Arshiya A. Baig, MD, MPH, FACP is a general internist, Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago, and Associate Director of the Chicago Center for Diabetes Translation Research. Dr. Baig’s research utilizes community-based interventions to improve diabetes disparities among Latinx populations. She has worked with faith-based organizations and community health centers in Los Angeles and Chicago to conduct community-based participatory research projects that increase health care access for Latinx communities. Dr. Baig has worked with the Midwest Clinicians’ Network to analyze the implementation and effectiveness of diabetes group visits for adult patients at community health centers in the Midwest. Dr. Baig has had leadership roles in the Society of General Internal Medicine and the Behavioral Research in Diabetes Group Exchange (BRIDGE). She has been honored as a Fellow of the Academy of Distinguished Medical Educators and is involved in mentoring medical students in clinical and research settings. Dr. Baig cares for adult patients in the Primary Care Group and attends on the inpatient teaching wards at the University of Chicago Medicine.

Erin Staab, MPH is a Senior Research Project Manager in the Section of General Internal Medicine at UChicago. She has been working with University of Chicago and Midwest Clinicians’ Network investigators on diabetes group visit research since 2015. Erin has served as a project manager and co-investigator on a variety of studies, including randomized controlled trials, survey research, qualitative interviews, quality improvement studies, implementation science, systematic reviews, and cost-effectiveness studies. She also coordinates the Primary Care-Behavioral Health Integration Program at University of Chicago Medicine. Erin received her Master of Public Health in Behavioral Sciences and Health Education from Emory University with a specialization in mental health, and her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Psychology from Northwestern University. If you have questions about this toolkit, please contact Erin at estaab@bsd.uchicago.edu. 

Amanda Campbell is the Executive Director for the MidWest Clinicians’ Network, Inc. (MWCN), a nonprofit corporation with membership consisting of Health Centers and Primary Care Associations across ten Midwestern states.  MWCN provides recourses and network for clinicians and quality coordinators at community health centers. The research component of the MWCN began over twenty-five years ago to improve care in federally funded health centers through quality research efforts. The first research project focused on patients with diabetes. With support from the Bureau of Primary Healthcare and the University of Chicago, MWCN enabled research assessing the care these patients receive and understanding barriers to optimal care. The results of this research helped establish the Diabetes Collaborative and provided data to federally funded health centers which allowed them to implement targeted strategies for improving care.

Cindy Schaefer, RN, PhD began her work experience with community health centers in 1989 while was completing her Masters in Nursing at the University of Evansville. As part of her coursework, Dr. Schaefer developed and implemented a care model for a volunteer health clinic that provided care to underserved populations. She has been involved with the MidWest Clinician’s (MWCN) as a member of the research committee since 1996. She served in a nurse faculty position at the University of Evansville in 2000 and completed her PhD in nursing at Duquesne University in 2015. For her dissertation, Dr. Schafer completed a secondary analysis of health center data using the Care Model, specifically Decision Support, to guide her research. Dr. Schaefer has become an expert on health literacy and the development of health education material through her dissertation. She is currently an Associate Professor in the Frank D. Hilton, M.D. School of Health Sciences at IVY Tech Community College in Evansville, Indiana. Dr. Schafer was played an important role in the original Health Disparities Collaborative as a Team Leader of her health center. She also participated in the development and evaluation of the Collaborative. Dr. Schaefer continues to be actively involved in research projects with the MWCN and the University of Chicago.

Michael Quinn, PhD is a Senior Research Scientist with the Department of Medicine at the University of Chicago. Dr. Quinn is a social psychologist with extensive experience in the design, implementation, and evaluation of health education and behavior change curricula. He has served in the role of Educational Specialist with the Chicago Center for Diabetes Translational Research (CCDTR) for the past 30 years. At CCDTR, he has been instrumental in leading the development and evaluation of several successful, theory-driven behavior change programs. These include clinic community-based nutrition, exercise, and weight loss interventions for African American and Hispanic women with, or at risk for, diabetes. Dr. Quinn’s prior work has also involved the development and evaluation of health behavior interventions among urban minority youth. For the past 15 years, Dr. Quinn has been training physicians and mid-level providers in behavioral counseling and motivational interviewing approaches with patients. He recently completed a series of community-based studies which used social cognitive theory, the transtheoretical model, peer testimonials, and brief behavioral counseling to significantly impact organ donation intentions. Dr. Quinn is currently leading the evaluation of an implementation science designed to increase colorectal cancer screening rates in federally qualified health centers using evidence-based interventions.

Wen Wan, PhD is Research Associate Professor in Biostatistics in the Division of General Internal Medicine at the University of Chicago. With formal education and training in both Statistics and Medical Sciences, Dr. Wan’s research interests focus on developing and applying statistical methodologies to medical sciences through various study designs and statistical analyses of trials and observational studies. For the current OMH study, Dr. Wan assisted with study design, sample size justification, randomization, and statistical analysis plan. She also provided guidance on actual statistical analyses and results explanation.

Mengqi Zhu, MS is a statistician for the Section of General Internal Medicine. She joined the Section of General Internal Medicine at the University of Chicago as a statistician in 2019. She received her Bachelors degree in Environmental Science from Beijing Normal University in 2017, and Master’s degree in Biostatistics from Columbia University in 2019. Currently, she is a PhD student in Biostatistics at University of Illinois at Chicago. Zhu has worked on various clinical research projects focused on improving patient care and outcomes. These topics include reducing health dipartites in diabetes care, implementing timely assessments for patients with depression, teaching inhaler techniques for children with asthma, and implementing telemedicine. She has experience working with electronic health record data, survey data, imaging data, and claims data.