Seminar Recordings
Implementation barriers and facilitators of an age-of-sale law for ultraprocessed foods in Oaxaca, Mexico.
Speaker: Carolina Perez Ferrer, Public Health Researcher at Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública
December 9, 2025
Causal mediation analysis and the promise of alpha-DEspR, a preclinical potential COVID-19 treatment in the ICU
Mediation analysis, which started in the mid-1980s, is used extensively by appliedresearchers. Indirect and direct effects are the parts of a treatment effect that is mediated by acovariate (indirect effect) and the part that is not (direct effect). Subsequent work on naturaland pure indirect and direct effects provides a formal causal interpretation, based on crossworldscounterfactuals: outcomes under treatment with the mediator set to its value withouttreatment. Organic indirect and direct effects avoid cross-worlds counterfactuals, using socalledorganic interventions on the mediator while keeping the initial treatment fixed. Weargue that pure and organic indirect effects are very relevant for drug development. 1] They areoften the effect of a treatment through its intended pathway, and 2] they can be estimatedwithout on-treatment outcome data. We illustrate our approach by estimating thepure/organic indirect effect of alpha-DEspR, a potential treatment for COVID-19 in the ICU,mediated by DEspR+ neutrophil nets. alpha-DEspR targets elimination of DEspR+[NET+Ns] toattenuate or prevent multi-organ failure in critical COVID-19. alpha-DEspR eliminates DEspR+neutrophil nets in rats and in petri dishes; it is hoped, also in humans. Using the sequentialorgan failure assessment (SOFA)-score as a measure of disease severity, we estimated thepure/organic indirect effect of alpha-DEspR using data from patients with COVID-19 nottreated with alpha-DEspR. Our analysis illustrates the pre-clinical promise of alpha-DEspR, tobe used as an argument to fund an early-stage randomized clinical trial to collect ontreatmentoutcomes and estimate the overall effect of alpha-DEspR – thus giving insight intoclinical trial design. This illustrates how causal mediation analysis can be used as a potentialtranslational bridge from petri dish and/or animal model testing towards clinical trial testing.
Speaker: Dr. Judith Lok
November 11, 2025
Mixed Methods Evaluation of a National Intimate Partner Violence Screening Expansion Implementation: Integrating RE-AIM and CFIR Frameworks
The healthcare system plays an integral role in the detection and response of intimate partner violence (IPV), a significant public health problem with far reaching consequences. The majority of IPV screening initiatives have historically targeted women of reproductive age, with little known about IPV screening experiences among other patient populations, including men. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has called for an expansion of IPV screening, providing a unique opportunity for a large-scale evaluation of IPV screening and response across patient populations. This presentation describes mixed-methods findings from a highlypartnered evaluation with VHA operations partners, guided by an integration of the RE-AIM andCFIR frameworks. Using medical record data from 6,970,533 patients (89.8% male) across 135 VHA facilities, we conducted analyses across RE-AIM components to examine the reach of IPV screening, including differences and disparities between those who were and were not screened across patient characteristics (e.g., gender, age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, marital status); effectiveness of screening; adoption across VHA facilities, provider types, and clinical settings; and implementation fidelity. Additionally, data from CFIR-grounded qualitative interviews with providers (n=32) and patients (n=37), helped us identify and categorize multilevel factors critical to screening expansion, potential barriers and enablers of implementation, and impact/effectiveness of screening on patient outcomes. Integrating REAIMand CFIR allowed for an in-depth and rich evaluation of the screening and response expansion. Findings yield clinical, policy, and research implications, including recommendations for screening implementation initiatives and/or adaptations, optimization of strategies for screening implementation across patient populations, and underscoring the value of integrating D&I frameworks for conducting rigorous evaluations.
Speaker: Dr. Galina Portnoy
October 30, 2025
Assessing Spillover Effects of HIV Testing on HIV Incidence in Rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Although there are effective strategies to control the HIV epidemic, it remains a significant individual and public health challenge in South Africa. HIV testing is the gateway to HIV treatment in those who have acquired HIV and HIV prevention in those who tested HIV negative. Existing studies have suggested that HIV testing has a significant effect in reducing HIV incidence. However, these studies have not fully assessed spillover effects, the effects of one’s HIV testing on HIV incidence among unexposed others. Assessing spillover can provide a more complete understanding of the impact of HIV testing. The data we used is from ANRS 12249 treatment as prevention (TasP) trial, conducted in a rural region of South Africa from March 2012 to July 2016. We grouped participants by homesteads and assumed partial interference (i.e., one unit's outcome may be affected by the exposures of other members within in same group, but not by exposures from units in other groups) limited to the homestead, estimated both the direct (i.e., the intervention effect under exposure versus no exposure while holding other factors constant) and spillover effects of altering the proportion of HIV testing in the homestead on subsequent HIV incidence. Estimation was carried out with a marginal structured model fit with time-varying inverse probability weights. On average in the study population, there were fewer new HIV cases under HIV testing exposure (i.e., direct effect) or higher proportion of HIV testing uptake in an untreated individual’s homestead (i.e., spillover effect). Further research is needed to understand the underlying mechanisms.
Speaker: Ke Zhang, PhD student in the Department of Computer Science and Statistics at the University of Rhode Island.
September 17, 2025
Donna Spiegelman Journey Lecture
Learn how Dr. Spiegelman life journey, personally and professionally, led her to her current achievements as a statistician, epidemiologist, and public health professional.Speaker: Dr. Donna Spiegelman ScD, Susan Dwight Bliss Professor of Biostatistics, Director, Center on Methods for Implementation and Prevention Science (CMIPS), Professor, Department of Statistics and Data Science, Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, Assistant Director, Global Oncology
Speaker: Donna Spiegelman
February 19, 2025
Matrixed Multiple Case Study (MMCS)
A systematic mixed-methods approach to examine contexts and mechanisms of action that influence implementation outcomes.
Speaker: Bo Kim
January 22, 2025
Improving Primary Care-Based Stroke Management in Rural China
A hybrid type 2 effectiveness-implementation trial.
Speaker: Lijing Yan
December 2, 2024
Learn-As-You-Go (LAGO) to Adapt the Intervention in an Ongoing Trial to Prevent Trial Failure
Speaker: Judith Lok
November 11, 2024
A Research Agenda to Advance the Study of Implementation Mechanisms
Speaker: Cara C. Lewis, PhD
November 1, 2024
Perspectives on Implementation Science
Opportunities and challenges of collaboration between academia, government, and communities in nepal.
Speaker: Biraj M Karmacharya
September 26, 2024
Addressing Bias in Causal Effects Estimated Under Mis Specified Interference Sets, with Application to HIV Prevention Trials
The identification and estimation of causal effects in the presence of interference relies on assumptions about, and correct measurement of, interference sets within which one individual's exposure may influence another one’s outcome. It can be challenging to properly specify interference sets, and when misspecified or mismeasured, intervention effects estimated by usual approaches will typically be biased. To address this bias, we propose several bias-correction methods developed under various study designs and estimators. We illustrate our methods in the analysis of HIV prevention trials, where social and sexual networks play a critical role in disease transmission.
Speaker: Ariel Chao, MPH
March 15th, 2024
Quantitative Methods in Implementation Research: Concepts, Goals, and Applications
Data Science Seminar Series Frontiers in Biostatistics at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Speaker: Dr. Donna Spiegelman, ScD
February 6, 2024
Hybrid Effectiveness-Implementation Trials: Testing Strategies, Assessing Outcomes, and Planning for Sustainability
Speaker: Rani Elwy, Ph.D
November 17th, 2023
This seminar discusses the process of implementing evidence-based treatments covers three stages. this talk will provide guidance on designing and conducting Hybrid Type II and III effectiveness-implementation trials, focusing specifically on theoretical guidance, selecting, and operationalizing implementation strategies, and assessing implementation and effectiveness outcomes.
Using Qualitative Thematic Analysis to Explore Financial Donor and Recipient Collaboration in Liberia
Speaker: Brigid Cakouros, DrPh, MPH
October 20, 2023
Description: This seminar discusses how she and her team conducted a qualitative analysis of how donors and recipients of global health funding discuss what collaboration looks like within this landscape of Liberia. The analysis consisted of two phases, the first phase sought to map the simple causal loop of who holds funding power in Liberia, and the second phase explored the underlying dynamics that perpetuated unequitable collaboration practices.
Power and Sample Size Calculations for Evaluating Spillover Effects in Networks with Non-randomized Interventions
Speaker: Ashley Buchanan
February 10, 2023
Co-sponsored by the Department of Biostatistics, Yale School of Public Health
Optimizing multicomponent interventions using The Multiphase Optimization Strategy (MOST)
Speaker LaRon E. Nelson
November 3rd, 2022
Quantitative Methods for Study Design and Data Analysis in Implementation Science Research
Speaker: Donna Spiegelman
June 27th, 2022
ScD as part of the seminar series at the Institute for Advance Medical Research & Training (IAMRAT), College of Medicine, University of Idaban.
Implementation Science: lessons learned from LMICs and new challenges
Speaker: Vilma Irazola
June 9, 2022
CMIPS virtual seminar Co-sponsored by the Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health, and by the Yale Institute for Global Health (YIGH), Yale School of Medicine, and by Cardiovascular Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, and by our NIH T32 Training Grant in Implementation Science Research and Methods.
Costing and Economic Evaluations in Implementation Science
Speaker: Drew Cameron
April 7, 2022
Innovations in Use of Mixed Methods in Implementation Research
Speaker: Lawrence Palinkas
March 10, 2022
CMIPS Qualitative Methods Innovation Program seminar. Co-sponsored by the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Yale School of Public Health; the Yale Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine; and the NIH T32 Training Grant “Implementation Science Research and Methods.
Use PEDALs Model to Pedal for Implementation Research
The presentation introduced PEDALs – a simple model to guide implementation research. According to PEDALs, implementation research starts by identifying a “Problem” in your clinical or public health work, which then leads to the search for an “Evidence-based practice” (EBP) to address that “Problem.”
Speaker: Dong (Roman) Xu, PhD, MPP
February 14, 2022
Experiences and Challenges in Implementing the Cervical Cancer Prevention Program in Mexico
Speaker: Leith León-Maldonado, DPH & Leticia Torres-Ibarra, DSc
December 1, 2021
Opportunities and Priorities for Dissemination and Implementation Research at the National Cancer Institute
Speaker: Gila Neta, PhD, MPP
November 17, 2021
Using Rapid Qualitative Research Techniques to Identify Factors Impacting the Pace of Implementation
Speaker: Traci Abraham, PhD
Wednesday, November 3, 2021
Qualitative Comparative Analysis: Applying to Research on Public Health Interventions
Speaker: Lingrui Liu, ScD, MS
October 6, 2021
Opportunities and Challenges of Implementation Research to Prevent and Control Noncommunicable Disease in LMICs: The Nepal Experience
Speaker: Archana Shrestha, PhD
September 15, 2021
Addressing Heterogeneity and Adaptability in Multi-Component Implementation and HIV/AIDS Interventions: Emerging Frameworks for Research on Complex Health Interventions
Speaker: Brian S. Mittman, PhD
April 28, 2021