Academic Learning Health System: Stories from the Clinical Front Lines

Rachel Seymour, PhD, is Professor and Vice Chair for Research for the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and the Atrium Health Musculoskeletal Institute and Associate Dean for Translational Research at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Charlotte. She has over 20 years of experience in clinical research, including multi-center trials and consortium development and management.  Recently, she served as Principal Investigator, with Dr. Joseph Hsu, on CDC-funded projects to implement clinical decision support in the EMR to address abuse, misuse, and diversion of prescription narcotics. She is also responsible for the management of a top enrolling site for the Major Extremity Trauma and Rehabilitation Consortium (www.metrc.org) at Carolinas Medical Center. Finally, Dr. Seymour leads the Evidence-based Musculoskeletal Injury and Trauma Consortium with Dr. Hsu, which is a network of academic medical centers answering critical questions in orthopaedic trauma through a series of grants funded by the Department of Defense.

The objective of this study is to determine if an Intensive Preventive Dental Program (IPDP) administered in an oncology practice can reduce dental disease in patients with head and neck cancer post-radiation therapy compared to current oncology care practice that occurs post radiation therapy. I am currently the co-PI of Clinical Registry of Dental Outcomes in Head and Neck Cancer Patients (ORARAD- U01DE022939) and of a prospective multicenter study- Oral Complications in Stem Cell Transplant Patients: ORASTEM, which has funding from the Swedish Government: Western Region of Public Dental.  I am also the lead investigator for a recent Phase I and a current Phase II study to determine the efficacy of gene therapy treatment in subjects with radiation-induced parotid gland hypofunction and xerostomia.  I have also successfully completed the pilot interventional study to assess IPDP in an oncology practice.   My current and previous roles as co-PI and PI for observational studies and clinical trials in head and neck cancer patients has provided me the experience and expertise needed to lead the development and successful enrollment and completion of the current proposed interventional study. My experience and expertise in oral oncology will allow for the successful dissemination of findings through manuscripts/presentations.

I have a broad background in pharmacy, pharmaceutical sciences, and pharmacology with specific training and expertise in cancer pharmacology and pharmacogenomics. I completed a postdoctoral oncology pharmacogenomics fellowship in 2013 with Dr/Prof. Howard McLeod at the UNC Center for Pharmacogenomics and Individualized Therapy. In my current position, I oversee the cancer pharmacology & pharmacogenomics program across Atrium Health Levine Cancer Institute and Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center and serve as Associate Director of Shared Resource Management at the Comprehensive Cancer Center, providing oversight for nine shared resources. My translational research program focuses on the discovery and validation of genetic predictors of drug response and drug toxicities related to cancer and supportive care therapies. I also serve as principal investigator on multiple pharmacogenomic and supportive oncology clinical trials with a focus on demonstrating clinical utility of pharmacogenomic testing. My team also oversees the clinical implementation of pharmacogenomic testing across the health system enterprise. I have experience conducting Phase I, II, and III clinical trials, including a Phase III trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine. I have published over 150 articles, editorials, book chapters, and abstracts on pharmacology, pharmacogenomics, and pharmaceutical sciences. I serve as Pharmacology Editor for HemOnc Today and Deputy Associate Editor for Supportive Care in Cancer.

Allyson Cochran, PhD MSPH is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Prevention at Wake Forest School of Medicine and the Director of the Center for Surgical Outcomes Science at Atrium Health. In her roles, she provides analytics, statistical, and research methodology support for surgical research, quality improvement, and operations initiatives.

As a published author and presenter, Allyson speaks nationally and internationally on surgical predictive analytics, data-driven surgery, and the implementation of enhanced recovery programs. She chairs the Quality Measurement and Improvement Committee for the US Chapter of the ERAS Society and is a member of the Research Committee for the International ERAS Society. Allyson’s professional pursuits focus on integrating predictive modeling in enhanced-recovery pathways to predict – and ultimately prevent – adverse surgical outcomes

Christopher Griggs is an associate professor of emergency medicine at Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center and Wake Forest School of Medicine.  He serves as the medical director of the Emergency Medicine Pain and Addiction Quality Improvement and as the lead of ED transitions of care in the Charlotte Market.  His research focuses on improving pain and addiction care in the emergency department and he is currently grant funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to perform quality improvement in pain and addiction care across 27 Atrium ED’s in North Carolina.