Biostatistics and Data Management Core

Biostatistics and Data Management Core

Core Personnel

Director: Knashawn H. Morales, ScD (knashawn@pennmedicine.upenn.edu)

Co-Director: Rui Feng, PhD (ruifeng@pennmedicine.upenn.edu)

Co-Investigator: Frances K. Barg, PhD (fran.barg@pennmedicine.upenn.edu)

Services

1. We provide the following services to PMHARC funded pilot projects at no cost:

• Collaborate on study design, data management, and data analysis, including qualitative research and mixed methods approaches.
• Study specific customization of REDCap database.
• Penn Electronic Health Record data extraction.

2. We provide the following services to investigators serving the mission of the PMHARC at no cost:

• Consultation for proposal development (e.g. R01, R21, R34)

3. Consultation on study design and statistical analysis:

Knashawn H. Morales, ScD is Associate Professor of Biostatistics in the Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and is also a Senior Scholar in the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (CCEB) at the University of Pennsylvania.  She served as Co-Director of the PMHARC Biostatistics and Data Management Core since its inception and Core Director since 2017.  Her methodological experience includes longitudinal data analysis, latent variable modeling, and categorical data analysis. Dr. Morales’ collaborative focus is in mental health, sleep, and behavioral modification interventions for asthma, HIV/STD risk reduction, and weight management.  

Rui Feng, PhD is Associate Professor of Biostatistics in the Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research focuses on statistical genetics and genomics, with methodological contributions in the analysis of microsatellite markers, SNPs, CNVs, haplotypes, sequencing data, and microbiomes. Dr. Feng has contributed to HIV research, including a longitudinal genomic study of HIV progression at Drexel University (2010–2013), and a randomized clinical trial of Peg-IFN-α2b treatment for HIV at The Wistar Institute (2013–2018).

4. Consultation on qualitative methods and mixed methods study designs:

Frances K. Barg, PhD is a medical anthropologist and Professor Emerita of Family Medicine and Community Health, a Senior Scholar in the CCEB, Professor in Anesthesia and Critical Care, a senior fellow in the Center for Public Health Initiatives at the Perelman School of Medicine and Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Arts and Sciences. She is a collaborator for mixed methods and qualitative research with interdisciplinary research teams across six schools at the University of Pennsylvania. She served as the Director for the Mixed Methods Research Lab in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, and was the Director of the Qualitative Research Unit for the Advanced Center for Interventions and Services Research at Penn.

5. Facilitate research projects involving the use of the PMHARC clinical data repository