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Featured Research Highlights

Saint Louis University's Department of Health and Clinical Outcomes Research (HCOR) is at the forefront of health services and data science.

Our faculty leads pioneering research in diverse health fields, contributing significantly to medical knowledge. Our graduate programs empower students with advanced skills and innovative methods to tackle pressing health issues, preparing them for impactful careers. Explore our department to learn more about our cutting-edge research and exceptional community. 

Faculty and Staff

At Saint Louis University School of Medicine, the Department of Health and Clinical Outcomes Research (HCOR) is home to a diverse group of faculty members who are leaders in their fields. Their research spans critical areas such as health services, health equity, palliative care, oncology, vaccine hesitancy and health data science. These experts are dedicated to advancing medical knowledge and improving healthcare delivery through rigorous research, interdisciplinary collaboration, and innovative methodologies. Their work is widely recognized, published in top-tier journals, and presented at major conferences, significantly contributing to better health outcomes and policy advancements.  

Recent Publications

Zhang Z, Lovell A, Subramaniam DS, Hinyard L. The Impact of Palliative Care Consultation on Aggressive Medical Interventions in End-of-life Among Patients with Metastatic Breast Cancer: Insights from the U.S. National Patient Sample. Journal of Palliative Care. 2024; 0(0). doi: 10.1177/08258597241253933 
 
Subramaniam DS, Zhang Z, Timmer Z, DeMarco EC, Poirier MP, Hinyard LJ. Palliative Care and Mental Health among Pancreatic Cancer Patients in the United States: An Examination of Service Utilization and Health Outcomes. Healthcare. 2024; 12(8):842. doi: 10.3390/healthcare12080842  
 
Puetz, John, Krithika Narayana Kumanan, and Zidong Zhang. "Is Confirmatory Testing Still Necessary to Diagnose Von Willebrand Disease?." Blood Vessels, Thrombosis & Hemostasis, 2024; 1(1). doi:100002. 10.1016/j.bvth.2024.100002
 
Katherine R. Atcheson, MPH, CHES; Kristin Metcalf-Wilson, DNP, WHNP-BC; Carissa Ruf, MPH, CHES; Dipti P. Subramaniam, PhD, MPH; Shelby Webb, MPH; and Jacki Witt, JD, MSN, WHNP-BC, FAAN P Welcome to the Clinician Cafe – A unique learning model. Women's Healthcare, 2022; 10(6):40-43. doi: 10.51256/WHC122240 
 
Ragsdale, A. S., N. Al-Hammadi, S. Bass and N. R. Chavan. "Racial and Ethnic Disparities Among Pregnancies with Substance Use Disorder: Impact on Perinatal Outcomes." Journal of Women's Health, 2024. doi: 10.1089/jwh.2023.0619 

Ph.D. Students

Ph.D. students at HCOR are emerging leaders in the health outcomes and health data science field. Their diverse dissertation and research projects tackle pressing issues such as COVID-19 spatial analysis, Parkinson’s Disease and aging, cancer disparities and the application of machine learning in healthcare. By learning and employing advanced research methods and innovative approaches, these students are growing academically and professionally.  

Recent Publications

Meiklejohn, A., Subramaniam, D., Teni, M., Kalinowski M., (2024, April). The development and utilization of content validity index (CVI) for the vaccine hesitancy and perception scale towards COVID-19 vaccine (VHPSC-19). Oral presentation at the annual Health Care Systems Research Network in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.   
  
Meiklejohn, A., Subramaniam, D., Teni, M., Kalinowski M., (2023, November). The development and utilization of content validity index (CVI) for the vaccine hesitancy and perception scale towards COVID-19 vaccine (VHPSC-19). Poster session presented at the annual American Public Health Association in Atlanta, Georgia.   
  
Meiklejohn, A. (2023, May) The development and utilization of content validity index (CVI) for the vaccine hesitancy scale towards COVID-19 vaccine (VHSC-19). Poster session presented at the annual Graduate Research Symposium at Saint Louis University.   
 
Subramaniam DS, Zhang Z, Timmer Z, DeMarco EC, Poirier MP, Hinyard LJ. Palliative Care and Mental Health among Pancreatic Cancer Patients in the United States: An Examination of Service Utilization and Health Outcomes. Healthcare. 2024; 12(8):842. doi: 10.3390/healthcare12080842 
 
Ananya Ravi, Elisabeth C. DeMarco, Sarah Gebauer, Leslie Hinyard. “Prevalence and Predictors of Depression in Women with Osteoarthritis: Cross-Sectional Analysis of Nationally Representative Survey Data.” Healthcare. 2024; 12(5):502. doi: 10.3390/healthcare12050502 
 
DeMarco, E.C., Longhurst, J., & Hinyard, L. “Exploring relationships between state and trait anxiety and depression in patients with Parkinson’s disease and controls: a cross-sectional analysis.” Ageing Neur Dis 2024; 4:2. doi: 10.20517/and.2023.33 
 
Al-Hakeem, H., Zhang, Z., DeMarco, E. C., Bitter, C. C., & Hinyard, L. (2024). Emergency department visits in Parkinson's disease: The impact of comorbid conditions. The American Journal of Emergency Medicine. 2023; 75, 7-13. doi: 10.1016/j.ajem.2023.10.017 

Master's Students

The Master of Science in Health Data Science program at Saint Louis University focuses on equipping students with the expertise to conduct impactful health data science-related research. The program emphasizes advanced skills in data analysis, statistical modeling, and machine learning within healthcare contexts. Students engage in cutting-edge research projects that address critical health challenges. 

Capstone Projects

  • Eye Vessel Prediction
  • Prediction of the Length of Stay in the U.S. Stroke Patients 
  • Bloom LLM for Question Answering
  • The Prediction of Type 2 Diabetes and Analysis of Risk Factors
  • Implementation of Machine Learning on the Quoting of Manufacturing Jobs