Susanne Schmidt, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor/Research

My research focuses on disparities in access to care and outcomes with particular focus on cancer and the impact of the social determinants of health. I have a Ph.D. in Applied Demography with training in quantitative research methods with a focus on health outcomes and experience in evaluation. In addition, I served as the Evaluation Manager for the Evaluation and Implementation Team of our Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) from 2013-2016 and have been co-directing the evaluation efforts for our CTSA since 2016. In addition to my commitment to evaluation and health services research, I have sought opportunities to acquire advanced training in clinical and translational research, resulting in a 2-year Mentored Research Career Development (KL2) award from our CTSA. For this, I have focused on formalizing my training in program evaluation and examining access to care for vulnerable patients with cancer. In addition to my evaluation and research activities, I have been the Course Director for "TSCI 5074: Data Management, Quality Control and Regulatory Issues" since 2019.

Professional Background
Education
- 2013 - PhD - Applied Demography - The University of Texas at San Antonio
- 2008 - DPL - Demography - University of Rostock, Germany
- Postdoctoral Training - Health Policy and Evaluation - University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
Appointments
- 11/2018 - Assistant Professor/Research - University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, Epidemiology & Biostatistics, San Antonio
Research & Grants

Grants

Federal

Funding Agency NIH/NCATS Title INSTITUTE FOR INTEGRATION OF MEDICINE & SCIENCE: A PARTNERSHIP TO IMPROVE HEALTH Status Active Period 5/2018 - 4/2023 Role Co-Investigator Grant Detail Our over-arching Specific Aims are: 1. Accelerate clinical and translational research innovation and team science along the entire T1 to T4 research spectrum by providing an academic home integrated with our strategic partner institutions 2. Expand, diversify, and enhance the workforce of interdisciplinary translational biomedical scientists 3. Implement effective methods to continuously evaluate and optimize services, increase efficiencies, improve processes, endorse common metrics, and reduce costs across all IIMS programs Funding Agency NIH/NCATS Title Harnessing the power of CTSA-CDRN data networks: Using social determinants of health, frailty and functional status to identify at-risk patients & improve risk adjustment Status Active Period 7/2018 - 6/2022 Role Co-Investigator Grant Detail Using the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Project to study risk adjustment in postoperative outcomes using social determinants of health, frailty and functional status. Subawards include UT Health Houston and University of Pittsburgh (two additional sites) and University of Texas Austin (statistics and predictive modeling expertise). We use census data from the American Community Survey at the block group level to assign proxy social risk factors and use natural language processing to develop predictive models of functional outcomes based upon nursing, physical therapy and occupational therapy note. Funding Agency DHHS Title New and Innovative Strategies to Prevent Teenage Pregnancy and Promote Healthy Adolescence in South Texas Status Active Period 10/2018 - 9/2020 Role Co-Investigator Grant Detail The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio will deliver the Need 2 Know (N2K) Foster Care Curriculum to youth ages 10-15 in the Bexar County foster care system as well as to caregivers. In 10 interactive modules, N2K will address unhealthy relationships, dating violence, and risky sexual behavior. The curriculum enhances knowledge of physical development by providing medically accurate information about puberty, anatomy, and pregnancy, and emphasizes the role caregivers play in attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. The 90-minute caregiver component, Parents Need 2 Know (PN2K), teaches caregivers about adolescent brain development, developmental assets, and communication skills. A summative evaluation will test the effectiveness of the N2K Foster Care Curriculum. Funding Agency NCATS Title Clinical and Translational Science Award: Institute for Integration of Medicine and Science: a Partnership to Improve Health Status Complete Period 7/2013 - 6/2018 Role Contributor Grant Detail Within the Institute for Integration of Medicine and Science, MJ Lichtenstein served as the Co-Principal Investigator for Research Education, Training, and Career Development.
NCATS - KL2 TR001118 - KL2 Scholars Career Development Award Program
Total Costs KL2: $3,274,065
NCATS - TL1 TR001119 - TL1 Pre-doctoral Training Program
Total Costs TL1: $620, 395

Dr. Lichtenstein stepped down from his IIMS responsibilities on 12.31.2015

Total Costs for UL1 + KL2 + TL1: $22,707,724
ABSTRACT: San Antonio, the gateway to South Texas, is the 7*^ largest city in the US and the largest metropolitan area with a majority Hispanic population (63%). South Texas is about the size of Ohio, and comprises an impoverished and largely Hispanic population with disproportionate rates of diabetes and obesity, exacerbated by a lack of health insurance and poor access to health care. This region also contains numerous US military installations, and active-duty service members and veterans often have special health issues, including risk for post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic injuries. Unfortunately, neither better access to care nor improved care delivery can eliminate health disparities and meet these complex needs, in addition, research across the full T1 to T4 translational spectrum is required to eliminate knowledge gaps and establish real-world effectiveness that improves health care for our populations. In 2006, UTHSCSA established the Institute for Integration of Medicine and Science (IIMS) to improve health and reduce disparities by accelerating scientific discoveries and applications across the full translational research spectrum. For example, IIMS expanded the number of clinical research units that extend to the Texas-Mexico border from 1 to 7, and dramatically increasing participant access to clinical and translational science. We increased, from 2 to 6, the Practice-Based Research Networks that focus on diverse ambulatory populations. Efforts to address tr

Funding Agency National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health Title Institute for Integration of Medicine and Science Mentored Research Career Development Award (KL2 Scholar) Status Complete Period 5/2016 - 4/2018 Role Principal Investigator Grant Detail Alleviating disparities in breast cancer care and outcomes: The role of changing Medicare Disproportionate Share Hospitals payments in the light of healthcare reform

Private

Funding Agency Goldsbury Foundation Title Culinary Health Education for Families, CHEF Status Active Period 1/2018 - 1/2019 Role Co-Investigator Grant Detail The Culinary Health Education for Families program (CHEF) provides a culturally relevant pathway for individuals to adopt and sustain healthy eating habits through culinary and nutritional education and demonstration for children and their families. The goals of the program are to provide, evaluate, and continuously improve educational activities for children and their families in a community setting, including after-school program activities and summer classes, and drive organizational change in community partners to develop policies and systems to initiate a culture of health and wellness. Our team of DEB and IHPR researchers provides the data-driven evaluation of the effectiveness of CHEF community program to provide unbiased and scientifically valid conclusions on measurable outcomes, including knowledge, culinary skills, eating behavior, and self-efficacy of children participating in the CHEF program. The evaluation team uses state-of-the-art tools for data collection, management, and statistical analyses with the goal to become recognized leaders in the field of improving dietary health in this population.

State

Funding Agency Texas Department of State Health Services Title Get Waivered Texas: Implementation and evaluation of buprenorphine waiver training surge to address the opioid crisis. Status Active Period 11/2018 - 8/2019 Role Co-Investigator Grant Detail The goal of this project is to address the shortage of waivered physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants in Texas by expanding treatment capacity for medication assisted treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) using buprenorphine. Using implementation science, project aims include: 1) provide access to buprenorphine waiver trainings to target regions and health care providers across Texas, including rural areas and 2) facilitate completion of all DATA-2000 waiver requirements. The following objectives will be completed: 1) identify high priority regions and healthcare settings to implement training; 2) promote awareness of the need for buprenorphine waivered health care professionals; 3) provide DATA-2000 (DEA X) training, and 4) facilitate submission and completion of waiver requirements to SAMHSA. Increasing treatment capacity by training providers helps redress the current disparity that occurs because of decreased accessibility in underserved and rural areas; areas of which make up a large portion of the Texas landscape.
Role: Co-Investigator; Evaluation Director
Publications

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Susanne Schmidt, Ph.D.

Professional Background

Education

Appointments

Research & Grants

Grants

Federal

Private

State

Publications

Abstract

Journal Article