Newswise — In preparation for a potential bird flu outbreak, RTI International offers the services of some of its experts in this field (see list below). RTI International, formerly known as the Research Triangle Institute, conducts a wide range of research in the areas of health and pharmaceuticals.
Vaccine and Immunization Programs
Dr. Christine Layton Christine Layton, Ph.D., a public health researcher specializing in public health policy evaluation, has 15 years of professional experience, primarily in qualitative research for policy analysis and evaluation. Dr. Layton's work for federal government clients has focused on issues related to immunization and influenza, including understanding the dynamics of influenza vaccine supply, demand, manufacturing, purchasing and distribution.
Dr. David Rein David Rein, Ph.D., a research economist, focuses on health program evaluation, cost and utilization forecasting models and econometric analyses. In this capacity, he is an expert in conducting cost-benefit analyses of various immunization programs.
Health Surveillance Systems
Dr. Scott Wetterhall Dr. Scott Wetterhall, M.D., M.P.H., is senior program director of health security and systems research at RTI. Prior to joining RTI in 2004, he spent more than 20 years at CDC, where he was a recognized national expert in public health surveillance and bioterrorism preparedness at federal, state, and local level. He currently is leading a grant to improve case definitions for use in syndromic surveillance, and he is project director on an effort with AHRQ to develop a patient tracking and locating system for use during mass casualty events. He organized and operated the surveillance system used to protect visitors and participants in the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Dr. Scott Holmberg Scott Holmberg, Ph.D., is a former chief of clinical epidemiology in the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention at CDC and is currently a senior infectious disease epidemiologist at RTI. He has extensive experience in enteric disease, opportunistic infection and sexually transmitted diseases, as well as broader public health screening and surveillance. He is currently an informatics group member of the Models of Infectious Disease Agent Study (MIDAS) that is under development at RTI to model emerging infectious disease and apply the appropriate public health response.
Dr. George Ghneim George Ghneim, Ph.D., is a veterinary epidemiologist who has worked with the North Carolina Department of Public Health to coordinate the implementation of that state's enhanced surveillance system, and whose research interests include infectious disease epidemiology, enhanced disease surveillance systems and public health issues related to zoonotic disease (disease spread across animal and human populations).
Health Communication and Risk Communication
Dr. David Driscoll David Driscoll, Ph.D., an applied medical anthropologist, develops health communication messages that characterize population health risks, including communication challenges associated with terrorist attacks, cancer clusters and HIV/AIDS. He evaluates the effectiveness of these messages and advises on modifications to improve effectiveness. He has worked with military personnel to assess knowledge and attitudes regarding proposed or administered anthrax vaccinations and with the national association of public health laboratories to assess preparedness for chemical attack among state and regional stakeholders. He has participated in a number of other projects related to health and state and local agencies.
Dr. Doug Evans Douglas Evans, Ph.D., an applied social scientist and evaluation research methodologist, is an expert in large-scale programs to evaluate the effectiveness of behavior change and public education intervention programs associated with communicating scientific information to the general population. He has studied the media role in health risk behavior, including the effects of social marketing on behavior change and the role of news media in framing and promoting health behavior and decision making, particularly with respect to topics related to health.
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