Click on a name or scroll down to see their full biographies

Mark A. Jewell, PhD
Kevin J. Colgan, MA, R.Ph., FASHP
Andris Dzelme, CPA
P. Anne Farley, MSM, RN
Alicia C. Shillington, PhD
Stephen J. Sokalski, DO
Andrew M. Baker, MPA
Cheryl Brewster, MHA
Katie L. Deering, PharmD, BCPS
Carla B. Frye, PharmD, BCPS, FASHP
Qing Harshaw, MD, PhD
Peter M. Herout, PharmD
Anthony J. Vita, MD, MPH
Ling Zhou, PhD

Mark A. Jewell, PhD
President

Dr. Jewell is a co-founder and President of EPI-Q, Inc. He received his Master of Public Health from the University of Illinois School of Public Health and a Doctorate in Health Services and Epidemiology from Walden University, Minneapolis, Minnesota. He holds faculty positions at the University of Illinois College of Pharmacy and School of Public Health. Mark was integral in the development and implementation of the Clinical Quality Improvement Program at Advocate Health System, the largest integrated system in Illinois. He has served as a consultant to the Institute for Cultural Affairs in developing HIV testing strategies in third world nations and has chaired professional organizations and task forces related to health improvement initiatives. He has co-authored numerous peer-reviewed articles related to Clinical Quality Improvement. Mark is an accomplished epidemiologist having worked for the pharmaceutical industry and managed care providers developing population-based predictive models to identify patients at risk for significant events. In addition, he has provided design, analytic, and pharmacoeconomic expertise for Phase III and Phase IV clinical trials that were part of FDA submissions. Mark remains active in professional organizations such as the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR).

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Alicia C. Shillington, PhD
Senior Vice President

Dr. Alicia Shillington is a co-founder and Senior Vice President at EPI-Q, Inc. Dr. Shillington has nearly 25 years' experience in clinical, epidemiologic, pharmacoeconomic and outcomes research. She has extensive background in quantitative methods in measuring clinical and economic outcomes associated with health care delivery, health program implementation. Her research areas of focus have included oncology, vascular surgery, metabolic disease, asthma, allergy and immunology, cardiology, cardio-pulmonary medicine, and infectious disease, including HIV-AIDS. Alicia has published and presented extensively. Her articles have appeared in numerous publications including Circulation, Archives of Internal Medicine, Journal of Vascular Surgery, and the American Journal of Cardiology. Her research has been cited in national guidelines, including those published by the American College of Chest Physicians. Her work has been presented at national and international meetings including the International AIDS Society, CHEST, American Heart Association, Infectious Disease Society of America, American Association for the Study of Liver Disease, and American Venous Forum. Before joining EPI-Q in 1994, Alicia spent 10 years developing the Epidemiology and Outcomes Research function within Advocate Health Care, a leading integrated healthcare delivery system. She collaboratively created and implemented clinical treatment guidelines and outcomes improvement programs. She conducted program evaluation to document clinical outcomes and cost reductions in the areas of infectious disease, cardiology, general, and orthopedic surgery. Among her honors, Alicia has received awards from International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) for her research into disparities in antithrombotic therapy. She holds a PhD. in Public Health Sciences, Health Policy/Health Services Research, and an MPH in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from University of Illinois. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Valparaiso University.

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Stephen J. Sokalski, DO
Vice President, Medical Affairs

Dr. Sokalski is a co-founder of EPI-Q, Inc. and acts as Chief, Section of Infectious Disease and Medical Director of Epidemiology at Christ Hospital and Medical Center, Oak Lawn, Illinois. He holds faculty positions at The University of Illinois School of Medicine, Chicago, Rush University, College of Medicine and The Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine. He is a graduate of Midwest University Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Sokalski has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on the subjects of Infectious Disease Medicine and Clinical Quality Improvement.

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Andrew M. Baker, MPA
Vice President

Drew Baker has over 20 years' experience operating in and consulting to the global biopharmaceutical and healthcare industries. He has led initiatives in the areas of commercial opportunity assessment, product development, lifecycle management, strategic planning, global pricing and reimbursement, value-based marketing, and customer relationship management. Drew also has extensive international experience measuring and communicating the value of medications to health authorities. Before joining EPI-Q, Inc. in 2007, Drew spent 14 years with Pfizer and was a founding member of the company's Outcomes Research function. He also was with Merck's public policy group and pioneered the establishment of Arthur D. Little's health economics consulting practice. Drew has published and presented extensively in the areas of biopharmaceutical value estimation, healthcare quality and health policy. His articles have appeared in such publications as PharmacoEconomics, Pharmaceutical Executive and The Wall Street Journal. While at Pfizer, Drew received the American College of Medical Quality's Institutional Achievement Award for his development and implementation the first biopharmaceutical industry medical affairs program to assist healthcare organizations enhance quality of care. He holds an MBA from Duke University, a Master of Public Affairs degree from Princeton University, and a BA in economic policy and BS in communications from Syracuse University. Mr. Baker also completed graduate coursework in medical technology evaluation and clinical decision analysis at the Harvard School of Public Health.

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Cheryl Brewster, MHA
Director of Health Outcomes

Cheryl Brewster is an experienced health care executive with over 30 years of experience as a hospital administrator, managed care director and quality management consultant. As a health care administrator, Ms. Brewster has led provider-based initiatives to respond to new government and private financial policy and practice shifts, such as the introduction of case-based utilization management programs for hip and knee replacement, disease management for CHF and pediatric asthma, and the first hospital-oriented pay-for-performance programs. During her time with Rush-Prudential managed care, she implemented three cost-quality improvement programs for members with diabetes, asthma and congestive heart failure. Her background includes extensive involvement in regulatory compliance, medical staff support services and clinical quality management. Cheryl's experience involves a concentration in all facets of clinical improvement including the development of evidenced-based practice protocols, the implementation of clinical quality improvement projects and the design of performance measurement and reporting systems. Before joining EPI-Q, Inc. in 2005, Cheryl served as the Regional Director of Quality Management and Regulatory Compliance for the Adventist Health System's Midwest Region, the Director of Clinical Quality Management for Rush Prudential Health Plans in Chicago with responsibility for NCQA clinical quality management initiatives and HEDIS compliance, and Corporate Vice President of Quality Management for Advocate Health Care in Chicago, where during her tenure, the health system won the prestigious national Commitment to Quality Award from the Healthcare Forum. Prior to these positions, Cheryl was the owner and principal consultant of Health Information Management and served as Vice President of Clinical Operations for the Little Company of Mary Hospital in a suburb of Chicago. Cheryl has provided project management for a variety of clinical practice initiatives including commended programs for congestive heart failure, diabetes, adult and pediatric asthma and bipolar disorder. She holds a Master's in Healthcare Administration from The George Washington University and a BS in Medical Record Administration from the University of Illinois.

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Qing Harshaw, MD, PhD
Research Director, Health Economics and Outcomes Research

Dr. Harshaw has more than 20 years experience in health services research. Her work includes health policy research, econometric modeling, outcomes and clinical effectiveness research, as well as retrospective database analysis. Over the past 10 years, her research articles have been published in numerous journals, including Medical Care, Annals of Internal Medicine, Circulation, the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. Qing received her Master of Biostatistics and Doctor of Medicine degrees from Beijing Medical University and served as Deputy Chair of the Department of Health Economics. Qing holds a Master of Arts with Distinction in Population Studies, from the University of Exeter, England. In addition, she has received a Doctorate in Administration Health Services from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and served as a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Outcomes Research, Effectiveness, and Education at the University. Qing has also served as a consultant to The World Bank's Economic Development Institute. Qing joined EPI-Q, Inc. in 2003.

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Anthony J. Vita, MD, MPH
Clinical Research Scientist

Dr. Vita joined EPI-Q in 2007 after completing residency training in psychiatry at the University of Chicago. He joins the firm as a Clinical Research Scientist. Anthony has a broad interest in health outcomes and specifically in health economics and pharmaceutical industry pricing and strategy. He has research experience not only in psychiatry but also rheumatology and pulmonary medicine and in health care systems in general. He has experience in strategy from his work in management consulting. He has a strong research and statistical background that includes a first-authored paper which he completed as a medical student in The New England Journal of Medicine. Anthony’s other articles have appeared in the American Journal of Physiology and the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. He also completed a residency in Occupational Medicine at Harvard, where he received additional training in the business aspects of medicine. While there he was a scholarship recipient of the Occupational Physician’s Scholarship Fund. Anthony holds an MPH from Harvard University, an MD from the Stanford University School of Medicine and a BA from the University of Chicago.

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