UMSOM Department of Epidemiology & Public Health Announces New Leadership for Clinical and Translational Research Informatics Center

Dr. Jessica Brown Will Assume New Role as CTRIC Director

Jay S. Magaziner, PhD, MSHyg, Professor and Chair of Department of Epidemiology & Public Health at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), announced today the departure of J. Kathleen “Kate” Tracy, PhD, Professor and Vice Chair for Research Services, and the Director of the Clinical and Translational Research Informatics Center (CTRIC) in that department. Starting in May 2023, she will begin her new role as Professor of Medicine and Senior Associate Dean for Research at the Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine at the University of Vermont.

“Dr. Tracy has had a tremendous impact in her time at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and she will be missed,” said Dr. Magaziner. “We wish her the best of luck in her new position and future endeavors.”

During her tenure, Dr. Tracy has held leadership positions at the department, school, campus, and university system levels at UMSOM. During the 2019-2020 academic year, Dr. Tracy was an American Council on Education Fellow with President Freeman Hrabowski at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. As the pandemic began, she was invited to serve as a special advisor to the University System of Maryland (USM) Chancellor and his leadership team. She has advised the USM Chancellor and the 12 campus presidents on evidence-informed strategies for responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. She also co-led the USM COVID-19 Workgroup and served as a member of the Towson University Medical Advisory Committee for COVID-19.

Tracy received her PhD in health psychology from the University of Maryland Baltimore County. A dedicated scholar, educator, and higher education leader, she has led successful research programs in the US and internationally. Committed to interdisciplinary collaborations, Dr. Tracy has engaged in education and research collaborations across a wide range of topic areas including higher education, global health, cancer, women’s health disparities, and interdisciplinary epidemiologic studies. Her program of research has focused on cervical cancer prevention in under-served groups of women. Through this work, she has advanced understanding of barriers to cervical cancer screening in sexual minority women and cervical prevention for women and girls in low- and middle-income countries.

Jessica Brown, PhD, Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health, has been appointed as the new Director of the CTRIC, effective May 1, 2023.  Dr. Brown earned her M.A. and PhD in Psychology from UMBC before coming to the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health as a Postdoctoral Fellow in 2010.  Dr. Brown has extensive training in survey research methodology and health behavior change and brings to the position a variety of experiences as an investigator both as a team member and team lead.  Dr. Brown has been selected for the Master of Public Health Faculty Teaching and Mentoring award three times, and in 2021 received the Epidemiology and Human Genetics Program and Gerontology Program Faculty Teaching Award.

About the Clinical and Translational Research Informatics Center

The purpose of CTRIC is to accelerate the translation of scientific discoveries from the basic science bench to clinical studies, bedside practice, and community intervention, through use of information technologies (IT) and informatics.  CTRIC offers support to clinical and translational researchers at all stages of project development. Dr. Brown brings a wealth of ability to lead this highly qualified team to provide a strong centralized body that can cater to the needs of studies of all sizes within the University of Maryland community and elsewhere using a diverse battery of informatics tools and resources.

About the University of Maryland School of Medicine

Now in its third century, the University of Maryland School of Medicine was chartered in 1807 as the first public medical school in the United States. It continues today as one of the fastest growing, top-tier biomedical research enterprises in the world -- with 46 academic departments, centers, institutes, and programs, and a faculty of more than 3,000 physicians, scientists, and allied health professionals, including members of the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences, and a distinguished two-time winner of the Albert E. Lasker Award in Medical Research. With an operating budget of more than $1.3 billion, the School of Medicine works closely in partnership with the University of Maryland Medical Center and Medical System to provide research-intensive, academic, and clinically based care for nearly 2 million patients each year. The School of Medicine has nearly $600 million in extramural funding, with most of its academic departments highly ranked among all medical schools in the nation in research funding. As one of the seven professional schools that make up the University of Maryland, Baltimore campus, the School of Medicine has a total population of nearly 9,000 faculty and staff, including 2,500 students, trainees, residents, and fellows. The combined School of Medicine and Medical System (“University of Maryland Medicine”) has an annual budget of over $6 billion and an economic impact of nearly $20 billion on the state and local community. The School of Medicine, which ranks as the 8th highest among public medical schools in research productivity (according to the Association of American Medical Colleges profile) is an innovator in translational medicine, with 606 active patents and 52 start-up companies. In the latest U.S. News & World Report ranking of the Best Medical Schools, published in 2021, the UM School of Medicine is ranked #9 among the 92 public medical schools in the U.S., and in the top 15 percent (#27) of all 192 public and private U.S. medical schools. The School of Medicine works locally, nationally, and globally, with research and treatment facilities in 36 countries around the world. Visit medschool.umaryland.edu