About Us
Our Mission
Our mission is to be the evaluation partner of choice in developing, evaluating, and implementing healthcare delivery innovations to optimize healthcare for patients, families, providers, and payers.
About the ESU
The Evaluation Sciences Unit (ESU) is a multidisciplinary group of clinician and non-clinician doctorate and masters-trained faculty and staff with expertise in implementation and evaluation sciences, health services research, epidemiology, and biostatistics. Our passion is helping improve health care delivery through rigorous evaluation using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. We have content expertise in several areas including palliative care, geriatrics, oncology, obesity/weight management, nutrition, primary care, hospital medicine, telemedicine, and beyond.
Faculty Leaders & Staff
Marcy Winget, PhD
DIRECTOR OF EVALUATION SCIENCES UNIT
Marcy Winget, PhD is the Director, Evaluation Sciences Unit and Clinical Associate Professor in the Division of Primary Care and Population Health, Stanford School of Medicine. She is an epidemiologist/ health services research with a passion for research aimed at improving the quality of the healthcare system. Dr. Winget has led several large studies that developed and implemented population-based methods to evaluate the quality of cancer care in breast, lung and colorectal cancer patients in Alberta, Canada. Currently she is leading evaluation efforts for the Stanford Cancer Center and Stanford Primary Care 2.0.
AREAS OF FOCUS
Quantitative Analysis, Implementation Science, Program Evaluation
Steven Asch, MD MPH
VICE CHIEF FOR RESEARCH PCPH
Steven M. Asch MD, MPH is the founder of the Evaluation Sciences Unit. He also serves as the Vice-Chief of the Stanford Division of Primary Care and Population Health and the Chief of Health Services Research at the VA Palo Alto Healthcare System. He develops and evaluates quality measurement and improvement system. Dr. Asch has led several national projects developing broad-based quality measurement and improvement programs for veterans, Medicare beneficiaries, Stanford Health Care and the community. He directs the Center of Innovation to Implementation (Ci2i) that focuses on how to maximize value by testing organizational innovations to make medical care more collaborative and efficient.
Stacie Vilendrer, MD MBA MS
MEDICAL DIRECTOR
Stacie is a practicing family physician and instructor within the Division of Primary Care and Population Health. She completed her MD/MBA at Stanford, her residency in family medicine at UCSF-affiliate Santa Rosa Family Medicine, and most recently completed the Stanford-Intermountain Fellowship in Population Health and Delivery Science. Stacie uses mixed-methodologies and implementation science to study clinician incentive and feedback design, the dynamics of team-based clinical practice, and how to effectively incorporate emerging technologies into clinical practice. Most recently, Stacie has led evaluations around Stanford’s COVID-19 response in telemedicine, primary care, and community outreach.
AREAS OF FOCUS
Quality improvement, value-based care, incentive and feedback design, and telemedicine
Cati Brown-Johnson, PhD
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH SCHOLAR
Cati Brown-Johnson, PhD is a trained mixed methods researcher interested in patient-provider communication. With the ESU, Cati is applying eight years of experience in program evaluation and individual behavior change to explore the impact of system-wide healthcare initiatives on patients. Passionate about health and people, Cati is a social scientist dedicated to using qualitative methods to bring the voice of patients and stakeholders into academic research.
AREAS OF FOCUS
Qualitative Research, Physician-Patient Relations, Primary Health Care
Laura Holdsworth, PhD
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH SCHOLAR
Laura has been a qualitative health services researcher since 2006 and is experienced in mixed methods research and evaluation. She uses a range of methods in her work including interviews, focus groups, ethnography, participant observation, document review, survey and literature reviews. Her content areas of focus have been in palliative, end of life, long term and integrated care. Her specific research interest is in understanding the patient experience of health services in order to improve the implementation and delivery of services.
AREAS OF FOCUS
Serious Illness, Palliative Care, Implementation Science
Samantha M.R. Kling, PhD
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH SCIENTIST
Dr. Kling is a quantitative research scientist with six years of experience in mixed methods research and evaluation in clinical and community healthcare settings. She is dedicated to helping collaborators design and execute pragmatic evaluations that meet their needs and facilitate rapid learnings to ultimately improve healthcare. She has experience using a variety of data collection methods and sources, including surveys, chart reviews, electronic health record data, and community health care data, and applying appropriate analysis approaches. Dr. Kling is also a Registered Dietitian (RD) and has content experience in childhood obesity prevention and treatment, nutrition, coordination of clinical and community healthcare, telehealth, and mental health.
AREAS OF FOCUS
Nutrition, Quantitative Methods, Implementation Science
Jonathan Shaw, MD MS
CO-MEDICAL DIRECTOR
Jonathan is a Clinical Associate Professor at the Division of Primary Care and Population Health, a fellowship-trained health services researcher, and practicing family physician at Ravenswood Family Health Center in East Palo Alto. He has contributed to partnered research and implementation science both at the VA in Palo Alto (as clinical lead and coinvestigator of an intensive outpatient care program (ImPACT) targeting ‘super-users’ of VA care), and at Stanford evaluating care redesign with the ESU. As the division’s Director of Community Partnership, he is a leader in academic-community collaborations.
Darlene Veruttipong, MPH
RESEARCH DATA ANALYST
Darlene Veruttipong, MPH is a data analyst. She organized and analyzed registry data as an epidemiology intern at the Tanta Cancer Center in Egypt and as data manager at UCLA Radiation Oncology. Similar to her previous positions, at ESU she will be working on quantitative research projects. Darlene is dedicated to improving value and integrating data from primary care and public health to enhance quality of life for individuals and communities through research.
AREAS OF FOCUS
Quantitative Methods, Healthcare Disparities, Healthcare Services
Donn W. Garvert, MS
BIOSTATISTCIAN
Donn Garvert is a Biostatistician working on the Quantitative Team for the Evaluation Sciences Unit. He works primarily with the Improvement Capability Development Program (ICDP), a joint venture between the Department of Quality for Stanford Healthcare and the Stanford School of Medicine. He also provides expertise for the Seed Grant Support for the Division of Primary Care and Population Health (PCPH) faculty. His experience includes quantitative work at the National Center for PTSD and the Division of Infectious Diseases & Geographic Medicine in the Stanford School of Medicine. Donn received his M.S. degree in Biostatistics from the California State University, East Bay.
AREAS OF FOCUS
Quantitative Analysis, Quality Improvement
Winnie Wu, MPH
RESEARCH DATA ANALYST
Winnie Wu has a MPH degree from University of Southern California. She is a research analyst in the Division of Primary Care and Population Health. She works on Stanford Military Data Repository (SMDR) projects, analyses data related to physical and mental health of active-duty U.S. Army soldiers, extracts administrative data, explores relationship between solider characteristics and administrative data.
Anna Sophia Lessios, MPH
RESEARCH OPERATIONS MANAGER
Anna Lessios, MPH is a Research Operations Manager in the Evaluation Sciences Unit. Her previous work in health services research has involved projects on chronic pain, integrative health approaches, and cross-cultural mental health at the Boston Medical Center and Cambridge Health Alliance. Anna’s experience includes research project management as well as quantitative and qualitative techniques. She holds a Master’s of Public Health degree from Boston University School of Public Health in community health sciences.
AREAS OF FOCUS
Healthcare Disparities, Home Care Services, Qualitative Methods
Heather Z. Mui, MPH
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH AND PROJECT MANAGER
Heather Mui, MPH, is a qualitative researcher and project manager with the Evaluation Sciences Unit. Heather’s previous research experience includes quantitative and qualitative research in early childhood education at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and in substance abuse and mental health at the Institute for Scientific Research. Heather received her master’s degree from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in Sociomedical Sciences and specializes in program and resource development, evaluations, and working with vulnerable and minority populations.
AREAS OF FOCUS
Implementation science, Healthcare disparities, Qualitative methods, Palliative care
Sonia Harris, MPH
QUALITATIVE RESEARCHER AND PROJECT MANAGER
Sonia Harris is a qualitative researcher and project manager with the ESU. Prior to working at the ESU, Sonia earned her MPH from Northwestern University where she focused on child and adolescent violence and injury prevention. Sonia’s previous research experience include health education, specifically interpersonal violence prevention and sexuality education, health policy, and chronic illness.
AREAS OF FOCUS
Qualitative Methods, Violence Prevention and Traumatic Experience, Chronic Illness, Healthcare Disparities
Rachel Siden, MPH
QUALITATIVE RESEARCHER AND PROJECT MANAGER
Rachel Siden is a qualitative researcher and project manager in the Evaluation Sciences Unit. She has a background in social science and bioethics, with an M.A. in Bioethics & Society from the Department of Social Science, Health, and Medicine at King’s College London. As a study coordinator at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, she gained experience working on both qualitative and quantitative projects. Rachel is interested in using qualitative research to improve healthcare and health policy.
AREAS OF FOCUS
Palliative Care, Patient/Family-Centered Care, Mental Health, LGBTQ+ Health
Cassie Bragdon, MPH
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH AND PROJECT MANAGER
Cassandra (Cassie) Bragdon, MA is a qualitative researcher and project manager with the Evaluation Sciences Unit. Cassie received her master’s degree from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland and specializes in ethnography and interviewing with subject-matter expertise in gender and inequality. Cassie’s previous experience includes grant administration, where she worked to support the expansion of primary care training for nursing students to better serve vulnerable and marginalized communities.
AREAS OF FOCUS
Inequality, Community Health, Qualitative Methods
Robert Kato, BA
RESEARCH ADMINISTRATOR
Robert Kato is a Research Administrator in the Evaluation Sciences Unit. His work includes coordinating the review process and monitoring for PCPH Seed Grants, as well as assisting with other administrative tasks. He previously worked at PAVIR, where he worked with a team of analysts for large grants that were conducted at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System.
Our Affiliated Faculty
Anita Vashi, MD MPH MHS
PHYSICIAN INVESTIGATOR
VA PROFILE
