Helene M. Langevin, MD, Director at the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)

As NCCIH director, Dr. Langevin oversees the Federal Government’s lead agency for research on the fundamental science, usefulness, and safety of complementary and integrative health approaches and their roles in improving health and health care. With an annual budget of approximately $170 million, NCCIH funds and conducts research to help answer important scientific and public health questions within the context of whole person health. The Center also coordinates and collaborates with other research institutes and Federal programs on research into complementary and integrative health. Dr. Langevin is currently the chair of the Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee.

Prior to coming to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Dr. Langevin was the director of the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, jointly based at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, and professor-in-residence of medicine at Harvard Medical School from 2012 to 2018. She also previously served as professor of neurological sciences at the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine, Burlington, Vermont.

Over her career, Dr. Langevin’s research interests have centered around the role of connective tissue in chronic musculoskeletal pain and the mechanisms of acupuncture and manual and movement-based therapies. Her more recent work has focused on the effects of stretching on inflammation resolution mechanisms within connective tissue. She is a fellow of the American College of Physicians.

Dr. Langevin received an M.D. degree from McGill University, Montreal. She completed a postdoctoral research fellowship in neurochemistry at the MRC Neurochemical Pharmacology Unit in Cambridge, England, and a residency in internal medicine and fellowship in endocrinology and metabolism at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland.

Kevin Sia, PhD, Doris Duke Foundation

As senior program officer for medical research at the Doris Duke Foundation, Kevin Sia manages and evaluates competitive grant programs and actively contributes scientific expertise and knowledge to build relationships with existing grantees.

Prior to joining the foundation in 2021, Sia was a postdoctoral research fellow at the Sloan Kettering Institute of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He has a research background in immunology and microbiology, particularly focused on vaccine immunity and antibiotic resistant pathogens.

Sia earned a Doctor of Philosophy in immunology and molecular pathogenesis from Emory University, where he trained at the Emory Vaccine Center.

Jeri Bullock, DDS, School of Dentistry, University of Utah

Dr. Bullock is a graduate of Loma Linda University School of Dentistry, where she earned her Doctor of Dental Surgery degree in 2011. Embracing the institution's motto, "Service is our Calling," Dr. Bullock has dedicated her career to advancing public health initiatives. In her role as Dental Director for two Federally Qualified Health Centers, she gained extensive experience in the public health sector and established herself as a prominent advocate for oral health. Currently, Dr. Bullock serves as an Associate Professor and Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs at the University of Utah School of Dentistry. Her research and clinical interests focus on integrated care models and improving access to dental services for underserved populations. Through her work, Dr. Bullock is committed to enhancing health equity and promoting comprehensive care in the communities she serves.

Courtney Buys, MPP, Director of Health Center Controlled Network at Montana Primary Care Association

Courtney Buys is the Director of the Montana Health Center Controlled Network (HCCN) at the Montana Primary Care Association (MPCA). Courtney leads a team dedicated to increasing quality outcomes at Montana community health centers (CHCs) and urban Indian organizations (UIOs) through training, data analysis, and technical support. They provide coaching and development on a variety of key initiatives, including value-based care, emergency preparedness, patient-centered medical home recognition, UDS+, cybersecurity, interoperability, and chronic disease screening and prevention. Courtney is committed to improving primary healthcare and public health through collaboration and data-driven solutions, and her leadership extends to her work with the Montana Cancer Coalition, where she serves as the Immediate Past Chair. Courtney has also been recognized as a leader in the healthcare field, having received the 2024 Geiger Gibson and National Association of Community Health Centers Emerging Leader Award.

Bob Carter, MD, PhD, Senior Vice President for Health Sciences, University of Utah 

Dr. Bob S. Carter is CEO of University of Utah Health and the A. Lorris Betz Senior Vice President for Health Sciences at the University of Utah, joins a community of 34,000 dedicated faculty, staff, and students who work in partnership to advance U of U Health's clinical, research, education, and community service missions. Together, the U of U Health community aspires to build on the health system's remarkable legacy and envision bold new opportunities for the future.

Prior to this role, Dr. Carter was privileged to lead one of the nation's most innovative neuroscience communities as Neurosurgeon-in-Chief at Mass General Brigham and the William and Elizabeth Sweet Professor of Neuroscience at Harvard Medical School. He has also served as Co-Founder and Co-Chair of Mass General Neuroscience, Chief of Neurosurgery and Department Chair at the University of California, San Diego, and Chair of Neurosurgery at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Carter is widely recognized for his contributions to brain tumor genetics, gene and cell therapy for neurological disorders, and the development of liquid biopsy techniques for glioblastoma. He has published over 220 original research articles and holds multiple patents for his innovative work.

Dr. Carter specializes in the surgical management of complex intracranial and skull base tumors, including meningiomas, pituitary and craniopharyngioma tumors, vestibular schwannomas, and challenging gliomas. Patients from around the globe seek his team's expertise in brain tumor care.

Throughout his career, Dr. Carter has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to leadership in academic medicine, fostering collaborative initiatives, enhancing clinical excellence, and advancing neurosurgical education and research. In recognition of his efforts to advance these missions, he has been named the Honored Guest of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, a Distinguished Alumnus of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and is an elected Member of the National Academy of Medicine.

Dr. Carter is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University Schools of Medicine (M.D.) and Public Health (Ph.D. Epidemiology) and the Brigham Young University (B.A. Chemistry).

Nathorn Chaiyakunapruk, PharmD, PhD, Professor of Pharmacy and Health Economist at the University of Utah

Nathorn (Nui) Chaiyakunapruk is a Professor in the Department of Pharmacotherapy at the University of Utah College of Pharmacy in Salt Lake City. He earned a Doctorate of Pharmacy (PharmD) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and his PhD in Pharmaceutical Outcomes Research and Policy Program from the University of Washington.

His expertise is in Health Technology Assessment and Global Health. He has applied several HTA methodologies (Health Economics, Real World Data Analysis, and Evidence Synthesis: systematic review and classical/network meta-analysis/ Umbrella review) to support national and global policy, especially his contributions to the World Health Organization. His research is in broad areas ranging from infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, community pharmacy, immunization program, complementary and alternative medicines, pharmacogenomics, and smoking cessation. His current projects have been focused on health equity and global health

Jennifer Dailey-Provost, MBA, PhD, member of the Utah House of Representatives and former executive director of the Utah Academy of Family Physicians 

Jen Dailey-Provost has served in the House of Representatives since January 2019, though worked on Utah’s Capitol Hill as a policy advocate for nearly a decade prior to running for elected office. She is the Minority Whip and currently serves on Social Services Appropriations Subcommittee, Executive Appropriations, Health and Human Services Interim and Standing Committees, Revenue and Taxation Standing and Interim Committee, Legislative Management Committee, Administrative Rules and General Oversight Committee, and Retirement and Independent Entities Committee. She serves on the Behavioral Health Crisis Response Commission Policy Committee, the Medical Cannabis Governance Structure Working Group, the Capitol Preservation Board, and as co-chair of the Legislative Biosciences Innovation Caucus. Outside of her legislative commitments, Jen serves on the Boards of The Children’s Center, Tanner Dance Utah, Advantage Services, Utah Area Health Education Centers, and the Utah Healthcare Institute. Jen also serves on the Westminster University School of Nursing and Health Sciences Advancement Council and the Interagency Coordinating Council for Baby Watch Utah. Jen attended the University of Utah where she received her bachelor’s degree in business, and later obtained her MBA at Westminster College. She returned to the University of Utah and completed her PhD in Public Health in 2024, and currently works as teaching faculty, focusing on public health policy, and as a researcher in the University of Utah School of Medicine. Jen’s policy priorities and passion lie in the areas of public health, primary care healthcare, LGBTQ+ rights and protections, air quality and environmental preservation, education, disability protections and restorative justice. As the House Minority Whip, she helps guide her caucus on budget negotiations and thoroughly enjoys getting very wonky over the Utah state budget. Jen, her husband Scott, and their three kids love the outdoors and the wonderful quality of life in Salt Lake City. She is an avid skier and runner, loves to escape with a good book, and to knit cozy things.

Linda Edelman, PhD, RN, FGSA, FAAN, Emeritus Professor, College of Nursing, University of Utah

Dr. Linda S. Edelman PhD, RN, FAAN is a professor of Nursing at the University of Utah College of Nursing. She grew up on a small farm in Kansas and is the first in her family to attend high school. Thanks to many mentors along the way, she became a nurse passionate about providing older adults and rural residents access to timely and age-friendly care. She is dedicated to developing interprofessional workforce teams across geriatrics and rural primary care sites and elevating the role of nurses working as interprofessional team members. She leads Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) funded workforce development programs providing education and training to health care students, providers, and staff across Utah. Under her guidance, the Utah Geriatric Education Consortium, one of 48 Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Programs (GWEP) across the country, has formed academic-clinic-community partnerships to develop innovative online training for providers and staff working in longterm services and supports and primary care settings, to provide students with opportunities to work with older adults through courses and volunteer activities, and to educate caregivers of older adults with dementia. Recognizing the need for primary care nurses, she sought Nurse Education, Practice, Quality and Retention – Primary Care (NEPQR) HRSA funding (2018-2022) to recruit and train nursing students to work in rural and underserved primary care settings, and to support nurses working in those settings to become team leaders in health care delivery. An outcome of the NEPQR funding, was the awareness that primary care clinics in rural Utah counties with high rates of opioid use disorder could benefit from collaborative care management for office-based addiction treatment. In 2022, Edelman received HRSA funding for the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program – Mental and Behavioral Health to develop nurse led collaborative care management teams in rural Utah counties and support rural community resources for opioid prevention and treatment. If appointed, her experience in implementing interprofessional, geriatrics and rural primary care, community-based programs that educate and train the primary care workforce to care for underserved and rural populations will advance the work of the Committee in this area.

Ann Greiner, President & CEO, Primary Care Collaborative 

Ann Greiner serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Primary Care Collaborative (PCC), a multi-stakeholder membership organization focused on improving the nation’s health by strengthening primary care. PCC’s Better Health – NOW (BHN) campaign is focused on federal policy changes to increase investment in primary care through advanced payment models to support more robust, comprehensive and team-based primary care. PCC achievements include successfully advocating for the CMS Innovation Center’s launch and implementation of the ACO Primary Care Flex Model in the Medicare Shared Savings Program, the introduction of bi-partisan legislation aimed at establishing hybrid primary care payment, and the widescale implementation of the Patient Centered Medical Home. Greiner is a well-recognized leader in the quality field and has worked at a number of prestigious national organizations. Prior to joining the PCC in 2017, she served as Vice President of Public Affairs for the National Quality Forum (NQF) and Deputy Director at the National Academies of Medicine, Science and Engineering (NASEM). She has also held leadership positions at the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) and the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM). She has a master’s degree in Urban Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from Hobart and William Smith Colleges.

Samantha Harden, PhD, 500 RYT, Virginia Cooperative Extension and Associate Professor & Exercise Extension Specialist, Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise, Virginia Tech

Dr. Samantha Harden is a dissemination and implementation scientist and the Director of the Physical Activity Research and Community Implementation (PARCI) Laboratory within the Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise at Virginia Tech. She has 12 years of experience leading and participating in research-practice partnerships for healthy lifestyle interventions across various populations for chronic disease prevention and management at the individual- and systems-levels. Her work has garnered over $29 million in research funding (predominantly through Cooperative Extension) and over 125 peer reviewed journal articles. With her 500-hour registered yoga teacher credentialing, she aims to promote yoga as one vehicle for social, mental, physical, and communal wellbeing. She is passionate about interpersonal dynamics that drive community-level changes so that more people can thrive, even when different aspects of flourishing are challenged. One dissemination threat she wants all to know is that Maslow never had a hierarchy of needs, and just after his actual “Theory of Human Motivation” was published—he wrote that we need to promote self-transcendence where we beyond self toward connecting with others and finding something bigger than self. Many people do this through service, spiritual practices, or a rigorous pursuit of purpose. For many academics, this is through the tripartite mission of research, teaching and outreach for health and health equity.

Patricia Herman, ND, PhD, Senior Behavioral Scientist, RAND 

Patricia Herman, ND, PhD, is a Senior Behavioral Scientist at the RAND Corporation and the Co-Director of the RAND Research Across Complementary and Integrative Health Institutions (REACH) Center. The RAND REACH Center is a collaboration between RAND and institutions that educate complementary and integrative health (CIH) practitioners, including acupuncturists, chiropractors and naturopathic doctors. Its purpose is to leverage the research infrastructure at RAND to support collaborative research in support of CIH professions. Her research centers on health economics and innovative care models. Dr. Herman is an NIH/NCCIH-supported methodologist, resource economist, and licensed naturopathic doctor with a PhD in Psychology with a focus on research methods. For more than 35 years, she has conducted policy and cost-effectiveness analyses in several areas, including the economics of CIH. She also has been heavily involved in the discussions around the concepts of whole health and whole person health and was invited to give the Stephen E. Straus Distinguished Lecture in the Science of Complementary Therapies at the NCCIH 25th Anniversary Celebration: Exploring the Impact of Whole Person Health. Her talk was titled “The Economic Impact of Whole Person Health.”   

In 2003, Dr. Herman received her degree in Naturopathic Medicine from Bastyr University and she practiced for 5 years at Sierra Tucson, an inpatient facility that treats addiction and chronic pain, before moving fully into research. 

Joshua A. Plavin, MD, MPH, MBA, Medical Director & Division Chief, Comprehensive Pain Program, University of Vermont Medical Center;Clinical Lead, Osher Center for Integrative Health at the University of Vermont; Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine

Dr. Plavin received his MD and MPH degrees from New York Medical College and his MBA from Brandeis University. He is Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, having completed his clinical training at the University of Michigan Health System. He currently serves as the Medical Director and Division Chief at the Comprehensive Pain Program at the University of Vermont Medical Center, Clinical Lead of the Osher Center for Integrative Health at UVM and is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine. Prior to this he worked at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont as the VP and Chief Medical Officer and has worked clinically in Vermont for over 20 years. His focus is on improving clinical outcomes and value in the health care system through applying new knowledge at the intersection of medical and management science.

Samantha Simmons, MPH, Academic Consortium for Integrative Medicine and Health 

Samantha Simmons, MPH is the Chief Executive Officer of the Academic Consortium for Integrative Medicine & Health, responsible for the oversight and execution of all operations and strategy of the Academic Consortium and fulfilling the mission of advancing integrative health in academic health centers and health systems. Ms. Simmons is an accomplished leader in the field of integrative medicine with an extensive background in many facets of promoting transformation in healthcare through collaborative initiatives and strategic partnerships. She is passionate about health policy advocacy and driving utilization of models of whole person care for underserved populations and is the P.I. of the Whole Health in the States (WHITS) Initiative, a program geared towards these goals. Ms. Simmons has dedicated her entire career to removing barriers to healthcare that is interprofessional and focused on a person's whole health and wellbeing. Ms. Simmons serves on numerous committees, boards and workgroups in partnership with organizations working towards the goal of healthcare that looks like health and not just the absence of illness and disease.

Laura Summers, MPP, Director of Industry Research, Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, University of Utah

Laura Summers serves as the director of industry research at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, conducting research on health care data, policies, and impacts to the Utah health care sector. Summers has expertise in health care, economics, and public policy. Her professional experience includes research for the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. In health care, Summers’ research focus is state-level health reform, with a particular focus in Medicaid, public health, and health insurance markets. Prior to joining the Institute, Summers was the senior director of state intelligence at Leavitt Partners, where she prepared detailed studies of state-by-state comparative data and analyzed national and state health care programs, policies, and trends. In addition to providing research and consulting services to payers, providers, and other health care companies, Summers led health care reform initiatives in states such as Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, and Washington State. Summers also oversaw the Leavitt Partners teams in designing, managing, and facilitating stakeholder engagement processes for state government projects. Summers previously served as the research director of the Utah Foundation – a nonprofit research firm that publishes reports on issues affecting government policies. Summers received her master of public policy with an emphasis in public economics from Brigham Young University and her bachelor’s degree in economics from Westminster College.

Amy Locke, MD, FAAFP, Chief Wellness Officer and Director, Osher Center for Integrative Health, Co-Director, Driving Out Diabetes Initiative, University of Utah Health

Dr. Locke completed her medical degree and residency training from the University of Michigan Medical School. She then served as faculty at UM until 2015 where she served as Director of Integrative Family Medicine, directed the Integrative Medicine Fellowship program and helped coordinate care of adolescents.

Dr. Locke joined the University of Utah in 2015. She is focused on working with individuals and communities to achive optimal health and healing. By addressing physical and mental health together through a whole person health paradigm, she focuses on the foundations of health such as nutrition, movement, sleep and connection, paring these with an understanding of how stress shows up in the body. She hopes to bring the best of conventional and integrative medicine together to prevent and treat illness. Her clinical interests include nutrition, preventive medicine, mind-body medicine, care of children and adolescents, families and individuals of all ages.

She sees patients at the Madsen Family Medicine clinic for primary care and for Integrative Medicine and Lifestyle Medicine consultation.

Paul Estabrooks, PhD, Professor, Department of Health & Kinesiology and Associate Dean of Community Engagement, College ot Health, Co-Director, Driving Out Diabetes Initiative, University of Utah

Paul Estabrooks, PhD, is a community-engaged research scientist who has focused on a blending of the three missions of higher education—research, teaching, and service—as they relate to health promotion and studying how best to move research into sustained community or clinical practice. This includes the pursuit of a on twofold career goal—to advance health promotion science while concurrently having a meaningful impact in the communities that he has partnered with. Dr. Estabrooks has applied his training in group dynamics, systems-based approaches, and research-practice partnerships to achieve this twofold goal, primarily, in the areas of the promotion of physical activity and healthful eating, diabetes prevention, workplace and community weight control, and family-based childhood obesity treatment. Across these areas, he has had success in scientific advancement of methods to develop scalable and sustainable interventions, has published over 250 articles, and has been consistently funded as a principal or co-investigator by the National Institutes of Health since 2000. In addition, within his community partnerships this work has helped over 300,000 people to be more active, eat better, and lose weight.

Jennie Hill, PhD, Associate Professor, Polulation Health Sciences, Associate Director of Community Collaboration & Engagement Team, University of Utah

Jennie Hill is an associate professor in the Department of Population Health Sciences at the University of Utah and is the Associate Director of CCET. With over 20 years of community engagement experience, Dr. Hill brings a wealth of knowledge to the Community Collaboration and Engagement Team. She is trained in community-engaged and participatory research methods, applying several of these approaches in her own research to build long-standing community-academic and industry-academic partnerships. These partnerships support research initiatives and build capacity among partners. Jennie enjoys making time for being active outdoors by biking, running, hiking, and skiing. She loves to travel and explore new places, especially with her husband and children.

Sara Knight, PhD, Professor, Division of Epidemiology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Utah, VA Salt Lake City Healthcare System, IDEAS Center

Dr. Knight is Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Epidemiology, at the University of Utah School of Medicine where she directs a program in Health Services Research in Genomic Medicine. She serves in the Utah Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) as Associate Director of Engagement Science Innovation and Translation (EnScIT) Program in the of the Community & Stakeholder Engagement Core. She leads the CTSI Section E project, “Catalyzing Translation in Basic and Preclinical Research with Novel Patient Engagement Resources.”  Dr. Knight previously served as Deputy Director of the National Health Service and Development Service in Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington, DC, where she was responsible for a national peer review program funding health services and implementation science research awards, serving VA scientists and Veterans across the nation. She is one of the US leaders of the Health Experience Research Network (HERN) and Chair of the HERN Steering Committee, a novel dissemination approach, that engages members of the public, health professionals, scientists, and patients around patient stories and nuanced descriptions of health and health care experiences.

Dr. Knight trained in clinical health psychology with her work focusing on understanding and measuring patient values, goals, and preferences for care and reducing health disparities. She uses social and behavioral science to develop and test preference measures for patient-centered decisions and decision aids that promote informed health decisions. She has developed and tested cancer screening interventions in community engaged effectiveness trials. She has served as the Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator on multiple large projects over 25 years with funding from VA, NCI, American Cancer Society, NIA, NHGRI, PCORI, and DoD.

Dr. Knight has developed and used deliberative methods in large meetings in Washington, DC, for VA leadership and Veterans, and throughout the State of Alabama to understand the community perspectives genome sequencing conducted for the Alabama Genomic Health Initiative, the NHGRI funded Clinical Sequencing Evidence Generating Research (CSER) Program, and the Southern All of Us Network. Her research program tests deliberative collaboration methods to engage both community members and healthcare system decision makers together to discuss community health priorities. The goal of her work is to accelerate the integration of community and patient perspectives into healthcare policy and practice decisions.
 

Andrea Wallace, PhD, RN, FAAN, Professor, Associate Dean for Research, College of Nursing, University of Utah

Dr. Andrea Wallace is a Professor and Associate Dean for Research at the University of Utah College of Nursing. She received her clinical doctorate (ND) as well as her PhD from the University of Colorado Denver College of Nursing, where she received NIH pre-doctoral funding to examine differences in health services access for children with severe asthma. Dr. Wallace then participated in an NIH and AHRQ funded post-doctoral fellowship in Health Care Costs, Quality, and Outcomes at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she also delivered direct care to patients as an APRN-Clinical Nurse Specialist in the UNC Division of Internal Medicine's Center for Excellence in Chronic Illness Care. Before joining the faculty at the University of Utah in 2016, Dr. Wallace was an Assistant Professor at the University of Iowa College of Nursing, and served as Associate Director of Community Engagement with the Institute of Clinical and Translational Science at the University of Iowa. A primary objective of Dr. Wallace's research is to design high quality chronic health care service interventions aimed at narrowing gaps in clinical outcomes while simultaneously understanding how these interventions can be feasibly administered during routine service delivery (e.g., without research resources) where they can benefit a range of patient populations. She has participated in the development, conduct, and publication of research studies focusing on the quality of chronic disease care (asthma, diabetes, depression, chronic back pain) in community, primary care, and acute care settings and, with a multidisciplinary team, has developed a widely disseminated a low literacy diabetes intervention. She has successfully partnered with clinicians to develop means of feasibly and effectively incorporating a self-management intervention in community (vs academic) primary care practice settings serving vulnerable patient populations, as well as with clinicians in the VA Medical System to better understand the discharge experiences of rural veterans. Most recently, Dr. Wallace 's AHRQ- and NIH-funded research program has focused on how to best account for patients' social determinants of health during routine inpatient and ED discharge planning and in risk modeling. As a consequence of her methodological interest in how to best implement research into clinical settings, Dr. Wallace was appointed to the NIH workgroup on implementation methodology. She regularly serves on scientific review panels for the NIH, AHRQ, and PCORI.

Fernando Wilson, PhD, Director and Endowed Chair of the Matheson Center for Health Studies, Professor for Population Health Sciences and Professor of Economics, University of Utah

Dr. Fernando Wilson is Director and Endowed Chair of the Matheson Center for Health Care Studies, Professor of Population Health Sciences in the Division of Health System Innovation and Research, and Professor of Economics in the College of Social & Behavioral Science. Dr. Wilson received a PhD in Economics from the University of Chicago, and a BA in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin. His research interests include economic and health policy evaluation, as well as disparities in access to care and health outcomes among historically underserved communities.