Currently Funded Projects:

Surveillance of Medically Attended Injuries in Farm Children
As part of the broader National Children's Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety, this project will develop a regional platform for agricultural injury surveillance in children and adolescents who live on farms. Multi-year trends in agricultural injuries will be estimated and the highest risk population subgroups will be identified.

Funding Source: National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health
PI: Jeffrey VanWormer, PhD


Wisconsin Infant Study Cohort
This birth cohort study explores associations between children raised in farm and non-farm environments, and the impacts on asthma and other atopic diseases.

Funding Source: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
PI: Jeffrey VanWormer, PhD


PRagmatic EValuation of evENTs And Benefits of Lipid-lowering in oldEr Adults (PREVENTABLE)
This is a pragmatic, PCORnet trial testing the effects of statin medication on dementia prevention in elderly adults.

Funding Source: National Institutes of Aging 
PI: Karen Alexander, MD, Duke University 
Site PI: Jeffrey VanWormer, PhD


The Greater Plains Collaborative
This work as one of the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute's (PCORI) PCORNet Clinical Data Research Networks, involves 12 academic medical centers to: 1) create a research ready dataset of more than 1 million patients; 2) involve patients, providers, and health systems throughout the research process; 3) develop processes for practical, patient-centered clinical trials that are seamless with health care operations; and, 4) develop cohorts of patients in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), breast cancer, and weight/obesity that can be characterized and surveyed in support of future research.

Funding Source: University of Kansas Medical Center/Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute
PI: Russ Waitman, University of Missouri
Site PI: Jeffrey VanWormer, PhD


The Sentinel Initiative: Detection and Analysis of Adverse Events Related to Regulated Products in Automated Healthcare Data
This public health surveillance project uses automated health care data across 19 health care organizations with many millions of covered lives to evaluate post market medical product safety, providing the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) with the ability to analyze information collected during the course of routine health care, such as data from electronic health record systems, administrative and insurance claims databases and medical registries.

Funding Source: Harvard/Food & Drug Administration
PI: Richard Platt, Harvard 
Site PI: Robert Greenlee, PhD, MPH


Aspirin Dosing: A Patient-Centric Trial Assessing Benefits and Long-Term Effectiveness Trial
This trial will compare low vs. standard-dose aspirin therapy on cardiovascular disease events in adults with heart disease.

Funding Source: Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute
PI: Matthew Roe, MD, Duke University 
Site PI: Jeffrey VanWormer, PhD


Periodontal Disease and Risk of Heart Failure: The PERIDISE Case-Control Study in Wisconsin Adults
This study will examine the association between periodontal disease and incident heart failure in Wisconsin adults.

Funding Source: Celine Seubert Distinguished Physician/Scientist Endowment in Cardiology Research
PI: Jeffrey VanWormer, PhD


Understanding and addressing health disparities in Wisconsin through statewide partnerships.
The aims of this project in collaboration between Marshfield Clinic Research Institute, University of Wisconsin, Medical College of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality, and Wisconsin Health Information Organization are to: 1) report on populations with disparities in health care access, quality, use, and outcomes in Wisconsin over time; 2) build and evaluate statewide capacity to enhance health improvement strategies with best practices that simultaneously reduce disparities; and, 3) facilitate partnerships to develop and amplify research to target disparities that lack evidence-based interventions.

Funding Source: Medical College of Wisconsin/Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment
PI: Joan Neuner, Medical College of Wisconsin
Site PI/Co-Investigator: Robert Greenlee, PhD, MPH

Recently Completed Projects:

Defining Novel Sex Hormone Risk Factors for Primary Sjogrens Syndrome
Using a case-control design, this study identified female estrogen exposures that predict development of Sjogrens Syndrome in Wisconsin.

Funding Source: University of Wisconsin Institute for Clinical & Translational Research
PI: Sara McCoy, MD, University of Wisconsin-Madison 
Site PI: Jeffrey VanWormer, PhD


Midwestern Collaborative for Treating Obesity in Rural Primary Care
This was a multi-site, clinic-randomized trial comparing three obesity treatments in adults. Interventions were delivered in primary care settings across several rural clinics in the Midwest.

Funding Source: Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute
PI: Christie Befort, PhD, University of Kansas Medical Center Research
Site PI: Jeffrey VanWormer, PhD


Longitudinal Studies of Implantable Cardiac Defibrillators (ICDs)
The objective of this study was to evaluate the clinical and device therapy outcomes among patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction undergoing ICD implantation for primary prevention of sudden cardiac death at seven large health systems within the Cardiovascular Research Network (CVRN).

Funding Source: Kaiser Colorado/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality, American College of Cardiology Foundation
Co-PI: Frederick Masoudi, UC Denver
Site/CO-PI: Robert Greenlee, PhD, MPH


Improving Diabetes Quality Reports for Persons with Multiple Chronic Conditions
The aim of this developmental work was to evaluate the utility of existing health care quality reporting data from 3 healthcare systems in Wisconsin to support a more meaningful assessment of health care quality for subjects with multiple chronic conditions. The specific target for this initial work was retrospective data from the pool of subjects with diagnosed diabetes.

Funding Source: University of Wisconsin/Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality
PI: Maureen Smith, University of Wisconsin
Site PI/Co-Investigator: Robert Greenlee, PhD, MPH


Abstracting Device Settings for Comparative Effectiveness of Single vs. Dual Chamber ICDs
This study abstracted implantable cardioverter defibrillator device settings to support comparative effectiveness research studies of single vs. dual chamber ICDs within a large cohort of patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction undergoing ICD implantation for primary prevention of sudden cardiac death at seven large health systems within the Cardiovascular Research Network (CVRN).

Funding Source: Denver Health
PI: Peterson P, UC Denver
Site PI/Co-Investigator: Robert Greenlee, PhD, MPH


Discharge Order Completeness and 30‐Day Re-hospitalizations in Rural Wisconsin Nursing Home Patients
Our long term objective was to improve hospital-to-nursing home discharge communication and thereby, improve nursing home patient safety. In pursuance of this goal and building upon our strong preliminary data, we proposed to determine the impact that discharge order omissions have on 30-day re-hospitalization in patients discharged from rural Wisconsin hospitals to nursing homes, and to identify how work processes and provider training levels in these hospitals influence discharge order communication.

Funding Source: University of Wisconsin/Wisconsin Partnership Program
PI: Amy Kind, University of Wisconsin
Site PI/Co-Investigator: Robert Greenlee, PhD, MPH


Surveillance of Pediatric Obesity Patterns in Wisconsin
This study characterized circannual trends in body weight among children and adolescents using electronic health records.

Funding Source: University of Wisconsin Institute for Clinical and Translational Research
PI: Jeffrey VanWormer, PhD


Preparing to Prioritize CVD (Cardiovascular Disease) Strategies in Rheumatoid Arthritis and Lupus: P2P-CVD
In the general population, attributable risks have been critical to identify U.S. and global preventive care priorities. However, attributable risks in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are unknown. This study's objective was to help fill the critical knowledge gap of attributable risks for CVD and death in RA and SLE, to inform selecting the most important targets for a clinical intervention study to improve risk factor control and event-free survival.

Funding Source: University of Wisconsin/Rheumatology Research Foundation
PI: Christie Bartels, University of Wisconsin
Co-Investigator: Robert Greenlee, PhD, MPH


CVRN-Risks with ICD Placement and Outcomes in Kidney Disease (CVRN-RISK) Study
The aims of this bridge award were: 1) to understand the extent to which patients with heart failure with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction and concomitant reduced kidney function receive guideline-based primary prevention ICDs (implantable cardioverter defibrillators) compared with patients with preserved kidney function; 2) to clarify the effect of kidney function level on complications, hospitalization and death among heart failure patients who do and do not receive an ICD. To view publication and results click here.

Funding Source: University of Washington/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
PI: Nisha Bansal, University of Washington
Site PI: Robert Greenlee, PhD, MPH