Meet our 2019 Scholars!
Sallie Allgood, PhD, RN
Dominique Bulgin, PhD, RN
Research Focus Area: Investigating the influence of stigma on sickle cell disease self-management and identifying interventions to improve the health and quality of life of individuals with sickle cell disease
Marcelo Cerullo, MD, MPH
Research Focus Area: Investigating lung cancer screening guidelines and surgical referrals, imaging in oncologic decision-making, and insurance market expansion and consolidation
Rushina Cholera, MD, PhD
Research Focus Area: Improving health outcomes and access to care for children in Spanish speaking immigrant families through identifying and mitigating psychosocial barriers to healthcare engagement
Aligning well with the strategic plan at Duke Health and building from our strong track record of training, Duke NCSP focuses its training program on population health and implementation science. This model engages interdisciplinary investigators and community members in the development and conduct of research with the aim of improving health and health care practice by studying the health and health outcomes of large population segments. Our specific approach to training is to ensure each scholar receives comprehensive research training with a focus on population health and implementation science through a combination of didactic course work, seminars, a unique Scholar experience, and mentored research. Scholars participate in a shared training curriculum, which provides them with a fundamental understanding of principles of health services research, population health, and implementation of effective interventions. Research training is tailored to the needs of the Scholars based on their prior research training experience.
The selection of an outstanding mentorship team is crucial to the success of the research experience. Program leadership work intensely with each Scholar, prior to matriculation, to understand her/his research career interests and goals, and then select several faculty members who may provide a good mentor fit. Program leaders, Scholars, and proposed mentors will have a series of meetings to formalize the mentorship team, define projects, and establish timelines. Peer mentoring is a critical piece of mentorship. Each Scholar and her/his identified interdisciplinary mentorship team have a specified research plan that includes primary mentor, institutional support, and methodological mentorship. A typical research plan has the trainee leading a number of focused projects on which s/he is expected to be first author, and has others on which the trainee has secondary involvement for the purpose of gaining experience in a broad variety of research methods related to their research field. Scholars have opportunities to use a variety of health services and research methodologies.