Welcome from Dr. Matthew Samore, MD
Welcome and thank you for your interest in the Division of Epidemiology. Our faculty bring broad methodological expertise in research and clinical work to University of Utah Health priorities in cancer, triple I (infection, immunity, inflammation), genetics, cardiovascular disease, precision medicine, population health, and informatics. The Division of Epidemiology is primarily a research division. However, we have several faculty members who serve as clinicians in infectious disease, cancer, infection control, addiction, nutrition, patient safety, and genetics. Moreover, our research activities indirectly and directly lead to improvements in health care delivery at the University of Utah. In general, our investigative activities tend to be highly trans-disciplinary. Research on team science has demonstrated that high impact arises from novel combinations of disciplines, mixed with conventional elements. An emphasis on the value of promoting collaboration was baked into our original charter. We incorporate structural elements into our research processes to enhance innovation and productivity. The Division of Epidemiology currently includes 43 faculty, 3 postdoctoral fellows, 7 graduate students, and 132 support staff.
Our recent achievements include multiple new grant awards, including Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to evaluate ambulatory Electronic Health Records; CDC Modeling Infectious Diseases in Healthcare Network; Vulnerable Veteran – Innovative PACT (VIP) Program; Department of Defense grant on prostate cancer genes; a Department of Homeland Security grant on predictive analytics; the VA Health Services Research & Development (HSR&D) Center of Innovation (the IDEAS Center) and Utah Cancer Registry. Our new senior faculty are advancing new programmatic areas — mitigation of health risk during periods of vulnerability (Mary Jo Pugh, PhD); addiction medicine (Adam Gordon, MD, MPH); and genomics health services research (Sara Knight, PhD). Other programs of research in early stages of development include causal inference and health information technology safety.
I invite you to explore our website to learn more about our work.