Staff Directory
CHeSS Executive Director
Kelsey Bogue, MA
Executive Director
kbogue@bsd.uchicago.edu | (773) 702-4401
Kelsey Bogue serves as CHeSS’s Executive Director and leads day-to-day operations for the center. She joined CHeSS in 2013 and most recently served as Director of Training and Communications, where she led administration of a portfolio of research education programs, training grants, and communications. Kelsey has also partnered with collaborators both locally and externally to grow new initiatives at the intersection of research and education, including the NIA P30 Center on Healthy Aging Behaviors and Longitudinal Investigations (CHABLIS); the NIA R25 Cultivating Health and Aging Researchers by Integrating Medicine, the Science; and the Comprehensive Care, Community, and Culture (C4P) AmeriCorps program. She holds a master’s degree from the Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice, a certificate in health policy and administration from UChicago’s Graduate Program in Health Administration and Policy (GPHAP), and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.
Grants and Administration
Angelique Johnson
Director of Finance and Grant Administration
ajohnso3@bsd.uchicago.edu | (773) 702-5066
Angelique Johnson brings several years of grant and contract management experience in pre-award and contract development work at the Center. Angelique received her bachelor’s degree in Biology/Pre-Med from Bethune-Cookman University, a historically black college and university.
Amy Acevedo-Carrasco
Pre-Award Administrator
Amy.Acevedo-Carrasco@bsd.uchicago.edu | (312) 550-0706
Amy Acevedo-Carrasco is a Pre-Award Administrator at The Center for Health and The Social Sciences at The University of Chicago. She is part of the pre-award and contract development team at the center. She provides support for all aspects of the grant lifecycle, reviewing opportunities, submitting, and reviewing applications, and the preparation of grant reports. Amy earned her associate in business management/economics from the City of Chicago College – Harold Washington. Amy previously worked as a coordinator at Health Lab-UChicago Urban Labs at The University of Chicago.
Valerie Burgest, MA
Pre-Award Grants and Contracts Coordinator
vburge@bsd.uchicago.edu | (773) 834-1690
Valerie Burgest is part of the pre-award and contract development team. She has more than 20 years of experience working in community health and grants management, and she holds a master’s degree in industrial and organizational psychology with a concentration in health administration.
Diane Daviera
Post-Award and Operations Manager
ddaviera@bsd.uchicago.edu | (773) 834-5302
Diane Daviera administers grants once they have been awarded. This includes tracking and reporting expenditures, creating budgets, and coordinating with project managers, principal investigators, and university administrators. With more than 18 years of financial and administrative experience, Diane comes to CHeSS from the University of Chicago Department of Medicine, where she served as a Post-Award Administrator. She has also worked as a financial administrator for the Sections of General Internal Medicine and Cardiology. Prior to her time at the University of Chicago, Diane earned a secretarial and accounting diploma from Sawyer College of Business in Hammond, Indiana.
Linda Gates
Administrative Specialist
lgates@bsd.uchicago.edu | (773) 834-1267
Linda Gates provides administrative support to the CHeSS staff to ensure efficient operation of the Center. She brings over 20 years of administrative and accounting experience to CHeSS. Linda joined the staff in the Spring of 2018.
Methods Core Research
Andrea Flores, MA
Senior Director, Methods Core
aflores@bsd.uchicago.edu | (773) 702-7905
Andrea Flores, Methods Core Senior Director, has over 15 years of experience in the area of health services research and analytics. Ms. Flores holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from the Harris School at UChicago and a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Chile. Over the course of her career, Andrea has developed and deepened her skills working on a variety of research roles; from programmer and research analyst to projects, data and teams’ lead. She has experience working with a broad range of health data sources and can provide assistance and guidance with data collection, research administration, project management and data analysis. Previous to her current position, Andrea had a leading role in data collection and processing for the Hospitalist Project and Comprehensive Care Physician Program led by Dr. David Meltzer. Her personal interests include program evaluation, study design and research methods, and data linkages.
Rachel Baccile, MPP
Senior Research Analyst
rbaccile@bsd.uchicago.edu
Rachel Baccile is a Senior Research Analyst and provides analytic support for the Methods Core, the Section of Hospital Medicine, and the Institute for Translational Medicine. She is skilled in using large relational datasets in statistical analysis and can consult on research methods and models. Before joining CHeSS, Rachel worked at the University of Chicago Health Lab, where she focused on randomized controlled trials testing interventions for mental health and substance use disorders among the formerly incarcerated. She holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from the University of Michigan Ford School and a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Vermont.
John Cursio, PhD
Research Assistant Professor
jcursio@health.bsd.uchicago.edu
John Cursio is a Research Assistant Professor from the Biostatistics Laboratory in the Department of Public Health Sciences. He has over 25 years of experience analyzing data in government, industry, and academic hospital settings. His past projects include analysis of clinical trial data in women and minority health populations, quality measurement of stroke care, and pain management of elderly patients. Currently, John develops longitudinal mixed-effects models for the Comprehensive Care Program. He holds a PhD in Biostatistics from the University of Illinois at Chicago and has expertise in missing data techniques for intensive longitudinal data.
Zaed Hussain
Research Analyst
zhussain9@bsd.uchicago.edu
Zaed Hussain is a recent graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago where he received a bachelor’s degree in Applied Statistics. He has a deep interest in pursuing a career as a physician-scientist. His previous experiences include one summer of cancer research studying Pancreatic Cancer at Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, and one semester of Artificial Intelligence/Neural Network research studying Machine Learning and Games at University of Illinois at Chicago. He has also done multiple class projects in Mathematics, Data Analysis, and Machine Learning/Big Data during his undergraduate studies. He is familiar with R, SAS, STATA, and Python.
Max Hyman, BA
Research Analyst
mhyman@medicine.bsd.uchicago.edu
Max Hyman is the newest addition to the CHeSS Methods Core. He is a recent graduate of Northwestern University where he received a bachelor’s degree in economics and a minor in data science. He also completed the prerequisites for medical school as he is interested in pursuing a career as a physician scientist. His previous experiences include two summers of clinical research at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, a summer data science internship at Agentis Energy, and a senior honors thesis about Delta Air Lines’ decision to not sell the middle seat during the COVID-19 pandemic. He has published both in medicine and economics journals, and he is proficient or familiar with R, STATA, SAS, Python, and SQL.
Jane He
Research Assistant
Yijia.He@bsd.uchicago.edu
Jane He is a Research Assistant within the CHeSS Methods Core at the University of Chicago, currently pursuing a Master of Public Health with a concentration in Epidemiology and Data Science. Proficient in R, STATA, SAS, Python, and SQL, Jane excels in statistical analysis and data modeling, leveraging her skills on large relational datasets. Her professional experience includes internships as a Data Analyst at Rainforest Connection, where she applied AI technologies to environmental monitoring, and at SALARY.COM in Shanghai, focusing on in-depth salary data analysis and market trend evaluations. Jane earned a Bachelor of Science in Data Theory degree and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics degree from UCLA, where her coursework covered mathematical statistics, machine learning, and advanced programming. She is particularly interested in applying her data analysis skills in the medical or environmental field, aiming to contribute significantly to research and public health advancements.
Hui Zhang, PhD
Data Analytics Manager
hzhang4@medicine.bsd.uchicago.edu
Hui Zhang is a Data Analytics Manager and provides analytical, data, modeling, and programming support to the researchers within CHeSS and the Section of Hospital Medicine. Her research focuses on using model-driven and data-driven methods including multiscale decision theory, game theory, operations research and computer simulation to address healthcare challenges related to payment and incentive design, clinical decision-making, chronic disease management, and hospital operations management. Before joining CHeSS, Hui has worked in the management consulting industry with a focus on healthcare delivery innovation and has also worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the Becker Friedman Institute at the University of Chicago. She holds a PhD in Industrial & Systems Engineering and an MBA from Virginia Tech.
Oral Health
Kopal Mathur, MA
Program Director, Program in Oral Health
kopalmathur@uchicago.edu | (773) 702-9515
Kopal Mathur is a Program Director for the Program in Oral Health at CHeSS. She provides strategic dental insights into the development and implementation of various oral health projects. Prior to her role in CHeSS, she served as a dental practitioner providing treatment and care to patients with complex oral health conditions in various hospitals. She has led research programs for urban health projects in the United Kingdom and has also developed and implemented National Health programs with the Government of India to improve access and availability of healthcare services. Her research interests include oral health, health workforce, aging, and health education. She has earned a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the University of Chicago, and a Master’s degree in Healthcare Management from the University of Manchester (United Kingdom). She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Dental Surgery from India.
Dimitri Foukas
Dental Assistant, Clinical Research Coordinator
dfoukas@medicine.bsd.uchicago.edu | (773) 795-3303
Dimitri Foukas holds a bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Illinois Chicago, finishing Cum Laude. Dimitri is a passionate healthcare professional, currently pursuing enrollment for a Doctor of Dental Science/Medicine degree. He holds a hybrid role for the Program in Oral Health; his dental assistant role allows him to provide ancillary services for the dental research clinic and gain chairside experience for future endeavors. He is a proven leader when it comes to his Clinical Research Coordinator role-mentoring research assistants, building recruitment strategies, and helping our team manage the daily schedules.
Corinne Packel
Clinical Research Coordinator
Corinne.Packel@bsd.uchicago.edu
Corinne Packel holds a Bachelor of Science in biopsychology, cognition, and neuroscience from the University of Michigan. Prior to this role, she worked as a clinical research assistant in Michigan Medicine’s antiphospholipid clinic. In the future, Corinne hopes to attend medical school so she can continue making a positive impact and working closely with patients.
Gabe Schneider
Clinical Research Coordinator
schneiderg@bsd.uchicago.edu
Gabe Schneider graduated from the University of Chicago in 2022. He holds a BA in Biological Sciences with a concentration in microbiology. As an undergraduate he worked extensively for CHeSS-affiliated studies, as a research assistant in the Hospitalist Project and as a Translational Medicine fellow in the Prochaska Lab’s Anemia Study. His main research interests are translational medicine, public health, and community medicine. In his time as Research Coordinator, he focused on expanding his experience with direct patient care, data management, and the administrative side of healthcare. He is working towards studying for an M.D.
Sarai Velazquez
Research Coordinator
Sarai.Velazquez@bsd.uchicago.edu | (773) 702-1220 ext. 21917
Sarai Velazquez graduated from Western Michigan University in 2024 with a Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Services and Sciences. Before joining the team, Sarai accumulated three years of hands-on experience as a medical assistant at WMed, a residency clinic renowned for its diverse medical specialties. This role provided Sarai a broad exposure to various medical fields, enhancing her clinical skills, and patient care expertise. With a strong commitment to serving the patient community, Sarai aspires to advance her medical career, aiming to make a meaningful impact in healthcare.
Meghan Xiang
Research Analyst, Clinical Research Coordinator
mxiang@bsd.uchicago.edu | (773) 702-7916
Meghan Xiang holds a bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience from the University of Chicago, finishing magna cum laude. She serves in a hybrid role in the Program for Oral Health, allowing her to help with the study’s day-to-day operations and perform study analytics in collaboration with other members of the CHeSS team. In the future, she hopes to pursue a medical career and continue to serve the patient community.
Training Programs and Communications
Lisa Dubin, MA
Assistant Director of Training Programs and Communications
Lisa.Dubin@bsd.uchicago.edu | (773) 702-9168
Lisa Dubin supports the administration and management of CHeSS’s training programs and communications portfolio. Prior to joining CHeSS, Lisa worked in recruiting at an e-commerce company and previously served as a research coordinator with the University of Chicago’s Comprehensive Care, Community and Culture Program (C4P). She holds a Master of Arts in Public Policy from the Harris School at the University of Chicago and a Bachelor’s degree in Urban Studies, Psychology, and Business from Elmhurst University.
Joshua E. Santiago, MA
Assistant Director of Training Programs and Communications
joshua.santiago@bsd.uchicago.edu| (773) 702-8025
Joshua Santiago supports the administration and management of CHeSS’s training programs and communications portfolio related to the pre-and-post-doctoral programs. Prior to joining CHeSS, Joshua was a research project manager in the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University. He is a health and organizational communication scholar whose research is two fold: one, focusing on health-related organizational communication, examining the impact of physical design on communication, work processes, and patient outcomes in hospital-based settings and two, mHealth related research within the area of pediatrics and maternal mental health. Joshua received his BA in Health Communication from the University of Kentucky and MA in Communication from San Diego State University. He is currently a doctoral candidate in Health Communication at the University of Kentucky.