Kristin Archer, PhD, DPT, has been appointed to the newly established role of associate director for Strategy and Innovation within Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s newly renamed Institute for Population and Public Health (IPPH), formerly the Institute for Medicine and Public Health.
The IPPH engages faculty across the organization in research, training, education and community activities aimed at translating knowledge into better health. It supports a broad array of research and education related to epidemiology, health services research, quality improvement and implementation science, global health, ethics and other areas essential to improving population and public health.
Archer’s new role will help the IPPH develop and support innovative approaches to research, education and training to advance population and public health. This will include helping the Institute to expand its efforts related to using digital health, artificial intelligence and machine learning, learning health systems and value-based approaches to care, expansion of genomic and exposomic data, and other novel methods and tools to improve health.
Archer will lead a proactive approach to research funding by building strategic relationships with potential funders and partners whose interests align with VUMC investigators and Centers. While the institute has traditionally focused on National Institutes of Health funding, Archer will work to expand the research funding portfolio through foundations, industry partnerships, start-ups, state government and other federal agencies.
Research within the IPPH centers on improving health outcomes for defined populations and developing health systems-level interventions that can change clinical practice, so the name change reflects the institute’s evolving focus, Archer said.
“The name change is playing to our strengths and research we have now. We are focused on the areas of research that will be even more important in the next three to five years. As money is shifting at the federal level, and health systems and payers evolve in how they provide healthcare, we need to be more flexible in moving the idea of population health at the national, state and local level,” said Archer, professor and vice chair of Research in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, director of the Vanderbilt Center for Musculoskeletal Research, and director of Research at the Osher Center for Integrative Health.
Archer, who holds the Clint Devin Directorship in Orthopaedic Surgery, brings extensive experience securing funding from diverse sources, including PCORI, the Department of Defense, NIH, various foundations and industry partners. Her background includes collaborative work across multiple departments and expertise in areas such as behavioral and rehabilitation trials and wearable technology integration — a priority area under current federal health initiatives.
The IPPH and Archer will actively monitor government programs and funding trends while identifying collaborative teams and projects that can quickly adapt to different funding agencies and announcements. The Institute will focus on providing infrastructure and education to support its investigators.
“We are delighted to have Dr. Archer join us in this vital new role for the Institute. With Dr. Archer’s leadership, we look forward to innovating the work of the Institute to better educate, train and perform research that improves individual, population and public health locally, nationally and globally,” said Russell Rothman, MD, MPP, VUMC Senior Vice President for Population and Public Health, director of IPPH and Ingram Professor of Integrative and Population Health.
