Technology Evaluation Center Staff
BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD ASSOCIATION TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION CENTER (TEC) STAFF
NAOMI ARONSON, Ph.D. Naomi Aronson, Ph.D., is the Executive Director of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association Technology Evaluation Center (TEC). Dr. Aronson has overseen TEC’s development as a nationally recognized technology assessment program and an Evidence-based Practice Center (EPC) of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). She has directed over 300 technology assessments and 20 evidence reports for AHRQ. Dr. Aronson is a member of the Methodology Committee of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI).
Dr. Aronson is a member of the Health Technology Assessment International Health Policy Forum, the Institute of Medicine Genomics Roundtable, the Steering Committee of the Chicago-Area DEcIDE Research Center, and the National Business Group on Health Committee on Evidence-Based Benefit Design. Previously, she has represented the private sector on a U.S. Agency for International Development Team providing technical assistance to the Hungarian government on building evidence-based medicine capacity and also served on the Ontario Health Technology Assessment Evaluation Review Team. She was a member of the Institute of Medicine Forum on Drug Discovery Translation and Development, and a review committee co-chair for the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research Annual Meeting. Prior to joining TEC, Dr. Aronson was a member of the Northwestern University faculty, specializing in the sociology of science and medicine. She also was a post-doctoral fellow in the Science, Technology and Society Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and received research awards from the National Science Foundation and the American Council of Learned Societies. Dr. Aronson’s academic research focused on how the organization of scientific specialties in biomedical and clinical research affects the process of scientific discovery.
SUZANNE E. BELINSON, Ph.D., M.P.H. Dr. Belinson is a Senior Scientist with TEC, who joined the program in July 2009. She received a B.A. in political science from Cleveland State University, and a master’s in public health from University of Pittsburgh. Her doctoral training in epidemiology was at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where her dissertation focused on cervical cancer. She has developed a strong methodological interest in the assessment of screening and diagnostic tests. Prior to coming to TEC she was a NIH post-doctoral fellow at Northwestern University working on community based cervical cancer prevention strategies for the U.S. and new screening and diagnostic test development for the developing world. She has published in Journal of Lower Genital Tract Disease, International Journal of Gynecologic Cancer, and other journals.
SUSAN BENLOUCIF, Ph.D. Dr. Benloucif is a Senior Scientist, Policy Resources; she has been with TEC since 2006. Dr. Benloucif received her training in Biological Psychology and Neuropharmacology and has been a member of the research faculty of Northwestern University since 1995; her current affiliation with Northwestern is as Adjunct Associate Professor of Neurology. Dr. Benloucif has received over ten grants and career development awards from the National Institutes of Health, with research interests that encompass the areas of neurodegeneration, neuroplasticity and brain-behavior interactions. Dr. Benloucif's recent research at Northwestern University focused on circadian rhythms, sleep, and aging, with the goal of developing treatments to improve sleep in older adults. She has presented results from these projects at national conferences and in peer-reviewed journals including Sleep, Brain Research, Journal of Biological Rhythms and the Neurobiology of Aging. While at Northwestern University Dr. Benloucif served on the Scientific Advisory Panel of the General Clinical Research Center of Northwestern Memorial Hospital and has been a frequent reviewer of journal articles and grants for the National Institutes of Health.
CLAUDIA BONNELL, R.N., M.L.S. Ms. Bonnell is Program Manager, Medical Information Services and Coding Services with TEC; she has been with TEC since 1993. She received her baccalaureate degree in nursing from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana and her Master of Library and Information Sciences degree from Rosary College in River Forest, Illinois. She has completed several Medical Library Association advanced medical reference courses. She manages TEC customer relations, and is the Association's medical and dental coding specialist.
HEATHER M. BROWN, M.D. Dr. Brown is Associate Medical Director, Policy Resources; who joined the program in March 2008. She is a board certified pathologist with subspecialty boards in cytopathology and a fellowship in oncologic surgical pathology. She received her B.S. in Biology and M.D. at the University of Illinois, and completed a residency in anatomic and clinical pathology at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Her subspecialty training was at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and the University of Florida. Some special interests include breast cancer and head and neck pathology. She has published in Cancer, Surgery, Human Pathology, Acta Cytologica, Journal of Surgical Research, and other journals.
RYAN D. CHOPRA, M.P.H. Mr. Chopra is a scientist with TEC, who joined the program in August 2010. He received a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in public health from Indiana University (Bloomington). He is currently completing his Ph.D in epidemiology from the University of Illinois (Chicago) with a specialization in genetics and infectious disease epidemiology. He has assisted on several AHRQ projects and technology assessments prior to working full-time at TEC. In addition he has epidemiologic experience working for the Chicago Department of Public Health and the Indiana Drug Prevention Resource Center.
DIANE CIVIC, Ph.D., M.P.H. Dr. Civic is Senior Scientist, Medical Policy and joined TEC in July 2009. She has worked in the field of evidence-based medicine since 1999. Prior to coming to TEC, Dr. Civic worked on clinical guideline development and medical technology assessment at Group Health Cooperative, an integrated health system based in Seattle. Current interests include clinical trial design and approaches to critically appraising the research literature. Dr. Civic received a B.A. from Duke University, and an M.P.H. and Ph.D. from the University of Washington. She has a background in HIV/STD prevention research. Past projects include a Fulbright Scholarship conducting AIDS-related research in Zimbabwe and a post-doctoral fellowship working on a randomized controlled trial evaluating a condom promotion intervention. Dr. Civic has published in peer-review journals such as Social Science and Medicine, AIDS Education and Prevention, AIDS Care, and the Journal of Adolescent Health.
SHARON FLAHERTY, M.A. Ms. Flaherty is the Managing Director, TEC Operations; she joined the program in September 2008. Most recently she was Vice President, Health Management Operations, with Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield. Prior to that, she served as Vice President for a Midwest post-acute facility and for a national research firm, consultant to several major health plans, and adjunct faculty at Wesleyan University in Lincoln, Nebraska. Ms. Flaherty spent more than twenty years with the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program and was a founding member of Kaiser Permanente's national New Technologies Evaluation Committee. She received her Masters in Economics from the University of California at Davis.
JOAN GLACY, M.D. Dr. Glacy is a Senior Scientist with TEC; she joined the program in March 2010. She received her B.S. in Psychology from Trinity College in Hartford, CT and her M.D. from the University of Connecticut. Her clinical background is in Psychiatry, and she worked in private practice before coming to the Association. Dr. Glacy worked for Blue Distinction before joining TEC, developing centers of excellence programs in orthopedic surgery and cancer. Currently, she is completing a Master of Public Health degree in Quantitative Methods at the University of Illinois School of Public Health.
MARK D. GRANT, M.D., M.P.H. Dr. Grant is Director, Technology Assessment; he has been with the program since May 2005. His clinical background includes Geriatric and Family Medicine, and he was previously the Director of Research in the Department of Family Medicine at Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine. He is board certified in Family Practice and holds a Certificate of Added Qualifications in Geriatric Medicine. He has published in JAMA, Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, and Annals of Human Biology. Some special interests include epidemiologic methods, treatment and prevention of aging-related diseases. He has taught epidemiology on the graduate level at the University of Illinois and on the undergraduate level at the University of Chicago. Additionally, he is currently pursuing a doctorate in epidemiology at the University of Illinois School of Public Health where he previously obtained his master's degree.
STEVEN GUTMAN, M.D., M.B.A. Dr. Gutman is an Associate Director of TEC; he joined the program in January 2010. He was previously professor of pathology and a founding member of the University of Central Florida’s new medical school. Prior to that, he was with the FDA for 17 years as a regulatory scientist, where he was a founding member and director of the Office of In Vitro Diagnostic Evaluation and Safety (OIVD) within the Center for Devices and Radiological Health. OIVD regulates in-home and laboratory diagnostic tests; as a result of his experience, Dr. Gutman has broad clinical knowledge as well as extensive expertise in evaluating evidence supporting diagnostic test utility. Earlier, he served as chief of the Clinical Laboratory at the Buffalo Veteran’s Administration Center. He has been a prolific speaker at many different types of meetings throughout his career, and has recently been invited to serve on panels convened by the Institute of Medicine and the College of American Pathologists.
KIMBERLY HINES, M.S. Ms. Hines is a Medical Editor with TEC; she joined the program in June 2010. She received her Master of Science degree in Writing and a postgraduate certificate in Medical Editing from the University of Chicago. Besides holding other non-medical writing positions, she worked in various medical editing capacities on behalf of the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association and the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and has developed and edited, for a number of years, a variety of medical, health care, and health care technology books. She managed content for a column of latest research in medical literature and served as copy editor for a group of cardiologists launching a new website. In addition, she served as adjunct faculty teaching Writing and Informed Argument at a Chicago university.
FRANK LEFEVRE, M.D. Dr. Lefevre is Medical Director, Policy Resources with TEC most recently, he was also an Associate Professor of Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, with appointments in the Division of General Internal Medicine and Preventive Medicine. Dr. Lefevre has been with TEC since 1991 and is the primary author on more than 30 TEC Assessments in the areas of internal medicine and cardiology. While at Northwestern, he worked as a hospitalist on the University Service and on the general medicine consultation service. He teaches evidence based medicine and medical decision making to medical students, and has developed a course that he teaches for the Northwestern Masters of Public Health program titled "Technology Assessment: Evidence-based approaches to assessing medical effectiveness." He has published widely in the peer-reviewed literature in the areas of evidence-based systematic reviews, quality of care, and preoperative medical consultation.
DAVID MARK, M.D., M.P.H. Dr. Mark is an Associate Director of TEC; he has been with the program since 1999. He has published several articles on quality of care and outcome assessment. He is also currently a contributing editor at the Journal of the American Medical Association, where he specializes in reviewing and managing manuscripts on statistics, epidemiology, decision and cost-effectiveness analysis, and laboratory medicine. He is board-certified in preventive medicine, and received training in epidemiology at the University of California, Berkeley. He was formerly Director of Research in the Department of Family Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He has also served as a consultant to the Wisconsin Peer Review Organization regarding quality of care assessment and the American Medical Association on technology assessment.
ANNE MARBELLA, M.S. Ms. Marbella is a TEC Scientist; she joined the program in December 2009. She was with the Medical College of Wisconsin’s Department of Family and Community Medicine for many years, first as an Associate in Family Medicine and then as an Epidemiologist. Prior to the Medical College, Ms. Marbella was with the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services as an Epidemiologist and a Data Systems Analyst. In addition, she was a Senior Research Assistant at Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Texas, Houston. She has coauthored numerous publications on a wide variety of health care topics. She has an M.S. in Epidemiology from the University of Texas School of Public Health and an A.B. in Biology from the University of Chicago.
HUSSEIN Z. NOORANI, M.S. Mr. Noorani is a Senior Scientist with TEC, who joined the program in May 2010. He received a bachelor's degree in neurosciences/medical humanities and a master's degree in medical science specializing in bioethics from the University of Toronto (Canada). Prior to coming to TEC he was with the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health for 14 years, where he contributed significantly to the selection and definition of health technology assessment (HTA) research topics and the corresponding outreach initiatives and knowledge transfer goals for research projects. Mr. Noorani has been a member of HTA International and the working group on ethical issues of the International Network of Agencies for HTA. He has been an invited lecturer at international agencies and has acted as a consultant to the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario and Mount Sinai Hospital in Canada. He has published in the American Journal of Human Genetics, International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care, and other journals.
MARGARET PIPER, Ph.D., M.P.H. Dr. Piper is Director, Genomics Resources with TEC; she has been with the program since 1994. While with TEC, Dr. Piper has authored over 25 TEC Assessments and co-authored 4 systematic reviews for AHRQ. Dr. Piper currently serves on the Evaluation of Genomic Applications in Practice and Prevention (EGAPP) Working Group, a five-year model project developed by the National Office of Public Health Genomics at the Centers for Disease Control. She has also been an advisor to other CDC efforts, to the National Academy of Clinical Biochemistry and has presented at recent Institute of Medicine, National Cancer Institute, and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality meetings on genetic testing. Dr. Piper has been an active volunteer educator in clinical laboratory medicine; in 2000, she was awarded a distinguished service award by the American Society of Clinical Pathologists Commission on Continuing Education. Dr. Piper obtained her B.S. in molecular biology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her Ph.D. in immunology at Duke University. Prior to joining TEC, Dr. Piper had 13 years of experience in clinical laboratory medicine. In 1995, she was awarded a Cancer Prevention Fellowship with the National Cancer Institute; during the fellowship she completed an M.P.H. in epidemiology at Emory University and conducted epidemiologic studies in the area of cancer prevention. She was subsequently employed by the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, and detailed to the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control at CDC in Atlanta, GA with a focus on cancer genetics and epidemiology.
THOMAS A. RATKO, Ph.D. Dr. Ratko is an Associate Director with TEC, who joined the program in November 2005. He received a B.S. degree in Microbiology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Doctorate in Pharmacology from the University of Illinois at Chicago Health Sciences Center. Prior to joining TEC, Dr. Ratko was employed by the University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC) for nearly 13 years, first as a Senior Research Associate and subsequently as a Manager in the UHC Technology Assessment Group. While at UHC, he authored more than 30 technology assessments, reports, and bulletins covering topics in transfusion medicine, diagnostic imaging, oncology, and cardiology. Before joining the UHC staff, Dr. Ratko was a Senior Scientist in the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases at the American Medical Association (AMA), where he contributed to the AMA compendium, Drug Evaluations and participated as an AMA representative to a number of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Health and Human Services committees. Prior to his joining the AMA staff, Dr. Ratko was a Senior Biologist at the IIT Research Institute in Chicago, where he participated in the conception and execution of National Cancer Institute-funded preclinical studies of a wide variety of candidate cancer chemoprevention compounds in several rodent adenocarcinoma model systems. He has published articles in JAMA, Transfusion, Archives of Internal Medicine, American Journal of Medicine, Cancer Research, Cancer Letters, Anticancer Research, JCOM, and other journals.
BARBARA MAUGER ROTHENBERG, Ph.D. Dr. Mauger Rothenberg is Associate Director, joining the program in September 2005. She received her PhD in Health Services Research and Health Policy from the University of Rochester, as well as Master's degrees from Stanford and Princeton Universities. She has published in the Annals of Thoracic Surgery, Medical Care, Radiology, Neuroradiology, JACR, and other journals. She was a coeditor and contributor to Assessing the Health Status of Older Adults (Springer Publishing Company, 1997). She worked most recently for the Research Group at Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. Prior to that position, she was Health Policy Director for Excellus BlueCross BlueShield in Rochester, NY and Director of Quality Assessment for the Rochester Health Commission. She was a research associate at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, working on technology assessment, cost-effectiveness analysis, and health status assessment. She has particular interests in diagnostic imaging, improving quality of care through the use of evidence-based medicine, and racial disparities in health care.
DAVID SAMSON, M.S. Mr. Samson is Director of Comparative Effectiveness Research at TEC; he has been with the program continuously since 1987. He has written over 100 TEC Assessments. He has published articles in the Annals of Internal Medicine, Cancer, the Journal of Clinical Oncology and Academic Radiology. He has given presentations at the National Cancer Institute and at meetings of the Society for Medical Decision Making and the International Society for Technology Assessment in Health Care. He is a manuscript reviewer for Medical Decision Making. He serves as a panelist for selected topics for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Medicare Evidence Development & and Coverage Advisory Committee. He is the key staff consultant on systematic review methods for projects conducted for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). He has participated in seven completed AHRQ projects since 1997 and was lead investigator on four. AHRQ topics included management of cancer, diagnostic imaging, wound healing and orthopedics. He serves as Associate Editor for comparative effectiveness reviews published by AHRQ. He attended Emory University on a fellowship for four years in the clinical psychology doctoral program. Research methods, biostatistics and medical decision-making are among his primary current interests. He is presently pursuing a doctorate in epidemiology at the University at Albany.
LISA SARSANY, M.A. Ms. Sarsany is Program Manager, Government Contracts. She joined TEC in June 2010. Most recently she was Sr. Project Manager with UniCare, a WellPoint company, where she worked in HealthCare Management. Prior to that, she worked as a manager for Advocate Health Care. Ms. Sarsany's bachelor's and master's degrees are from the University of Illinois, and she completed Ph.D. coursework at the University of Chicago.
VIKRANT VATS, Ph.D. Dr. Vats is a scientist with TEC, who joined the program in August 2010. He received his Ph.D. and Masters in Pharmacology from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, India. He is currently pursuing a Masters in clinical research at the School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). He has also completed a 2 year post-doctoral fellowship training at the Center of Pharmacoeconomic Research at the College of Pharmacy, UIC, and 1 year post-doctoral training at Walgreen Health Initiatives in Deerfield, IL. Prior to joining TEC, Dr Vats was teaching at College of Pharmacy, Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, California. He has published in various national and international scientific journals in the area of herbal drug discovery, health delivery and services research with a focus on adherence to medications and anticoagulation/thrombosis. His research interests include health care service research, large database analysis and evidence-based medicine.
KATHLEEN M. ZIEGLER, Pharm.D. Dr. Ziegler is Director, Clinical Science Services with TEC; she has been with the program since 1993. She received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy. Subsequently, she worked as a Drug Information Analyst on the staff of AHFS Drug Information, where she researched, wrote, and edited evaluative drug monographs. She has co-authored AHRQ evidence reviews and published manuscripts along with other TEC staff in Chest, JACR, and the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
