Deboleena Thakur, M.S., HCDA

Deboleena Thakur is an Intermediate Data Analyst with the Rural Telehealth Evaluation Center (RTEC) at the Institute for Digital Health & Innovation, UAMS. She earned her Master’s in Healthcare Data Analytics from UAMS in May 2024. During her studies, Deboleena worked as a Graduate Research Assistant at the Center for the Study of Obesity, where she contributed to the NIH-funded “The Green Schoolyard Study,” focusing on recruitment of study participants, primary data collection, and data analysis under Dr. Michael R. Thomsen. She also completed a summer internship with RTEC, where she refined the broadband dataset and analyzed data on broadband speed and its impact in rural areas under Dr. Cari Bogulski.

With over five years of experience in healthcare and marketing, Deboleena specializes in data cleaning, manipulation, statistical analysis, and visualization. Her areas of interest include maternal and child health, cognitive and behavioral studies, analyzing large population datasets and data visualization. At RTEC, her primary role is to synthesize and evaluate information from in-depth analyses for program evaluation, research, fulfilling contractual agreements from extramurally funded awards, and planning or developing specific service programs and initiatives.
Deboleena holds a Bachelor’s degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology. Her future goal is to work with the government to modify health policies and improve the quality of life for underserved populations in the U.S.

Rosario Silva, MPH

Rosario Silva is an intermediate Data Analyst with the Rural Telehealth Evaluation Center at UAMS. She holds a Master of Public Health degree from Saint Louis University with a concentration in Behavioral Science and Health Education. Previously, Ms. Silva lead the evaluation of the CDC Racial Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) within the UAMS Institute for Community Health Innovation and the Colorectal Cancer Control Program (CRCCP), an external evaluation, housed within the Community Health and Education Division of UAMS’ Department of Family and Preventive Medicine. Ms. Silva studied public health to improve the health of minority communities and contribute towards a more equitable society where individuals can achieve optimal health.

Nahiyan Bin Noor, M.S.

Nahiyan Bin Noor is an Intermediate Data Analyst with the RTEC team at the Institute for Digital Health & Innovation, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). With a background in health data analysis, medical image data analysis, and social media data analysis, Nahiyan brings valuable expertise to his role. He has actively participated in projects involving the implementation of machine learning algorithms for diagnosing diseases using eye conjunctive images. Currently, Nahiyan is engaged in projects focused on evaluating remote patient monitoring systems.

Nahiyan Bin Noor possesses proficiency in programming languages such as Python and SQL, enabling him to effectively extract insights and manipulate data for analysis. His educational qualifications include a master’s degree in information science and a Graduate Certificate in Data Science from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Additionally, Nahiyan completed his bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, further diversifying his skill set and fostering a holistic understanding of technical concepts.

Mahip Acharya, Ph.D.

Mahip Acharya is a Assistant Professor with the RTEC team at the Institute for Digital Health & Innovation at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). He has experience in conducting secondary data analysis using administrative claims data such as IQVIA PharMetrics^® Plus, Truven MarketScan and Arkansas All-Payer Claims Database (APCD). He is currently working on projects that are assessing remote patient monitoring and telehealth utilization using Arkansas APCD. He is also working on high-risk pregnancy using IQVIA PharMetrics^® Plus database.

Mahip Acharya received his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Evaluation and Policy from UAMS. He is interested in inter-disciplinary research pertaining to health services utilization and public health at large, having an eye to improving the health of Arkansans.

Mir Ali, Ph.D.

Mir Ali is a senior data analyst at the Institute for Digital Health & Innovation in the College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). He specializes in conducting quantitative research using secondary data sources. He has experience in utilizing publicly available as well as proprietary data to answer research questions and assist health policymakers in making informed decisions. His projects utilize data resources such as the Arkansas Medicaid claims data, Vital Statistics records, Hospital Discharge Data, the Arkansas All-Payer Claims Data, EPIC Systems Corp. etc. His current research focuses on high-risk pregnancies and the utilization of telehealth interventions to improve health outcomes.

Mir Ali received his Ph.D. in Health Systems and Services Research from UAMS. He earned his M.S. degree in Pharmaceutical Evaluation and Policy, M.S. degree in Pharmaceutical Administration, and B.S. degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences. His goal is to work on collaborative projects with teams from within and outside UAMS that aim to improve the health and well-being for all Arkansans. He joins our team as the Windows server manager and research investigator at the Rural Telehealth Evaluation Center.

Corey Hayes, Pharm.D., Ph.D., MPH

Corey Hayes, Pharm.D., Ph.D., MPH, serves as a tenured associate professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice in the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Pharmacy, with secondary appointments in the departments of Biomedical Informatics and Psychiatry in the UAMS College of Medicine. He also serves as a research health scientist with the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System’s Center for Mental Healthcare & Outcomes Research and as director of the Health Resources and Services Administration-funded Rural Telehealth Evaluation Center.

An Arkansas native, Hayes received his Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia in 2009. In 2013, he received his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the UAMS College of Pharmacy and a Master in Public Health degree with an emphasis in epidemiology from the Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health. From 2013-2016, he practiced as a clinical pharmacist at Baptist Health Medical Center in Little Rock. In 2016, he returned to UAMS for additional training, completing a National Institute on Drug Abuse-funded T32 Post-Doctoral Fellowship in translational addiction research and a doctorate in pharmaceutical sciences with an emphasis in pharmacoepidemiology. He began his career as an assistant professor in the Center for Health Services Research in the Department of Psychiatry of the UAMS College of Medicine and as an investigator with the Center for Mental Healthcare and Outcomes Research (CeMHoR), which is a national Center of Innovation housed at the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System (CAVHS).

Hayes’ research goal is to leverage data to improve the prevention and treatment of substance use disorders by generating clinically actionable knowledge that informs clinical practice and improves care and policy. His work focuses on improving policies related to opioid prescribing and developing technology-based interventions for improving treatment of patients with opioid use disorder. He has received research funding through the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the Veterans Health Administration, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Department of Justice, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration, and other foundation sources.

Hayes has co-authored more than 70 scientific articles in leading health care journals, such as Addiction, the American Journal of Public Health, the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, and JAMA Network Open. His research has been highlighted in more than 250 articles from top news outlets, such as The New York Times, USA Today, U.S. News & World Report, NPR and ABC News. His findings have also been used in the development of over six clinical guidelines related to opioid use, including the CDC’s Clinical Practice Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Pain, and guidelines on opioid and benzodiazepine use from the National Academy of Medicine. His findings have also been used in more than seven national and international policy-related materials issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the CDC, Urban Institute, the U.S. Joint Economic Committee and the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health among others.

Outside of academia, Hayes is an avid fly fisherman and member of Fellowship Bible Church in Conway. Hayes is happily married to Emily Hayes, PT, DPT, who serves as a neurorehabilitation physical therapist at Baptist Health Medical Center in Conway. They have two children, Adeline and Isla. They currently reside in Morrilton.

Ruchira Mahashabde, M.S.

I am a 4^th year Ph.D. student in the Pharmaceutical Evaluations and Policy Division in the Graduate School at UAMS. I have a Bachelors Degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences and a Masters in Health Economics and Outcomes Research from the University of Toledo, Ohio. My research interest is assessing health and clinical outcomes of cancer patients which is also the focus of my dissertation work. I have also worked on multiple projects circling commercial claims databases and prescription opioid usage. I am working on analyzing and researching data for RTEC a as graduate research assistant.

Betul Cengil, M.S.

Betul Cengil is a second-year Ph.D. student in industrial engineering at the University of Arkansas. She received her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in industrial engineering. Earlier, she has worked in the industry for six years as a planning specialist and project management specialist. Her research area is optimization in healthcare. Betul is focusing on how to improve telehealth services using operation research techniques.

Grishma KC

Grishma is a first year PhD student in the Pharmaceutical Evaluation and Policy (PEP) program at UAMS. She graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a minor in Chemistry. Previously, she has worked as a Research Assistant at UAMS studying mechanisms involved in kidney injury during transplantation, effects of cannabidiol on kidney health, and cardiac aging. Grishma’s area of interest includes evaluating health outcomes from pharmaceutical use or health policies. For RTEC, Grishma will be working with Dr. Corey Hayes on the Broadband Project.

Ambrish Pandit

Ambrish Pandit completed his Master of Science in pharmaceutical sciences from Creighton University (Omaha, Nebraska) and worked for more than five years in the pharmaceutical industry as a formulation scientist. Over the years, he developed an interest in health econonics and outcomes research and patient-reported outcomes research and decided to pursue a doctorate in this area. He is currently a graduate student in the pharmaceutical sciences program in the Division of Pharmaceutical Evaluation and Policy at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, expecting to complete his doctorate by August 2022.

While a strong coursework completed at UAMS has allowed him to build a solid foundation, he is also gaining experience at solving complex research problems. Under the mentorship of Dr. Nalin Payakachat, he has worked on several projects to develop sound research practice and application. He has been fortunate to actively contribute to a wide range of projects such as literature review and synthesis to assess specific needs of traumatic brain injury (TBI) survivors, analyzing real world claims data to answer clinical questions, using linked databases to answer questions with focus on patient-reported outcomes, etc. He is looking forward to making more valuable contributions to research conducted by the Rural Telehealth Evaluation Center to make a positive difference in the real world.