CATALYST Clinical Scholars Program overview
The goal of this program is to prepare, develop, and mentor clinician researchers to engage in robust health services and implementation science research. Clinical Scholars will receive the necessary support to begin to develop a research program during their training and mentorship years with the goal of becoming productive independent researchers at program completion.
- The CCSP will accept four to six clinicians as part of a two-year clinical scholar training program.
- Some of the available spots are funded by ACCELERATE OSU, a T32 postdoctoral training grant funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
- Participants will receive close mentoring from experienced Health Services and Implementation Science faculty researchers.
- The program offers a core curriculum for clinical scholars that results in the development of a research grant at the conclusion of the CCSP.
- Weekly sessions will guide the development of scholars’ research and leadership skills.
- The program offers multiple training tracks, including options to pursue a master's degree.
To apply for the program, potential candidates should (1) complete the application through the link below; (2) submit a CV; and (3) submit a letter describing their career goals, their specific research goals, and their proposed mentorship plan outline. The proposed mentorship plan outline may involve naming specific individuals who are willing to serve as content, methodological, or career mentors, or it may be an outline listing specific areas in which the applicant will need support in identifying mentors. CVs and letters should be emailed to lauren.teuschler@osumc.edu.
Apply to the program for 2025-2026
Our leadership
Jim Burke, MD, MS
Co-Director of Neurology Health Services Research, Professor of Neurology, Endowed Professor of Health Services Research
Dr. Jim Burke, MD, MS, is the Co-Director of the Division of Health Services Research in the Department of Neurology and Professor of Neurology with tenure. Dr. Burke trained in neurology and vascular neurology at the University of Michigan, completed health services research training through the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program, and served on the faculty of the University of Michigan before joining The Ohio State University to co-direct the HSR Neurology Division and the CCSP.
Dr. Burke has been continuously fully funded by the National Institutes of Health, has published over 200 publications in peer reviewed journals, has worked as a fellow at the National Academy of Medicine, and has been recognized for research accomplishments by the American Academy of Neurology. His research has focused on a variety of health services research topics including individualizing treatment decisions, optimizing systems of care for neurologic conditions, understanding racial disparities in stroke outcomes, understanding how end-of-life preferences influence care, and exploring how patient preferences affect health outcomes. Dr. Burke has methodological expertise in a variety of quantitative analyses and with simulation analyses.
Dan Jonas, MD, MPH
Director of the Division of General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, Director of the Primary Care Research Fellowship, Professor of Medicine with tenure, Endowed Professor of Health Services Research
Dr. Jonas is a primary care physician, health services researcher, and Director of the Division of General Internal Medicine. Dr. Jonas’ primary research interests and areas of expertise include preventive services delivered in primary care, unhealthy alcohol use, implementation, critical appraisal and synthesis of health literature, and training health services researchers. Dr. Jonas has led multiple clinical trials and numerous projects critically evaluating the scientific evidence on health care and health policy topics for groups making national recommendations, such as the Effective Healthcare Program of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). He has over 100 publications, including in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Annals of Internal Medicine, JAMA Internal Medicine, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Journal of General Internal Medicine, Systematic Reviews, Medical Care, and Medical Decision Making. Dr. Jonas has served as Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator on grants or contracts from AHRQ, the National Institutes of Health, and the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI).
Prior to joining The Ohio State University in December 2020, Dr. Jonas was at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for over 15 years where he worked as the Section Chief for Research in the Division of General Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology and as the Deputy Director for Research, Director of the Program on Medical Practice and Prevention, and Director of the Primary Care Research Fellowship at the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research. He has served as co-Director of the RTI-UNC Evidence-based Practice Center since 2012. Dr. Jonas received his MD from Ohio State and his MPH from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Ann Scheck McAlearney, ScD, MS
Executive Director of CATALYST, Associate Dean for Health Services Research, and Distinguished Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine in Ohio State's College of Medicine
Dr. McAlearney is the Executive Director of CATALYST, Associate Dean for Health Services Research, and Distinguished Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine in Ohio State's College of Medicine. She also holds appointments as a professor of health services management and policy in the College of Public Health and is a professor of biomedical informatics and pediatrics in the College of Medicine at The Ohio State University. She has over 30 years of health services research experience and has been actively involved in both performing research and disseminating research results to academic and practitioner audiences.
Dr. McAlearney enjoys collaborative research projects and engaging clinicians in health service research as well as mentoring junior faculty in their research endeavors. She is internationally known for her expertise in both qualitative and mixed methods analyses, and she has been continuously funded for over 20 years. Dr. McAlearney has authored over 300 peer-reviewed publications, 11 books/edited books, and more than 100 book chapters. Dr. McAlearney has served as a grant reviewer for 18 years including for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the National Institutes of Health, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, and the National Science Foundation. In addition to co-leading the Center to STOP COVID at Ohio State (U54), Dr. McAlearney leads an R01 focused on applying management practices to prevent transmission of healthcare-associated infections, and she co-leads the “Better Birth Outcomes Through Technology, Education and Reporting (BETTER)” project funded by the American Heart Association as part of their newly established Health Equity Research Network. Her ongoing research focuses on addressing care disparities, information technology innovations in health care, population health management, quality improvement, and organizational development. Dr. McAlearney received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Stanford University and Harvard University’s T. H. Chan School of Public Health.
2024-2025 cohort
Dr. James P. Crick Jr. is a clinician scientist with broad health services research interests that include understanding variations in health care service delivery, enhancing health outcomes through quality improvement, and optimizing peri-hospital care for older adults, including hospital care and post-discharge transitional care. Dr. Crick received his PhD from The Ohio State University in 2024 and his Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree from Bellarmine University in 2015.
Dr. Jill Davis is a postdoctoral scholar in CATALYST. Her research interests include implementation science, public policy and management, and the intersection of public health and public safety with a focus on structural inequalities. She is currently working on the HEALing Communities Study, which aims to reduce opioid overdose deaths and increase recovery treatment in four states, including Ohio. Her work centers on stigma, health equity, and policy related to community implementation outcomes. She is also working on projects aimed to reduce racial disparities among infants and women born into poverty in Ohio. Dr. Davis recently completed her PhD in Public Affairs from the John Glenn College of Public Affairs at The Ohio State University, and she holds a master’s degree in Gender and Social Policy from The London School of Economics and Political Science.
Dr. Joshua Gordon is a pulmonary and critical care physician in the Department of Internal Medicine. His research focus is on understanding and improving patient function and quality of life after critical illness, limiting the effect that post-ICU (intensive care unit) disability has on patients. To do this, he studies how muscle health and physical function changes with critical illness and during recovery. He received his MD from the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix. He completed his Residency, Chief Residency, and Fellowship at The Ohio State University.
Dr. Hailat is a postdoctoral scholar in the Division of Health Services Research in the Department of Neurology. He is working on health services research projects related to both inpatient and outpatient neurological care.
Dr. Hailat completed his PhD training in Health Services Research and Epidemiology at Michigan State University. His dissertation, which focused on stroke outcomes, was funded by a predoctoral fellowship from the American Heart Association. He also received an MPH in Epidemiology and training in Humanitarian Emergencies from the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. Previously, he earned his MD degree from Jordan University of Science and Technology, where he completed his general practitioner clinical training.
Dr. Hailat has expertise with data linkage, health outcomes research, prediction modelling, and comparative effectiveness studies. He is also skilled in analyzing large administrative and registry-based datasets. His research interests include clinical epidemiology, health services research, and geographic variation in stroke risk and access to specialized neurological care.
Dr. Hu is a postdoctoral scholar in CATALYST. She is engaged in the fields of health communication and implicit racial bias. Her primary research interests involve studying negative cognitive biases and emotion regulation strategies in individuals experiencing symptoms of depression or generalized anxiety disorder, including their influence on how an individual’s digital environment is shaped by self-selection, and analyzing the associated mental health outcomes. Dr. Hu received her master’s degree in Communication from Indiana University, Bloomington, and her PhD in Communication from The Ohio State University.
Dr. Kim is a postdoctoral scholar in CATALYST. Her research is dedicated to enhancing the quality of care for infants and children. Her doctoral work focused on nurse workload and the quality of nursing care for infants experiencing substance withdrawal in neonatal intensive care units. Currently, Dr. Kim is engaged in health services research projects concerning maternal and infant health. She earned her PhD from the College of Nursing at The Ohio State University and holds both a master’s and a bachelor’s degree in Nursing Science from Ewha Womans University in South Korea. Before pursuing her doctorate, she gained extensive experience as a pediatric nurse at Asan Medical Center in South Korea.
Dr. Alexandra Wichmann is a physician who works to alleviate suffering. She is currently a second year Pulmonary and Critical Care fellow at The Ohio State University, where she previously completed a fellowship in Palliative Medicine. She completed medical school and Internal Medicine Residency in Lubbock, Texas. Most of her adult life was spent in Texas (where she learned a love of queso), and she spent her childhood in the southwest suburbs of Chicago (where she learned a love of pizza). Her research interests include the pathophysiology of symptoms like pain and dyspnea and exploring the friction between the increasingly fantastic capabilities of medicine and a person’s willingness (or unwillingness) to accept compromised quality of life in exchange for prolonging life. She is a member of CHEST’s Women in Chest Medicine Steering Committee and volunteers for the CHEST Palliative and End-of-Life Network Section. Her hobbies include cooking, reading, knitting, and hiking.
Past cohorts
Dr. Agne is an associate professor of Internal Medicine in the Division of Palliative Medicine. Dr. Agne’s research focuses on outpatient palliative care delivery during cancer care. She is the co-director of the Thoracic Onco-Palliative Clinic at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute.
Dr. Bauder is a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health. Her research interests include interdisciplinary and integrated approaches to suicide research and prevention with a focus on women firearm owners and those with oppressed gender and sexual identities. She is a licensed professional clinical counselor and provides suicide and trauma-focused evidence-based psychotherapy with the Suicide and Trauma Reduction Initiative (STRIVE).
Dr. Davenport is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery. Her research focuses on parental self-efficacy in parents and caregivers of children who are deaf/hard-of-hearing, parent-child interaction, and language development. She is currently funded through PCORI to build the capacity of families of deaf/hard-of-hearing children to engage in the research process.
Dr. Hawthorn is a postdoctoral scholar whose work focuses on improving preventive service delivery through a better understanding of how health system organization and processes affect the provision of preventive care during individual clinical encounters. She is interested in applying qualitative inquiry and mixed methods research designs to explore ways to improve the experience of preventive service delivery for patients and clinicians across community and health care settings. Dr. Hawthorn received her MD and PhD in health services research from Case Western Research University School of Medicine. She did her preventive medicine training at University Hospitals and Case Western Reserve University through the Department of Family Medicine.
Dr. Husain is a medical oncologist in the Department of Internal Medicine's Division of Medical Oncology. Her research focuses on quality-of-life metrics and assessment tools in the sarcoma population. She received her MD from The Ohio State University College of Medicine and her MPH from Wright State University College of Medicine. She is also the president of the national non-profit Islamic Medical Association of North America (IMANA).
Dr. Lee is a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Urology. He completed a fellowship in endourology (endoscopic urology), and his clinical interests are in benign prostatic hyperplasia and nephrolithiasis. He is interested in using large datasets to understand prevalence of disease and studying surgical practice patterns, i.e., health care utilization. He is also interested in studying patient-centered outcomes after endourologic surgery. He is currently pursuing a Masters in Public Health with a focus in clinical translational research.
Dr. Adesanya is an instructor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at The Ohio State University. He is excited to focus on the confluence of society, medicine, and science as a primary care physician-scientist. He has clinical interests in cardiovascular health, and his research aims include studying biological mechanisms to prevent cardiovascular disease and reduce associated disparities.
Dr. Gordon is an Internal Medicine-Pediatrics physician with an interest in studying and reducing disparities in women’s health. Her primary research focuses are in postpartum transition to primary care and improving follow up of gestational diabetes. She is currently pursuing her Master of Public Health degree.
Dr. Were is an Academic General Pediatric Fellow at Nationwide Childrens Hospital. She has an interest in immigrant health and access to health care with the goal of creating a more equitable health system and is currently pursuing a Master of Public Health.