The Robert H. Ebert Career Development Award, named for the founder of Harvard Community Health Plan and former Dean of Harvard Medical School, supports the work of Institute faculty who demonstrate exceptional promise in the area of ambulatory care, primary care, or preventive medicine.

These awards provide resources to develop leading-edge programs in teaching and research and to pursue scientific and professional activities consistent with the department’s mission. Congratulations to this year’s awardees!

Kurt D. Christensen, PhD

Research Focus: The cost-effectiveness of whole genome sequencing of healthy adults and the medical/economic impact of integrating genetic information in primary care settings

Proposed Project: Dr. Christensen's Ebert Award will be used to develop an Outcomes Toolkit for Genomic Screening, a database of tools and strategies to guide the unbiased evaluation of genomic screening.

Genomic testing, where patients’ exomes or genomes are queried to identify health risks and to personalize health care decisions, is increasingly being integrated into all aspects of medicine. However, few studies have rigorously evaluated the benefits, harms and costs of applications of genomic screening, however; these critical gaps in the literature exist -  in part, because appropriate methods for outcomes assessment are often unclear.

Anjum Khurshid, MD, PhD

Research Focus: The applied and translational aspects of data analytics and health informatics

Proposed Project: Dr. Khurshid's project, "Feasibility Study for Setting Up a National HIE Data Network for Supporting Population-based Research", will investigate the feasibility of a national network of Health Information Exchanges (HIEs). HIEs can provide a geographically comprehensive and interlinked patient-level database in near real-time for epidemiological and population health research.

Despite billions being spent in digitizing the health system, there is still not a single national-level data system that captures health data for the entire population. Such a linked national HIE system will capture a relatively more complete picture of the entire US population and provide an almost real-time access to clinical data with some level of standardization and normalization as a data utility hub.