Leadership
Sara Knight, PhD
Dr. Knight is a Professor in the Division of Epidemiology within the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Utah where she directs a program in Health Services Research in Genomic Medicine. She serves as Co-Director of the VA Advanced Fellowship in Health Systems Research at the VA Salt Lake City Health System. She has the leadership experience, the track record as a research mentor, and the strong motivation to mentor students, fellows, and early career faculty members. She is also Co-Director of Community Collaboration and Engagement in the Utah Clinical & Translational Science Institute (CTSI). She trained as a clinical health psychologist and health services researcher with her work directed to improve the conceptualization and measurement of patient values, goals, and preferences for care and social determinants of health. Her background includes community and health system engagement, and she has conducted research using innovative survey and interview approaches. She has served as the Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator on multiple large projects with more than 25 years of funding from the VA, NCI, American Cancer Society, NIA, NHGRI, and DoD. Her work involves mixed methods where qualitative and quantitative studies are used to develop conceptual frameworks, measures, and dissemination and implementation of evidence-based practices.
Michael Rubin, PhD, MD
Dr. Rubin is a Tenured Professor and Vice Chair for Faculty Affairs and Faculty Development in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Utah School of Medicine. He is also the Section Chief of Epidemiology at the VA Salt Lake City Health Care System, where he is Associate Director of the VA Salt Lake Informatics, Decision-Enhancement, and Analytic Sciences (IDEAS) Center of Innovation and Co-Director of the VA Advanced Fellowship in Health Systems Research. His research interests are in health systems research and implementation science, particularly as these relate to infectious diseases and infection prevention. He has led research teams on numerous projects focusing on preventable healthcare-associated infections. He also has a strong devotion to mentoring and faculty development, having served as mentor on several career development awards, and now the Director of the Vice President's Clinical and Translational (VPCAT) Research Scholars Program. He completed his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees (in Microbiology & Immunology) from the University of Illinois-Chicago and completed his residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship in Infectious Diseases at the University of Utah.
Tina Huynh, MPH, MHA
Ms. Huynh received her Master of Public Health and Master of Healthcare Administration from the University of Utah. She is the Program Manager for the Advanced Fellowship in Health Systems Research & Development (BRITE-IDEAS) within the Informatics, Decision-Enhancement and Analytic Sciences Center at the Salt Lake Veteran Affairs (VA) Medical Center. She also helps administer the VA Advanced Fellowship in Medical Informatics Fellowship and has over 7 years of VA experience. She is responsible for general management and operations, including administrative support, program finances, human resources, onboarding, regulatory support, and standard operating procedures.
Styn Jamu, DHA
Dr. Jamu is a Health Systems Research Fellow with the Building Research Investigator Trainee Experiences (BRITE-IDEAS) Program at the VA Salt Lake Informatics, Decision-Enhancement, and Analytic Sciences (IDEAS) Center. He has spent more than 22 years of his career in population health, first in frontline preventive health services and later managing and leading population health projects. He has worked on public health projects in Malawi, Tanzania, Botswana, and Namibia. He has also served diverse communities, including refugees, internally displaced people, and rural communities focusing on childhood diseases, infectious diseases, and neglected tropical diseases. He is interested in advancing his expertise in translational and implementation science to facilitate the identification and implementation of evidence-driven clinical and population health practice. Dr. Jamu received a doctorate in health administration (DHA) from Central Michigan University and a Master of Public Administration (Policy Studies) and a BSc (Psychology) from George Mason University. He completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a Diploma in Public Health from the University of Malawi. He is currently completing a PhD thesis in Population Studies (Population Health) at the University of Botswana.
Jedidiah Farley, PhD, DC
Dr. Farley is an Advanced Fellow in Health Systems Research (HSR) with the Building Research Investigator Trainee Experiences Program affiliated with the Informatics, Decision-Enhancement, and Analytic Sciences Center (BRITE-IDEAS) at the Salt Lake City VA Medical Center. Dr. Farley received his Master of Exercise Physiology and Doctorate in Rehabilitation Science from the University of Utah, in addition to a Doctor of Chiropractor (DC) degree from Logan University. His interests include using health services research to examine quality, delivery, and outcomes of healthcare services on the processes and effects of interventions and imperatives specific to spinal and musculoskeletal pain. His multi-disciplinary approach to support research is innovative: advancing the utilization, organization, and delivery of care for spinal and musculoskeletal pain to optimize healthcare interventions. He is also interested in a Learning Healthcare System to determine best implementation processes of interventions into clinical settings using data informatics to assess delivery and quality of care to patients and their dependents. His doctoral dissertation examined patient centered outcomes in clinical treatments for spinal pain management. Dr. Farley’s research experience also includes conducting safe and effective healthcare interventions. In his studies, he has worked on developing mechanistic outcome measures of spinal muscle function utilizing rehabilitative ultrasound imaging. He is also currently a practicing Chiropractic Physician in private practice. He has years of experience in sports performance and exercise physiology.
Miao Lai, PharmD
Dr. Lai is originally from Kaohsiung, Taiwan but was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah. She received her Bachelor of Science in Biology and Minor in Chemistry from the University of Utah. After completing her undergraduate studies, she stayed at the University of Utah College of Pharmacy to complete her Doctor of Pharmacy. Dr. Lai is thrilled to continue her advanced training as a Health Systems Research (HSR) Fellow at the Veterans Affairs Salt Lake City Informatics, Decision-Enhancement, and Analytic Sciences (IDEAS) Center. Her background includes working in a different pharmacy field for over six years, with experience in addiction medicine, pharmacogenomics, and advanced community practice. In addition, she has led a couple of research projects focusing on translating genetic information into clinical practice to help improve clinical decision support and scientific consensus with Associated Regional and University Pathologists (ARUP) Laboratories. Dr. Lai also conducted quantitative research using a survey approach and developed a user-based education tool with the University of Utah Health. Previously, she has held numerous leadership positions, participated in community service/outreach, provided immunizations, and mentored students throughout her pharmacy organizations. Outside of pharmacy practice, her research interests include addiction medicine, drug information, medication safety, patient-centered care, pharmacogenomics, implementation science, and advocating for the pharmacy profession. As an HSR Fellow, she is very excited and eager to explore her interests and find innovative ways to help provide service to our general population.
Justin Losciale, PhD, DPT
Dr. Losciale is an Advanced Fellow in Health Systems Research (HSR) within the Building Research Investigator Trainee Experiences (BRITE-IDEAS) Program at the Salt Lake City VA. He received his Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) from Duke University and PhD training in Rehabilitation Sciences from the University of British Columbia. His career mission is to optimize the musculoskeletal health of Veterans, given that nearly 82% of Veterans live with chronic musculoskeletal pain or diseases. Dr. Losciale’s research applies an epidemiologic lens to understand the consequences of musculoskeletal injuries and how these consequences may impact future health outcomes, with a primary focus on osteoarthritis risk. His research will specifically look at: 1) the long-term burden of service-related musculoskeletal injuries and 2) developing, implementing, and evaluating prognostic tools to optimize patient care pathways and outcomes. His research is informed by his clinical practice as a licensed physiotherapist and board-certified specialist in sports physical therapy.
Amber Thompson, PhD
Dr. Thompson is a sociologist, studying end-of-life issues including caregiver and family support, non-medical support, and inequalities/gaps around end-of-life care. She received her PhD in Sociology from the University of Utah. Her dissertation centered on the value(s) of end-of-life doulas, which allowed her to have a more in-depth investigation on how to support Veterans at end-of-life though social support. During her time in graduate school, she spent 5 years working on an NIH project within an interdisciplinary team focused on family caregiver respite for those with dementia. The project used community engaged research to create an online intervention. Her current research interests center around her broad interdisciplinary interests in the process and organization of end-of-life care in America. She is most interested in how families manage end-of-life and chronic/terminal disease care transitions. Her work has been published in journals such as Journal of Aging and Health, Qualitative Health Research, Death Studies, and Innovations in Aging.