Denise Juliano
Group Vice President, Life Sciences
Denise is responsible for leading the Premier Applied Sciences team and for developing strategic business relationships with life sciences companies.
She also helps to expand the utilization of Premier Applied Sciences® by life sciences clients and Premier members.
Experience:
- Numerous executive-level leadership positions at Merck & Co., Inc. over a 30+ year career include sales, sales management, global and US marketing, account management, managed care, and customer enterprise
- Strategic Account Management Association (SAMA) Board of Directors
- Healthcare Business Women’s Association (HBA)
Education:
- East Stroudsburg University, MS Exercise Physiology/Cardiac Rehabilitation
- Seton Hall University, BS Health Science
Certification:
- Certified Strategic Account Manager — The Strategic Account Management Association
Stella Safo, M.D.
Chief Clinical Transformation Officer, Vice President Premier Research Operations
Career Summary
Stella Safo, M.D., MPH, is the Chief Clinical Transformation Officer with Premier’s Applied Sciences team. In this role, Dr. Safo drives the work on how Premier’s innovative implementation research arm generates the care models and analytic tools and technologies necessary to catalyze healthcare transformation for Premier’s more than 4,000 partners.
Experience
- Senior Medical Director for Clinical Transformation: led the design and implementation of primary care redesign for Sinai’s 50+ primary care ambulatory practices.
- Chief Medical Officer Arnhold Institute for Global Health: founding CMO of Sinai’s global health institute.
- Program Manager for Health System Design at the Arnhold Institute for Global Health: led the rollout of systems improvements for Sinai’s ambulatory portfolio.
- Assistant Faculty of Internal Medicine at Icahn School of Medicine, with clinical, research and teaching duties for Mount Sinai’s trainees.
- Board certified primary care physician with a 200+ patient panel in primary care and HIV medicine in NYC.
Education
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Harvard Medical School, Doctor of Medicine Degree
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Harvard School of Public Health, MPH in Global Health
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Harvard University, B.A. in History of Science/African American Studies
Selected Publications
- Safo, Stella A., et al. "Pain is Associated with Missed Clinic Visits Among HIV-Positive Women." AIDS and Behavior (2016): 1-9
- Safo, Stella, et al. "“A place at the table:” a qualitative analysis of community board members’ experiences with academic HIV/AIDS research." BMC Medical Research Methodology 16.1 (2016): 1
- Safo, S. A., Batchelder, A., Peyser, D., & Litwin, A. (2015). The common sense model applied to hepatitis C: A qualitative analysis of the impact of disease comparison and witnessed death on hepatitis C illness perception. Harm Reduction Journal, 12(1), 20
- Safo Stella, Dookeran Nameeta and Sackey, Joyce. (2011). Ghana. In Africa: A Practical Guide for Global Health Workers (p. ). Rhode Island: Dartmouth College Press, Print
Roni Christopher
Vice President, Design and Intervention
Roni serves as the leader of the Learning and Change team and provides oversight of activities intended to transfer knowledge from theory or concept to application. She is responsible for building standards that support evidence review, research interpretation, adult learning methodologies, curriculum design, qualitative analysis, research and quality methods, learning management systems, content management and training for new and existing customers within Premier Applied Sciences. Leveraging knowledge brokerage techniques, she supports:
- Systematic and applied evidence reviews
- Data interpretation and application
- Qualitative analysis and research
- Quality improvement science
- Survey design and analysis
- Patient engagement and decision making strategies
- System theory and system level design
- Learning content and management systems
- Training and organizational development
Experience:
- Built and trained quality provider networks within Ohio’s only 5 star insurance plan
- Contracted value based payment agreements and shared metrics between payers and health systems
- Developed successful population health management tracking for improved, reported outcomes in chronic, acute and high cost care areas
- Led clinical teams in meeting or exceeding triple aim objectives: chronic care, wellness and acute outcomes, improved patient experience and reduced utilization
- Over 20 years’ experience working across the continuum of care to create a seamless patient experience
Education:
- A.T. Still University, DHSc Health Science Administration
Applied Research Project: Learning Styles and Personality Traits among Corporate Healthcare Workers
- Xavier University, M.Ed./Occupational Therapy
- Xavier University, B.S. Communications/Education
Selected Publications:
- Nash, David B. (Contributing author Chapter 14: Successful Models). Population health: creating a culture of wellness. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning, 2014.
- Christopher, Ronda, Trudnak, Tara, Hemenway, Regina, Bolton, Sara, Tobias, Barbara, Fairbrother, Gerry. “Healthcare initiatives in diabetes mellitus type II: A qualitative study in the Cincinnati beacon community.” Diabetes Spectrum. Spring, 2015.
- Christopher, Ronda. “Measuring the integration experience through patient satisfaction.” Prescriptions for Excellence in Healthcare. Spring, 2015.
- Fairbrother, Gerry, Trudnak, Tara, Christopher, Ronda, Mansour, Mona, Mandel, Keith. “Cincinnati Beacon community program: highlights, challenges and opportunities on the path to care transformation.” Health Affairs 33.5 (2014).
Michelle R. Mann
Vice President, Business Operations and Decision Support
Michelle manages large-scale quality improvement research initiatives for new and existing Life Sciences clients. She is responsible for resourcing, operations, and client relations for Intervention solution opportunities in various therapeutic areas.
Experience:
- Clinical and operational performance improvement
- Prospective comparative effectiveness and outcomes
- Large scale clinical trials of improvement interventions
- Cardiovascular service line improvement
- Data interpretation and application
- Data analytic platform design and development
Education:
- University of Colorado, B.S. Accounting
Certifications:
- Lean Certified
- Net Promoter Certified Associate
- Project Management Mastery Certified
- Certified Professional Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) pending
J. Nikki McKoy
Principal, Research Operations
Nikki provides leadership and oversight for the Implementation team within Premier Applied Sciences. She is responsible for execution of PAS intervention projects from contract signature through final deliverable. She works to ensure successful project execution through active surveillance of milestones and potential barriers. In addition, she oversees site and SME recruitment and management, as well as overall project steering committee management and project budgets.
Experience:
- More than 18 years’ experience in research coordination and management, with increasing responsibility in oversight, planning and strategy
- Meticulous day to day management skills, with in depth understanding and knowledge of research methods, policy implementation and adherence and team leadership
- Extensive content experience across the clinical and health care spectrum
- Expertise in high level budget management to match research needs, and a commitment to leading teams to complete research efforts with the highest rigor, on time and on budget
Education:
- UNC Gilings School of Global Public Health, Masters Public Health
- University of North Carolina, B.A. History
Training:
- Shipley Associates, Managing and Writing Federal Proposals (May 2015)
Selected Publications:
- McKoy JN and Petersen R. Reducing African-American women's sexual risk: can churches play a role? J Natl Med Assoc. 2006 Jul;98(7):1151-9
- McKoy JN, Hartmann KE, Jerome RN, Andrews JC, Penson DF. Future Research Needs for Outcomes of Weight Gain in Pregnancy. Future Research Needs Papers No. 6. (Prepared by the Vanderbilt Evidence-based Practice Center under Contract No. 290-2007-10065-I). AHRQ Publication No.11-EHC004-EF. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. November 2010.
- Lewis RM, McKoy JN, Andrews JC, Jerome RN, Likis FE, Surawicz TS, Walker SH, Hartmann KE. Future Research Needs for Strategies to Reduce Cesarean Birth in Low-Risk Women. Future Research Needs Paper No. 22. (Prepared by the Vanderbilt Evidence-based Practice Center under Contract No. 290-2007-10065-I). AHRQ Publication No. 12(13)-EHC131-EF. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. October 2012.
Greg Ward
Principal, Research Engagement Operations
Experience:
Greg has 25 years of experience in performance and process improvement, with nearly 20 years focused largely in healthcare and health research operations. His work with Premier over 15 years has involved in-hospital performance engineering, corporate performance improvement, research recruiting and engagement operations, and the launch of Premier’s research collaborative. Greg’s areas of expertise include:
- Site recruitment and engagement for research and quality improvement projects
- Clinical and operational performance improvement
- Customer relationship and retention management — human and systematic
- Management of business operations
- Evaluation of new technologies for business optimization
Education:
- University of South Carolina, M.B.A.
- Purdue University, B.S. Industrial Engineering
Certifications:
- Advanced Certificate in Health Informatics — University of Illinois at Chicago
- LEAN Certification — North Carolina State University
- Total Quality Management Certification — The Juran Institute
