Health through engineering and analytics.
Administrative Staff
Pavlos Vlachos
Director, Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering
St. Vincent Health Professor of Healthcare Engineering
Dr. Vlachos received his Diploma in Mechanical Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens (1995) and his MS (1998) and PhD (2000) in Engineering Science and Mechanics from Virginia Tech. He joined the department of Mechanical Engineering at Virginia Tech as assistant professor (2003) and he was promoted to associate (2007), and full professor (2011). In August 2013 he joined the School of Mechanical Engineering at Purdue, and he currently serves as President’s Fellow for Research Development. He is also associate editor for the International Journal of Multi-Phase Flows. Dr. Vlachos was appointed Director of the Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering in February 2021.
Dr. Jerome Adams
Presidential Fellow
Executive Director of Health Equity Initiatives
Dr. Jerome Adams joined RCHE in October 2021 and his home department is Pharmacy Practice and Public Health. Prior to becoming the 20th U.S. surgeon general, Adams served as Indiana state health commissioner from 2014 through 2017. Dr. Adams also has served as an associate professor of anesthesia at Eskenazi Health in Indianapolis. Adams received his Master of Public Health with a focus on chronic disease prevention from the University of California, Berkeley, and his medical doctorate from Indiana University School of Medicine. His postgraduate internship was at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Indianapolis and he completed his anesthesiology residency at the Indiana University Department of Anesthesia in 2006.
Petros Drineas, PhD
Professor and Associate Head, Computer Science
RCHE Associate Director, Health Data Science
Dr. Drineas' research interests lie in the design and analysis of algorithms to analyze modern, big-data datasets, with a particular emphasis on the analysis of health data integrating patient records with genomics. His work explores genetic variation to inform the risk of disease, characterize health conditions, and improve medical interventions and therapeutics.
Nan Kong, PhD
Professor, Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering
RCHE Associate Director, Health Systems
Dr. Kong applies his research expertise in operations research and systems analytics to design and operations optimization problems arising in health systems, ranging from trauma care network design to nursing home staff planning and EMS vehicle dispatch and redeployment. He has developed computer models and conducted model-based analysis in population health research for preventing colorectal cancer and heart diseases. He is increasingly working in the realm of digital health by leading community-health solution development projects on mental health and paramedicine.
Sonak Pastakia, PharmD, MPH, PhD, BCPS, FCCP
Professor, Pharmacy Practice
Pharmacist, Indiana University Kenya Partnership
RCHE Associate Director, Population Health and Health Equity
Dr. Pastakia's research focuses on implementation science and improving population health worldwide, including diabetes, HIV, and non-communicable diseases, to supply chain infrastructure in low- and middle-income countries.
Natalia Rodriguez, PhD, MPH
Assistant Professor, Public Health
Assistant Professor, Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering
RCHE Associate Director, Population Health and Health Equity
Dr. Rodriguez's research lies at the intersection of Public Health and Biomedical Engineering and takes a community-based participatory approach to health technology design and implementation. Her current work focuses on developing new point-of-care cancer detection tools and innovative deployment strategies to address cancer disparities. Dr. Rodriguez's research engages underserved communities in designing and implementing innovative technologies to address health disparities.
Evan Perrault, PhD
Associate Professor, Brian Lamb School of Communication
RCHE Assistant Director, Health Education, and Communication
Dr. Perrault is interested in translational research, finding ways to distill complex information for the public, and researching the best ways healthcare systems can design more effective physician biographies on their websites.
Alissa L. Russ-Jara, PhD
Darr-Chaney Associate Professor, Pharmacy Practice
RCHE Assistant Director, Health Systems
Dr. Russ-Jara is an expert in human factors engineering, usability, and human-computer interaction. Her career is devoted to advancing health information technologies to better support clinicians' cognitive work and improve medication safety for patients.
Allison Bryan Jungels
Assistant Director - Operations, Outreach and Partnerships
Allison Bryan-Jungels, MS, serves as the Assistant Director- Operations, Outreach and Partnerships of Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering (RCHE) and Purdue Healthcare Advisors (PHA). In these roles, she oversees the daily operations at RCHE and connects the university with healthcare providers interested in improving processes within their respective organizations as well as manages an internal team of subject-matter experts who collaborate to develop innovative service offerings. Allison received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Purdue University.
Melanie Cline
RCHE Assistant Director
PHA Senior Director
Melanie Cline, RN, MSN, LPC, has worked for PHA since 2015 when she came aboard to conduct research at Regenstrief Center while coaching hospitals and healthcare agencies in process improvement through her position at PHA. She led the Quality Processes for Health Improvement program at Marion General Hospital to re-engineer chronic disease management for patients diagnosed with heart failure. She also led the Small Care Neighborhood and Empowered Communities initiatives, both of which provide a response to the opioid epidemic. Melanie earned a Master of Science in Nursing from Indiana University and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Purdue University. She holds a Lean/Six Sigma Green Belt Certification.
Milad Alucozai
RCHE/Bindley Entrepreneurship Fellow
malucoza@purdue.eduMilad is head of Bio and Deep Tech at BoxOne Ventures, a privately held investment firm that focuses on early-stage companies. He is also a Venture Partner at Entrepreneur First, a global fund with a portfolio value of over $5 billion. In 2021, he was appointed as a Strategic Advisor to LifeOmic, and as an External Advisor to AstraZeneca in 2020, working on initiatives to partner more closely with startups. Milad began his career as a bench scientist working in translational neuroscience and multiphysics labs and transitioned into founding roles at multiple healthcare and bio startups. He was a National Science Foundation Scholar and Macklin Fellow at Johns Hopkins Medicine and graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in Neuroscience from Purdue University’s Honors Program. As a George J. Mitchell Scholar, he completed graduate school in Immunology & Public Health.
Oscar Moralez
RCHE/Bindley Entrepreneurship Fellow
omoralez@purdue.eduOscar Moralez is a serial entrepreneur, university lecturer, mentor/coach, and venture capital investor based in Indiana. In 2020 he founded Boomerang Ventures, a venture studio and venture fund that provides a funding and resource platform for entrepreneurs to bring their healthcare ideas to life. He is also the founder and managing director of VisionTech Partners (VisionTech), which he formed in 2009. In addition to his experience in startups, investing and capital formation, Oscar’s background includes over twenty years of technical, operations and management experience in healthcare and life sciences sectors. Oscar received his Bachelor of Science degree in medical technology from the University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and an MBA from the University of Colorado in Denver.
Lauren Johannigman
Research Operations Administrator
Lauren Johannigman serves as a Research Operations Administrator for Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering (RCHE). In this role, she is responsible for overseeing day-to-day operations of research activities, centers, or sponsored programs. She has ten years of previous IT experience within the university where she discovered her love of problem solving and finding solutions that make work lives better for those she supports. Lauren earned bachelor’s degrees from Purdue University in English and psychology, and plans to pursue her master's degree in project management.
Kit Klutzke
Systems Administrator
Kit Klutzke has over 25 years of professional information technology experience. He joined the center in 2014, after serving eight years as data administrator to the Registrar’s Office and previously as a systems analyst for Caterpillar, Inc. Kit strives to deliver quality IT solutions to the center and its constituents. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Technology from Purdue University.
Michelle Pearson
Research Operations Administrator
Michelle Pearson, Research Operations Administrator, Eli Lilly Strategic Partnership and Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering (RCHE) has been at Purdue since 2017. She was hired to lead the financial responsibilities of the Eli Lilly Strategic Partnership. She now has oversite of the day-to-day operations and research activities for both the Lilly Strategic Partnership and RCHE. She facilitates communication among multiple departments, faculty, research teams, and external constituents. She approves sponsor required fiscal and management reports and makes recommendations to facilitate effective processes and procedures in collaboration with leadership.
Cathy Scott
Program Manager, BoilerWoRx
Program Director, CORE-ECI
Catherine (Cathy) Scott joined the Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering in a joint position with the College of Pharmacy in August 2018 as the Program Manager for the BoilerWoRx initiative. BoilerWoRx is a mobile health initiative that brings vital services and training to communities across Indiana. It provides a response to Indiana’s public health crisis stemming from the opioid epidemic. The BoilerWoRx program identifies and evaluates evidence based data to guide health care professionals and students as they work to make an impact in the areas hardest hit by this crisis. Cathy received her degree in nursing from Indiana University and maintains a Certified Healthcare Quality Professional (CPHQ) designation.
