Dr. Gigante's interests in medical education research center on direct observation and feedback to learners.

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Health systems research, particularly with use of large administrative databases of inpatient hospitalizations for children - study of pediatric hospital admissions and readmissions to better understand the population of patients who are frequently readmitted, their hospitalization needs and the preventability of their readmissions. Other research interests include the use of pediatric home health services, the growing population of patients with primary mental health conditions admitted to acute care hospitals, and the study of post-discharge phone calls.

Dr. Friedman is the E. Bronson Ingram Chair of Pediatric Oncology and Director of the Division of Hematology/Oncology. She co-leads the Clinical Trials and Population Sciences Research Core for the NCI-funded Meharry-Vanderbilt-Tennessee State University Cancer Partnership (MVTCP). She serves on the Internal Scientific Advisory Committee for the MVTCP where she brings input in population sciences. She has published over 200 manuscripts, largely with a focus on cancer health outcomes. She is the Director for the Vanderbilt Cancer Survivorship Program, a member of the Cancer Health Outcomes and Control Research Program and Deputy Director in the Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center. As such, she contributes to academic, clinical, and educational initiatives in the Division, Department and within the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center.

Dr. Friedman is an internationally recognized physician-scientist, with continuous grant funding for over 25 years. Her research focuses on cancer care delivery and health outcomes across the lifespan for diverse populations of pediatric and adult cancer patients. Her research has contributed to an understanding of psychosocial, functional, and physiologic long-term outcomes for childhood and adult cancer survivors, with contributions to surveillance guidelines and interventions to ameliorate adverse outcomes.

Dr. Friedman is a leader in clinical pediatric oncology, where she has developed and led clinical trials in the Children's Oncology Group (COG) in Hodgkin lymphoma, retinoblastoma, and survivorship. She is on the Hodgkin lymphoma, Rare tumor, Survivorship, and Adolescent and Young Adult committees within the COG. She currently has funding from the National Cancer Institute and foundations to investigate cancer health disparities, cancer control and care delivery in rural populations, psychosocial and functional issues facing adolescent and young adult cancer patients and, in the biology, clinical care and outcomes in sickle cell disease, retinoblastoma and sarcoma. She also leads the clinical trials in hematologic malignancies, retinoblastoma, and survivorship at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt.

Dr. Friedman contributes to the educational initiatives to support the training of the leaders of the future. She is the multiple-PI for a K12 training grant and a T32 training grant, and co-directs educational programs for undergraduates and post-baccalaureate fellows from populations under-represented in science and medicine.

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Dr. Francis is a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in psychosocial interventions for youth with emotional and behavioral challenges, chronic health conditions, and neurodevelopmental differences. Her research includes quality improvement (QI) initiatives to improve access to mental healthcare for youth with chronic illnesses. Previous initiatives include assessing barriers to local mental health services for pediatric patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) and surveying CF caregivers’ interest in mental health service expansions through the Pediatric CF Center at VUMC. Data help guide program development for youth and families served by the CF Center. Dr. Francis plans for similar QI assessment and program development across other medical specialty clinics at VUMC.

Dr. Flack is Medical Director of Project ADAM, Middle Tennessee. Project ADAM is supported by the Children's Hospital and serves to prepare schools and the community in responding to sudden cardiac arrest emergencies with Automated External Defibrillator (AED) use. Dr. Flack is also national co-chair of the Project ADAM Advocacy Committee.

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