University of Massachusetts - Amherst
The Quality for All Research Lab works closely with a diverse network of community partners, medical professionals, policy makers and researchers from across Massachusetts, the United States, and abroad. If you are interested in connecting with the lab or exploring a new study, please contact sgoff@umass.edu.
Co-Investigators & Contributors, NIH-Funded Study on MA Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and Pediatric Asthma
Arlene Ash, PhD
University of MA Chan Medical School
Arlene Ash is Professor and Division Chief for Biostatistics and Health Services Research in the Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, and an internationally recognized methods expert in health services research. She pioneered tools for using administrative data to monitor and manage health care delivery systems, including those now used by the US Medicare program. In 1996, she co-founded DxCG, Inc. (now a part of Cotiviti) to promote “fair and efficient health care” via predictive software and received AcademyHealth’s 2008 HSR Impact Award (“Risk-Based Predictive Modeling”). She was one of six appointees to the 2011 COPSS-CMS white paper project “Statistical Issues in Assessing Hospital Performance.” Dr. Ash’s UMass Chan team helps MassHealth incorporate social determinants of health into Medicaid/CHIP global payments. Her over 200 research publications reflect long-standing interests in gender, age, and racial disparities and quality, equity, and efficiency in health care financing and delivery. For more about Arlene, visit https://profiles.umassmed.edu/display/130117
Kim Geissler, PhD
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Kim Geissler is an Associate Professor and Chief of the Division of Health Equity and Health Services Research in the Department of Healthcare Delivery and Population Sciences at UMass Chan Medical School - Baystate in Springfield, MA. Kim’s research uses large datasets and advanced empirical methods to explore factors affecting access to and coordination of health care. Her current work focuses on physician referrals and coordination of care measured using health insurance claims data. She uses economic modeling and network science to examine the relationship between insurance, physician, and organizational factors and health care coordination and access. Kim received her BA from Williams College, her PhD from University of North Carolina, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Boston University. For more about Kim and a list of her published research visit, her website - https://kimberleygeissler.wordpress.com/.
Peter Lindenauer, MD, MSC, MHM
University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School - Baystate
Peter K. Lindenauer, MD, MSc, MHM, is Professor and Chair of the Department of Healthcare Delivery and Population Sciences, and Assistant Dean for Population Health at the UMass Chan Medical School - Baystate in Springfield, MA. A founding Board member of the Society of Hospital Medicine, Dr. Lindenauer’s research focuses on evaluating the quality and outcomes of care for patients with common medical conditions, the development and testing of strategies to increase the delivery of evidence-based interventions to patients with obstructive lung disease, and using routinely collected data to examine the effectiveness of alternative treatments and care strategies. He recently led a 2-year program aimed at improving outcomes for low-income families with asthma through community health worker-delivered asthma self-management support education paired with home trigger remediation. His research has been supported by grants from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Dr. Lindenauer is the author of nearly 300 peer-reviewed publications, is a member of the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Hospital Medicine, and the Joint Commission Journal of Quality and Patient Safety, and has served on and chaired multiple NIH study sections focused on health services research, dissemination and implementation, and career development. Dr Lindenauer is a graduate of the University of Chicago, the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, the London School of Economics and Political Science, and was chief resident in internal medicine at the University of California San Francisco.
Meng-Shiou Shieh, PhD
Meng-Shiou Shieh, PhD, is a biostatistician in the Department of Healthcare Delivery and Population Science at the UMass Chan Medical School - Baystate in Springfield, MA. She received her PhD in statistics at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She has worked as a statistical consultant for several studies, and her recent work focuses on the application of analytic methods appropriate for use with large observational databases like the Nationwide Inpatient Sample and Premier, Inc.’s Perspective.
University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School - Baystate
Principal Investigator, NIH-Funded Study on Promoting Children's Oral Health - MA Fluoride Varnish Study
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Ashley Kranz, PhD
Rand Corporation
Ashley Kranz is a senior policy researcher at the RAND Corporation. She conducts health services research focused on improving access to care, quality of care, and health outcomes of vulnerable populations, including children and adults enrolled in Medicaid. Kranz's work primarily uses quantitative research methods to make causal inferences. She has worked extensively on oral health and access to dental care, studying the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on access to dental care, the integration of preventive oral health services into pediatric medical settings, and children's access to dental care. Kranz also studies the impact of health systems on low SES patients, as well as approaches used in high performing safety net clinics to promote integration across primary care, specialty care, and community-based organizations. She has also studied strategies to address the clinical and social needs of individuals dually-enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid, documented obesity interventions for American Indian youth, and evaluated state policies to reduce neonatal abstinence syndrome. Kranz received her Ph.D. in health policy and management from the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. She is principal investigator of a 4-year NIH-funded study to examine factors promoting and deterring pediatric medical providers’ delivery of fluoride varnish, a project for which Dr. Sarah Goff of the Q4A Research Lab participates as co-investigator.