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AHEAD Team

The AHEAD Institute faculty members within the Department of Health and Clinical Outcomes Research at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine lead the advancement of knowledge in critical areas such as health services research, health equity, palliative care, oncology, addiction medicine, vaccine hesitancy, study design, methodology and data science.

Through publications in high-impact journals and presentations at regional, national and international conferences, our faculty and staff consistently showcase their dedication to advancing health care research and disseminating impactful findings to a global audience. The combined methodological and statistical expertise of the AHEAD Institute's biostatistics core staff enables our collaborators to develop robust study designs and generate high-quality research that contributes to improved patient outcomes and health care delivery.

AHEAD Biostatistics Core Staff
 

Leadership

Leslie Hinyard, Ph.D. 
Chair, professor, Department of Health and Clinical Outcomes Research 
Executive director, AHEAD Institute  
leslie.hinyard@health.slu.edu 

Jeffrey Scherrer, Ph.D.  
Vice chair for research, professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine 
Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience 
Co-senior director of research, AHEAD Institute 
jeffrey.scherrer@health.slu.edu

Richard Grucza, Ph.D.  
Professor, family and community medicine, Department of Health and Clinical Outcomes Research 
Co-senior director for research, AHEAD Institute  
richard.grucza@health.slu.edu 

Linda Waller
Director of business strategy, AHEAD Institute, Department of Health and Clinical Outcomes Research 
linda.waller@health.slu.edu 

Joanne Salas
Director for applied research and analytics, AHEAD Institute 
joanne.salas@health.slu.edu 

Thomas Sessa 
Director of data oversight, AHEAD Institute 
thomas.sessa@slu.edu

Faculty and Staff

Paula M. Buchanan, Ph.D. 
Associate professor, Department of Health and Clinical Outcomes Research 
Director of academic affairs, Department of Health and Clinical Outcomes Research 
Director for consulting & training services, AHEAD Institute 
paula.buchanan@health.slu.edu

Divya S. Subramaniam, Ph.D.
Associate professor and program director, Department of Health and Clinical Outcomes Research 
divya.subramaniam@health.slu.edu  

Dipti P. Subramaniam Ph.D.
Associate professor, Department of Health and Clinical Outcomes Research 
Director of curriculum development and strategic outreach, Department of Health and Clinical Outcomes Research 
dipti.subramaniam@health.slu.edu 

Noor Al-Hammadi, Ph.D.
Assistant professor, Department of Health and Clinical Outcomes Research 
Director for prospective and clinical trial analytics, AHEAD Institute 
noor.alhammadi@health.slu.edu 

Paul Hitz
Director for data management and health informatics, AHEAD Institute
paul.hitz@health.slu.edu 

Sarah Gebauer, M.D.  
Associate professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine 
sarah.gebauer@health.slu.edu 

Matthew Breeden, M.D. 
Assistant professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine 
matthew.breeden@health.slu.edu 

Lizzie Ward 
Program coordinator, AHEAD Institute
lizzie.ward@health.slu.edu

Biostatistics Core Staff

Joanne Salas
Director for applied research and analytics, AHEAD Institute 
joanne.salas@health.slu.edu 

Thomas Sessa 
Director of data oversight, AHEAD Institute
thomas.sessa@slu.edu 

Roxann Kirkwood
Data management lead 
roxann.kirkwood@health.slu.edu

Irene Ryan 
Data manager 
irene.ryan@health.slu.edu 

Timothy Chrusciel
Biostatistician 
timothy.chrusciel@health.slu.edu 

Matthew Simpson
Data analyst 
matthew.simpson@health.slu.edu 

Zidong (Alex) Zhang, Ph.D. 
Biostatistician 
zidong.zhang@health.slu.edu 

Jason Doherty, Ph.D.
Biostatistician 
jason.doherty@health.slu.edu 

Ruizhi (Regina) Huang
Biostatistician 
ruizhi.huang@health.slu.edu