E-mail: lij5@upmc.edu

Data Manager

Fern Schwartz

Specialties: Data entry; data management.

In 2008, Fern Schwartz started as a systems programmer III in the CRHC Data Center, specializing in database development. Before joining the CRHC Data Center, she had worked since 1990 as a data manager in the Epidemiology Data Center at the Graduate School of Public Health. Her responsibilities include data entry and verification, database development, form development, and data management. She is proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, and Access.

Phone: 412-586-9624
Fax: 412-246-6954
E-mail: schwartzf@upmc.edu

Financial Manager

Nicole Kaefer

Specialties: Office administration.

Nicole Kaefer is the Data Center's financial manager. She joined the University of Pittsburgh in 2007. She received her bachelor of science degree in finance and minored in mathematics. Nicole plans to pursue a master's degree in business administration from the Katz Graduate School of Business.

Phone: 412-692-2023
Fax: 412-246-6954
E-mail: KaeferND@upmc.edu

Information Systems Manager

Tim Bragg

Specialties: Database design and development.

Since 1996, Tim Bragg has been involved in building software using various programming languages and in data application development, database management, supervision and training of staff, and hardware and software maintenance. He is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, where he earned a bachelor's degree in economics with a minor in computer science. His areas of expertise include database and data application design, Web site design, and application development using MS Visual Studio.

Phone: 412-692-4898
Fax: 412-246-6954
E-mail: braggtj@upmc.edu

Project Manager

Diana Dill, MAPW

Specialties: Project management and technical writing.

Diana Dill worked in a variety of computer support roles for the Computing Services and Systems Development Department at the University of Pittsburgh before joining the CRHC Data Center in February 2010. At the Data Center, Diana's responsibilities include project management and technical writing. She has an MA in professional writing from Carnegie Mellon University, with an emphasis on technical writing.

Phone: 412-605-1569
Fax: 412-246-6954
E-mail: dilldm@upmc.edu

Receptionist

Virginia Mulky

Specialties:

Virginia Mulky is the receptionist for the CRHC Data Center and provides administrative support to the Data Center faculty. She received her bachelor of philosophy degree from the University of Pittsburgh with majors in Chinese, film studies, and history of art. Before joining the Data Center, she worked for the University Library System and served as an intern for the 2013 Carnegie International at the Carnegie Museum of Art.

Phone: 412-692-4826
Fax: 412-246-6954
E-mail: mulkyvj@upmc.edu

Systems Administrator

Donald Grimm

Specialties: Server and workstation administration.

Donald Grimm is responsible for the administration and security of over 25 servers that are used for Web serving, file sharing, database warehousing, statistical data analysis, E-portfolio, and course streaming video. He is also responsible for server, workstation, and user support for the Division of General Internal Medicine, the Center for Research on Health Care (CRHC), the CRHC Data Center, and the Department of Medicine, comprising over 1,000 devices. He has been with the University of Pittsburgh since 1997 and has been in a systems administrator role since 1992.

Phone: 412-692-4855
Fax: 412-246-6954
E-mail: grimmdw@upmc.edu

Systems Analysts

Kyle Holleran, MSIS

Specialties: .NET, C#, jQuery, Javascript, and SQL Server.

Kyle Holleran is responsible for the design and development of Web applications for the CRHC Data Center. Kyle graduated from Binghamton University (SUNY) with a bachelor's degree in psychology with an emphasis on clinical psychology. He has a master's degree in information science from the University of Pittsburgh.

Phone: 412-692-2693
Fax: 412-246-6954
E-mail: hollerankm@upmc.edu

Jason Kojtek, MSIT

Specialties: Web development.

Jason Kojtek is responsible for designing and developing Web applications for the Data Center. He is a graduate of Bloomsburg University, where he received two bachelor's degrees, one in music and the other in mass communications, and also earned a master's degree in instructional technology. His specialties include front-end Web design, flash development, and video and music production.

Phone: 412-246-6956
Fax: 412-246-6954
E-mail: kojtekjc@upmc.edu

Desheng Li, MSEE

Specialties: ASP.NET, C#, VB, and SQL Server.

Desheng Li is using ASP.NET, C#, JavaScript, and SQL Server to create, update, and troubleshoot Web pages for the Data Center. He received a BS in computer science from Wuhan University of Technology and an MS in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Detroit Mercy.

Phone: 412-586-9620
Fax: 412-246-6954
E-mail: lid@upmc.edu

Linda Quinn

Specialties: Database development and data management

Linda Quinn has been a member of the Data Center since 1998 and has acquired a broad range of skills. She specializes in the development of Access database design and management as well as designing forms for Web applications.

Phone: 412-692-4869
Fax: 412-246-6954
E-mail: quinnlc@upmc.edu

Shelley Rowe

Specialties: Database and Web development.

Shelley Rowe specializes in the design, development, and management of Access applications, and she focuses on programming database-driven applications. She earned her BS from the University of Pittsburgh, where she majored in information science with a minor in French.

Phone: 412-246-6925
Fax: 412-246-6954
E-mail: rowesa@upmc.edu

Terry Sefcik, MSIS

Specialties: Database design and development.

Since 1988, Terry Sefcik has obtained a wealth of diversified computer experience in an academic research environment, including database development, applications programming, supervision and training of data management staff, and coordination of PC education. She holds a master of science degree in information science, and her areas of expertise include tracking systems, tablet PC-based data management systems, and processing large medical databases.

Phone: 412-692-4851
Fax: 412-246-6954
E-mail: sefcikth@upmc.edu

Xiuyun Shen, MS

Specialties: Web development.

Xiuyun Shen designs, develops, and maintains complex Web-based medical research database applications and MS SQL Server databases for multiple research studies. She has an MS in computer science from Georgia State University.

Phone: 412-605-1563
Fax: 412-586-9672
E-mail: shenx@upmc.edu

Timothy VanDyke

Specialties: Graphic Design and Web development.

Tim VanDyke is designing, creating, and updating Web applications for the Data Center. His specialties include Web design, flash development, layout, and graphic design. He received a BA in communications with a concentration in public relations from Geneva College.

Phone: 412-692-4854
Fax: 412-246-6954
E-mail: vandyketl@upmc.edu

Anupama Vemuganti, MS

Specialties: Web development.

Anupama Vemuganti is responsible for the design and development of Web-based applications for the Data Center. She has a master's degree in mechanical engineering from India and an MS in management information systems from Texas Tech University.

Phone: 412-647-0280
Fax: 412-586-9672
E-mail: vemugantia@upmc.edu

Joseph Weiss

Specialties: Web development (primarily C# and SQL Server).

Joseph Weiss, a systems analyst, is responsible for designing and developing Web applications for the Data Center. He works primarily on projects for the Institute for Clinical Research Education.

Phone: 412-605-1543
Fax: 412-586-9672
E-mail: weissjm@upmc.edu

Charlene Xie, MSIS

Specialties: ASP.net, C#,VB, PHP, Cold Fusion, SQL Server

Charlene Xie is responsible for designing and developing Web applications for the Data Center. She has experience in creating ASP.Net Solutions with supporting technologies & databases. Her specialties include systems analysis, web design and database management. Charlene graduated from Robert Morris University with a master’s degree in Management of Information Systems.

Phone: 412-246-6926
Fax: 412-586-9672
E-mail: xiecx@upmc.edu

David Yankovich

Specialties: Web development.

David Yankovich is using ASP.NET, C#, JavaScript, CSS, and an SQL Server backend to create, update, and troubleshoot Web pages. He graduated from Penn State Behrend University with a bachelor's degree in management information systems and a minor in management.

Phone: 412-692-4871
Fax: 412-246-6954
E-mail: yankovichdb@upmc.edu