Save The Date: New AHRQ Lecture Series Begins October 27 With Principal Investigator of PROMIS Statistical Coordinating Center

Mark your calendars for the opening event of AHRQ’s new Director’s Lecture Series, which begins at the Agency on October 27 with David Cella, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Medical Social Sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and director of the Center for Patient-Centered Outcomes – Institute for Public Health and Medicine. Dr. Cella’s research is focused in basic measurement research, descriptive studies of quality of life (QoL) and cancer survival, analysis and interpretation of patient-reported outcomes data in clinical trials and QoL intervention research. He developed and validated several dozen questionnaires, known collectively as the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy Measurement System (FACIT), that are in wide use internationally. Most recently, he has led the National Institutes of Health’s Common Fund Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) as chair of its steering committee and principal investigator of its statistical center. He also has a parallel project, referred to as PROsetta Stone, which links common QoL measures across important life domains. The Director’s Lecture Series will feature experts in areas aligned with AHRQ’s work to improve patient safety, research on delivery system reform and patient-centered outcomes research. Additional details about Dr. Cella’s talk, “PROMIS: Opportunities for Clinical and Population Research,” will be announced soon.