Meet the NEC Team

Posted by randerson on January 18th, 2022 Posted in: Blog

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The NEC provides evidence-based evaluation frameworks, tools, and best practices to support evaluation and continuous improvement of NNLM programs and services, including PubMed and drug terminologies, data curation and visualization, and continuing education specializations. The nationally distributed NNLM program also makes subawards to member organizations across the country, who in turn create programs and services that will benefit from the NEC’s expertise in evaluation. The NEC carries out its mission through the work of four cores:

Administration Core

Includes: Kristi Holmes, PhD, director of Galter Library and professor of Preventive Medicine in the Division of Health and Biomedical Informatics; Matthew Carson, PhD, head of digital systems at Galter Library; Sara Gonzales, MS, MLIS, data librarian; Roger Anderson, director of marketing and communications at NUCATS; Galter Library developers Austin Sharp and Eric Newman; and Rebecca Flores, administrative assistant

Goals:

• Management of network-wide evaluation data
• Establishment of communication, process and engagement infrastructure
• Persona profiles to represent key NNLM audiences and stakeholders

Evaluation and Continuous Improvement Core

Includes: Keith Herzog, NUCATS administrative director and director of the Trial Innovation Network Liaison Team; Emily Traw, assistant director of Center for Education and Career Development at NUCATS; and Pearl Go, research data analyst

Goals:

• REDCap data capture
• Monthly Evaluation Working Group meetings for evaluation champions across the network
• Tableau dashboards to visualize evaluation outcomes and inform strategic decision-making
• Quantitative and qualitative data analysis and reporting

Community and Capacity Building Core

Includes Gregory Phillips II, PhD, assistant professor of Medical Social Sciences and Preventive Medicine in the Division of Epidemiology; Leah Neubauer, EdD, MA, associate professor of Preventive Medicine in the division of Public Health Practice; Amy Johnson, PhD, research assistant professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Adolescent Medicine; Rayna Brown, research project coordinator in the Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing; Erik Glenn, project manager in the Evaluation, Data Integration, and Technical Assistance (EDIT) Program; and Esrea Perez-Bill, data assistant in the EDIT Program)

Goals:

• Systems-informed empowerment evaluation
• Building Communities of Practice
• Evaluation capacity and general member surveys and key informant interviews
• Training and other workforce development

Dissemination and Impact Core

Includes Karen Gutzman, MSLS, MA, head of research assessment and communications; Annette Mendoza and Mao Soulakis, research assessment and communications librarians at Galter Library

Goals:

• NNLM Beacon repository, featuring open and FAIR infrastructure (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) for the national network
• Development of impact reports and a national data visualization challenge
• Training development and delivery

Other NEC Partners

• Yuan Luo, chief AI officer at the Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute
• Yiqing Zhao, postdoctoral associate and AI research fellow
• Aiswarya Baiju, research data analyst associate at the Northwestern Medical Enterprise Data Warehouse