Our Research
The department is home to the Center for Prevention and Population Health Research, under the direction of Roger Zoorob, M.D., MPH, FAAFP. Striving to enhance the health of families and communities through rigorous and evidence-based research, we cover a wide range of areas:
Antibiotic Stewardship | Mental Health |
Behavioral Health | Prevention |
Cancer Prevention | Primary Care |
Chronic Disease | Quality Improvement |
Colorectal Cancer Prevention | Substance Use Prevention |
Lung Cancer Prevention | Tobacco Cessation |
Medical Education | Weight Management |
Our faculty members collaborate with other clinical departments and investigators around the country to help make ÌÇÐÄÊÓƵ of Medicine one of the most innovative health science universities in the country.
We encourage students, residents, fellows, and faculty to develop their skills as investigators by offering research training and mentorship opportunities that lead to career growth and contributions to science, including academic publications, presentations, and advocacy.
T32 Fellowship
Dr. Zoorob secured funding to continue our T32 Primary Care Research Fellowship grant, awarded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The training grant is a five-year award of $1.9 million. The FCM T32 Fellowship is open for applications. View the program for more information.
Research Funding
Our center has been successful in obtaining external research grant funding. Federal sponsors include the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Agency for ÌÇÐÄÊÓƵ Research and Quality, the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Health Resources and Services Administration.
Dec. 1, 2025 – Nov. 30, 2030
CPRIT PP260006
$2,444,560
Zoorob, PI; Hirth, Co-PI
Major Goals: 1. Maintain evidence-based lung cancer screening program and expand to new areas in Central and West Texas not covered by previous efforts to increase screening and early detection among rural and urban high-risk patients; 2. Maintain and expand a comprehensive evidence-based smoking cessation program for individuals 50–80 years of age to serve as an essential adjunct and a component of the lung cancer screening guidelines to additional Texas Communities; and 3. Provide outreach services to communities across the regions served to expand awareness of the need for lung cancer screening, prevention, and smoking cessation.
March 1, 2024 – Feb. 29, 2028
CPRIT PP240021
$2,499,998
Rustveld, PI/PD; Hansen, Evaluator (Jibaja-Weiss and Ludwig, Co-Is)
Major Goals: 1. To provide outreach and education regarding Breast Cancer and Colorectal Cancer prevention and screening guidelines and services for age-eligible community residents served by ÌÇÐÄÊÓƵ of Medicine and CHI St. Luke; 2. To implement a patient navigator-led Breast Cancer navigation workbench integrated into the CHI St. Luke EHR to document the completion and follow-up of Breast Cancer screening services; 3. Continue patient navigator-led CRC care navigation at ÌÇÐÄÊÓƵ of Medicine and CHI St. Luke to increase access to Colorectal Cancer screening services; and 4. All patients with abnormal screening results will be navigated to and receive diagnostic testing. All patients diagnosed with cancer that requires treatment will be navigated into treatment.
Sept. 30, 2023 – Sept. 29, 2028
SAMHSA TI086801
$2,500,000
Zoorob, PD
Major Goals: The goal of the EmpowHER project is to increase engagement in care for racial and ethnic medically underserved women with substance use disorders (SUDs) and/or co-occurring SUDs and mental health conditions (COD) who are at risk for or living with HIV.
July 1, 2022 – April 30, 2027
AHRQ HS028776
$2,322,760
Grigoryan, Co-PI (Trautner, PI)
Major Goals: In this hybrid type 3 trial (testing implementation strategies and observing clinical outcomes) we will study how to de-implement screening for and treatment of asymptomatic bacteriuria by randomizing VA facilities that provide both acute and ling-term care to the two implementation strategies.
Manuscripts
The department's research appears in highly regarded scientific journals. Faculty, staff, and fellows contribute to studies in population health and health service initiatives aligned with our research mission.
Laytner LA, Chen P, Trautner BW, Nash S, Collazo A, Faustinella F, Olmeda K, Mancera A, Zoorob R, Paasche-Orlow MK, Grigoryan L. 'Antibiotics are like gold': A qualitative study of patient perspectives on the use of antibiotics without a prescription.
Faustinella F, Nguyen H, Liaw W. The relevance of clinical skills in an era of large language models: An adrenal insufficiency case study.
Kim-Vences SIH, Zoorob RJ, Hirth JM. Lower educational attainment widens racial/ethnic disparities in alcohol use disorder.
Sarkar A, Jarrett B, Rode R. ACE inhibitor or ARB therapy can prevent diabetic kidney disease progression.
Books and Book Chapters
In addition to submitting manuscripts to peer-reviewed journals, our faculty and fellows publish books and book chapters. Subjects that have been addressed include clinical prevention, substance use disorders, primary care of the medically underserved, and obesity issues.
Presentations
FCM faculty, fellows, residents, staff, and family medicine medical students periodically participate in conferences and meetings by showcasing their latest work through posters and presentations.