Northwestern University Team
Elisa J. Gordon, PhD, MPH
(Initiating Principal Investigator)
Dr. Gordon is Professor in the Department of Surgery, Division of Transplantation, Center for Health Services and Outcomes Research, and Center for Bioethics and Medical Humanities at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Dr. Gordon trained as a medical anthropologist and clinical ethicist. She has been conducting federally-funded research on ethical issues in organ transplantation, informed consent, and health disparities for over 20 years, and has developed multiple educational materials to empower patients in treatment decision making and health communication. As the Initiating Principal Investigator for this study, Dr. Gordon provided leadership for the study overall.
Greg Dumanian, MD Co-Investigator
Dr. Gregory Dumanian is the Stuteville Professor of Surgery and Chief of Plastic Surgery at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. Dr. Dumanian created the procedure called Targeted Muscle Reinnervation (TMR) in 2001 for improved prosthetic control of a bilateral shoulder disarticulation patient. Since that initial case, TMR is now performed widely throughout the world for amputee pain and neuroma pain.
Sally Jensen, PhD Co-Investigator
Dr. Jensen is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Medical Social Sciences and Department of Surgery (Organ Transplantation) at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Dr. Jensen has a strong research interest in biopsychosocial relationships in the context of medical illness and treatment. As a trained clinical health psychologist, she has extensive training and experience in research focused on the interrelationships between psychosocial functioning, neuroendocrine/immune functioning, physical symptom onset, and patient-reported outcomes in a variety of surgical patient populations. Currently, she serves as the Principal Investigator of several research projects that seek to develop and apply patient-reported outcomes measures in traumatic craniomaxillofacial injuries, traumatic tissue loss and reconstructive transplantation (e.g., limb, abdominal wall, face). She is also co-investigator of a Department of Defense funded RCT for surgical treatment of amputation-related neuroma pain and leads the patient-reported outcomes component of this project.
Jessica Gacki-Smith, MPH
Jessica Gacki-Smith is a Research Project Manager in the Center for Health Services and Outcomes Research at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, IL. She has over 15 years of experience in the conduct of behavioral and social science research. For this project, Jessica assisted with data analysis and interpretation, the development of educational materials, and manuscript development.
Brianna Kuramitsu, MSW, LSW
Brianna Kuramitsu received her Master’s in Social Work from University of Illinois at Chicago, and specialized in Organization and Community Practice. Her experience in disability advocacy and social policy deeply inform her work as a researcher. For this project, Brianna assisted with recruitment, data collection, analysis, the development of educational materials, and manuscript development.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank the following individuals who provided assistance to the research team in developing this website: Ali McLagan, Hannah Nemeth, Maddy Bennett, Peter Walsh, and Whitney Langlee.