Alvin (Al) Ramsey, PhD: At Pilltrax, I am the Principal Investigator of the NIH-funded research project that focuses on medication adherence for older adults in underserved populations.  My educational background is in engineering and I received my BS and MS from MIT and my PhD from Berkeley.  For the past 20 years I have specialized in healthcare informatics, focusing on various applications such as optimizing patient resource allocation, medication patient safety, and clinical decision support for hospital inpatient care.  Recently I conceived and patented the idea of a cost-effective digital pillbox requiring only a smartphone for operation.  Text messaging services such as the UK NHS Flo (link) and the US VA Annie (link) programs have successfully supported patients in managing their health. Building on the same principles, we have developed a mobile app, and the addition of a low-cost pillbox will help expand its reach and adoption.

Lauren Moo, MD: After attending Tufts University School of Medicine and completing Neurology residency and fellowship training at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, I am now a Cognitive Behavioral Neurologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School.  I am also the Site Director of the New England Geriatrics Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC) at the VA Bedford Healthcare System where my research and clinical innovation projects focus on the intersection between Aging, Technology, and family Caregivers.

Maria Venegas, PhD: I received my PhD at the University of Pittsburgh and completed a Postdoctoral research fellowship at the Department of Psychiatry at Dartmouth College. Currently, I am a qualitative researcher at the Center for Healthcare Organization & Implementation Research (CHOIR) and the New England Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC), at the VA Bedford. My research uses qualitative methods to identify barriers and facilitators to adapting technology for the management of care among underserved populations.

Stephanie Shimada, PhD: I am a Research Associate Professor at Boston University School of Public Health and a Research Health Scientist at the VA’s Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research (CHOIR). My research focuses on virtual care technologies to improve access, patient-centered care, and health equity. Much of my work centers on the VA’s My HealtheVet portal, including Secure Messaging, mobile apps, SMS support, and Patient-Generated Health Data. I hold a PhD in Health Policy from Harvard and completed a VA postdoctoral fellowship in Health Services Research. I now co-direct the Advanced Fellowship in Health Systems Research at CHOIR.