Center for
Global Health

Associate Scholar

Languages: English (native), Arabic (limited)

Bio statement

Rinad S. Beidas, PhD, is Chair and Ralph Seal Paffenbarger Professor of Medical Social Sciences at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University. Previously, Dr. Beidas served as founding Director of the University of Pennsylvania Implementation Science Center at the Leonard Davis Institute (PISCE@LDI) from 2017-2022. Dr. Beidas’s research leverages insights from implementation science and behavioral economics to make it easier for clinicians, leaders, and organizations to use best practices to improve the quality and equity of care and enhance health outcomes. She works across areas including mental health, firearm safety promotion, cancer, HIV, and cardiovascular disease and collaborates closely with key stakeholders, including patients, clinicians, health system leaders, payers, and policymakers. As an international leader in implementation science, Rinad has published over 250 peer-reviewed publications in journals such as JAMA, NEJM Catalyst, and Implementation Science. She has led two NIH centers on behavioral economics and implementation science (P50 MH 113840, P50 CA 244690) and has a strong record of NIH-funded implementation research serving as MPI or PI of 11 NIH grants totaling approximately 31 million dollars. She is an associate editor for Implementation Science, the flagship journal for the field. Dr. Beidas holds a bachelor of arts in psychology from Colgate University and a doctorate of philosophy in psychology from Temple University. She is the recipient of a number of awards, including the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies President’s New Researcher Award; the American Psychological Foundation Diane J. Willis Early Career Award; the Perelman School of Medicine Marjorie Bowman New Investigator Research Award; and the Acenda Institute  Research Pioneer Award.

Recent global health projects

I am currently involved in a U19 awarded to Dr. Maria Oquendo as a co-investigator; to build capacity for mental health services in Mozambique. I also have a pending R01 to conduct a trial in Mozambique for youth with substance abuse and depression. Previously, I collaborated with colleagues at Zambia to do mixed methods work around implementing an evidence-based intervention for youth with trauma.

Selected publications

Taylor, S., Short, R., Asher, A., Taylor, B., & Beidas, R.: A rapid pre-implementation evaluation to inform a family engagement navigator program during COVID19. Implementation Science Communications December 2020.

 Williams, N., Candon, M., Stewart, R., Byeon, Y., Bewtra, M., Buttenheim, A., Zentgraf, K., Comeau, C., Shoyinka, S., & Beidas, R.: Community stakeholder preferences for evidence-based practice implementation strategies in behavioral health: A best-worst scaling choice experiment. BMC Psychiatry. 21(1): 74, December 2020 Notes: DOI: 10.1186/s12888-021-03072-x. 

Tomczuk, L., Stewart, R. E., Beidas, R. S., Mandell, D. S., & Pellecchia, M. : Who gets coached? A qualitative inquiry into community clinicians' decisions to use caregiver coaching. Autism. December 2021. Notes: doi:10.1177/13623613211059499

Davis, M., & Beidas, R.S.: Refining contextual inquiry to maximize generalizability and accelerate the implementation process. Implementation Research and Practice. 2, March 2021 Notes: doi.org/10.1177/2633489521994941.

Rudd, B.N., & Beidas, R.S. : Reducing the scientific bench to judicial bench research-to-practice gap: Applications of implementation science to family law practice and research. Family Court Review. 59(4): 741-754, September 2021.

Last Updated: 19 September 2022