Core Research + Innovation Team

Andrew Hamilton, RN, BSN, MS, Chief Informatics Officer

Mr. Hamilton is a Master’s-prepared Nurse Informaticist with 18 years of experience in both in-patient nursing care and outpatient community health, as well as nursing administration. As the Chief Informatics Officer, Mr. Hamilton is responsible for developing clinical decision support and National Clinical Performance Measures into the organization’s EHR and is leading the organization’s efforts related to the development and implementation of an Enterprise Data Warehouse solution. Prior to working for AllianceChicago, Mr. Hamilton was a Pediatric Critical Care nurse and a member of a large academic hospital HIT team supporting the implementation of clinical information systems. He has also served as Director of Patient Care Services for Howard Brown Health Center, a Chicago-based Federally Qualified Health Center. Mr. Hamilton is the Past President of the Board of the Centricity Healthcare User Group (CHUG) and is a member of several local, state, and national working groups related to EHR and performance measurements. In addition, he is adjunct faculty at Loyola University School of Nursing and the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Nursing. Mr. Hamilton holds a BS in Nursing and an MS in Nursing Business and Health Systems Administration with a focus on Nursing Informatics, both from the University of Michigan School of Nursing. ahamilton@alliancechicago.org

David Liss, PhD, Health Services Research Scientist

Dr. Liss joined AllianceChicago in November 2021 as a Health Services Research Scientist. He conducts research to improve the quality and value of primary care delivery, and has expertise in the evaluation of real-world interventions using both observational and experimental research designs. Since 2013, he has been a faculty member at the Division of General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, where he serves as Research Associate Professor. At Northwestern, he has led studies on the use of smartphone apps to coordinate care for low-income patients who visit hospitals throughout Chicagoland, diagnostic coding of social determinants of health, and interventions that simultaneously address patients’ medical and social needs. Dr. Liss has also served as a Co-Investigator on several pragmatic trials testing the effectiveness of interventions in historically underserved populations. He received his PhD in Health Services Research from the University of Washington. dliss@alliancechicago.org

Jennifer Morrison, APRN, MPH, Clinical Research Scientist

Ms. Morrison joined AllianceChicago in 2021 as a Clinical Research Scientist. In this role, she works closely with researchers and health centers to facilitate meaningful partnerships and engagement in community-based participatory research. Ms. Morrison is a board-certified pediatric nurse practitioner with additional certification as a pediatric primary care mental health specialist. She practices at the Angel Harvey Family Health Center of the Infant Welfare Society of Chicago where she was previously Director of Quality Management and has volunteered internationally through International Medical Corps in Haiti. Ms. Morrison received her Master of Science in Nursing and Master of Public Health Degree from Johns Hopkins University. jmorrison@alliancechicago.org

Rashmi Narayan, MD, FAAP, Clinical Research Scientist

Dr. Narayan is a board-certified pediatrician with 12 years of experience working with a diverse range of patients, leading advocacy efforts, and contributing to clinical and health services research. After 10 years in academic pediatrics, she joined AllianceChicago as a Clinical Research Scientist in September of 2021. In this role, Dr Narayan works collaboratively as a principal investigator and clinical expert to leverage Health Information Technology infrastructure to advance research that promotes health equity and reduces health disparities. She received her medical degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry and completed her pediatric residency at the University of California at Los Angeles, where she also was selected to be a chief pediatric resident. Dr. Narayan was an academic pediatrician at Saint Louis University and Rush University Medical Center prior to joining AllianceChicago. rnarayan@alliancechicago.org

Oluwaseun Olatunbosun, MPH, Research Manager

Ms. Olatunbosun joined AllianceChicago in September 2022. In her role, she works closely with internal and external research stakeholders to plan, design and execute multiple research projects and disseminate findings from research to the relevant partners. Prior to joining AllianceChicago, she worked as a Project Manager at Atlantia Clinical Trials supervising the execution of research projects in functional foods and nutrition across multiple disease areas. Ms. Olatunbosun also served as Research Coordinator and subsequently as Data and Quality Control Manager on HIV research projects focused on women’s reproductive health and maternal and child health in a peri-urban community in Cape Town, South Africa. She received her BSc in Mathematical Sciences and Statistics from University of Agriculture Abeokuta, Nigeria and a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology from University of Cape Town, South Africa. oolatunbosun@alliancechicago.org

Jeff Panzer, MD, MS, Physician Innovator

Dr. Panzer joined AllianceChicago in September 2017. He is the physician innovator at AllianceChicago, vice president of care transformation for Tapestry 360 Health, and a practicing family physician. Dr. Panzer works to modify roles, workflows, culture, and technology to transform primary care and better meet the needs of patients and care teams. He helped to create Tapestry’s Innovation Center at Albany Park. Dr. Panzer previously served as practice transformation consultant at the AMA and a medical director at two value-based primary care companies. He was also a medical director at a health center in rural Ethiopia. Dr. Panzer is a graduate of Temple University School of Medicine and received his Master’s degree in healthcare quality and patient safety from Northwestern University. He is board-certified in Family Medicine. jpanzer@alliancechicago.org

Fred D. Rachman, MD, Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Rachman has been with AllianceChicago since its inception in 1997, assuming the role of CEO in 2003. In his role as CEO, Dr. Rachman has overall responsibility for AllianceChicago programs, including strategic direction, assurance of appropriate resources, and external relationships. He also serves as co-director of the Chicago Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center (CHITREC). Dr. Rachman is an attending physician in pediatrics at Lurie Children’s and Northwestern Memorial Hospitals and sees patients at Erie Family Health Center. He is on the Board of Directors of the Health Information Management Systems Society, and serves on the Illinois Health Information Exchange Advisory Committee. Dr. Rachman is a graduate of Temple University School of Medicine (MD) and Johns Hopkins University (BA), and completed post-graduate courses in Ethics, Economics, and Healthcare Management at Harvard University School of Public Health. He is board-certified in Pediatrics. frachman@alliancechicago.org

Jodi Simon, DrPH, MS, Health Services Research Scientist 

Dr. Simon joined AllianceChicago in 2019 as a Health Services Research Scientist. In this role Dr. Simon works with participating health centers and external stakeholders to conduct patient outcomes and health services research. She brings over 18 years of experience as an independent consultant conducting health services research primarily focused on drivers of adoption of health information technology (HIT) and the use of HIT to support chronic disease care. Prior to consulting, she worked for Kaiser Permanente developing disease management and other population health programs and also worked for various HIT companies. Dr. Simon received her Master of Science in Health Policy from the Harvard School of Public Health and her Doctorate of Public Health from the UC Berkeley School of Public Health. jsimon@alliancechicago.org

Jena Wallander, MPH, BSN, RN, Research Associate

Ms. Wallander joined AllianceChicago in 2019 and serves as a coordinator for research within community health centers (CHCs). In her role, she provides administrative support to AllianceChicago’s Research Team and manages health research projects geared toward improving healthcare at CHCs. Prior to joining AllianceChicago, Ms. Wallander worked as the Communications and Evaluation Coordinator at the Illinois Hunger Coalition, a statewide anti-hunger advocacy organization, where she managed all external communications for the organization as well as analyzed direct service interventions for efficacy, and as a Pediatric Medical/Surgical Nurse at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. Ms. Wallander is a graduate of Marquette University and received her Master of Public Health Degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago. jwallander@alliancechicago.org 

Eve Walter, PhD, Director of Research and Evaluation

Dr. Walter joined AllianceChicago in October 2022 as the Director of Research and Evaluation. Dr. Walter has over a decade of experience leading primary care research centering on reducing disparities in health and delivering patient-centered care including studies related with diabetes, women’s health, integrative medicine, and medication adherence. Since 2018, Dr. Walter has held a faculty appointment as Associate Professor of Research at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. In that role, in addition to supporting the scholarly pursuits of medical faculty for a large New York-based FQHC, Dr. Walter served as faculty on three primary care residencies. Dr. Walter is currently the PI on an NIH funded study examining diversity in recruitment and retention in clinical trials and has been the lead evaluator on numerous federal and state funded grants. At AllianceChicago, Dr. Walter will focus on supporting and growing our research infrastructure. Dr. Walter received her PhD in Epidemiology at the University of Albany in 2005. ewalter@alliancechicago.org 

Andrea Wilson, MS, Innovation Strategist

Ms. Wilson joined AllianceChicago in March 2017. In her role as Innovation Strategist, she works across multiple teams at the organization to analyze, design, and operationalize technology-enabled innovative solutions. She focuses on creating unique value via new products, services, processes and/or experiences at AllianceChicago and partner organizations. Over her career, Ms. Wilson has held various roles in product development, digital transformation, and user experience design at UnitedHealth Group, McKinsey & Company and University of Chicago. Ms. Wilson received her Master of Science from the University of Chicago. awilson@alliancechicago.org 

Ta-Yun Yang, MS, Clinical Data Manager

Mr. Yang joined AllianceChicago in 2020 and serves as a clinical data manager for multiple research projects. In this role, he develops queries, optimizes algorithms, and conducts statistical analysis with electronic health records for public health researchers. He also enhances the communication between healthcare professionals and technical experts. Prior to joining AllianceChicago, Mr. Yang worked as a data science assistant at the Cook County Assessor Office and Department of Finance in Taiwan, where he applied his computer science and programming skills to improve the efficiency and equity in data-driven policies. Mr. Yang received his Master of Science from the University of Chicago. tyang@alliancechicago.org