Research at PITTCARE

Focuses on translating Intelligence-Technology, including machine learning, into real clinical settings — practical models, EHR-based decision support, and, most recently, ethics and fairness. Her research spans three areas: practical machine learning models translatable into family medicine and primary care; clinical decision-support tools that extract patient-specific context from EHRs; and translational work using large-scale datasets including N3C, All of Us, and the ENACT Network. Her most recent focus — the ethics of Intelligence-Technology — connects directly to the Voice of the People Survey. PhD in Chemistry, University of British Columbia; NLM postdoctoral fellowship at Pitt DBMI.

Leads the qualitative arm of the Voice of the People Survey, with Shisler (participatory methods) and Bear (survey methodology) rounding out the team. Dr. Bridges is an applied medical anthropologist with 15+ years of community-engaged research experience, designing the structured interviews that keep patients and clinicians active partners in shaping PITTCARE's tools. She's currently studying how ambient Intelligence-Tech tools affect patient-provider relationships across Pennsylvania practices. Rebecca Shisler (MA, PhD candidate, Sociology) brings participatory-research design to the interview arm. Todd Bear, PhD, provides the statistical and sampling architecture — including BRFSS-model survey design — that keeps VoP results representative and replicable.

CDC ACIP voting member; with Dr. Williams, uses the FRED simulation platform to study influenza vaccination strategy — PITTCARE's most direct tie to the School of Public Health. Dr. Zimmerman chaired ACIP's influenza and adult vaccination working groups. With Dr. Katherine Williams, he applies FRED — an agent-based epidemic simulation platform from Pitt's Public Health Dynamics Laboratory — to study vaccine efficacy, dosing, and household transmission patterns. He practices at East Liberty Family Health Care Center, serving on its Quality Assurance and Ethics Committees, and is a driving force behind the department's 4 Pillars™ program.

Works alongside Dr. Zimmerman on FRED-based modeling of influenza vaccine strategy by age, race, and geography. Research Project Coordinator on CDC-funded influenza studies since 2019, and APTR representative on ACIP's adult RSV vaccine workgroup since 2022. Completed a DEI fellowship in Human-Centered Design to build rural vaccine-outreach strategy — work that echoes PITTCARE's own commitment to designing Intelligence-Tech with, not just for, the communities it serves.

Physicist-turned-physician; directs PITTCARE and teaches the second-year critical-appraisal course on Intelligence-Technology, one of the first in the country to require the national STFM AiM-PC curriculum. PhD in Physics (UIUC) and MD; trained in Family Medicine at UPMC Shadyside, then spent nearly a decade as VP of Biomedical Research at ChemImage Corporation, co-inventing 41 patents in spectroscopic imaging. Returned to Pitt in 2011, and now directs Innovation and Strategic Initiatives for the department alongside leading PITTCARE. His translational arc — physics through industry back to academic medicine — shapes both his research and teaching.

Family physician and Clinical Informatics Fellowship faculty; brings the day-to-day clinic perspective to how PITTCARE's tools actually land in a visit. Board-certified in family medicine; practices at Squirrel Hill Family Medicine, affiliated with UPMC Shadyside. Completed a Clinical Informatics Fellowship at Thomas Jefferson University after residency at UPMC Shadyside Family Medicine. Co-authored a book chapter on the ethics of AI in primary care and family medicine residency training with Dr. Visweswaran. Research interests: clinical informatics, global health, and health technology innovation.