I am psychometrician and Associate Professor of Medicine, Psychiatry, and Clinical and Translational Science at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. My research is focused on the application of survey methods including item response theory (IRT) and structural equation modeling (SEM) to the assessment of health outcomes. My research experience also includes the analysis of large survey data, secondary data, psychometrics, and item bank development for scales assessing a variety of health domains. Since 2007, I have served as the lead psychometrician for the Pittsburgh research site of the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information Systems (PROMIS), an NIH Roadmap initiative devoted to developing better tools for assessing patient-centered constructs relevant to the clinical investigation and treatment of all chronic diseases, (e.g., physical functioning, pain, fatigue). At Pittsburgh research site, we developed 13 PROMIS item banks in Emotional Distress, Sleep, Alcohol Use, and Substance Use domains. I also serve as the psychometrician on grants developing item banks for assessing constructs such as treatment expectancies relevant to treatment response in the CAM context, and for assessing emotional dysregulation of autism spectrum disorders. I have a specific interest in applying IRT models to new topics and contexts in healthcare, and have applied IRT in studies assessing patients with autism, depression, insomnia, and pain. I look forward to serving as a Co-Investigator on Dr. Mazefsky’s project and contributing my expertise in planning and performing psychometric analysis.
- PhD, Penn Sate University, 2007
- MS, Penn State University, 2006
- BA, Renmin University of China, 1999