Doctoral Alumni/ae Profiles

The following is a partial listing of the program's alumni. Graduates of the Doctoral Program in Health Services Organization and Research hold positions in both academic and health care institutions.

Health Care Institutions

Pei-Shu (Lydia) Ho, Ph.D. (1993) - Medstar Research Institute, Washington, DC

Dr. Ho currently is Associate Director of Outcomes Research for MedAtlantic Research Institute, Washington, DC. Her research has focused on quality of care and treatment outcomes among people with disabilities, with a particular interest in quantitative and aging research.  Prior to joining the Institute, she worked at the Outcomes Management Department where she completed institutional outcome studies in the areas of cardiovascular diseases, traumatic brain injury, breast cancer, stroke, diabetes, and patient and staff satisfaction.  She also implemented disease/condition specific health status and quality of life surveys for cardiac, oncology, and surgical patient populations.

"The doctoral program in Health Services Organization and Research not only equipped me with sound quantitative research skills but also prepared me to become an effective team player.  Being a student from abroad, I also received tremendous support from faculty, staff, and peers.  All in all, I am very thankful to have attended a doctoral program that has helped me in my professional growth."

John P. Pestian, Ph.D. (1994) - Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center

Dr. Pestian is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Biomedical Engineering.  He also Directors the Center for Computational Medicine, a joint project of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, The University of Cincinnati, Proctor and Gamble, Cincom, ItCube, IBM and other businesses.
His research interests include neuro-cognitive computing and computational linguistics. Dr. Pestian received his MS degree in business administration from the University of Steubenville, Steubenville, Ohio and his BA degree in psychology.

Dr. Pestian's recent publications include topics in the  area of  neurolinguistic approach to vector representation of medical concepts , natural language neurocognitive inspirations , shared task involving multi-label classification of clinical free text, neurolinguistic approach to vector representation of medical concepts, medical acronym disambiguation using online sources, and non ambiguous concept mapping in medical domain. Dr. Pestian is the Editor-in-Chief, Medical Informatics Insight; Board Member, Hatton Research Foundation, TriHealth, Cincinnati, OH; Chair, International Challenge for Medical Text Classification, IEEE Symposium on Computational Intelligence and Data Mining; Chair, Biomedical Informatics Session, IEEE Symposium on Computational Intelligence and Data Mining,; Committee member, BioNLP Session, Association of Computational Linguistics, 2007.

Laboratory page: http://pestianlab.cchmc.org

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Universities

Jennifer (Jenny) Field Brown, Ph.D. (2004)—Virginia Commonwealth University

Darrell Burke, Ph.D. (2002) – Florida State University

Dr. Burke currently serves on the faculty at Florida State University in the School of Information Studies where he specializes in medical informatics. His research focus includes the diffusion of healthcare information technology (HIT), HIT enabled patient safety, seniors’ access to online medical information, quantifying rural hospital HIT capabilities, and the organizational measurement of, and outcomes associated with, HIT adoption.

“The doctoral program in Health Services Organization and Research enabled me to interact with nationally recognized leaders of healthcare research on a daily basis.  For example, I had to laugh one day, when, as a doctoral student, I searched the Internet looking for information on the future of US healthcare and found the first URL was linked to a presentation by one of our faculty given to a national audience. Moreover, I found the faculty to be very student-friendly and supportive.  I feel very fortunate to have attended VCU.”

Askar Chukmaitov, Ph.D. (2005) - Florida State University

Dr. Chukmaitov is an Assistant Professor on the faculty at FSU College of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine and Rural Health, Division of Health Affairs.  His research interests include: quality of care, quality outcomes, ambulatory care, specialized services, and healthcare systems. He earned an M.D. degree from the Kazakh State Medical University, Almaty City, Kazakhstan, and an M.P.A. degree with a concentration in Health Administration from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. 

Prior to enrolling in the doctoral program at VCU, Dr. Chukmaitov worked in a variety of health care settings, including the Ministry of Health of Kazakhstan, the World Bank Health Reform Project, and USAID-founded projects in Central Asia.  His main responsibilities included: designing the strategic and technical approach to implementing health reform projects within the context of the national policy environment; development and coordination of joint activities with various government agencies and co-lateral donors in the region; implementation of the technical programs at the national level in collaboration with the regional departments of health and other international donors.

"The doctoral program at VCU prepared me very well for my academic career.  The program is well-balanced, providing rigorous training in organizational theory and developing essential quantitative skills. Doctoral studies helped me to develop expertise in all requisite research components, such as formulating a study problem, developing a conceptual model, selecting an appropriate research method, publishing study results, and formulating policy recommendations. I was very fortunate to receive guidance and encouragement from the internationally-renowned faculty, and benefited greatly from their knowledge and wisdom.  I continue to work with the faculty on various research projects. I strongly recommend the doctoral program at VCU to anyone who wants to stand out as a health services researcher, educator, and healthcare policy-maker." 

M. Nicholas Coppola, PhD (2003) - U.S. Army-Baylor University Graduate Program in Health Care Administration (M.H.A.)

Dr. Coppola is a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army, Medical Service Corps, and currently serves as an Assistant Professor in the U.S. Army-Baylor University Graduate Program in Health Care Administration (M.H.A.), Fort San Houston, San Antonio, Texas. He is also an Adjunct Professor with the Incarnate Word University, San Antonio, Texas, and Central Michigan University. He received an M.H.A from Baylor University in 1997, a M.S.A from Central Michigan University in 1995, and a B.A. in Biology from the State University of New York, Potsdam in 1987. Dr. Coppola additional received a teaching certificate from Virginia Commonwealth University's Preparing Future Faculty for the Profession (PFFP), program in 2002. Dr. Coppola's M.H.A residency was split between the Surgeon Generals office and Dr. Peter R. Kongstvedt's healthcare consulting practice of Ernst and Young, Washington, DC. Dr. Coppola is board certified in healthcare management, and is a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives, and is also a Fellow of the U.S. Medicine Institute. Dr. Coppola completed an undergraduate Fellowship in Cardiology with Haenomann Medical College, Philadelphia in the summer of 1984. He has authored over 20 journal articles or book chapters on subjects such as military health services, healthcare administration, HIPAA, provider efficiency, disability and organization behavior & theory. He currently teaches courses in statistics, organization behavior & theory, research methods and managed care.

Dr. Coppola’s major awards and decorations include the Expert Infantry Badge, Expert Field Medical Badge, Department of the Army Staff Identification Badge, Instructor's Badge, and the Airborne and Air Assault Badges. He has been awarded four meritorious service medals, and the Order of Military Medical Merit (O2M3), which is given to the top two percent of Army Medical Department Officers. Dr. Coppola has over fifteen years experience working in progressively challenging healthcare positions including Tripler Army Medical Center, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the Pentagon, Army Health Service Command, and the 121st General Hospital, Seoul, Korea. Dr. Coppola's dissertation, "Correlates of Military Medical Treatment Facility (MTF) Performance: Measuring Technical Efficiency with the Structural Adaptation to Regain Fit (SARFIT) Model and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)," is widely becoming a standard from which alternative military performance analysis is measured.

"I don't think I could have earned a better doctoral education anyplace else. As a graduate of this program, I feel like a Triple Crown winner. I possess competencies in statistics, research methods and theory unparalleled by my peers. My statistics education specifically included studies in multivariate, structural equation modeling (SEM) and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Many doctoral programs offer students exposure to one or two of these methods, but not all three. Additionally, the program' s strong emphasis on conceptual and theoretical modeling allows me to view health research challenges as new opportunities for investigation. As a graduate of this program, I feel infinitely qualified to teach, research and publish."

J. James Cotter, Ph.D. (1996) - Virginia Commonwealth University

Dr. Cotter is Assistant Dean for Distance Education and Director of the Doctoral Program in Health Related Science for Virginia Commonwealth University’s (VCU) School of Allied Health Professions and an Associate Professor in VCU’s Department of Gerontology. His current research interest focuses on the innovative delivery of health care services including the use of distance learning methods to train and retrain health professionals. He has also studied special care for persons with Alzheimer’s disease or related dementia in long-term care in facilities and in community settings, and consumer satisfaction with health care and education. Dr. Cotter teaches courses in the sociology of aging, trends of an aging society, health systems, and health care theory.

E-mail address: jcotter@vcu.edu

Janet Kues Freburger, Ph.D. (1998) - University of North Carolina

Dr. Freburger is an assistant professor in the Division of Physical Therapy, Department of Allied Health Professions, School of Medicine at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. She received her MS degree in physical therapy, specialization in biomechanics, from Virginia Commonwealth University and her BS degree in physical therapy from the University of Maryland. Her research interests are in the area of outcomes and quality of care.

"I started the doctoral program as a part-time student while I was a faculty member in the Department of Physical Therapy, Virginia Commonwealth University. One aspect of the program that I particularly liked was its flexibility. In many of the courses I took, I was able to direct the projects, assignments, etc. to clinically related topics that were of interest to me. Although I had this clinical focus, I still expanded my knowledge base in regard to more global issues related to the organization, financing, and delivery of health care and left the program with a better understanding of issues at both the micro and macro levels. I enjoyed interacting with fellow students and faculty who came from a variety of backgrounds and remember some lively class discussions that reflected the heterogeneity of the people in the classes. I also believe I left the program with a much stronger grasp of the importance of using theoretical models when conducting research. And finally, I feel very competent in the area of quantitative analysis and the use of secondary data bases."

E-mail address: jfreburger@css.unc.edu

Jeffrey P Harrison, MBA, MHA (1977), Ph.D. (2002) – University of North Florida

Dr. Harrison received a Master’s in Business Administration in Finance from the College of William and Mary in 1975, a Master’s in Health Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1977 and a PhD in Health Services Organization and Research from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2002.

Jeff has over twenty-five years experience in the health care industry and has provided professional development seminars to thousands of healthcare executives.  His areas of expertise include:  “Management of Change,” “Healthcare Technology” and “Corporate Compliance.”  He is a Certified Healthcare Executive, a Fellow in the American College of Health Care Executives (ACHE) and a member of the Health Care Financial Management Association.

Jeff is currently teaching Healthcare Economics, Managed Healthcare, Healthcare Finance, Health Information Systems and Strategic Management at the University of North Florida.  His research interests include organizational efficiency, productivity and financial performance.

“As a graduate of both the MHA Program at VCU and the doctoral program in Health Services Organization and Research at VCU, I feel very fortunate to have attended an outstanding program with nationally recognized faculty.  Their ability to integrate state of the art research with the realities of the healthcare industry provided an outstanding learning environment.  I am convinced the educational programs at VCU provided me the skills necessary to excel as an educator, researcher and healthcare executive.”

Dianne V. Jewell, PT, PhD, CCS (2003) - Virginia Commonwealth University

Dr. Jewell currently is an assistant professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at Virginia Commonwealth University.  Her research focus is on practice variation in physical therapy and regulatory impact on health care organization and professional performance.  She also has a clinical interest in primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular and pulmonary disease.

Dr. Jewell has served on the faculty since January 2000 where she teaches courses to professional physical therapy students on the fundamentals of research and evidence-based practice, administration and management in physical therapy practice, and United States health care delivery and public policy. She also serves as a dissertation advisor to students enrolled in the physical therapy track of the Doctoral Program in Health Related Sciences in the School of Allied Health.

Prior to joining the faculty in January 2000, Dr. Jewell was the Director of Quality Management for Sheltering Arms Rehabilitation Hospital in Richmond, VA. Her responsibilities included system-wide:  1) overview of risk management and safety operations; 2) preparation for and compliance with accreditation standards for the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) and the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF); and, 3) performance improvement and quality assurance activities.

Abby Swanson Kazley, Ph.D. (2006) - Medical University of South Carolina

Dr. Kazley is an Assistant Professor at the Medical University of South Carolina's Department of Health Administration and Policy and is a member of the Center for Health Economics and Policy Studies. Prior to enrolling in the doctoral program at VCU, she received her bachelor's degree in sociology and her master's degree in teaching from the University of Virginia.

Dr. Kazley began her career in health care working in organ and tissue donation in the non-profit sector.  She worked in both human resources and public education.  During her time at VCU, she participated in research with faculty and served as an adjunct faculty member.  Dr. Kazley currently teaches health care management and strategy.  Her research interests include organizational health information technology use and outcomes, telemedicine, and stroke. 

"My experience in the doctoral program was better than I ever imagined. It was the most rewarding and challenging time of my life. I started the program as a part time student and was only half-way through my first semester when I decided to go to school full time to take advantage of the opportunities available. I was delighted to work closely with faculty and appreciated the wonderful instruction I received and the encouragement they offered.  The courses and opportunities taught me so much and helped prepare me for the career I wanted.  I also learned so much from my classmates who brought unique experiences and perspectives to discussions.  The camaraderie at VCU is excellent!  The exposure I had to research, theory and current health care issues was an excellent mechanism to prepare me for research of my own. I continue to work with the VCU faculty and encourage anyone thinking about at PhD to consider VCU."

Elizabeth I. Merwin, Ph.D. (1988) - University of Virginia

Dr. Merwin serves as the Madge M. Jones Professor of Nursing and the Associate Dean for Research at the University of Virginia's School of Nursing and is a Professor of Public Health Sciences in the University of Virginia's (UVA) School of Medicine, Department of Public Health Sciences, Charlottesville, Virginia. She also serves as Director of UVA's Rural Health Care Research Center which is funded by the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Nursing Research. Dr. Merwin received her MS in Nursing from the Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University and her BS in nursing from Radford College, Radford, Virginia.

Dr. Merwin currently is conducting a research study on shortages of health professionals in rural areas funded by the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Mental Health. She conducts rural health and rural mental health studies.

Dr. Merwin is a Fellow with the American Academy of Nursing, American Nurses Association. She is a member of the Health Systems Research study section of the Agency for Health Care Quality and Research.

"The Ph.D. program in Health Services Organization and Research benefited my career by providing outstanding training in complex research methods and quantitative analyses and also by providing an excellent education in health administration."

E-mail address: eim5u@virginia.edu

Preethy Nayar M.D., Ph.D. (2007) - University of Nebraska Medical Center

Preethy Nayar is an Assistant Professor in Health Services Research & Administration at University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE. Her research interests include hospital efficiency and quality, long term acute care hospitals and health workforce planning. She received her Master of Surgery (ENT) from Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India and her MPhil degree in Hospital and Health Systems Management from Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Rajasthan, India. Prior to enrolling in the doctoral program at VCU she was practicing Otorhinolaryngology for fifteen years in Oman.

"Making the switch from clinical medicine to health administration, especially after twenty years of clinical practice was challenging. However, the program made the transition smooth for me. The doctoral program at VCU is unique not only because of its world-class faculty, but also because of a truly nurturing learning environment."

Email: pnayar@unmc.edu

Peter C. Olden, Ph.D. (1994) - University of Scranton

Dr. Olden is Professor and Director of the Graduate Health Administration Program at the University of Scranton in Scranton, PA. He received his MHA from Duke University, Durham, NC and his BS in Business-Economics from Miami University, Oxford, OH.

In his work as Professor, Dr. Olden teaches graduate courses in organization theory, health services/systems, and a capstone case study course; he also teaches an undergraduate health care management course. He researches, writes, and speaks about health care organizations, health care management, and the U.S. health care system. Dr. Olden serves as a reviewer for several journals, national conferences, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. His professional memberships include the Association of University Programs in Health Administration, Academy of Management, American Public Health Association, Academy Health, and American College of Healthcare Executives. As Program Director, Dr. Olden is involved with admissions, academic advising, curriculum development, assessment, accreditation, and Program relationships with internal and external stakeholders.

Prior to his academic career, Dr. Olden was an executive at three hospitals during a fourteen year period. During that time, he achieved Fellowship in the American College of Healthcare Executives by performing research on hospital corporate culture. 

"My doctoral studies at VCU/MCV really prepared me well for my academic career. I developed a deep conceptual understanding of organizations and the health care system, and I learned much about the art, science, and craft of research and scholarly writing. I think it is noteworthy that after I graduated in 1994, faculty members there continued to help me as professional colleagues for my work in teaching, research, and academic program management. I strongly recommend the doctoral program for anyone who wants to prepare for a faculty position in health care administration."

E-mail address: oldenp1@uofs.edu

Yasar Ozcan, Ph.D. (1988) - Virginia Commonwealth University

Click here to view his updated homepage

Susan D. Roggenkamp, Ph.D. (2000) - Appalachian State University

Dr. Roggenkamp is an Associate Professor and Director of the Health Care Management Program, Walker College of Business, Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina, where she teaches health policy, health services organization and managed care. She earned a M.H.A. degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and a B.A. degree from Appalachian State University.

Prior to enrolling in the doctoral program, Dr. Roggenkamp had approximately sixteen years of healthcare management experience in various organizational settings, including ambulatory care, acute care ancillary services and post-acute care services.

"The doctoral program recognizes the unique attributes of graduate students returning to academia with management or clinical experience. The faculty appreciate the contributions that students with management experience can make, both in the classroom and through collaborative research activities. I believe my insights were valued and respected. For the doctoral student seeking academic or research careers, the doctoral program and Department faculty are excellent mentors, providing rich opportunity to learn and grow in an atmosphere of collegiality and respect."

E-mail address: roggenkampsd@appstate.edu

George J. Stukenborg, Ph.D. (1995) - University of Virginia

Dr. Stukenborg is an Associate Professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Virginia’s School of Medicine. His research activities are focused on developing improved statistical methods for use in observational studies of health care outcomes at the population level, with an emphasis on the development of improved mortality risk adjustment methods and methods for measuring the effects of comorbid disease. He conducts full semester courses in health services and outcomes research, and seminars in clinical epidemiology. He also serves as a mentor for physicians in specialty training and other students in University graduate programs interested in health outcomes research. Dr. Stukenborg serves as a peer reviewer for several academic journals, as a grant reviewer for the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality, and is an active member of the Statistics section of the American Public Health Association.

Dr. Stukenborg received his MA degree and his BA degree in political science and policy analysis from the University of Louisville.

"I greatly appreciate the education I received from the department, and look back on my years in Richmond with fondness. The department's doctoral program provided excellent instruction, exceptional mentoring opportunities with highly skilled and experienced faculty, and access to essential computing and library resources. The education I received has served me well during the decade that has passed by since I completed my studies."

E-mail address: gstukenborg@virginia.edu

Jon M. Thompson, Ph.D. (1995) - James Madison University

Dr. Thompson is professor and program director of James Madison University's Health Services Administration program. His teaching responsibilities include health administration, hospital administration, managed care, and health policy.

Dr. Thompson received his MSP in urban and regional planning, health care planning, and his BA in sociology from Florida State University. Dr. Thompson has served in senior administrative positions in hospitals and in government and as a consultant to physicians, hospitals, and long-term care providers. His current areas of interest and research include satisfaction and quality in managed care plans, hospital affiliations with managed care plans, employer purchasing of health benefits, hospital financial performance, and public health-private sector relationships.

Dr. Thompson serves as Co-chair of the Managed Care Committee and on the Section Council of the Health Administration Section of the American Public Health Association. He also serves as a member of the Regent for Virginia Advisory Committee, Area A, of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

"The doctoral program in Health Services Organization and Research did a wonderful job of preparing me to be an effective researcher and teacher in higher education. The knowledge of the faculty and their active involvement in the real-world of health care makes the doctoral experience at Virginia Commonwealth University stand out in comparison to other programs. Availability of faculty to students and their mentoring make for a very rewarding experience."

E-mail address: thompsjm@jmu.edu

Kenneth R. White, Ph.D. (1996) - Virginia Commonwealth University

Dr. White is the Charles P. Cardwell, Jr., Professor and Director of the MHA Program in the Department of Health Administration at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia.

Dr. White received his MPH degree in health administration from the University of Oklahoma and his MS in Nursing from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Dr. White has extensive experience in hospital administration and consulting, particularly in the areas of leadership development, marketing, medical staff development, and operations management.

Dr. White is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

"The doctoral program gave me the foundation for asking questions and developing ways to find out answers about how to improve healthcare to our patients and the performance of our healthcare organizations with better information and evidence on which to make decisions.  I benefited by learning from some of the best professors in the country! "

E-mail address: krwhite@vcu.edu

Mei Zhao, PhD (2004) - University of North Florida

Dr. Zhao is an Assistant Professor at the University of North Florida's College of Health where she teaches in the Department of Public Health's Health Administration Program. Her teaching areas include health economics, quantitative analysis in health care, health care finance, and US health care system.

Dr. Zhao has participated in several research initiatives, including studies of financial pressures affecting hospital quality of care and health promotion and disease prevention services in rural hospitals. Currently, she is the principal investigator for a multi-year grant from the University of North Florida, College of Health Brooks Research Grants in which her research team examined organizational and financial influences on multi-dimensional aspects of nursing home quality of care. She is also the principle investigator for the funded research examining the complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and the prevalence of Western Medicine in China rehabilitation services. She has published widely in numerous journals including Health Economics, Health Care Management Science, Journal of Health Care Finance, Journal of Health and Human Services Administration, and Chinese Health Service Administration. Over the last three years at UNF, she has helped establish two international exchange programs with Chinese Universities. Dr. Zhao received her Ph.D. in health administration from Virginia Commonwealth University and her Master in health administration from Shandong University, Shandong, China.

"The doctoral program in Health Services Organization and Research at VCU provided me a great opportunity to learn from nationally recognized health services researchers on a daily basis. This program offered rigorous training in organizational theory and fundamental quantitative analysis skills. The four years of study and research experiences in this program helped me to develop expertise in all requisite research components. The teaching opportunity VCU offered also helped me to build the skills for being an excellent teacher. Currently, I continue to work with the faculty on several research projects. I strongly recommend this program to anyone who wants to become a health services researcher, educator, and/or healthcare policy-maker."

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