Comparative Effectiveness and Clinical Outcomes Research Center (CECORC)

Emmea Mattox

Director of Medical Staff Services, CECORC

Emmea was appointed Director of Medical Staff Services for the Comparative Effectiveness and Clinical Outcomes Research Center (CECORC) in April 2023. She works closely with the Research Center Director, Dr. Raul Coimbra, oversees all aspects of the department, and maintains research compliance and regulatory standards.

Emmea has special training in Investigational New Drug (IND) / Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) monitoring and sponsored drug trials. She is passionate about leading multidisciplinary research teams, study recruitment, and maintaining compliance and regulatory standards.

Before joining CECORC, Emmea was a Core Director at Scripps Research Institute in San Diego and worked at the Cleveland Clinic Hospital for nearly 19 years, serving in various roles ranging from direct patient care to research and compliance.

Emmea is a native of Cleveland, Ohio. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, and spoiling her dogs.

Lisa Chan

Coordinator, CECORC

Lisa is the Coordinator for the Comparative Effectiveness and Clinical Outcomes Research Center (CECORC). She joined the County of Riverside in 2016 as a Medical Staff Coordinator. In July 2018, Lisa had the exciting opportunity to be part of the start-up of CECORC. A natural extrovert, she truly enjoys interacting with colleagues and assisting prospective researchers.

On her days off, Lisa enjoys spending time with her kids and fiancé, traveling, cooking, hiking, and getting together with friends.

Matt Firek

Research Specialist II, RUHS Medical Center

Matt is a Research Specialist II at Riverside University Health System Medical Center. After earning a B.S. in Chemical Biology from UC Berkeley, he has been working in research for the past 11 years, from bench work to clinical trials to biostatistics. Currently, he is focused on mining insights from national-scale databases about the comparative effectiveness of different treatments.

Bishoy Zakhary, MPH

Biostatistician, CECORC

Bishoy has expanded his biostatistical skills for the last three years at CECORC. A graduate with an MPH from Loma Linda University, Bishoy dedicated his studies to Research Epidemiology and Biostatistics. He has extensive experience in data management and statistical analysis. With proficient utilization of Excel, SPSS, and SAS, Bishoy is able to apply his statistical skills in analyzing pilot to large datasets. His skills include univariate analysis using chi-squared, ANOVA, pairwise comparisons, hypothesis testing, general linear models, binomial and logistic regression analyses, and complex sample analyses for large survey data.

In his spare time, Bishoy works to expand his statistical skill set through online courses in SQL and R programming. Bishoy hopes to continue improving and expanding his skill set while assisting in the increase of research efforts within Riverside University Health System as a key research center in Riverside County.

Timothy Allison-Aipa, Ph.D.

Biostatistician, CECORC

Tim is a Biostatistician who joined the CECORC team, by way of Loma Linda University School of Medicine, in June 2020. In 1999, Tim earned his Ph.D. in Organizational Psychology from Alliant International University. Tim has 28 years of research experience, including 18 as a civilian and 10 as an active-duty service member (rank of Major) within the United States Army Reserves as a Research Psychologist. While on active duty, Tim was the first author of two journal articles focused on the psychological health of U.S. Army soldiers. Currently, with CECORC, Tim has been a co-investigator primarily examining outcomes related to emergency general surgery using the American College of Surgeons' National Surgical Quality Improvement Project dataset.

In his free time, Tim enjoys traveling with his wife, Debra, and is proud of his three children: Lauren, Matthew, and Micah.

Brandon Tran, Ph.D. (He/Him)

Research Specialist II, RUHS Behavioral Health and CECORC

Dr. Tran is a Research Specialist II with the RUHS Department of Behavioral Health and the Comparative Effectiveness and Clinical Outcomes Research Center (CECORC). As a first-generation college student, Dr. Tran earned his Ph.D. and master's degree in Social-Personality Psychology from the University of California, Riverside (UCR), specializing in Health and Well-Being and certified in Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive (DEI) graduate pedagogy.

As a researcher, Dr. Tran is fascinated by the complex interplay between biopsychosocial determinants of health and human behavior. During his time at UCR, Brandon worked with RUHS to examine how pre-operative consultations affected patients' perception of their clinician and post-operative care outcomes over time, publishing their work in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine (2016) and Health Communication (2020). At CECORC, Dr. Tran uses his expertise to lead multiple projects at the intersection of behavioral and public health — addressing racial-ethnic and LGBTQ+ disparities in care, social determinants of health, and developing quality improvement initiatives to promote high reliability in healthcare.

In his spare time, Brandon enjoys challenging himself with escape rooms and sharing a meal with family and friends.

Kuniko Chijiwa, Ph.D.

Research Specialist II, CECORC

Kuniko is a Research Specialist II who joined CECORC at RUHS Medical Center in June 2023 after working at RUHS Behavioral Health Research Unit as a Research Specialist I for the past year. As a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Florida, her research focuses on population inequality and racial/ethnic disparity in health and wellbeing using integrated research methods, which she applied over the past decade working in the Epidemiology Department at Virginia Commonwealth University and later in the San Bernardino County Probation Department. She has considerable experience in managing large quantitative data, survey design and implementation, and conducting advanced statistical modeling. She enjoys using her skills in spatial analysis and mapping when community-level data are available to identify target communities, deprived populations, and health disparities. With a B.A. in Art, she has also contributed to innovative design elements in visual data presentation.

In her free time, Kuniko loves to spend time with her 20 cats plus various wildlife in Yucaipa and working in her backyard garden.

Alaa Alabadi-Bierman, Dr.P.H.

Research Specialist, RUHS Behavioral Health and CECORC

Dr. Alabadi-Bierman is a Research Specialist at RUHS Behavioral Health (RUHS-BH) and the Comparative Effectiveness and Clinical Outcomes Research Center. She is a compassionate leader with a desire to provide culturally relevant solutions for populations facing an increased risk for health disparities. She is a Certified Health and Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC) and holds a master's degree (MPH) in Research Epidemiology from Loma Linda University, where she also earned her doctoral degree in Preventive Care.

Prior to joining CECORC, Dr. Alabadi-Bierman was an Epidemiologist at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health with almost four years of experience as a public health practitioner. Her research interest focuses on longevity, lifestyle, and identifying the most effective strategies for promoting healthy behaviors and preventing chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

Ana Lopez

Research Specialist, CECORC

Ana is a Research Specialist and has been passionately working for Riverside County for 27 years. She joined the CECORC team in November 2019. She graduated with honors from CSUSB with a B.S. degree in Health Sciences, majoring in Public Health. She works conducting clinical research trials at RUHS Medical Center. She focuses on enhancing the lives of others by reaching crucial steps in the development of new drugs that can safely be utilized and dispensed worldwide. She is motivated by her dedication to guiding, aiding, and advocating for underserved populations and the belief that there are two types of people in the world: ones who accept the world as it is, and ones who strive to change it.

In her free time, Ana enjoys spending time with family, crafting, and traveling. Additionally, she intends on visiting all the wonders of the world.

Xiaofei (Michael) Zhang, M.D., Ph.D.

Research Specialist, CECORC

Michael has medical and toxicological backgrounds, with publications of original research papers, reviews, and a book chapter. Under the title of Research Specialist, he works as the equivalent of a clinical research coordinator on the team to conduct surgical clinical trials for the development of new drugs, devices, and treatment modalities. Michael also helps with data collection through chart reviewing for retrospective clinical studies. He is a volunteer for Stop the Bleed, a call to the public for trauma prevention.

Cooking and gardening are his favorite activities outside of work.

Selina Lee, BSN, RN

EGS Program Manager, CECORC

Selina is a Registered Nurse with over 27 years of nursing experience in acute, sub-acute, ambulatory, correctional, and in-home patient care settings. Her vast experience includes Quality Management, Outpatient Clinical Management, Specialty & Ambulatory Clinic Supervision, Infusion Specialist, Critical Care, Urgent Care, Emergency Care Nursing, and Chronic Care Management. Selina earned her Doctor of Ministry degree from Next Dimension University and her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from the University of Phoenix.

As EGS Program Manager, Selina is dedicated to managing and coordinating the administrative functions of the program by maintaining a collaborative working relationship with the EGS Medical Director and maintaining a functional system of collaboration for programmatic, data, and quality improvement needs.

Selina is passionate about foreign travel, attending music concerts and festivals, and spending quality time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Venice Ramos, LVN

Emergency General Surgery Surgical Clinical Reviewer, CECORC

Venice is an Emergency General Surgery Surgical Clinical Reviewer who joined CECORC in December 2020 as a Surgical Clinical Reviewer and Quality Improvement support for the Emergency General Surgery Verification Program. Venice has been an LVN for 26 years and started her journey working various roles at a Skilled Nursing / Long-Term Care facility before working bedside at an acute care hospital in the Telemetry unit. She then continued her nursing journey at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, working in the Quality Management / Performance Improvement Department and Regulatory Department.

On her days off, she enjoys spending time with her family.

Sheila Gilbert, LVN

SCR/NSQIP Registry Site Manager, CECORC

Sheila is the SCR/NSQIP Registry Site Manager for CECORC. She obtained her Licensed Vocational Nursing credential from Summit Career College in Colton, California. Sheila is currently a Surgical Clinical Reviewer and Program Site Manager for the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program at Riverside University Health System. Sheila has 19 years of nursing experience, 15 at RUHS working in surgical specialty units, medical-surgical units, outpatient clinics, and the Infection Control Department of Research.