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Leadership

Sara Knight

Co-Director

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 Services 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.

Mike Rubin

Co-Director

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 Services Research. His research interests are in health services 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

Program Manager

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 Services 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, includingadministrative support, program finances, human resources, onboarding, regulatory support, and standard operating procedures.

 

Styn Jamu

Fellow

Dr. Jamu is a Health Service 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.