Staff

Our Research and Administrative Staff are a group of talented and dedicated individuals who provide the support and expertise necessary to facilitate all aspects of our operations. Our Research Staff include data analysts, project managers, research assistants, data collection experts, as well as a quality improvement specialists and statisticians. Additional staff include volunteer research assistants who are also deeply engaged in the research at CHEAR.

Administrative Leaders

Deb Boyd
Deb Boyd
Center Administrator​

Deb manages the Center’s daily operations. She and her staff are responsible for the overall financial, administrative, and human resources functions for all faculty and staff.  She and her team manage and execute center level projects relating to funding opportunities, recruitment initiatives, communication strategies and data reporting. Deb holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Administration from Eastern Michigan University. Deb's favorite thing about her work is collaborating with a multidisciplinary group of faculty and staff. She spends her free time at local skate parks with her son.

Veronica Williams
Center Manager

Veronica supports CHEAR leadership in the overall management of the Center. She is responsible for managing CHEAR special projects and initiatives, providing guidance to faculty and staff on best practices in research administration, developing and maintaining Center partnerships, coordinating CHEAR training and education activities, and implementing Center communication strategies. Veronica holds a Master of Public Health in Health Behavior and Health Education from the University of Michigan. She enjoys traveling, photography, music, and scrapbooking.

Research Staff

Baker
Michaella Baker
Project Manager Intermediate

Michaella manages the Michigan Sickle Cell Data Collection Program and projects focused on receipt of preventive care among children with sickle cell disease as part of the research team led by Dr. Sarah Reeves. Michaella also manages projects focused on improving outcomes by preventing complications in children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) as part of the research team led by Dr. Jeremy Adler. She holds a Masters of Social Work in Management of Human Services from the University of Michigan. Michaella enjoys traveling, baking, knitting and a good cup of coffee.

Lisa Cohn
Lisa Cohn
Senior Database Analyst/Programmer

Lisa works on claims data analysis and programming as part of the research team led by CHEAR Investigator Sarah Clark. She holds a Master of Science degree in Applied Statistics from Oakland University. Lisa enjoys spending time with her family.

Anne Cowan
Anne Cowan
Senior Research Area Specialist

Anne coordinates and manages projects for the research team led by Research Investigator Sarah Clark and Dr. Kevin Dobmkowski. She holds a Master of Public Health degree. Anne enjoys playing tennis and volleyball and spending time with her family.

Cori Davis
Quality Improvement Specialist Senior

Cori is an improvement specialist supporting collaboratives and projects focused on child health equity with Drs Freed and Woolford. Cori has over a decade of experience designing and leading quality improvement efforts to amplify and accelerate social change. Cori believes that improvement science is accessible to all and loves supporting people with diverse skillsets and backgrounds learn about and implement improvement science to make meaningful change. Outside of work, you can find Cori acting as an uber driver and domestic coordinator for her daughter, Peyton. She also enjoys gardening, exploring new restaurants or wineries, listening to podcasts, and traveling to warmer climates.

Emily Hirschfeld Dhadphale
Emily Hirschfeld Dhadphale
Research Area Specialist Intermediate

Emily provides regulatory, financial, and data quality support for the Diabetes Screening Study. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Dickinson College. Emily enjoys traveling, baking, spoiling her dog, and antiquing.

Cheyney Dobson
Project Manager

Cheyney manages the Program for Equity and Child Health as part of a team led by Drs. Woolford and Freed. She has extensive experience conducting and managing research collaboratively and independently focused on inequality as a qualitative sociologist. She is excited to bring this experience to bear in supporting those working in the realm of pediatric care ask questions about equity, collect data, and generate change where it’s needed. Cheyney used to enjoy yoga, relaxed evening runs, painting, and deep dives into end-of-the-night baked good sales. Now she enjoys Legos, building forts, running from monsters (or being the monster!), and listening to a good political podcast when she can.

Melissa Gardner
Melissa Gardner
Research Area Specialist Senior

Melissa is part of the research team led by Dr. David Sandberg.

Ashley Garrity
Ashley Garrity
Research Area Specialist Intermediate

Ashley coordinates pediatric diabetes research projects and quality improvement initiatives as part of the research team led by Dr. Joyce Lee. She holds a Master of Public Health degree in Health Behavior & Health Education from the University of Michigan. She enjoys working with a great team and making an impact on the lives of patients and families.

Acham Gebremariam
Acham Gebremariam
Database Analyst/Programmer Senior

Acham provides statistical support to CHEAR faculty and staff that includes sample size and power calculations and analyzing data. He holds a Master of Science degree in Statistics and in Biostatistics. Acham's favorite thing about his work is answering questions regarding study design, statistical modeling, and data analysis. He enjoys running and playing soccer.

Zoe K Lapham
Research Area Specialist Associate

Zoe works on developing and maintaining REDCap forms and technical documentation for a registry-based transitional research network for differences of sex development (DSD) as a part of the research team led by Dr. David Sandberg. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biopsychology, Cognition and Neuroscience from the University of Michigan. Her favorite part of CHEAR is the opportunity to improve the lives of children in healthcare setting while working in a friendly and positive environment. 

Latta
Krista Latta
Statistician Intermediate

Krista Latta joined Dr. Reeves and her sickle cell disease surveillance team as a statistician. Krista has experience in grant and data management in psychiatric genetics and infectious disease research. She earned her MPH in Epidemiology from the University of Michigan.

Lauren Manning
Project Manager

Lauren coordinates and manages projects for Drs. Jeremy Adler and Kao-Ping Chua. She holds a Masters of Business Administration degree from Northwood University and a Bachelors of Science degree in Biochemistry from Michigan State University. She enjoys cooking and baking, crafting, watching sports, and spending time with her husband and two boys.

Julie McCormick
Julie A. McCormick
Research Area Specialist Senior

Julie manages the QMETRIC Implementation and Quality Improvement Project and the American Board of Pediatrics Longitudinal Workforce Study as part of the research team led by Dr. Gary Freed. Julie loves traveling with her family and spending time outdoors. Her hobbies include costuming for community theater and middle school plays.

Kerra Mercon
Research Area Specialist Intermediate

Kerra’s work focuses on evaluations of pediatric public health interventions as part of the research team led by Dr. Lisa Prosser. She holds a Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering from George Washington University and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Bucknell University. In her free time, Kerra enjoys cooking, hiking, and spending time with her puppy.

Patel
Pooja Patel
Statistician Intermediate

Pooja Patel joins CHEAR as a Statistician providing analytic support to the research teams led by Drs. Sarah Reeves and Kevin Dombkowkski. She holds both a Masters of Public Health and a Masters of Health Informatics degree from the University of Michigan. Pooja enjoys gardening and spending time in the sun.

Hannah Peng
Hannah Peng
Statistician Senior

Hannah analyzes and interprets data and presents study results (manuscripts, presentations, and reports) as part of the research team led by Dr. Kevin Dobmkowski. She holds a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Michigan. Hannah plays kickball and dodgeball in the Ann Arbor Sport and Social Club.

Missy Plegue
Statistician Expert

Missy provides analytic and statistical support to the research team led by Dr. Sarah Reeves. She focuses on the analysis of health care utilization among individuals with sickle cell disease with the goal of improving health outcomes and quality of life. She holds a Master of Arts in Applied Statistics from the University of Michigan. Missy enjoys running, gardening and watching her kids play with their dog and three chickens.

Moshiur Rahman
Statistician Lead

Moshiur provides data cleaning and statistical analysis support to the projects of CHEAR research investigators Drs. Jeremy Adler, Kao-Ping Chua and Erin Carlton. He holds a M.Sc. and a Ph.D. both in statistics. Moshiur enjoys watching soccer and cricket.

Angela Rose
Project Coordinator

Angela manages projects focused on economic modeling of potential public health interventions and preference measurement surveys as part of the research team led by Dr. Lisa Prosser. She holds a Master of Science degree from the Ohio State University and a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Virginia. Angela enjoys running, baking, and wrangling her three children.

Ross
Justine Allenette Ross
Multimedia Designer

Justine Allenette Ross is an illustrator who grew up in Metro Detroit. She attended Wayne State University were she majored in Graphic design in 2017. In 2019 she interned at Campbell Ewald as an art director. In 2020 she was a freelance illustrator with clients that included Hour Magazine, Ann Arbor District Library, Taubman College, BLAC Media, and Metro Times. In her free time you can catch her listening to music, gardening, or cooking. 

Sara Schultz
Sara Schultz
Research Area Specialist Intermediate

Sara supports the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health (Mott Poll) and other projects as part of the research team led by CHEAR Investigator Sarah Clark. She holds a Master of Professional Studies degree in Publishing from George Washington University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications Studies from the University of Michigan. In her free time, Sara enjoys baking, reading, knitting, and spending time outdoors.

Dianne Singer
Dianne C. Singer
Project Manager Intermediate

Dianne is a project manager supporting the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health (Mott Poll) as part of the research team led by CHEAR Investigator Sarah Clark and Dr. Gary Freed; she also supports the National Poll on Healthy Aging as part of the research team led by Dr. Preeti Malani with the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation. She holds a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Science degree from Michigan State University. Dianne enjoys going up north to her family cabin, kayaking, gardening, and spending time with her family.

Behzad Sorouri Khorashad
Research Fellow

Dr. Behzad Khorashad became a CHEAR fellow, under the supervision of Dr. David Sandberg, in September, 2021. His research focuses on the psychosocial development of individuals diagnosed with a disorder of sex development (DSD). Behzad obtained his M.D. from the Mashhad University of Medical Sciences (Iran) in 2014. He conducted several studies on people with DSD conditions and gender dysphoria in the Iranian population. He later continued his research on neuropsychological characteristics of individuals with gender dysphoria at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. His research training in CHEAR currently involves analysis of psychosocial data collected by the DSD Translational Research Network and development of training materials in shared decision making for providers delivering DSD care in preparation for an implementation trial of decision aids for parents of infants and young children born with a DSD. 

Administrative Staff

Viola Hebert
Viola Hebert
Administrative Assistant

Viola provides administrative support for CHEAR faculty members. In her free time, she loves cooking, traveling and spending time with her family and friends.

Samantha Jones
Samantha Jones
Administrative Assistant

Samantha joined us in November as our newest member of the administrative team. She is an Administrative Assistant Senior who is supporting Dr’s Adler, Barbaro, Chua, and Reeves. She also supports the CHEAR Seminar, Methods Seminar, and Faculty WIP. In her free time, she enjoys hanging out with her husband, family and friends. She also enjoys watching and playing sports ( in a bowling league during fall/winter months). She loves a good bonfire and fun road trips up north.

Hillary Klutts
Administrative Assistant

Hillary provides administrative support for CHEAR faculty members. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Integrated Marketing Communications from St. Bonaventure University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Ceramics from Northern Michigan University. Outside of work she enjoys baking, crocheting and crafting, being outdoors, and spending time with her son and husband.

Sheng Koivu
Sheng Koivu
Administrative Assistant

Sheng joined CHEAR in 2016 as an Administrative Assistant providing support to the Division of General Pediatrics and planning CME activities. Sheng holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Oakland University. Her favorite thing about CHEAR is the social activities that bring everyone in the office together. In her free time, Sheng enjoys spending time with her family.

Kyle Palmer
Kyle Palmer
Office Manager

Kyle is the Office Manager and Human Resources Coordinator for the CHEAR Center. Kyle enjoys working out, exploring new restaurants and hanging out with friends, family, and his dogs.

Becky Smith
Becky Smith
Accountant Associate

Becky provides financial support to CHEAR faculty and to primary care physicians in the division of General Pediatrics. Becky's favorite thing about CHEAR is getting to work with everyone in the Center and learning about its different research projects. Becky loves to go up north, swim, and spend time with friends and family.