News & Events
July
Dr. De Luca and Teams Publish a Literature Review of Hispanic Parent-Adolescent Physical and Mental Health Interventions and a New Study Focusing on Religiosity Factors Influence on Suicide Ideation and Attempt Among Sexual Minorities
The literature review published in Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, via a collaboration with University Hospitals, was conducted in an effort to present the current research base for Hispanic parent-adolescent physical and mental health interventions. A total of 18 studies were chosen from a multi-database search for studies describing Hispanic parent-adolescent dyadic interventions focusing on physical or mental health outcomes. Across the studies chosen, physical health outcomes were largely unchanged, mental health outcomes were positively changed, and interventions that targeted substance use and sexual health behavior produced mixed results. This review supports the need for more interventions that can target both physical and mental health disparities among Hispanic adolescents. This review ties into a current PHRI pilot study being led by Dr. De Luca and Dr. McVoy, which aims to teach healthy ways to cook Hispanic and Latino American recipes to mother-daughter pairs, can help diabetes management and mental health.
Published in Mental health, religion, and culture, the new study titled Adolescence into adulthood: Religiosity factors influencing trajectories of suicide ideation and attempt among sexual minorities, was funded by NIH and aimed to explore how changes in religious denomination from adolescence into young adulthood affect trajectories of suicidal thoughts and behaviors between sexual minority and heterosexual individuals. Faith-based entities are generally considered key partners in suicide prevention, but religious-based negative views of same-sex attraction may undercut prevention efforts and help-seeking for sexual minorities. Moreover, religiosity can change over time with general decline in religious affiliation during adolescence into adulthood. Sexual minority participants were more likely than heterosexuals to be in the low religiosity trajectory and remained less religious than heterosexual participants. Interactions among sexual identity, religiosity, and suicidality trajectories were not statistically significant. Findings suggest there may not be direct sexual orientation-related differences in longitudinal trends of religiosity and suicidality from adolescence into young adulthood. Future research should explore indirect paths as well as examine religiosity at earlier ages.
Co-Investigators Hughes and Tarabichi awarded new A.I. themed CTSC Pilot
The CTSC pilot award is led by Dr. David Sheyn and team at University Hospital in partnership with Drs. Yasir Tarabichi and Ashley Hughes at MetroHealth. The study, Application of an Artificial Intelligence Model for Directing Antibiotic Use in the Treatment of Urinary Tract Infection in an Ambulatory Setting, seeks to improve antibiotic prescribing for women seeking care in the emergency room using Artificial Intelligence. To do this, the study's first aim seeks to externally validate an AI model built to predict the presence of a culture using a racially and ethnically diverse patient population. The second study aim seeks to pilot the AI model's use in a clinical decision support tool in select emergency department(s) in the Cleveland area. Findings will inform generalization of AI models as well as their implementation in real-world clinical care settings.
Dr. Gunzler and team host annual Tom Ten Have Symposium
The 12th annual Thomas R. Ten Have Symposium on Statistics in Mental Health took place this past June in Cleveland, OH. Conference activities were hosted at the Biomedical Research Building of Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) School of Medicine. The event was joint sponsored by the Mental Health Statistics Section of the American Statistical Association, CTSC of Northern Ohio, CWRU School of Medicine and Population Health Research Institute (PHRI), MetroHealth Medical Center. The meeting brought together an international group of professionals and experts.
The keynote presentation by Kelley Kidwell, PhD, University of Michigan, focused on recent statistical developments for partially randomized, patient preference designs within the framework of Sequential, Multiple Assignment, Randomized Trials (SMARTs). The methods were illustrated with case studies in chronic pain and depression treatment, highlighting their potential to inform patient-centered care.
Eva Petkova, PhD, began the formal program with an introduction to the history of the symposium. The symposium then featured a diverse array of presentations. Topics included electronic health records for neighborhood-level studies in mental health, precision nosology for mental health research, multilevel measurement modeling to evaluate clinician-level scores based on individual-level scores and evaluating medical music therapy using electronic health records. A panel discussion broached the current state of mental health funding. A series of contributed presentations concluded the symposium on the topics of a generative framework for comparative causal modeling of nonlinear feedback systems, childhood trauma and inattentive symptoms and opportunities for child mental health data.
Presenters included Jarrod Dalton, PhD and Elizabeth Pfoh, PhD from Cleveland Clinic, Thaddeus Tarpey, PhD from NYU Langone Health, Martha Sajatovic, MD and Sam Rodgers-Melnick, MPH, LPMT, MT-BC from University Hospitals, CWRU, Alexander S. De Nadai, PhD from Harvard Medical Schools, Adam Perzynski, PhD, Susan De Luca, PhD, and Kari O’Donnell, PhD, from PHRI, MetroHealth, CWRU, Adam Carle, PhD from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Brooke Bhattacharya, CWRU and Christina Wong, DHSC, MAS, MHSA, FHFMA from Thomas Jefferson University, Jefferson College of Population Health. The symposium’s activities were complemented by a reception and group dinner, which provided opportunities for networking and collaboration. The symposium program chair was Douglas Gunzler, PhD from PHRI, MetroHealth, CWRU.
This annual event was established in 1999 by Thomas R. Ten Have, PhD and Dr. Petkova as a forum for statisticians engaged in mental health research to explore innovative statistical methodologies and address emerging challenges. In 2011, Dr. Ten Have passed away. To honor his many statistical contributions to mental health research, the symposium was renamed as the Thomas R. Ten Have Symposium on Statistics in Mental Health. This year’s event marked the 12th anniversary of the event being dedicated in Dr. Ten Have’s memory. Attendees warmly shared about his impactful legacy as a colleague and innovator.
June
Leading with Trust in AI to Transform Healthcare
MetroHealth's David Kaelber, MD, PhD, MPH, participated in a forum about the future of artificial intelligence in healthcare on Thursday, July 10, at The City Club of Cleveland. Dr. Kaelber, who serves as Chief Health Informatics Officer/VP of Health Informatics and Patient Engagement Technologies at MetroHealth, joined other healthcare and technology leaders to discuss ethical concerns with AI, using the technology responsibly and maintaining patient trust.
Artificial Intelligence, or AI in healthcare, is experiencing a rise in new technologies and applications. Generative AI, more specifically, is a form of artificial intelligence that’s trained to find patterns in data and then generate new content. AI can enhance patient care, optimize clinical workflows, and drive innovation—while maintaining transparency and ethical integrity. But no matter how innovative and revolutionary the application, the future of AI in healthcare - and its successful adoption - is driven by patient trust.
Leadership from MetroHealth, the Cleveland Clinic, AI Center of Excellence, WellLink, and Ohio Health Literacy Partners came together on the City Club stage to discuss real-world applications, challenges, and strategies for fostering trust in AI-driven healthcare transformation.
Other panelists included:
Karen Komondor
President & Founder, Health Literacy 360, LLC and U.S. Health Literacy Association
Brian Lane
President & CEO, WellLink Health Alliance
Jennifer Owens
Senior AI Program Administrator, Cleveland Clinic; and Co-Chair, AI Center of Excellence
https://www.cityclub.org/forums/2025/07/10/leading-with-trust-in-ai-to-transform-healthcare
“When Data Disappear”
- Editorial from Dr. Ther Aung and CWRU student, Ankita Achanta
In a new editorial published by the World Health Organization, Dr. Aung and student, Ankita Achanta, discuss how the removal of publicly available air quality data will have negative consequences for global research and for the health of billions of people in low- and middle-income countries. This data removal by the US State department has the potential to undermine research in countries where data are scarce and a large pro-portion of the population is exposed to hazardous levels of air pollution. “Governments that lack the means to generate their own air quality data will be excluded from an important resource, and without that knowledge, citizens will be unable to participate in environmental health actions. Until all governments invest in their own air quality monitoring solutions, the air monitoring infrastructure already in place at United States embassies remains a valuable resource.” Read the one-page editorial here https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12152676/
April
The 12th Annual Thomas R. Ten Have Symposium on Statistics in Mental Health will take place at Case Western Reserve University on Thursday, June 5 and Friday, June 6, 2025.
This symposium honors the memory of Dr. Thomas R. Ten Have and is jointly sponsored by Columbia-Cornell-NYU-Penn-Yale and the Mental Health Statistics Section of the American Statistical Association. The 2025 symposium is co-hosted by the Mental Health Statistics Section of the American Statistical Association, CTSC of Northern Ohio, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and Population Health Research Institute, Center for Health Care Research and Policy, MetroHealth Medical Center.
Dr. Shelia Malone Study on Trends in Obesity Published
PHRI Post-Doctoral Fellow, Dr. Shelia Malone, recently published a study in the journal “Obesities” which analyzed obesity trends among Mississippi adults from 2017 to 2023, focusing on gender, education, age, race, and socioeconomic status. Obesity prevalence significantly increased among men, college-educated individuals, and African Americans, while rates remained stable for most age groups. Hispanics saw a decrease in obesity prevalence from 2022 to 2023, and Whites experienced an annual increase that was not statistically significant. The findings highlight obesity as a critical public health issue, calling for research on long-term impacts and improved interventions to guide prevention strategies.
Dr. Malone is part of the CTSC T32 post-doctoral fellowship program under the mentorship of Dr. Shari Bolen.
February
MetroHealth physician, Dr. Shanail Berry Lampkin, featured in recent Cardi-OH podcast episode
Dr. Shanail Berry Lampkin (MetroHealth, Internal Medicine/Pediatrics Department) along with Dr. Sarah Tyler Plummer (Case Western Reserve University) recently joined Cardi-OH Radio for a discussion on cardiovascular risk factors for children and adolescents. The Podcast Episode 51 looked at how hypertension and hyperlipidemia contribute to cardiometabolic disease, shared strategies for diagnosis and management including in-office and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring—and discussed the importance of family-centered lifestyle interventions. The episode was featured on the CWRU Daily and you can listen to the podcast here.
MetroHealth Receives Outstanding Partner Award from TriNetX Research Data Network
The MetroHealth System recently received TriNetX’s 2024 Outstanding Partner award for its sophisticated use of the organization’s network of aggregated electronic health record platform for retrospective research.
In fact, MetroHealth is the largest use of TriNetX in the world, according to David Kaelber, MD, PhD, MPH, Vice President, Chief Health Informatics Officer. MetroHealth has more than 500 TriNetX accounts and our users conducted about 100,000 queries using the tool in 2024. MetroHealth first partnered with TriNetX in 2019. MetroHealth researchers had published more then 100 peer-reviewed manuscripts using TriNetX over the last 5 years.
“TriNetX is a total game changer for certain types of retrospective clinical research,” Dr. Kaelber said. “This is just another example of MetroHealth’s commitment to innovation and use of electronic health data to push the boundaries of medicine and discovery.” TriNetX is one of a handful data platforms used by MetroHealth for research purposes.
The largest data aggregated electronic health record platform belongs to the electronic healthcare technology company Epic and its Cosmos project, with data from 289 million patients. MetroHealth was the first health system to sign up for Cosmos and contribute patient data to it. It also was the first to publish research using Cosmos.
Dr. Kaelber and others recently published a peer-reviewed article in Clinical and Translational Science on how to use TriNetX and other aggregated electronic health record platform for research – With big data comes big responsibility: Strategies for utilizing aggregated, standardized, de-identified electronic health record data for research”.
If you have any questions about how to use TriNetX or Cosmos or you would like access to either of these platforms, please contact MetroHealth Research Informatics team – Dr. David Kaelber (dkaelber@metrohealth.org), Dr. Yasir Tarabichi (ytarabichi@metrohealth.org), or Janeen Leon (jleon@metrohealth.org).