Program Mentors

Victoria L. Champion, PhD, RN, FAAN

• Distinguished Professor Department of Science of Nursing Care
• Edward and Sarah Stam Cullipher Endowed Chair
• Associate Director of Population Science, IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center
• Member, IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center

Research areas: oncology care; early detection; symptom intervention; quality of life

Catherine Mosher, PhD

• Professor of Psychology at Indiana University Indianapolis
• Member, IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center

Research areas:(1) developing, evaluating, and disseminating psychosocial interventions for cancer patients and their family caregivers; and (2) identifying demographic, medical, and social predictors of physical and psychological health outcomes in cancer patients and their family caregivers.

Matthew C. Aalsma, PhD

• Professor, Pediatrics, School of Medicine
• Adjunct Professor of Psychology

Research areas: Pediatrics, addiction, mental health and physical health care for children and adolescents, juvenile justice systems, implementation science

Janet Carpenter, PhD, RN, FAAN

• Distinguished Professor, Audrey Geisel Endowed Chair in Innovation, School of Nursing

Research areas: Menopause, hot flashes, women's health, nonhormonal management of hot flashes.

Teresa Damush, PhD, MA, BA

• Senior Research Professor of Medicine
• Research Career Scientist, VA HSR&D Center for Health Information and Communication, Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center
• Research Scientist, Indiana University Center for Health Services and Outcomes Research, Regenstrief Institute, Inc.
• Director of Implementation Science Core and Co-Principal Investigator, VA Precision Monitoring to Transform Care (PRIS-M) QUERI Center, Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center

Research areas: Patient self-management, health psychology, implementation science

Brian Dixon, PhD, MPA FACMI, FHIMSS

• Director of Public Health Informatics, Regenstrief Institute, Inc. and Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health at Indiana University Indianapolis
• Research Scientist, Clem McDonald Center for Biomedical Informatics, Regenstrief Institute
• Research Scientist, William M. Tierney Center for Health Services Research, Regenstrief Institute
• Affiliated Scientist, VA HSR&D Center for Health Information and Communication
• Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology, Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health at Indiana University Indianapolis

Research areas: Informatics methods; public health; population health

Kit K. Elam, PhD

• Associate Professor, School of Public Health, IU Bloomington
• Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Applied Health Science

Research Areas: Addiction; mental health; genetics; child/adolescent development

David Haggstrom, MD, MAS

• Associate Professor of Medicine
• Sam Regenstrief Investigator in Health Services Research
• Director, Center for Health Services Research, Regenstrief Institute
• Core Investigator, VA HSR&D Center for Health Information and Communication, Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center
• Affiliate Member, Melvin and Bren Simon Indiana University Comprehensive Cancer Center

Research areas: Cancer health services research; cancer care coordination; medical informatics; health information exchange & data analytics

Jiali Han, PhD

• Professor, Epidemiology Department Chair
• Epidemiology Consultation Core Director, IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center
• Member, IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center

Research areas:  Epidemiology studies of cancer etiology, prevention, outcome and global health.

Susan Hickman, PhD

• Professor, Community and Health Systems, IU School of Nursing
• Co-director, Research in Palliative and End-of-Life Communication and Training (RESPECT) Center
• Director, IU Center for Aging Research, Regenstrief Institute Cornelius and Yvonne Pettinga Chair in Aging Research, IU School of Medicine
• Member, IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center

Research areas: advance care planning; end-of-life decision-making; goals of care; geriatrics; ethics. 

Adam T. Hirsh, PhD

• Associate Professor of Psychology, Purdue School of Science

Research areas: Clinical psychology; biopsychosocial aspects of pain and functioning in humans; racial disparities in pain management.

Kun Huang, PhD

• Adjunct Professor of Bioinformatics
• Professor of Medicine; IU School of Medicine PHI Chair in Genomic Medicine; Director for Data Science and Informatics, Precision Health Initiative
• Member, IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center

Research areas: Translational bioinformatics and integrative genomics tools for cancer precision medicine.

Karen Hudmon, DrPH

• Professor of Pharmacy Practice, Purdue University
• Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, IU School of Medicine
• Member, IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center

Research areas: Screening and surveillance of colorectal neoplasia. Tailoring of colorectal cancer screening and surveillance based on individual patient risk. Understanding test characteristics of non-invasive colorectal cancer screening tests. Technology assessment for digestive diseases

Thomas Imperiale, MD

• Lawrence Lumeng Professor of Gastroenterology and Hepatology
• Professor of Medicine
• Adjunct professor, School of Public Health
• Member, IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center

Research areas: Screening and surveillance of colorectal neoplasia. Tailoring of colorectal cancer screening and surveillance based on individual patient risk. Understanding test characteristics of non-invasive colorectal cancer screening tests. Technology assessment for digestive diseases

Shelley Johns, PsyD, HSPP, ABPP

• Member, IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center
• Research Scientist, William M. Tierney Center for Health Services Research, Regenstrief Institute
• Associate Professor of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine
• Adjunct Faculty, Department of Psychology, Purdue School of Science at Indiana University Indianapolis
• Board Certified Clinical Health Psychologist, Eskenazi Health Palliative Care Program

Research areas: symptom management in post-treatment cancer survivors

Rachel Katzenellenbogen, MD

• Associate Professor of Pediatrics
• Associate Professor of Microbiology & Immunology
• Richard E. and Pauline P. Klingler Scholar in Pediatrics
• Division Chief, Adolescent Medicine
• Member, IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center

Research areas: human papillomavirus (HPV); cancer

Mark Kelley, PhD

• Betty and Earl Herr Professor of Pediatric Oncology Research
• Professor of Pediatrics
• Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
• Professor of Pharmacology & Toxicology
• Professor of Ophthalmology
• Member, IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center

Research areas: Translational research in DNA damage and repair, specifically, to determine how those activities can be exploited therapeutically to treat cancers and protect normal cells from oxidative and DNA base damage.

Kurt Kroenke, MD

• Chancellor's Professor, Indiana University Indianapolis
• Professor of Medicine
• Research Scientist, William M. Tierney Center for Health Services Research, Regenstrief Institute, Inc.
• Member, IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center

Research areas: chronic pain; patient-reported outcome measures; symptom evaluation/management; mental health in primary care

Douglas Landsittel, PhD

• Professor and Chair of Biostatistics, School of Public Health and Health Professions, State University of New York at Buffalo
• Adjunct Professor (and former Department Chair) of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Indiana University-Bloomington

Research Areas: Addictionbiomarkers and prognostic models; design and analysis of clinical trials and causal inference from non-randomized studies.

Brenna McDonald, PsyD

• Professor of Radiology & Imaging Sciences
• Associate Director, Indiana University Center for Neuroimaging
• Director, Pediatric Neuropsychology 
• Member, IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center

Research areas: To improve understanding of the brain basis for cognitive symptoms experienced by cancer patients, and to develop treatments that help improve symptoms, daily functioning, and quality of life.

Nir Menachemi, PhD, MPH

• Fairbanks Endowed Chair, Professor, Health Policy and Management Department Chair
• Research Scientist, Clem McDonald Center for Biomedical Informatics, Regenstrief Institute
• Professor and Department Head, Department of Health Policy and Management, Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health at Indiana University Indianapolis

Research areas: How organizational strategies (e.g., health information technology adoption) impact critical performance measures, including quality outcomes and financial performance; health policy.

Ahna L. Pai, PhD, FSBM

• Director, Center for Biobehavioral Health, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital
• Professor of Pediatrics, The Ohio State University College of Medicine.

Research Areas: Treatment adherence in pediatric transplant and oncology, illness uncertainty in caregivers of children diagnosed with cancer, behavioral intervention development and evaluation, psychological functioning in caregivers of children with chronic or serious illness.

Patrick Monahan, PhD

• Professor of Biostatistics & Health Data Sciences
• Adjunct Professor, School of Public Health
• Member, IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center

Research areas: Differential item functioning and development and validation of scales; statistical research in the areas of psychometrics and measurement.

Harikrishna Nakshatri, PhD

• Marian J. Morrison Professor of Breast Cancer Research
• Professor of Surgery
• Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
• Member, IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center

Research areas: Mechanisms of anti-estrogen resistance, cancer stem cells and metastasis in breast cancer.

Sheri Robb, PhD, MT-BC

• Professor, IU School of Nursing
• Member, IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center

Research areas:  Music-based interventions to manage distress and improve positive health outcomes in children/adolescents with cancer and their caregivers.

Andrew Saykin, PsyD

• Director, Center for Neuroimaging
• Raymond C. Beeler Professor of Radiology
• Professor of Radiology & Imaging Sciences
• Professor of Clinical Psychology
• Professor of Neurology
• Professor of Medical & Molecular Genetics
• Adjunct Professor of Psychology, College of Arts & Sciences, IU Bloomington
• Director, Indiana Alzheimer Disease Center
• Member, IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center

Research areas: Neural Mechanisms of Chemotherapy-Induced Cognitive Disorder

Todd Skaar, PhD

• Professor of Medicine
• Adjunct Professor of Pharmacology & Toxicology
• Adjunct Professor of Medical & Molecular Genetics
• Director, Indiana Institute for Personalized Medicine
• Co-Leader, Cancer Prevention and Control, IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center
• Member, IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center

Research areas: Pharmacogenetics; breast cancer; discovery and implementation of genomic predictors of drug response.

Lois Travis, MD, ScD

• Lawrence H. Einhorn Professor of Cancer Research
• Adjunct Professor of Medical & Molecular Genetics
• Member, IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center

Research areas: Long-term physiologic and psychosocial effects of cancer and its treatment, with a goal of providing a foundation for risk-adapted evidence-based follow-up.