Center for Telehealth Research and Policy (C-TRaP) Team

Dr. Becevic is Associate Professor and Director of Telehealth Research at the University of Missouri School of Medicine. She received her PhD in Health Informatics and is a Fellow of American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA). Her research is focused on telemedicine and telehealth and the role of virtual care in improving key patient outcomes. In particular, her research focuses on using digital health technologies to improve access to care for rural patients. This includes early screening, timely diagnosis, appropriate use of the healthcare system and distance continuing education.

Dr. Becevic received the MU Gold Chalk award that recognizes faculty who have made significant contributions to the education and training of graduate and professional students . She is also a recipient of the Ann K. Covington award from the MU Fellowship Office, which recognizes faculty who have mentored an undergraduate applicant for at least one nationally competitive fellowship. Her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Agency for Healthcare Research and the Missouri Foundation for Health.

Profile

Dr. Dandachi is an Associate Professor of Medicine in Infectious Diseases at the University of Missouri, where she directs the HIV Treatment and Prevention Program and Columbia/Boone County PHHS. She serves as Co-Director of the D-CFAR SWG at Washington University and Lead Facilitator for HIV ECHO in the Missouri Telehealth Network. A clinician–investigator, she has served as Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator on numerous clinical trials, with more than 50 peer-reviewed publications. Her excellence in research, education, and mentorship has been recognized with multiple awards, including the 2025 David & Kathy Morton Outstanding Faculty Educator Award, Alpha Omega Alpha, and the Presidential Engagement Fellow. 

Profile

Fares Alahdab, MD, MS, MSc, FAHA, is an associate professor of biomedical informatics, biostatistics, epidemiology and cardiology, and the director of graduate studies in health informatics at the University of Missouri School of Medicine. Dr. Alahdab’s clinical and research interests converge at the intersection of cardiovascular medicine, cardiometabolic health, advanced cardiovascular imaging and artificial intelligence. His work incorporates multimodal data sources to assess cardiovascular health and disease. In the research space, Dr. Alahdab applies machine learning and artificial intelligence to build predictive models that evaluate cardiovascular risk and outcomes. A central focus of his work is on explainable AI to enhance clinical decision support and improve patient care. Beyond clinical applications, Dr. Alahdab is also committed to strengthening research methodology. His scholarship includes meta-epidemiological studies, bibliometric analysis and investigations into scientific novelty, all aimed at advancing the rigor and transparency of medical research.

Profile

Benjamin W. Casterline, MD, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the University of Missouri Department of Dermatology with expertise in immunology and host-microbe interactions, bringing unique clinical and research perspectives to complex dermatologic conditions affecting rural populations. His research focuses on alpha-gal syndrome, where he has characterized clinical patterns among Missouri patients while developing precision medicine approaches to diagnosis and treatment. As a C-TraP Co-Investigator, he contributes specialized knowledge in telehealth applications for dermatologic care and multimodal data integration approaches essential for serving underserved communities across Missouri. His translational research program combines mechanistic immunology training with practical clinical experience to address health disparities through innovative telehealth solutions and evidence-based therapeutic interventions.

Profile

Dr. Saurabh Chandra is the Chief Telehealth Officer at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) and Project Director for the National Center of Excellence for Telehealth, one of only two such federally designated centers in the U.S. At UMMC, Mississippi’s only academic medical center, he found a unique opportunity to blend clinical practice, research, and innovation while advancing transformative telehealth initiatives. He holds a PhD in Life Sciences from Indiana State University and completed clinical training in Critical Care at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Previously, he served as Medical Director of Telehealth at Northwell Health, where he led the Tele critical care response during the COVID-19 pandemic. A lifelong learner, he recently earned an MBA from Millsaps College and enjoys embracing Mississippi’s rich culture and traditions.

Profile

Senior Statistician, Biostatistics Unit, Department of Biomedical Informatics, Biostatistics & Medical Epidemiology (BBME), School of Medicine, University of Missouri (MU).
With more than twenty years of experience in health-related research and over fifty peer-reviewed publications, she specializes in using EMR and integrated health data to improve patient care. Her background includes medical training and four years of clinical practice as a physician, as well as five years of laboratory research in neurology. This blend of clinical, laboratory, and statistical expertise gives her a unique perspective in addressing health challenges.

Email

Mojgan Golzy, PhD, is an associate research professor in the Department of Biomedical Informatics, Biostatistics, and Medical Epidemiology at the School of Medicine. Her primary research interests include cluster analysis, analysis of the recurrent event and mixed-effects modeling. Dr. Golzy believes that working across disciplines is crucial for scientific progress and has partnered with researchers from diverse fields, contributing both as a primary and co-author. Her collaborative studies have focused on addressing critical healthcare challenges, particularly in chronic kidney disease, bladder cancer and HIV. The statistical techniques used in her research include but not limited to survival analysis, time-dependent Cox models, competing risks analysis, marginal structural modeling and propensity score matching. Mojgan has a a PhD in Mathematics from Iran and a PhD in Biostatistics from SUNY at Buffalo.

Profile

Parthaw Goswami, C-TRaP Graduate Research Assistant (GRA). Parthaw is a Ph.D. student in Computer Science at the University of Missouri, Columbia. His research interests include federated learning, data privacy, computer vision, and applied machine learning for healthcare systems. Beyond his research, he enjoys exploring interdisciplinary ideas, building impactful solutions, and engaging in collaborative projects that bridge theory with real-world applications.

Jessica Jones, PhD, is Director of Research and Evaluation and Senior Research Scientist III at The ECHO Institute, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center. She has more than 15 years of experience in social science research and 10 years of experience in evaluation and research consulting for technology-enabled collaborative learning programs, including Project ECHO. Dr. Jones specializes in health services research, mixed-methods research, process and impact evaluation, quality improvement, and advanced quantitative and qualitative methods. She leads the Research, Evaluation, and Data Insights (REDI) Team, overseeing research and evaluation activities, data management, research protocols, and a team of more than 20 evaluators and data managers. Her ECHO research has examined program reach and impact across areas including cancer care, rheumatology, diabetes, and quality improvement. Her broader research focuses on international and human security, including political violence, sexual violence, chemical weapons threats, migration, and state responses to security challenges. Dr. Jones earned her PhD in Political Science from the University of New Mexico in 2021, with a focus on International Relations and Research Methodology. She is also experienced in research communication, teaching, presentations, and mentoring in research design, evaluation, and data analysis.

Email

Sara Kasukurthy is a health data analyst specializing in telehealth evaluation, data governance, and public health informatics. At the Missouri Telehealth Network and Show-Me ECHO, her work advances priorities in healthcare delivery, data-driven decision-making, and equitable access to telehealth. She manages HIPAA-compliant systems, including Salesforce and REDCap, oversees data standards, and develops dashboards using CRM Analytics and Power BI. She holds a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.), dual master’s degrees in Health Informatics and Health Administration, and a graduate certificate in Public Health Informatics. Within the C-TraP project, she leverages her expertise in research, data management, and analytic strategies to improve care access, inform policy, and strengthen program outcomes.

Email

Ying Liu, MD, began her career as a physician specializing in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in Beijing. She came to Mizzou in 2000, where she earned her master’s degree. Following her graduation, she worked in the Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology as a clinical researcher, studying how nutrition and physical activity influence the prevention and treatment of lifestyle-related diseases. In early 2024, Ying joined the Department of Family and Community Medicine as a practice facilitator. In this role, she was dedicated to improving colorectal cancer screening rates in rural Missouri communities.

Dr. Mishra is a Senior Research Associate at the University of Missouri's Center for Health Policy (CHP), where he has specialized in analyzing Missouri Medicaid claims data to address critical health policy questions for more than a decade. His work focuses on transforming complex healthcare datasets into actionable insights that support quality care delivery and evidence-based policy decision-making.

Dr. Mishra's recent research portfolio spans critical healthcare areas, including estimating CMS healthcare quality measures, developing childhood asthma panel reports for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), and analyzing maternal care outcomes among Missouri Medicaid participants. He has contributed significantly to evaluating the effectiveness of Show-Me Asthma ECHO initiatives, particularly those addressing diabetes, asthma, and opioid and substance use disorder (SUD) care during pregnancy. His research ability also extends to food security, childhood obesity, severe and non-severe mental illness research, and comprehensive cost-benefit analyses of healthcare services.

With over a decade of programming experience across multiple analytical platforms including SAS, T-SQL, R, SPSS, STATA, and ArcGIS. Dr. Mishra delivers robust analytical support for evidence-based healthcare policy and practice improvements in Missouri and beyond. He has also contributed to several peer-reviewed journal publications and served as a co-investigator on AHRQ-funded project. Dr. Mishra holds a Ph.D. in Agricultural and Applied Economics from the University of Missouri, Columbia.

Profile

As a seasoned leader in telehealth, Rachel Mutrux brings over two decades of experience to her role as Director of the Missouri Telehealth Network (MTN), at the University of Missouri - School of Medicine. Rachel has been instrumental in advancing telehealth initiatives across the state, including pioneering projects like Show-Me ECHO. Her expertise spans strategic leadership, operational management, and regulatory navigation, and she is recognized for her significant contributions to healthcare delivery through telehealth.

Email

Svara Narain earned her Master of Science in Business Analytics from the University of California, Riverside, and holds a bachelor’s degree in Statistics and Economics. She works in telehealth research and program evaluation at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, where she applies statistical and data analytics methods to evaluate telehealth programs, healthcare utilization, and emerging technologies. Her work includes evaluating AI-enhanced virtual nursing, analyzing Medicare claims data to examine telehealth utilization patterns, and assessing the implementation and outcomes of technology-enabled healthcare programs. Her research interests include health services research, telehealth and digital health, program evaluation, and the use of data-driven methods to translate complex healthcare data into actionable evidence for clinical and operational decision-making.

Email

Dr. Praveen Rao is an associate professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (EECS) at the University of Missouri (MU). His research interests are in the areas of scalable AI, big data, data science, health informatics, and cybersecurity. His research, teaching, and outreach activities have been supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Alzheimer’s Association, Air Force Research Lab (AFRL), the University of Missouri System, University of Missouri Research Board, and companies. His research, teaching, and mentoring achievements have been recognized over the years. He received the EECS Outstanding Senior Faculty Researcher Award (2025), the MU Institute for Data Science and Informatics Excellence in Mentoring Award (2025), and the EECS Senior Faculty Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring Award (2023). He is also a recipient of the IBM Smarter Planet Faculty Innovation Award (2010), the IBM Big Data and Analytics Faculty Award (2013), the prestigious National Research Council (NRC) Research Associateship Award (2016-2017), the UMKC Award for Excellence in Mentoring Undergraduate Researchers, Scholars, and Artists (2016), and the UMKC N.T. Veatch Award for distinguished research and creativity (2018). He is a Senior Member of the ACM (2020) and IEEE (2015).

Profile

Karla Thornton, MD, MPH, is Executive Director of Project ECHO and Professor of Medicine at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center. She is an infectious disease physician and public health researcher with more than 16 years of experience developing and leading innovative telementoring programs to expand access to specialty care and clinical expertise. Dr. Thornton has extensive experience applying the ECHO model in rural, underserved, and correctional settings, with a focus on hepatitis C, HIV, substance use disorders, and emerging public health challenges. Her research has demonstrated scalable approaches to improving hepatitis C treatment and prevention, including among incarcerated populations and people who use drugs. She has also led and supported ECHO initiatives that rapidly disseminated clinical knowledge and supported frontline providers during the COVID-19 pandemic and other public health emergencies. Her work includes clinical research, implementation science, program development, provider education, and evaluation, as well as collaboration with national and international health organizations. Dr. Thornton earned her MD from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School and her MPH in Epidemiology from the University of Michigan School of Public Health, followed by residency and fellowship training in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases at the University of New Mexico. She has published extensively on hepatitis C, ECHO-based care delivery, correctional health, and infectious disease education and has contributed to national and international efforts to improve access to high-quality care in underserved communities.

Email

Dr. Vogelsmeier is a professor in the Sinclair School of Nursing, University of Missouri and a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing. She has over 30 years of clinical practice experience as a registered nurse (RN) with an emphasis on nursing leadership, patient safety, and quality improvement. As a health services researcher, she has over 20 years of experience leading or co-leading multiple projects to improve care delivery for older adults residing in nursing homes and community settings. She has served on expert/advisory panels for the American Academy of Nursing, the National Council State Boards of Nursing, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and for 10 years served as an invited technical expert panel member on AHRQ’s Patient Safety Network (PSNet). She has participated in 20 externally funded projects as either principal investigator, co-investigator, or consultant, and has over 70 publications in print. Along with her colleagues, they have contributed to policy and practice change to improve care delivery systems for older adults across the nation. 

Profile

Dr. Melissa Warne-Griggs has built a career around improving education in the health professions, combining deep experience in program evaluation with a passion for meaningful learning. At the Missouri Telehealth Network, she leads a team that turns data into insights that help programs grow, communicate impact, and make informed decisions. Her work spans nearly two decades of evaluating medical education and ECHO programs, always with a focus on access, reflection, and responsiveness to community needs. Melissa’s research and presentations explore topics like chronic pain, autism care, and telehealth, often using qualitative and narrative approaches to elevate patient and provider voices. Through her leadership, she continues to shape healthcare education that is data-informed, learner-centered, and grounded in real-world impact.

Email