Research Team

Kurt Petschke is a research and project coordinator in the Yale School of Public Health (YSPH) and Public Health Modeling Unity (PHMU). He is also the program manager for the Inclusion Body Myositis Registry at Yale (IBMR). As part of his responsibilities, Kurt oversees the IBMR including maintaining the IBM Registry, IBM Personalized Index Calculator, and outreach activities for the program. He is also the project coordinator on several research grants and other research projects for A. David Paltiel, Gregg Gonsalves, Joshua Warren, and Jody Sindelar, and he provides additional support and expertise, as needed, to other faculty, researchers, and students in the PHMU. Prior to coming to Yale in 2004, Kurt worked at the Office of Sponsored Research Services at Rochester Institute of Technology, Genesee Transportation Council Metropolitan Planning Organization in Rochester, New York, and Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority. Kurt studied Meteorology, Atmospheric Science, and Geography at Penn State University and the University at Albany, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1986.

Dr. Kevin C. O’Connor is a Professor of Neurology and Immunobiology at Yale School of Medicine. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Tufts University. Following his doctoral studies, Dr. O’Connor completed postdoctoral training in Immunology at Harvard Medical School, where he subsequently served as an Assistant Professor for several years before joining the faculty at Yale. Dr. O’Connor’s research focuses on human translational immunology and neurology, with a particular emphasis on understanding the role of B cells and antibodies in autoimmune diseases. His laboratory investigates both the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which autoreactive B cell subsets and autoantibody isotypes initiate and sustain autoimmunity. This research is conducted through the study of human-derived specimens. These human specimens are often obtained from clinical trials of immune-modulating treatments, serving to leverage a deeper understanding of immune mechanism variability among patients. By understanding this variability, his team’s work contributes to the advancement of personalized medicine approaches in treating autoimmune disorders.

The objective that guides Dr. Paltiel's scholarly activities is to promote a reasoned approach to decision making and resource allocation in public health and medicine. Trained in the field of Operations Research, Dr. Paltiel designs and implements policy models and cost-effectiveness analyses. He has a special interest and expertise in HIV/AIDS and has published broadly on the cost-effectiveness of testing, prevention, treatment, and care, both in the United States and around the world.

Dr Bhaskar Roy is a specialist in neuromuscular disorders. His clinical areas of expertise includes muscular dystrophies, inflammatory myopathies (polymyositis, dermatomyositis, inclusion body myositis), autoimmune neuromuscular disorders, including inflammatory neuropathies. He did his neurology residency from the University of Connecticut and completed his fellowship from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School. He is board certified in neurology (2016) and neuromuscular medicine (2018) by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) and in electrodiagnostic medicine (2018), and in Neuromuscular Ultrasound (2020) by the American Board of Electrodiagnostic Medicine (ABEM).