Health Services and Outcomes Research

Research Description

Greg Auffenberg, MD, MS, is a urologic oncologist with an academic focus in health services and surgical quality improvement research. He has dedicated significant time to investigating the efficacy and safety of active surveillance for prostate cancer, focusing on the variation in the selection of men for active surveillance and the follow-up care men receive while on active surveillance. He is currently working to develop system-wide interventions to standardize care for all patients on active surveillance. Other projects are focused on understanding the science of performance measurement, including leveraging electronic medical records and publically-reported surgical outcomes.

Select Publications

• Yuce TK, Ellis RJ, Chung J, Merkow RP, Yang AD, Soper NJ, Tanner EJ, Schaeffer EM, Bilimoria KY, Auffenberg GB. Association between surgical approach and survival following resection of abdominopelvic malignancies. Journal of Surgical Oncology. March 2020.
•  Auffenberg GB, Ghani KR, Ramani S, Usoro E, Denton B, Rogers C, Stockton B, Miller DC, Singh K. askMUSIC: Leveraging a Clinical Registry to Develop a New Machine Learning Model to Inform Patients of Prostate Cancer Treatments Chosen by Similar Men. European Urology. June 2019.
• Auffenberg GB, Ghani KR, Ye Z, Dhir A, Gao Y, Stork B, Miller DC. Comparing publicly reported surgical outcomes with quality measures from a statewide improvement collaborative. JAMA surgery.July 2016. 

Dr. Halpern  is interested in health services research in the field of Andrology. He studies the interactions between patients and the healthcare system, access to care, and ways to improve the delivery of care through health policy, medical intervention, and surgical innovation. His research is also focused on patient outcomes following medical and surgical treatments for male infertility and sexual dysfunction, as well as the interaction between cancer and these conditions.

In this video, Dr. Halpern discusses his latest research examining the effect of diet on erectile function and testosterone, recent advancements and breakthroughs in surgical treatments and techniques for erectile dysfunction and what he and his team at Northwestern are doing to optimize outcomes for patients with erectile dysfunction. Watch here>>

Select Publications

• Halpern JA, Fantus RJ, Chang C, Keeter MK, Helfand B, Bennett NE, Brannigan RE. Effects of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use upon male gonadal function: A national, population-based study. Andrologia. May 2020. 

• Halpern JA, Brannigan RE, Schlegel PN. Fertility-enhancing male reproductive surgery: glimpses into the past and thoughts for the future. Fertility and Sterility. September 2019. 

• Halpern JA, Brannigan RE. Testosterone deficiency. JAMA - Journal of the American Medical Association. September 2019. 

Research Description

Emilie K. Johnson, MD, MPH, is a pediatric urologist with an academic focus in health services and outcomes research. Her research interests and long-term goals are focused on improving outcomes for pediatric patients with both acute and chronic urologic conditions. She has a particular interest in projects with opportunities to develop interventions to improve the quality and safety of care and improve outcomes. Currently, Dr. Johnson is involved in research projects related to differences of sex development and access to neonatal circumcision

Select Publications

• Johnson EK, Jacobson DL, Finlayson C, Yerkes EB, Goetsch AL, Leeth EA, Cheng EY. Proximal Hypospadias-Isolated Genital Condition or Marker of More? Journal of urology. August 2020.

• Sofer L, D'Oro A, Rosoklija I, Leeth EA, Goetsch AL, Moses S, Chen D, Finlayson C, Johnson EK. Impact of Cell-free DNA Screening on Parental Knowledge of Fetal Sex and Disorders of Sex Development. Prenatal diagnosis. July 2020.

• Johnson EK, Maizels M, Meade P, Mitchell MA, Rubio L, Rosoklija I. Development and Outcomes of a Streamlined Outpatient Newborn Circumcision Clinic. Urology Practice. June 2020.