News Release

Eight Healthcare Community Representatives Named Chairs, Co-Chairs of PCORI Advisory Panels

Will lead panels helping to refine research funding plans, advance patient engagement efforts
Published: May 21, 2013

Washington, D.C. (May 21, 2013) – The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) today announced the names of the chairs and co-chairs of its first four multi-stakeholder advisory panels. The eight will lead their respective panels in advising PCORI on key research questions for possible funding and ensuring that the institute’s activities remain focused on the interests and needs of patients.

The chairs and co-chairs were selected by PCORI’s Board of Governors from among the members of the four panels based on nominations submitted by the panelists.

Each panel has 21 members representing different sectors across the healthcare community, including researchers, clinicians, patients, caregivers, insurers, employers, and industry. Three panels correspond to three of PCORI’s five National Priorities for Research: Assessment of Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment Options; Improving Healthcare Systems; and Addressing Disparities. These panels will help PCORI identify and prioritize research questions in their respective areas and provide ongoing feedback on evaluating and disseminating resulting research. The panel on Patient Engagement, meanwhile, is designed to advise PCORI on processes and methods to ensure the highest standards for, and a culture of, patient-centeredness in all aspects of its work.

The newly named chairs and co-chairs are:

Assessment of Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment Options

  • Chair: Alvin Mushlin, MD, ScM, Chairman, Department of Public Health, Weill Cornell Medical College; and Public Health Physician-in-Chief, New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York, N.Y.
  • Co-Chair: Margaret Clayton, RN, PhD, Associate Professor, College of Nursing, and Co-Director of the PhD Program, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah

Improving Healthcare Systems

  • Chair: Trent Haywood, MD, JD, Chief Medical Officer, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, Chicago, Ill.
  • Co-Chair: Doris Lotz, MD, MPH, Medicaid Medical Director, State of New Hampshire, Concord, N.H.

Addressing Disparities

  • Chair: Doriane C. Miller, MD, Director, Center for Community Health and Vitality, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, Ill.
  • Co-Chair: Grant Jones, Founder and Executive Director, Center for African American Health, Denver, Colo.

Patient Engagement

  • Chair: Charlotte W. Collins, JD, Vice President of Policy and Programs, Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, Elkridge, Md.
  • Co-Chair: Darius Tandon, PhD, Associate Professor, Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Md. 

Brief biographies of the chairs, co-chairs, and other panelists can be found on PCORI’s website, along with panel charters, information on how panelists were selected and, for the science panels, the lists of research topics each group decided PCORI should further evaluate for potential funding announcements.

Panel members are appointed for a one-year term and may be reappointed for a maximum of two terms. The panels are not policy-making bodies, but are critical to PCORI’s ongoing effort to ensure that stakeholder input helps to refine its research portfolio and other activities. PCORI plans to establish additional panels over time. Development of panels on Clinical Trials and Rare Diseases, each required by PCORI’s authorizing legislation, is under way.