Our Atrium Health mission to improve health, elevate hope and advance healing – for all requires more than just having world-renowned physicians and access to state-of-the-art care. The team at the Center for Outcomes Research & Evaluation (CORE) realizes this mission requires the alignment of system strategy with bold innovation and rigorous inquiry.
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CORE Leadership
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Andrew McWilliams, MD, MPH
Medical Director
Associate Professor
Dr. McWilliams is an experienced clinician-researcher and faculty member in internal medicine and pediatrics. He promotes building Atrium Health into a learning healthcare system and works across departments to facilitate research and innovation. He has a special interest in research that leverages new technologies to change healthcare delivery paradigms and advance the quality of care.
Medical School: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Graduate School: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Explore Dr. McWilliams' Research:
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Susan Evans, MBA
Director, Research Operations
Susan Evans joined Atrium Health in 2005 and has held roles in study management, research team management and operations. She is responsible for CORE operations, including annual budgets, accounting, work processes and flow, research compliance and project management.
Graduate School: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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Yhenneko Taylor, PhD, MStat
Director, Health Services Research
Associate Professor
Dr. Taylor is a statistician and health services researcher. Her research interests include access to care for women and children and its effect on health outcomes in pregnancy and early childhood. She also examines the social determinants of health and improving care for vulnerable patient populations. She is an author of over 40 peer-reviewed research studies and has been an investigator on 8 federal and foundation grants. She is a recipient of AcademyHealth’s Minority Scholar Award and their New Investigator Small Grant Program in collaboration with the March of Dimes. She is also a research assistant professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte where she serves on the Public Health Programs Advisory Board.
Graduate School: PhD, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Graduate School: MStat, North Carolina State University
Explore Dr. Taylor's Research:
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Philip Turk, PhD, MS
Director, Biostatistics and Data Science
Associate Professor
Dr. Turk brings almost 25 years of academic and industry experience to CORE. Most recently, he was an associate professor of statistics at Colorado State University. Prior to that, he served as assistant professor of statistics at West Virginia University. As a statistical consultant, he has partnered with multidisciplinary faculty on numerous extramurally funded studies that span data science, computational statistics and translational and outcomes research. Dr. Turk’s extensive work in the private sector includes supporting the development of medical therapies and devices from research to market launch. He has authored or co-authored almost 50 peer-reviewed articles.
Graduate School: PhD, Montana State University
Graduate School: MS, Western Illinois University
Explore Dr. Turk's Research:
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Melanie Spencer, PhD, MBA
Professor Emeritus
Dr. Spencer is a researcher and academic leader at Atrium Health. Her research interests are the application of bacterial genomics to human health, antibiotic stewardship and implementation science. Her postdoctoral research focused on the human gastrointestinal microbiome, including the analysis of the relationships among human-associated microbes, disruptions to the microbial system, nutrition and chronic disease.
Graduate School: PhD, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Graduate School: MBA, Queens University of Charlotte
Fellowship: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Explore Dr. Spencer's Research:
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Meet the CORE Research Team
From our faculty to our staff, our diverse expertise leverages the power of data to generate evidence that informs high-quality, patient-centered, cost-conscious care.
Meet the CORE faculty.
Meet the CORE staff.
