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Research

The Department of Family Medicine is committed to producing high-quality scholarship that improves patient care, medical education, and health policy. Benefiting from the renowned academic environment of the University of Chicago, our Family Medicine researchers apply rigorous qualitative and quantitative methods to practical problems.

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Research Topics

Our current research projects have diverse funding sources, including National Institutes of Health, private foundations, and the University of Chicago's Urban Health Initiative.

We study topics relevant to Family Medicine practitioners, patients and students, including:

  • Community-based medical education
  • Reproductive health outcomes and disparities
  • Screening for diabetic retinopathy
  • Clinical ethics and narrative medicine
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Community Involvement

In addition to producing primary research, members of the Department of Family Medicine participate in systematic dissemination of new research from the medical literature into medical practice. We nominate and review papers as part of the PURLs surveillance system and write Help Desk Answers for Evidence-Based Practice, a publication of the Family Physician Inquiry Network.

Faculty, fellows and residents all participate in research activities, and we welcome students to get involved. Research takes place on both our south side Chicago campus, through Pritzker School of Medicine and the University of Chicago Medical Center, and at our north suburban sites through the NorthShore University HealthSystem.

Areas of Research

Religious hospitals and the doctor-patient relationship

Debra Stulberg, MD, MAPP

In collaboration with the University of Chicago's Program on Medicine & Religion, these studies survey and interview family physicians, general internists, and obstetrician-gynecologists to explore their experiences working at religiously-affiliated hospitals or practices. These are among the first empiric studies of physician ethical and professional conflicts around religious patient-care policies.
Funding: Greenwall Foundation.

 

Reproductive health outcomes and disparities

Debra Stulberg, MD, MAPP

Using hospital discharge and insurance data, this group of studies evaluates the association between race, socioeconomic status and health system factors on the incidence and outcomes of pregnancy complications. Special focus is on the effect of insurance status on processes and outcomes of care in ectopic pregnancy. Funding: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; Chicago Center of Excellence for Health Promotions Economics.

2022

Gorukanti AL, Kimminau KS, Tindle HA, Klein JD, Gorzkowski J, Kaseeska K, Ali R, Singh L, David SP, Halpern-Felsher B. Cross-sectional online survey of clinicians' knowledge, attitudes and challenges to screening and counselling adolescents and young adults for substance use. BMJ Open. 2022 Nov 22;12(11):e059019.

Jang SK, Evans L, Fialkowski A, Arnett DK, Ashley-Koch AE, Barnes KC, Becker DM, Bis JC, Blangero J, Bleecker ER, Boorgula MP, Bowden DW, Brody JA, Cade BE, Jenkins BWC, Carson AP, Chavan S, Cupples LA, Custer B, Damrauer SM, David SP, de Andrade M, Dinardo CL, Fingerlin TE, Fornage M, Freedman BI, Garrett ME, Gharib SA, Glahn DC, Haessler J, Heckbert SR, Hokanson JE, Hou L, Hwang SJ, Hyman MC, Judy R, Justice AE, Kaplan RC, Kardia SLR, Kelly S, Kim W, Kooperberg C, Levy D, Lloyd-Jones DM, Loos RJF, Manichaikul AW, Gladwin MT, Martin LW, Nouraie M, Melander O, Meyers DA, Montgomery CG, North KE, Oelsner EC, Palmer ND, Payton M, Peljto AL, Peyser PA, Preuss M, Psaty BM, Qiao D, Rader DJ, Rafaels N, Redline S, Reed RM, Reiner AP, Rich SS, Rotter JI, Schwartz DA, Shadyab AH, Silverman EK, Smith NL, Smith JG, Smith AV, Smith JA, Tang W, Taylor KD, Telen MJ, Vasan RS, Gordeuk VR, Wang Z, Wiggins KL, Yanek LR, Yang IV, Young KA, Young KL, Zhang Y, Liu DJ, Keller MC, Vrieze S. Rare genetic variants explain missing heritability in smoking. Nat Hum Behav. 2022 Nov;6(11):1577-1586.

Nguyen LH, Anyane-Yeboa A, Klaser K, Merino J, Drew DA, Ma W, Mehta RS, Kim DY, Warner ET, Joshi AD, Graham MS, Sudre CH, Thompson EJ, May A, Hu C, Jørgensen S, Selvachandran S, Berry SE, David SP, Martinez ME, Figueiredo JC, Murray AM, Sanders AR, Koenen KC, Wolf J, Ourselin S, Spector TD, Steves CJ, Chan AT. The mental health burden of racial and ethnic minorities during the COVID-19 pandemic. PLoS One. 2022;17(8):e0271661.

Saulsberry L, Singh L, Pruitt J, Ward C, Wake DT, Gibbons RD, Meltzer DO, O'Donnell PH, Cruz-Knight W, Hulick PJ, Dunnenberger HM, David SP. Effect Modification by Social Determinants of Pharmacogenetic Medication Interactions on 90-Day Hospital Readmissions within an Integrated U.S. Healthcare System. J Pers Med. 2022 Jul 15;12(7).

Menni C, Valdes AM, Polidori L, Antonelli M, Penamakuri S, Nogal A, Louca P, May A, Figueiredo JC, Hu C, Molteni E, Canas L, Österdahl MF, Modat M, Sudre CH, Fox B, Hammers A, Wolf J, Capdevila J, Chan AT, David SP, Steves CJ, Ourselin S, Spector TD. Symptom prevalence, duration, and risk of hospital admission in individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2 during periods of omicron and delta variant dominance: a prospective observational study from the ZOE COVID Study. Lancet. 2022 Apr 23;399(10335):1618-1624.

 

2021

Reiner AP, Raffield LM, Franceschini N, Auer PL,Lange EM, Nickerson DA, Zakai NA, Correa A, Olson N, David SP with the NHLBITrans-Omics for Precision Medicine Consortium. Effect of Sickle CellTrait and APOL1 Genotype on the Association of Soluble uPARwith Kidney Function Measures in Black Americans. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol.  2021 Feb 8;16(2):287-289. 16(2021):287-289.

Taliun D, Harris DN, Kessler MD, Carlson J,Szpiech ZA, Torres R, Taliun SAG, Corvelo A, Gogarten SM, Kang HM, Pitsillides AN, LeFaive J, Lee SB, Tian X, Browning BL, Das S, Emde AK, Clarke WE, LoeschDP, Shetty AC, Blackwell TW, Smith AV, Wong Q, Liu X, Conomos MP, Bobo DM, Aguet F, Albert C, Alonso A, Ardlie KG, Arking DE, Aslibekyan S, Auer PL, Barnard J, Barr RG, Barwick L, Becker LC, Beer RL, Benjamin EJ, Bielak LF, Blangero J, Boehnke M, Bowden DW, Brody JA, Burchard EG, Cade BE, Casella JF, Chalazan B, Chasman DI, Chen YI, Cho MH, Choi SH, Chung MK, Clish CB, Correa A, Curran JE,Custer B, Darbar D, Daya M, de Andrade M, DeMeo DL, Dutcher SK, Ellinor PT, EmeryLS, Eng C, Fatkin D, Fingerlin T, Forer L, Fornage M, Franceschini N, Fuchsberger C, Fullerton SM, Germer S, Gladwin MT, Gottlieb DJ, Guo X, Hall ME,He J, Heard-Costa NL, Heckbert SR, Irvin MR, Johnsen JM, Johnson AD, Kaplan R, Kardia SLR, Kelly T, Kelly S, Kenny EE, Kiel DP, Klemmer R, Konkle BA, Kooperberg C, Köttgen A, Lange LA, Lasky-Su J, Levy D, Lin X, Lin KH, Liu C, Loos RJF,Garman L, Gerszten R, Lubitz SA, Lunetta KL, Mak ACY, Manichaikul A, Manning AK, Mathias RA, McManus DD, McGarvey ST, Meigs JB, Meyers DA, Mikulla JL,Minear MA, Mitchell BD, Mohanty S, Montasser ME, Montgomery C, Morrison AC, Murabito JM, Natale A, Natarajan P, Nelson SC, North KE, O'Connell JR, Palmer ND, Pankratz N, Peloso GM, Peyser PA, Pleiness J, Post WS, Psaty BM, Rao DC,Redline S, Reiner AP, Roden D, Rotter JI, Ruczinski I, Sarnowski C, Schoenherr S, Schwartz DA, Seo JS, Seshadri S, Sheehan VA, Sheu WH, Shoemaker MB, SmithNL, Smith JA, Sotoodehnia N, Stilp AM, Tang W, Taylor KD, Telen M, Thornton TA,Tracy RP, Van Den Berg DJ, Vasan RS, Viaud-Martinez KA, Vrieze S, Weeks DE,Weir BS, Weiss ST, Weng LC, Willer CJ, Zhang Y, Zhao X, Arnett DK, Ashley-KochAE, Barnes KC, Boerwinkle E, Gabriel S, Gibbs R, Rice KM, Rich SS, SilvermanEK, Qasba P, Gan W, David SP with the NHLBI Trans-Omics for PrecisionMedicine (TOPMed) Consortium, Papanicolaou GJ, Nickerson DA, Browning SR, Zody MC, Zöllner S, Wilson JG, Cupples LA, Laurie CC, Jaquish CE, Hernandez RD,O'Connor TD, Abecasis GR. Sequencing of 53,831 diverse genomes from the NHLBITOPMed Program. Nature. 2021 Feb;590(7845):290-299. 

Ikagami S, BenirschkeR, Fakhrai-Rad H, Motamedi MH, Hockett R, David S, Lee HK, Kang J,Gniadek TJ. Target specific serology analysis of COVID-19 convalescent plasma. PLoS One. 2021 Apr 28;16(4):e0249938. 

McGuire D, JiangY, Liu M, Weissenkampen JD, Eckert S, Yang L, Chen F, Berg A, Vrieze S, JiangB, Li Q, Liu DJ, David SP as part of the GSCAN Consortium. Model-based assessment ofreplicability for genome-wide association meta-analysis. Nat Commun. 2021 Mar 30;12(1):1964. 12(2021):1964. 

Natarajan P, Pampana A, Graham SE, RuotsalainenSE, Perry JA, de Vries PS, Broome JG, Pirruccello JP, Honigberg MC, Aragam K,Wolford B, Brody JA, Antonacci-Fulton L, Arden M, Aslibekyan S, Assimes TL,Ballantyne CM, Bielak LF, Bis JC, Cade BE, Do R, Doddapaneni H, Emery LS, HungYJ, Irvin MR, Khan AT, Lange L, Lee J, Lemaitre RN, Martin LW, Metcalf G,Montasser ME, Moon JY, Muzny D, O'Connell JR, Palmer ND, Peralta JM, Peyser PA,Stilp AM, Tsai M, Wang FF, Weeks DE, Yanek LR, Wilson JG, Abecasis G, Arnett DK,Becker LC, Blangero J, Boerwinkle E, Bowden DW, Chang YC, Chen YI, Choi WJ,Correa A, Curran JE, Daly MJ, Dutcher SK, Ellinor PT, Fornage M, Freedman BI, Gabriel S, Germer S, Gibbs RA, He J, Hveem K, Jarvik GP, Kaplan RC, Kardia SLR,Kenny E, Kim RW, Kooperberg C, Laurie CC, Lee S, Lloyd-Jones DM, Loos RJF,Lubitz SA, Mathias RA, Martinez KAV, McGarvey ST, Mitchell BD, Nickerson DA,North KE, Palotie A, Park CJ, Psaty BM, Rao DC, Redline S, Reiner AP, Seo D,Seo JS, Smith AV, Tracy RP, Vasan RS, Kathiresan S, Cupples LA, Rotter JI,Morrison AC, Rich SS, Ripatti S, Willer C, Peloso GM, David SP with the NHLBITrans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) Consortium. Chromosome Xq23 isassociated with lower atherogenic lipid concentrations and favorable cardiometabolicindices. Nat Commun. 2021 Apr 12;12(1):2182. 

Kasela S, OrtegaVE, Martorella M, Garudadri S, Nguyen J, Ampleford E, Pasanen A, Nerella S,Buschur KL, Barjaktarevic IZ, Barr RG, Bleecker ER, Bowler RP, Comellas AP,Cooper CB, Couper DJ, Criner GJ, Curtis JL, Han MK, Hansel NN, Hoffman EA,Kaner RJ, Krishnan JA, Martinez FJ, McDonald MN, Meyers DA, Paine R 3rd, PetersSP, Castro M, Denlinger LC, Erzurum SC, Fahy JV, Israel E, Jarjour NN, Levy BD,Li X, Moore WC, Wenzel SE, Zein J, Langelier C, Woodruff PG, Lappalainen T, Christenson SA, David SP with the NHLBI Trans-Omicsfor Precision Medicine (TOPMed) Consortium. Genetic and non-genetic factors affecting the expression ofCOVID-19-relevant genes in the large airway. Genome Med. 2021 Apr 21;13(1):66. 13(2021):66.

Sofer T, Zheng X, Laurie CA, Gogarten SM, BrodyJA, Conomos MP, Bis JC, Thornton TA, Szpiro A, O'Connell JR, Lange EM, Gao Y, Cupples LA, Psaty BM, Rice KM, David SP with the NHLBI Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) Consortium. Variant-specific inflation factors forassessing population stratification at the phenotypic variance level. NatCommun. 2021 Jun 9;12(1)3506.

Keramati AR, Chen MH, Rodriguez BAT, Yanek LR,Bhan A, Gaynor BJ, Ryan K, Brody JA, Zhong X, Wei Q, Kammers K, Kanchan K, IyerK, Kowalski MH, Pitsillides AN, Cupples LA, Li B, Schlaeger TM, Shuldiner AR,O'Connell JR, Ruczinski I, Mitchell BD, Faraday N, Taub MA, Becker LC, LewisJP, Mathias RA, Johnson AD, David SP with the NHLBI Trans-Omics for PrecisionMedicine (TOPMed) Consortium. Genome sequencing unveils a regulatorylandscape of platelet reactivity. NatCommun. 2021 Jun 15;12(1):3626. 12(2021):3626. 

David SP, Dunnenberger HM, Ali R,Matsil A, Lemke, AA, Singh L, Zimmer A, Hulick PJ. Implementing Primary CareMediated Population Genetic Screening within an Integrated Health System. JAm Board Fam Med. Jul-Aug 2021;34(4):861-865. 

Cade BE, Lee J, Sofer T, Wang H, Zhang M, Chen H, Gharib SA,Gottlieb DJ, Guo X, Lane JM, Liang J, Lin X, Mei H, Patel SR, Purcell SM,Saxena R, Shah NA, Evans DS, Hanis CL, Hillman DR, Mukherjee S, Palmer LJ,Stone KL, Tranah GJ, Abecasis GR, Boerwinkle EA, Correa A, Cupples LA, KaplanRC, Nickerson DA, North KE, Psaty BM, Rotter JI, Rich SS, Tracy RP, Vasan RS,Wilson JG, Zhu X, Redline S, David SP with the NHLBI Trans-Omics for PrecisionMedicine (TOPMed) Consortium. Whole genome association analysesof sleep-disordered breathing phenotypes in the NHLBI TOPMed program. Genome Med. 2021 Aug 26;13(1):136. 

2020

Bello, J.K., Chavez, J., Liederbauer, V. et al. Perceptions of a Spanish language Reproductive Health Self-assessment Tool Among Spanish-Speaking Women at a Federally Qualified Health Center. J Immigrant Minority Health (2020).https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-020-00988-6

Hasselbacher, L.A., Hebert, L.E., Liu, Y. and Stulberg, D.B. (2020), “My Hands Are Tied”: Abortion Restrictions and Providers’ Experiences in Religious and Nonreligious Health Care Systems. Perspect Sex Repro H. doi:10.1363/psrh.12148

Jocelyn M. Wascher, Debra B. Stulberg & Lori R. Freedman (2020): Restrictions on Reproductive Care at Catholic Hospitals: A Qualitative Study of Patient Experiences and Perspectives, AJOB Empirical Bioethics, DOI: 10.1080/23294515.2020.1817173 

B. Song, E. White VanGompel, C. Wang, S. Guzman, F. Carlock, K. Schueler, D.Stulberg, Effects of Clinic-level Implementation of One Key Question® on Reproductive Health Counseling andPatient Satisfaction, Contraception (2020), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.contraception.2020.10.018.

Wingo, E.E., Wascher, J.M., Stulberg, D.B. and Freedman, L.R. (2020), Anticipatory Counseling About Miscarriage Management in Catholic Hospitals: A Qualitative Exploration of Women's Preferences. Perspect Sex Repro H, 52: 171-179. https://doi.org/10.1363/psrh.12157

Oshman L, Caplan A, Ali R, Singh L, Khalid R, Jameel M, David SP. Whom Should We Test for COVID-19? Performance of a Symptom and Risk Factor Questionnaire on COVID-19 Test Results and Patient Outcomes in an Immediate Care Setting. J Prim Care Community Health. 2020 Jan-Dec;11:2150132720981297. PMID: 33300408

Luvsantseren S, Whirl-Carrillo M, Sangkuhl K, Shin N, Wen A, Empey P, Alam B, David S, Dunnenberger HM, Orlando L, Altman R, Palaniappan L. Variant Interpretation in Current Pharmacogenetic Testing. J Pers Med. 2020 Oct 31;10(4):204. doi: 10.3390/jpm10040204. PMID: 33142667 Free PMC article.

Rosas LG, Nasrallah C, Park VT, Vasquez JJ, Duron Y, Garrick O, Hattin R, Cho M, David SP, Evans J, McClinton-Brown R, Martin C. Perspectives on Precision Health Among Racial/Ethnic Minority Communities and the Physicians That Serve Them. Ethn Dis. 2020 Apr 2;30(Suppl 1):137-148. PMID: 32269455 Free PMC article.

Eng VA, David SP, Li S, Ally MS, Stefanick M, Tang JY. The association between cigarette smoking, cancer screening, and cancer stage: a prospective study of the women's health initiative observational cohort. BMJ Open. 2020 Aug 13;10(8):e037945. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-037945. PMID: 32796021

David SP, Dunnenberger HM, Ali R, Matsil, Lemke, AA, Singh L, Zimmer A, Hulick PJ. Implementing Primary Care Mediated Population Genetic Screening within an Integrated Health System. medRxiv. Prepublication. https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.07.16.20140228v1__;!!OaZRxjSJGsACmqMyc8s!ZEqvLH-ckcFgBfuNGMXK7BMng6kBUkxqRIr_tKZmNFdPKOF_p_Fomn_QEYqSO5vYwoO-XOE$

Bick AG, Weinstock JS, Nandakumar SK, Fulco CP, Bao EL, Zekavat SM, Szeto MD, Liao X, Leventhal MJ, Nasser J, Chang K, Laurie C, Burugula BB, Gibson CJ, Lin AE, Taub MA, Aguet F, Ardlie K, Mitchell BD, Barnes KC, Moscati A, Fornage M, Redline S, Psaty BM, Silverman EK, Weiss ST, Palmer ND, Vasan RS, Burchard EG, Kardia SLR, He J, Kaplan RC, Smith NL, Arnett DK, Schwartz DA, Correa A, de Andrade M, Guo X, Konkle BA, Custer B, Peralta JM, Gui H, Meyers DA, McGarvey ST, Chen IY, Shoemaker MB, Peyser PA, Broome JG, Gogarten SM, Wang FF, Wong Q, Montasser ME, Daya M, Kenny EE, North KE, Launer LJ, Cade BE, Bis JC, Cho MH, Lasky-Su J, Bowden DW, Cupples LA, Mak ACY, Becker LC, Smith JA, Kelly TN, Aslibekyan S, Heckbert SR, Tiwari HK, Yang IV, Heit JA, Lubitz SA, Johnsen JM, Curran JE, Wenzel SE, Weeks DE, Rao DC, Darbar D, Moon JY, Tracy RP, Buth EJ, Rafaels N, Loos RJF, Durda P, Liu Y, Hou L, Lee J, Kachroo P, Freedman BI, Levy D, Bielak LF, Hixson JE, Floyd JS, Whitsel EA, Ellinor PT, Irvin MR, Fingerlin TE, Raffield LM, Armasu SM, Wheeler MM, Sabino EC, Blangero J, Williams LK, Levy BD, Sheu WH, Roden DM, Boerwinkle E, Manson JE, Mathias RA, Desai P, Taylor KD, Johnson AD; NHLBI Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine Consortium (TOPMed co-author David SP), Auer PL, Kooperberg C, Laurie CC, Blackwell TW, Smith AV, Zhao H, Lange E, Lange L, Rich SS, Rotter JI, Wilson JG, Scheet P, Kitzman JO, Lander ES, Engreitz JM, Ebert BL, Reiner AP, Jaiswal S, Abecasis G, Sankaran VG, Kathiresan S, Natarajan P. Inherited causes of clonal haematopoiesis in 97,691 whole genomes. Nature. 2020 Oct;586(7831):763-768. doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2819-2. PMID: 33057201

Li X, Li Z, Zhou H, Gaynor SM, Liu Y, Chen H, Sun R, Dey R, Arnett DK, Aslibekyan S, Ballantyne CM, Bielak LF, Blangero J, Boerwinkle E, Bowden DW, Broome JG, Conomos MP, Correa A, Cupples LA, Curran JE, Freedman BI, Guo X, Hindy G, Irvin MR, Kardia SLR, Kathiresan S, Khan AT, Kooperberg CL, Laurie CC, Liu XS, Mahaney MC, Manichaikul AW, Martin LW, Mathias RA, McGarvey ST, Mitchell BD, Montasser ME, Moore JE, Morrison AC, O'Connell JR, Palmer ND, Pampana A, Peralta JM, Peyser PA, Psaty BM, Redline S, Rice KM, Rich SS, Smith JA, Tiwari HK, Tsai MY, Vasan RS, Wang FF, Weeks DE, Weng Z, Wilson JG, Yanek LR; NHLBI Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) Consortium (TOPMed co-author David SP); TOPMed Lipids Working Group, Neale BM, Sunyaev SR, Abecasis GR, Rotter JI, Willer CJ, Peloso GM, Natarajan P, Lin X. Dynamic incorporation of multiple in silico functional annotations empowers rare variant association analysis of large whole-genome sequencing studies at scale. Nat Genet. 2020 Sep;52(9):969-983. doi: 10.1038/s41588-020-0676-4. PMID: 32839606

De novo mutations across 1,465 diverse genomes reveal mutational insights and reductions in the Amish founder population. Kessler MD, Loesch DP, Perry JA, Heard-Costa NL, Taliun D, Cade BE, Wang H, Daya M, Ziniti J, Datta S, Celedón JC, Soto-Quiros ME, Avila L, Weiss ST, Barnes K, Redline SS, Vasan RS, Johnson AD, Mathias RA, Hernandez R, Wilson JG, Nickerson DA, Abecasis G, Browning SR, Zöllner S, O'Connell JR, Mitchell BD; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) Consortium (TOPMed co-author David SP); TOPMed Population Genetics Working Group, O'Connor TD. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2020 Feb 4;117(5):2560-2569. PMID: 31964835

2019

D. Stulberg, A. Datta, E. White VanGompel, K. Schueler, C.H. Rocca, One Key Question® and the Desire to Avoid Pregnancy Scale: A Comparison of Two Approaches to Asking About Pregnancy Preferences, Contraception (2019), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.contraception.2019.12.010 

Saigal, Pooja. Diving for PURLs: Alkaline water and plant-based Mediterranean diet for laryngopharyngeal reflux. Evidence-Based Practice. 2019; 22(11).

Oyola, Sonia. Diving for PURLs: Increasing colorectal cancer screening rates. Evidence-Based Practice. 2019; 22(8).

Wake DT, Ilbawi N, Dunnenberger HM, Hulick PJ. Pharmacogenomics: Prescribing Precisely. Med Clin North Am. 2019 Nov;103(6):977-990. doi: 10.1016/j.mcna.2019.07.002. Epub 2019 Aug 24. Review. PMID: 31582008

Panagiotou OA, Schuit E, Munafò MR, Bennett DA, Bergen AW, David SP. Smoking Cessation Pharmacotherapy Based on Genetically-Informed Biomarkers: What is the Evidence? Nicotine Tob Res. 2019 Aug 19;21(9):1289-1293. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntz009. PMID: 30690475

Nussbaum SE, Oyola S, Egan M, Baron A, Wackman S, Williams S, Benson J, Limaye S, Levine S. Incorporating Older Adults as "Trained Patients" to Teach Advance Care Planning to Third-Year Medical Students. Am J Hosp Palliat Care. 2019 Jul;36(7):608-615. doi: 10.1177/1049909119836394. Epub 2019 Mar 25. PMID: 30909719

Weidner A, Ewigman B, Peterson LE, Mainous AG 3rd. Response to "The Importance of Support Staff to Research Capacity". Fam Med. 2019 Jul;51(7):619. doi: 10.22454/FamMed.2019.332787. No abstract available. PMID: 31287911

Fazio, Lindsay. Diving for PURLs: Which is best for chronic low back pain: Yoga, physical therapy, or education? Evidence-Based Practice. 2019; 22(7).

Bergen AW, Do EK, Chen LS, David SP. Tobacco Genomics: Complexity and Translational Challenges. Nicotine Tob Res. 2019 May 21;21(6):705-706. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntz033. No abstract available.  PMID: 31111930

White VanGompel E, Perez S, Datta A, Wang C, Cape V, Main E. Cesarean overuse and the culture of care. Health Serv Res. 2019 Apr;54(2):417-424. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.13123. Epub 2019 Feb 20. PMID: 30790273

Fudala, Monica. Diving for PURLs: Gastric acid suppression and recurrent Clostridium difficile infection. Evidence-Based Practice. 2019; 22(3).

Zhuri, Henri and Miller, Deborah. HelpDesk Answers: In adults who are overweight or obese, does treatment of depression improve weight loss? Evidence-Based Practice. 2019; 22(3).

Ward, William and Miller, Debra. HelpDesk Answers: In athletes, does cold therapy promote better exercise performance recovery? Evidence-Based Practice. 2019; 22(2).

Weidner A, Peterson LE, Mainous AG 3rd, Datta A, Ewigman B. The Current State of Research Capacity in US Family Medicine Departments. Fam Med. 2019 Feb;51(2):112-119. doi: 10.22454/FamMed.2019.180310. PMID: 30736036

Liaw W, Petterson S, Jiang V, Bazemore A, Pecsok J, McCorry D, Ewigman B. The Scholarly Output of Faculty in Family Medicine Departments. Fam Med. 2019 Feb;51(2):103-111. doi: 10.22454/FamMed.2019.536135. PMID: 30736035

Liu M, Jiang Y, Wedow R, Li Y, Brazel DM, Chen F, Datta G, Davila-Velderrain J, McGuire D, Tian C, Zhan X; 23andMe Research Team; HUNT All-In Psychiatry, Choquet H, Docherty AR, Faul JD, Foerster JR, Fritsche LG, Gabrielsen ME, Gordon SD, Haessler J, Hottenga JJ, Huang H, Jang SK, Jansen PR, Ling Y, Mägi R, Matoba N, McMahon G, Mulas A, Orrù V, Palviainen T, Pandit A, Reginsson GW, Skogholt AH, Smith JA, Taylor AE, Turman C, Willemsen G, Young H, Young KA, Zajac GJM, Zhao W, Zhou W, Bjornsdottir G, Boardman JD, Boehnke M, Boomsma DI, Chen C, Cucca F, Davies GE, Eaton CB, Ehringer MA, Esko T, Fiorillo E, Gillespie NA, Gudbjartsson DF, Haller T, Harris KM, Heath AC, Hewitt JK, Hickie IB, Hokanson JE, Hopfer CJ, Hunter DJ, Iacono WG, Johnson EO, Kamatani Y, Kardia SLR, Keller MC, Kellis M, Kooperberg C, Kraft P, Krauter KS, Laakso M, Lind PA, Loukola A, Lutz SM, Madden PAF, Martin NG, McGue M, McQueen MB, Medland SE, Metspalu A, Mohlke KL, Nielsen JB, Okada Y, Peters U, Polderman TJC, Posthuma D, Reiner AP, Rice JP, Rimm E, Rose RJ, Runarsdottir V, Stallings MC, Stančáková A, Stefansson H, Thai KK, Tindle HA, Tyrfingsson T, Wall TL, Weir DR, Weisner C, Whitfield JB, Winsvold BS, Yin J, Zuccolo L, Bierut LJ, Hveem K, Lee JJ, Munafò MR, Saccone NL, Willer CJ, Cornelis MC, David SP, Hinds DA, Jorgenson E, Kaprio J, Stitzel JA, Stefansson K, Thorgeirsson TE, Abecasis G, Liu DJ, Vrieze S. Association studies of up to 1.2 million individuals yield new insights into the genetic etiology of tobacco and alcohol use. Nat Genet. 2019 Feb;51(2):237-244. doi: 10.1038/s41588-018-0307-5. Epub 2019 Jan 14. PMID: 30643251

Erzurumluoglu AM, Liu M, Jackson VE, Barnes DR, Datta G, Melbourne CA, Young R, Batini C, Surendran P, Jiang T, Adnan SD, Afaq S, Agrawal A, Altmaier E, Antoniou AC, Asselbergs FW, Baumbach C, Bierut L, Bertelsen S, Boehnke M, Bots ML, Brazel DM, Chambers JC, Chang-Claude J, Chen C, Corley J, Chou YL, David SP, de Boer RA, de Leeuw CA, Dennis JG, Dominiczak AF, Dunning AM, Easton DF, Eaton C, Elliott P, Evangelou E, Faul JD, Foroud T, Goate A, Gong J, Grabe HJ, Haessler J, Haiman C, Hallmans G, Hammerschlag AR, Harris SE, Hattersley A, Heath A, Hsu C, Iacono WG, Kanoni S, Kapoor M, Kaprio J, Kardia SL, Karpe F, Kontto J, Kooner JS, Kooperberg C, Kuulasmaa K, Laakso M, Lai D, Langenberg C, Le N, Lettre G, Loukola A, Luan J, Madden PAF, Mangino M, Marioni RE, Marouli E, Marten J, Martin NG, McGue M, Michailidou K, Mihailov E, Moayyeri A, Moitry M, Müller-Nurasyid M, Naheed A, Nauck M, Neville MJ, Nielsen SF, North K, Perola M, Pharoah PDP, Pistis G, Polderman TJ, Posthuma D, Poulter N, Qaiser B, Rasheed A, Reiner A, Renström F, Rice J, Rohde R, Rolandsson O, Samani NJ, Samuel M, Schlessinger D, Scholte SH, Scott RA, Sever P, Shao Y, Shrine N, Smith JA, Starr JM, Stirrups K, Stram D, Stringham HM, Tachmazidou I, Tardif JC, Thompson DJ, Tindle HA, Tragante V, Trompet S, Turcot V, Tyrrell J, Vaartjes I, van der Leij AR, van der Meer P, Varga TV, Verweij N, Völzke H, Wareham NJ, Warren HR, Weir DR, Weiss S, Wetherill L, Yaghootkar H, Yavas E, Jiang Y, Chen F, Zhan X, Zhang W, Zhao W, Zhao W, Zhou K, Amouyel P, Blankenberg S, Caulfield MJ, Chowdhury R, Cucca F, Deary IJ, Deloukas P, Di Angelantonio E, Ferrario M, Ferrières J, Franks PW, Frayling TM, Frossard P, Hall IP, Hayward C, Jansson JH, Jukema JW, Kee F, Männistö S, Metspalu A, Munroe PB, Nordestgaard BG, Palmer CNA, Salomaa V, Sattar N, Spector T, Strachan DP; Understanding Society Scientific Group, EPIC-CVD, GSCAN, Consortium for Genetics of Smoking Behaviour, CHD Exome+ consortium, van der Harst P, Zeggini E, Saleheen D, Butterworth AS, Wain LV, Abecasis GR, Danesh J, Tobin MD, Vrieze S, Liu DJ, Howson JMM. Mol Psychiatry. 2019 Jan 7. doi: 10.1038/s41380-018-0313-0. [Epub ahead of print] Meta-analysis of up to 622,409 individuals identifies 40 novel smoking behaviour associated genetic loci. PMID: 30617275

Saigal, Pooja and Sharman, Meera, Debra. HelpDesk Answers: Which treatment is most effective for individuals with anorexia nervosa? Evidence-Based Practice. 2019; 22(1).

Stulberg, Debra. Diving for PURLs: Acupuncture for pain; Give it a try. Evidence-Based Practice. 2019; 22(1).

 

2018

Brazel DM, Jiang Y, Hughey JM, Turcot V, Zhan X, Gong J, Batini C, Weissenkampen JD, Liu M; CHD Exome+ Consortium; Consortium for Genetics of Smoking Behaviour, Barnes DR, Bertelsen S, Chou YL, Erzurumluoglu AM, Faul JD, Haessler J, Hammerschlag AR, Hsu C, Kapoor M, Lai D, Le N, de Leeuw CA, Loukola A, Mangino M, Melbourne CA, Pistis G, Qaiser B, Rohde R, Shao Y, Stringham H, Wetherill L, Zhao W, Agrawal A, Bierut L, Chen C, Eaton CB, Goate A, Haiman C, Heath A, Iacono WG, Martin NG, Polderman TJ, Reiner A, Rice J, Schlessinger D, Scholte HS, Smith JA, Tardif JC, Tindle HA, van der Leij AR, Boehnke M, Chang-Claude J, Cucca F, David SP, Foroud T, Howson JMM, Kardia SLR, Kooperberg C, Laakso M, Lettre G, Madden P, McGue M, North K, Posthuma D, Spector T, Stram D, Tobin MD, Weir DR, Kaprio J, Abecasis GR, Liu DJ, Vrieze S. Exome Chip Meta-analysis Fine Maps Causal Variants and Elucidates the Genetic Architecture of Rare Coding Variants in Smoking and Alcohol Use. Biol Psychiatry. 2019 Jun 1;85(11):946-955. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2018.11.024. Epub 2018 Dec 6. PMID: 30679032

White VanGompel E, Perez S, Wang C, Datta A, Cape V, Main E. Measuring labor and delivery unit culture and clinicians' attitudes toward birth: Revision and validation of the Labor Culture Survey. Birth. 2019 Jun;46(2):300-310. doi: 10.1111/birt.12406. Epub 2018 Nov 8. PMID: 30407646

Oshman, Lauren. Diving for PURLs: How many mammograms? Let breast density and risk factors guide screening intervals. Evidence-Based Practice. 2018; 21(9).

Benson, Janice and VanGompel, Emily White. Diving for PURLs: A risk score to guide anticoagulant choice in patients with Afib. Evidence-Based Practice. 2018; 21(9).

Roberson, Kortnee. Diving for PURLs: Bariatric surgery for treatment of diabetes. Evidence-Based Practice. 2018; 21(9).

Temple LM, Lampert SL, Ewigman B. Barriers to Achieving Optimal Success with Medical Cannabis: Opportunities for Quality Improvement. J Altern Complement Med. 2019 Jan;25(1):5-7. doi: 10.1089/acm.2018.0250. Epub 2018 Sep 6. PMID: 30188174

Gibes, Joseph P. Diving for PURLs: Diving for Chocolate PURLs. Evidence-Based Practice. 2018; 21(8).

Viollt, Anne and Oshman, Lauren. HelpDesk Answers: For adults with chronic low back pain, is a prescribed walking program as effective as formal physical therapy? Evidence-Based Practice. 2018; 21(8).

Moore, Lisa Marie and Whiteley, Miriam. HelpDesk Answers: In pregnant women with a positive BUN screen or quad screen, does secondary screening with cell-free DNA reduce the incidence of invasive testing for fetal aneuploidy? Evidence-Based Practice. 2018; 21(7).

Whiteley, Miriam. Diving for PURLs: Metformin versus insulin for GDM. Evidence-Based Practice. 2018; 21(7).

Tetreault, Stephanie and Oshman, Lauren. HelpDesk Answers: In women desiring postpartum contraception with an IUD, does immediate IUD insertion after delivery increased continued IUD use at 6 months compared with delayed IUD insertion? Evidence-Based Practice. 2018; 21(6).

Longo, Katie and Gibes, Joseph. HelpDesk Answers: In women with dense breast tissue,does the addition of automated whole-breast ultrasound to mammography lead to increased invasive testing? Evidence-Based Practice. 2018; 21(5).

Roberson, Kortnee and White VanGompel, Emily. Diving for PURLs: Dietary changes to improve depression. Evidence-Based Practice. 2018; 21(4).

Stombaugh, Sarah and Whiteley, Miriam. HelpDesk Answers: In adolescent girls using contraceptives, do long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARC) have a higher rate of continuation than other forms of contraception? Evidence-Based Practice. 2018; 21(4).

Oyola, Sonia. Diving for PURLs: Consider acupuncture for chronic constipation. Evidence-Based Practice. 2018; 21(1).
 

The University of Chicago has long been known for research that crosses traditional boundaries of disciplines. In studying health and health care, Family Medicine researchers collaborate with physicians and scholars from a wide array of departments, schools and programs.

Opportunities for interdisciplinary work are facilitated at the University of Chicago by centers that bring scholars together to share ideas and generate new knowledge.

The Center for Health and the Social Sciences

The mission of The Center for Health and the Social Sciences (CHeSS) is to support and encourage interdisciplinary health and social science research at The University of Chicago. The Center provides infrastructure including: administrative assistance for collaborations; pre- and post-award grants management; computer, data, and methodological support; and shared space.

Program on Medicine and Religion

The Program on Medicine and Religion at the University of Chicago seeks to promote rigorous study of and robust dialogue about the moral and spiritual dimensions of the practice of medicine. The Program reflects a collaboration between the Department of Medicine--and its MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics, and the Divinity School--and its Marty Center for the Advanced Study of Religion.

The MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics

Clinical medical ethics examines ethical issues that arise in encounters between patients, families, and physicians, and aims to improve the process and outcome of patient care. After twenty years, the MacLean Center is the leading program in the country devoted to the study and teaching of clinical ethics. The program has gained national and international prominence for its groundbreaking research and training in medical ethics.

Medical Education Research, Innovation, Teaching and Scholarship

MERITS is a University of Chicago-sponsored initiative to support and promote research, innovation, teaching, and scholarship in medical education with the goal of advancing patient care and the health of the public by improving the education of physicians.

Every month, thousands of primary research articles are published that may be relevant to the practicing family physician. PURLs (Priority Updates from the Research Literature) are those that should change practice and can be implemented immediately by family physicians. The PURLs surveillance system, to identify and disseminate these practicing-changing research studies, was developed as an objective of the University of Chicago Institute for Translational Medicine, in partnership with the Family Physician Inquiry Network and the Journal of Family Practice.

In order to be a PURL, a research article must first be nominated by a group of family physicians who actively survey the primary clinical research literature; the article must then be reviewed and determined to be relevant to family medicine, scientifically valid, applicable in a medical care setting, immediately implementable, and to lead to a change in current practice.

Department of Family Medicine physicians are active participants as PURL nominators, reviewers, authors, and editors.

Link: PURLs website at the Journal of Family Practice

NorthShore University HealthSystem is recognized as one of the nation's top Comprehensive Independent Research Hospitals. With extensive funding from the National Institutes of Health, the NorthShore Research Institute houses approximately 1,000 clinical trials, and provides training and infrastructure support for diverse clinical and translational research projects.

Research and scholarship are core elements of the academic affiliation between the University of Chicago and NorthShore University HealthSystem. The Family Medicine residency takes full advantage of this affiliation by offering residents mentorship and learning opportunities on both campuses. Residents each complete a core rotation in evidence-based medicine as part of a curriculum that emphasizes skills in synthesizing and applying the research literature.

 

Primary Care and Population Health Investigators Group

The Primary Care and Population Health (PCPH) Investigators Group (formerly called the "Ambulatory Primary Care Innovation Group" (APCIG)) is a team of investigators associated with the Northshore Outcomes Research Network and the Univeristy of Chicago Institute for Translational Medicine who are committed to research in areas of germane to primary care and population health (e.g., family planning, reproductive health, quality and care transformation, "personalized" or "precision medicine" in primary care, population-based surveys, etc.). PCPH has a monthly meeting and represents numerous active studies, grand-funded projects, development of new research opportunities, promotion of team science, and mentoring of junior scientists.

 

Outcomes Research Network

The NorthShore University HealthSystem Outcomes Research Network (ORN) was launched in December 2018 as the result of a system-wide planning process which identified research with immediate benefit to patients as a strategic goal. ORN is a networked structure with key academic leadership, providing support to propel research productivity across NorthShore (e.g., literature reviews, project management assistance, grant review). ORN houses two core research groups - PCPH, led by Dr. Sean P. David, and Child and Family Health Studies, led by Dr. Madeleine Shalowitz. ORN core faculty include Dr. Bernard Ewigman (Director), Drs. Sean P. David (Program Director for Translationsal Science), Madeleine Shalowitz (Program Director for Pediatrics), and Anthony Solomonides (Program Director for Bioformatics), and numerous affiliated ORN Program Directors (e.g., Drs. Amy Lemke, Personalized Medicine and Dr. Nirav Shah, Care Transformation).

Outcomes research at NorthShore is a collaborative, transdisciplinary science that uses a range of techniques and tools: quality improvement, health services research, cost effectiveness, comparative effectiveness, implementation science, actuarial science, practice-based research and community-based participatory research. At the community level, outcomes research emphasized actionable information leading to uniform access to care that is effective, efficient and equitable. For providers, it can provide insight that will enrich the experience of practicing medicine. Outcomes research yields valid, reliable, and impactful knowledge that can be used to support key strategic clinical, quality, and operational decision-making. 

Contacts for Research programs at NorthShore University HealthSystem:

Bernard Ewigman, MD, MSPH, FAAFP
Owen L Coon Endowed Chair of Family Medicine & Director of Outcomes Research
NorthShore University HealthSystem
Clinical Professor of Family Medicine
University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine
bewigman@northshore.org

Sean P. David, MD, SM, DPhil, FAAFP
Program Director for Translational Science, Outcomes Research
NorthShore University HealthSystem
Clinical Professor and Vice Chair for Research
Department of Family Medicine
University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine
spdavid1@uchicago.edu

Research Resources