Leadership
Acting Chief Research and Development Officer (CRADO)
Acting Director, Cooperative Studies Program
Director, Clinical Research Pharmacy Coordinating Center (CSPRPCC)
Todd A. Conner, PharmD
Dr. Connor is the Director of the CSPRPCC in Albuquerque, NM. His current role includes managing clinical trial materials, monitoring adverse event reporting, and participating on the Executive, Data Monitoring and Writing Committees. Dr. Conner also manages extramural research collaborations, CRPCC research portfolio, educational affiliations, and strategic planning. He has been a member of the Albuquerque VA Hospital Research and Development Committee since 2014.
Directors, CSP Coordinating Centers (CSPCCs)
Boston
Ryan E. Ferguson, ScD, MPH
Dr. Ferguson is the Director of the CSPCC in Boston, MA, where he is involved in the design and conduct of large multi-center randomized clinical trials. Dr. Ferguson joined the Cooperative Studies Program in 2001 and has since focused on clinical trial methodologies for conducting pragmatic comparative effectiveness trials. He currently serves as a Principal Investigator for the VA’s Point of Care Research Program which is focused primarily on pragmatic clinical trials and innovation in translational science. In addition to his interests in clinical trials methodology and pragmatic trials, Dr. Ferguson’s research interests are focused on the epidemiology of acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease. Dr. Ferguson’s published work includes first authored publications, abstracts, presentations, and book chapters on pragmatic trials and trial design. Dr. Ferguson is on faculty at Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine as an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the department of General Internal Medicine. He is also a member of the Society for Clinical Trials, the Society for Epidemiologic Research, and the American Statistical Association.
Hines
Acting Director: Kimberly Carlson, MS
Palo Alto
Ying Chen, PhD
Perry Point
Kousick Biswas, PhD
Dr. Biswas is Director of the CSPCC in Perry Point, MD. He has served in the role of the principal statistician in numerous CSP, NIDA and University of Maryland-sponsored multisite randomized clinical trials and observational clinical studies in variety of disease areas that include substance abuse disorders, skin cancer, mental health and heart disease. Dr. Biswas has published numerous papers in peer-reviewed journals and presented talks in national and international conferences in clinical trial management and statistical applications in clinical trials data area. He also is an assistant professor in Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Maryland.
West Haven
Tassos C. Kyriakides, PhD
Dr. Kyriakides is the Director of the CSPCC in West Haven, CT. He has been with CSP for the last nineteen years as a Biostatistician; in April 2015, he was appointed as Acting Deputy Director at the West Haven CSP Coordinating Center, a position he served until his appointment as Center Director in October of 2018. His research expertise is in the area of infectious diseases. Dr. Kyriakides has worked as a biostatistician on numerous national and international clinical trials. He is a statistical consultant/analyst on numerous research protocols, has served on scientific evaluation committees (US and Canada) and is a statistical reviewer for The Lancet Infectious Diseases and The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology. In addition, Dr. Kyriakides has faculty appointments at the Yale School of Public Health. He serves as an Abstract Mentor for the International AIDS Society and is a fellow at Yale’s Saybrook College.
Directors, CSP Epidemiology Centers (CSPECs)
Boston
J. Michael Gaziano, MD, MPH
Dr. Gaziano is the Scientific Director of the CSP Massachusetts Veteran’s Epidemiology Research Center (MAVERIC), Boston, MA. He is a cardiologist and chronic disease epidemiologist extensive experience on numerous large-scale, multicenter trials. Notably, he is Principal Investigator (PI) of the Million Veteran Program (MVP). Dr. Gaziano’s expertise spans the spectrum of research studies, including clinical, analytical and logistic aspects of clinical trials, and a deep understanding of conducting trials within the Veteran’s Affairs Healthcare System.
Durham
Acting Director: Christina D. Williams, PhD, MPH
Palo Alto
Philip Tsao, PhD
Seattle
Nicholas Smith, PhD, MPH
Dr. Smith is Director of the Seattle Epidemiologic Research and Information Center (ERIC) and the VET Registry, and professor of Epidemiology at the University of Washington. Dr. Smith provides overall leadership for the administrative and scientific goals of the Center. He has been involved with VA-based epidemiologic and health services research for more than 20 years.
West Haven
Mihaela Aslan, PhD
Dr. Aslan is the Director of the CSP-Clinical Epidemiology Research Center (CERC) in West Haven, CT and has been with CSP since 1999. As a mathematical statistician, Dr. Aslan conducts methodological research on a range of clinical topics to help replicate and generalize randomized clinical trial “gold standard” results by combining observational / epidemiologic studies within “big” quality data from electronic medical records and causal inference methodology to advance patient-oriented research, improve clinical practice and patient outcomes in general, through translation of research findings to real-world populations, and ultimately building a learning healthcare system model. In addition, Dr. Aslan has a Research Scientist faculty appointment at the Yale School of Medicine.
Associate Director, Network of Dedicated Enrollment Sites (NODES)
Marcus R. Johnson, MPH, MBA, MHA
Marcus R. Johnson is the Associate Director for the VA CSP Network of Dedicated Enrollment Sites (NODES). In this role, he provides executive leadership and strategic direction for this clinical research network which spans across 21 VA healthcare systems and 17 states and is an infrastructure that increases the accessibility of CSP research to Veterans across these sites of care. His primary interests are in developing strategies for increasing operational efficiencies in clinical research execution and healthcare delivery, and he has broad experience in clinical research and healthcare administration. Mr. Johnson received his Master’s degree in Public Health (Health Behavior/Health Education) from the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and also holds Master’s degrees in Business Administration and Health Administration from Pfeiffer University. He has also served as adjunct faculty with the Department of Public Health, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University and the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health.
Pharmacogenomics Analysis Laboratory (PAL)
Acting Director: Annjanette (Angie) Stone
