Center for Care Delivery and Outcomes Research

Amanda Christensen, BS, RN, DNP student
VAQS Fellow

Amanda is a Doctorate of Nursing Practice student at the University of Minnesota. Her area of focus is Health Innovation and Leadership. Her current areas of research interest include improving access to healthcare, community based integrative models of care, nursing education, quality improvement, and design and systems thinking.

Areas of Interests:

• Improving healthcare access
• Community based integrative models of care
• Nursing education
• Quality improvement
• Design and systems thinking

 Education:

• BS, RN, Nursing, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT
• DNP student, Health Innovation and Leadership, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN

Jillian Fish, PhD
HSR&D Fellow

Jill Fish, PhD is a counseling psychologist. The focus of her research and clinical practice is transforming social institutions to be more just and equitable for Native American and Indigenous peoples. Towards this end, she strives to integrate science, practice, and culture in her work, in which she uses innovative story-based strategies, traditional medicines, and cultural modalities of healing to promote the health and well-being of Native American and Indigenous peoples. She is a member of the Tuscarora Nation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.

• Indigenous well-being
• Science-practice-culture integration
• Story-based data gathering strategies
• Community-based research
• Systemic change to promote equity

Education:

• BA, Psychology and Philosophy, Niagara University, Lewiston, NY
• MS, Mental Health Counseling, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
• PhD, Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN

Allison Gustavson, DPT, PhD
HSR&D Fellow

Dr. Gustavson is a Physical Therapist and clinical researcher with in an interest in advancing the application of evidence into clinical practice through implementation science. Her research focuses on optimizing interdisciplinary rehabilitation approaches to maximize short and long-term functional outcomes for healthy aging.

Research Interests:

• Healthy aging
• Rehabilitation
• Functional outcomes
• Functional recovery post-hospitalization
• Interdisciplinary approaches to care delivery
• Evidence-based practice
• Implementation Science
• Mixed Methods

 Education:

• BS, Biochemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
• DPT, Physical Therapy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
• PhD, Rehabilitation Science, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO

Check out a full publication list on Pub Med.

Wendy Miller, MD
HSR&D Fellow

Dr. Miller is a general interest with an interest addiction treatment and chronic pain as well as healthcare disparities. Her current research focus are addiction treatment implantation and chronic pain.

Areas of interest

• Addiction treatment
• Healthcare access and disparities
• Chronic pain treatment 

Education

• BS, Biology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
• MD, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
• Residency, Internal Medicine, Hennepin Healthcare, Minneapolis, MN

Joyce Brettner, DNP, MAHS, RN-BC
VAQS Fellow 

Joyce is a nurse VA Quality Scholar (VAQS) fellow at the Minneapolis VA Health Center. She is a board-certified nurse informaticist. She is interested in improving nursing education in the areas of informatics and the science of improvement to advance quality and safety in health care through evidence-based quality improvement practices.

Areas of interest:

• Informatics and nursing informatics
• Integrative health and holistic nursing
• Nursing education
• Process and quality/systems improvement
• Improvement science

Education:

• AD, Nursing, Inver Hills Community College, Inver Grove Heights, MN
• BS, Nursing, Bethel University, St. Paul, MN.
• MA, Holistic Health Studies, St. Catherine University, St. Paul, MN
• DNP, Informatics, University of MN, Minneapolis, MN