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

Jessica Bielawski
Center Manager

Jessica is the Center Manager and works with the administrative team to coordinate the overall operations of the center. She holds a Masters in Higher Education Administration from Madonna University. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her family, baking, and doing crosswords.

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.

Research Staff

Elinor Artsy Navon, MD
Elinor Artsy Navon, MD
Senior Research Specialist

Elinor is a senior researcher supporting PEACH and other child health equity initiatives led by Drs. Freed and Woolford. She has extensive experience in clinical neurology/neuroscience research in both academia and industry, as well as experience in health disparity research (while at the NIH, Harvard/MGH/MIT and abroad). A New Hampshire native, she earned her MD from the Technion Institute of Technology in Israel, worked as a physician in neurology and rehabilitation medicine, and has made her way back to the states to resume her path toward public health. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, making fancy coffee drinks, volunteering for the Epilepsy Foundation, and exploring the best places for nature walks within Michigan.

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. 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
Project Intermediate Manager

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.

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.

William Gillespie
SQL Data Analyst

William Gillespie is a Data Architect for the Program for Equity and Child Health (PEACH). He assists researchers and clinicians by investigating and retrieving Electronic Health Records (HER), defining data dictionaries, performing statistical analysis, and creating data visualizations. He enjoys automation of EHR tasks and creating dashboards and visualizations for end users. He holds a Master of Science in Computer Programming from Eastern Michigan University. He has previously worked in health technology at the U of M, programming in military contracting, and teaching English as a second language.  In his free time, he has interests in photography and foreign languages.

Michael Happy
Michael J. Happy
Web Project Manager

Michael Happy is the website project manager for PEACH and other programs launched by Drs. Freed and Woolford. After serving seven years as a U.S. Navy journalist, he received his Bachelor of Arts in social studies from Towson University in Maryland and then started a professional journalism career that took him to CBS Sports, The Detroit News and The New York Times. Before joining CHEAR, he worked as the digital content manager for FOX Sports Detroit. When he's not working, Michael loves to spend time with his bride, Shannon, relaxing at their cabin near Alpena. He also enjoys hanging out with his two adult children, Louis and Amanda, and telling stories about his angel, Shaun.

Scarlett He
Research Area Specialist Associate

Scarlett’s work focuses on statistical modeling as part of the team for Dr. Lisa Prosser and Dr. Kao-Ping Chua. She holds a master’s degree in Biostatistics from the University of Michigan. Scarlett loves to spend time with her furry friends in her free time.

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 Senior

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
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.

Ushapoorna Nuliyalu
Statistician Lead

Usha provides analytic support to research projects lead by Dr. Kao-Ping Chua. She analyzes health care claims data such as Medicaid, Medicare, IQVIA, and MarketScan for health policy related research. Her experience includes hierarchical models, difference in difference analysis, regression discontinuity design and survival analysis. SAS and Stata are the main programs she uses for data management and statistical analysis. Usha holds a Master of Public Health degree in Epidemiology from the University of Michigan. Usha enjoys hiking, biking, and gardening with her family.

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.

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.

Jennifer Stout
Jennifer Stout
Quality Improvement Specialist

Jennifer is a quality improvement specialist who supports PEACH and other initiatives led by Drs. Woolford and Freed. She was introduced to improvement science through her nursing experience at University of Michigan Health System. Jennifer has worked as an inpatient nurse for over 10 years, most recently on a Medical Intensive/Step Down unit. She has multiple years of experience working with free and charitable clinics and serving as an anti-human trafficking advocate, specifically in the field of education for healthcare providers. Jennifer loves to rollerblade and travel in her free time.

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 Specialist

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.

Katherine Luppino
Administrative Assistant

Katherine joined us in February as our newest member of the administrative team. She supports Dr’s Carlton, Dombkowski, Kohne, and Streur. Katherine holds a Bachelors in Paralegal Studies from Eastern Michigan University. In her free time, she enjoys running, hiking, and spending time with family.

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.