Research Team

Jan currently works as a project scientist for CORE and is a course co-director for the capstone series for our MHDS program. As a project scientist Jan helps support and coordinate with other researchers, design studies and analyze data using qualitative and quantitative methodologies. As a course co-director he mentors students in their research projects as they plan, develop and implement their capstones.

Antwon leads multiple NIH studies on the use of virtual reality for GI cancer pain, the development and testing of a web-based educational tool’s impact on colon cancer screenings and using NLP to generate reports for prostate cancer diagnoses. His interests include the integration of technological interventions and its impact on a variety of physical and mental health conditions while minimizing barriers and prioritizing patient care.

Allistair received their MA in quantitative, qualitative and psychometric methodology whereupon they joined CORE. They are involved in the analysis of virtual reality and Fitbit user metadata and the creation and iterative testing of novel virtual reality software. Their focuses include methodology in mixed methods applications, data visualization and the creation and validation of psychometric inventories.

Sam serves as project manager for NIH-funded trials exploring the use of virtual reality for pain management. As the CORE “Swiss army knife,” Sam leverages expertise in electronic data capture design, human subjects research, and data visualization to craft efficient, FDA-compliant study infrastructure and interactive dashboards for patients, providers, and study staff.

Zoe manages an NIH trial utilizing virtual reality for chronic low back pain. In addition to coordinating multiple virtual reality trials, she also coordinates the virtual medicine conference, a yearly academic conference on the applications of medical extended reality (MXR). Zoe has also been a volunteer at Cedars-Sinai since 2019 and continues to volunteer through the mealtime mates program.

At CORE, Muskaan coordinates trials that provide access to new technologies, such as virtual reality for chronic pain management to rural populations, helping develop online tools for patients with crohn’s disease and colon cancer. She leads the coordination of the MXR virtual medicine conference. She’s most fascinated with the concept of bringing innovation and technology to clinical spaces to improve health outcomes, nationally and globally.

Dr. Suchak leads multiple virtual reality clinical trials and supports an NIH study. Her patient-centered, biopsychosocial approach relies heavily on closely collaborating with patients and experts from multiple healthcare fields, striving to enhance the patient-physician relationship and patient outcomes via digital health tools (virtual reality, smartphone applications, social media, etc.).

Beverly previously worked on an analytic project that focused on the association between pandemic-onset disorders of gut-brain interaction and race/ethnicity. She is working on several projects that focus on public health prevention interventions, for example, an educational website design for crohn's perianal fistula. Her broad research interests include mental health/psychiatric epidemiology, marginal population health and socioeconomic determinants of health.