The Center for Methods in Implementation and Prevention Science (CMIPS) welcomes two new associate faculty members, Drs. Debbie Humphries and Christine L. Simon, and a new postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Junhan Fang. Their arrival reflects CMIPS’ ongoing efforts to foster a multidisciplinary network of researchers dedicated to developing and disseminating innovative methodological approaches to increasing the uptake and implementation of effective public health interventions.
Debbie Humphries, PhD, MPH, a clinical instructor in the Yale School of Public Health’s (YSPH) Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, examines program and impact evaluations, particularly in relation to HIV/AIDS, and research ethics. Over the last 20 years at YSPH, Dr. Humphries’s practice-based research has focused on strengthening community research partnerships. She has joined CMIPS as the quantitative specialist for the R3EDI (Rigorous, Rapid, & Relevant Evidence aDaptation & Implementation) hub. The hub, led by CMIPS Director Dr. Donna Spiegelman, provides technical support to implementation science projects in the hardest hit areas in the United States through the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the US initiative.
Also joining the R3EDI hub is Christine L. Simon, ScM, ScD, who brings expertise in qualitative methods to the project. An Associate Research Scientist in the YSPH Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Dr. Simon’s research interests include social epidemiology and community engagement. At CMIPS, she contributes her expertise in qualitative and quantitative methods to strengthen understanding of the social and behavioral pathways that influence the health of vulnerable populations.
CMIPS also welcomes postdoctoral fellow Junhan Fang, PhD. Dr. Fang’s thesis, which focused on methods for bias reduction in neuro-imaging and spatial-temporal data that is measured with error, was published in the prestigious biostatistical journal Biometrika. She was awarded the prestigious 2021 Pierre Robillard Award for the best PhD thesis in statistics defended in all Canadian universities. Dr. Fang is working with CMIPS associate faculty member Dr. Laura Forastiere and Dr. Spiegelman on methods for designing implementation studies to leverage “spillover” from persons directly receiving an intervention to others in their social networks not directly targeted by the intervention.
“We are excited,” says Dr. Spiegelman, “to have these three extraordinary researchers join CMIPS.” Drs. Humphries, Simon, and Fang expand the multidisciplinary expertise of the Center and help position CMIPS as a leader in its central goal of translating research findings into real-world applications that improve public health in diverse settings.