AMETHIST@Penn

About AMETHIST@Penn

The NIH Implementing a Maternal Health and PRegnancy Outcomes Vision for Everyone (IMPROVE) initiative aims to reduce maternal mortality, improve pregnancy, perinatal and postpartum care, and to address the factors that have led to severe disparities in outcomes for marginalized groups.

The University of Pennsylvania (Penn) has created the Achieving Maternal Empowerment and Transforming Health through Implementation Science and Training (AMETHIST@Penn) Implementation Science Hub to support IMPROVE Maternal Health Research Centers of Excellence (CoEs) and other IMPROVE investigators and to coordinate with NIH Staff Scientists, Project Staff, and the Data Innovation and Coordinating Hub.

AMETHIST@Penn is co-directed by Dr. Meghan Lane Fall, MD, MSHP, and Dr. Rebecca Hamm, MD, MSCE. In Fall 2023, additional information for instructions to access AMETHIST@Penn resources will be posted to this site. 

The AMETHIST@Penn Hub is comprised of five Cores, each with two Co-Leads and 2-4 Core Investigators:

1. Administration, Leadership, and Evaluation Core
   • Leads: Rebecca Hamm, Meghan Lane-Fall
   • Core investigators: LauraEllen Ashcraft, Debora Grandison, Elizabeth Howell
   • Serves as the main point of contact between AMETHIST@Penn and CoEs
2. Community and Stakeholder Engagement Core
   • Leads: Elizabeth Howell, Sarita Sonalkar
   • Core investigators: Jaya Aysola, Karen Glanz, Katelin Hoskins
   • Includes an Engagement Enhancement Collaborative to advise and hold investigators accountable for incorporating stakeholder voice into their research
3. Design, Methods, and Analysis Core
   • Leads: Rebecca Hamm, LauraEllen Ashcraft
   • Core investigators: Shimrit Keddem, Kristin Linn
   • Includes a Consultant Panel with Methods, Engagement, and Clinical subpanels to meet the anticipated consultation and technical assistance needs of the CoEs
4. Policy, Dissemination, and Communication Core
   • Leads: Aasta Mehta, Sally Chan
   • Core investigators: Jessica Fishman, Debora Grandison, Courtney Schreiber, Karl Stark
   • Includes skills building in messaging and media training
5. Training and Capacity Building Core
   • Leads: Meghan Lane-Fall, Rebecca Clark
   • Core investigators: Amanda Bettencourt, Danielle Cullen
   • Features REACH, an innovative academic-community partner training program and a comprehensive mentored research experience for both new and established investigators

The larger AMETHIST@Penn family includes more than 50 investigators and staff members and multiple partnering centers at Penn:

AMETHIST@Penn family members (alphabetical by last name):

• Lindsay Admon, MD, MSc (Engagement Enhancement Collaborative and consultant, rural health)
• LauraEllen Ashcraft, PhD, MSW (co-investigator, Admin & Design cores)
• Jaya Aysola, MD, DTMH, MPH (co-investigator, Engagement core)
• Ellen Bass, PhD (consultant, systems engineering & human factors engineering)
• Amanda Bettencourt, PhD, APRN, CCRN-K, ACCNS-P (co-investigator, Training core)
• Mary Regina Boland, MA, MPhil, PhD (consultant, informatics)
• Christopher Bonafide, MD, MSCE (de-implementation)
• Man-pui Sally Chan, PhD (co-lead, Policy core)
• Rebecca Clark, PhD, MSN, RN, CNM, WHNP-BC (co-lead, Training core)
• Danielle Cullen, MD, MPH, MSHP (co-investigator, Training core)
• Anuja Dokras, PhD, MD (consultant, women's health innovation)
• Celeste Durnwald, MD (consultant, diabetes)
• Nwadiogo Ejiogu, MD, MA (Engagement Enhancement Collaborative, reproductive justice)
• Jessica Fishman, PhD (co-investigator, Policy core)
• Natalie Fixmer-Oraiz, PhD (Engagement Enhancement Collaborative and consultant, LGBTQIA+ health)
• Kristin Gerson, MD, PhD (consultant, preterm birth)
• Karen Glanz, PhD (co-investigator, Engagement core and consultant, behavioral science)
• Debora Grandison (co-investigator, Admin & Policy cores)
• Rebecca Hamm, MD, MSCE (MPI and co-lead, Design core)
• Heidi Harvie, MD, MBA, MSCE (consultant, implementation cost)
• Adi Hirshberg, MD (consultant, hypertension)
• Katelin Hoskins, PhD, MBE, CRNP (co-investigator, Engagement core)
• Elizabeth Howell, MD, MPP (co-investigator, Admin & Engagement cores)
• Abike James, MD, MPH (Engagement Enhancement Collaborative and consultant, BIPOC health)
• Sara Kornfield, PhD (consultant, mental health)
• Shimrit Keddem, PhD, MPH (co-investigator, Design core)
• John Kimberly, PhD (consultant, management science)
• Katy Backes Kozhimannil, PhD, MPA (Engagement Enhancement Collaborative and consultant, Indigenous health)
• Meghan Lane-Fall, MD, MSCE, FCCM (MPI and co-lead, Training core and consultant, qualitative comparative analysis)
• Insup Lee, PhD (consultant, biomedical engineering)
• Kirstin Leitner, MD (consultant, postpartum care)
• Mary Leonard, BA (graphic design)
• Lisa Levine, MD, MSCE (consultant, labor and delivery)
• Jennifer Lewey, MD, MPH (consultant, cardiovascular disease)
• Kristin Linn, PhD (co-investigator, Design core)
• Meghan Lockman, MS, MBA (Managing Director, PISCE@LDI)
• Aasta Mehta, MD, MPP (co-lead, Policy core)
• Florence Momplaisir, MD, MSHP (consultant, HIV/AIDS)
• Jennifer Myers, MD (consultant, quality improvement and patient safety)
• Ingrid Nembhard, PhD (consultant, organizational behavior & teamwork)
• Katharine Rendle, PhD, MPH (consultant, global health and cancer implementation)
• Roy Rosin, MBA (consultant, healthcare innovation)
• Courtney Schreiber, MD, MPH (co-investigator, Policy core)
• Lindsey Shea, DrPH, MS (Engagement Enhancement Collaborative and consultant, disability health)
• Sara Solomon, MPH, RD (Engagement Enhancement Collaborative and co-lead of REACH program)
• Sarita Sonalkar, MD, MPH (co-lead, Engagement core)
• Karl Stark (co-investigator, Policy core)
• Alisa Stephens-Shields, PhD (co-lead, Design Core)
• Robin Stevens, PhD, MPH (Engagement Enhancement Collaborative and consultant, BIPOC youth)
• Nicole Thomas, MBA, CDP (Engagement Enhancement Collaborative and co-lead of REACH program)

Partnering / affiliated organizations at Penn:

• Center for Evidence-based Practice (CEP)

• Center For AIDS Research (CFAR)

• Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics (CHIBE)

• Center for Perioperative Outcomes Research and Transformation (CPORT)

• Center for Research in Reproductive and Women’s Health (CRRWH)

• FOCUS on Health and Leadership for Women (FOCUS)

• Institute for Biomedical Informatics (IBI)

• Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics (LDI)

• Maternity Care Coalition (MCC)

• Mixed Methods Research Laboratory (MMRL)

• Penn Office of Government and Community Affairs (OGA)

• Penn Implementation Science Center at LDI (PISCE@LDI)

• Research & Equity in Academic Community Partnerships for Health (REACH)

• Summer Undergraduate Minority Research Program (SUMR)

• Urban Health Lab (UHL)