Leadership

Laura James, M.D., is the principal investigator and director of the UAMS Translational Research Institute. She oversees the Rural Research Network which works through eight UAMS regional campuses to ensure Arkansas’ rural populations can access community health resources and participate in clinical and translational research.

Brian Jones, DHSc, is vice chancellor of UAMS Regional Campuses, composed of eight statewide campuses that not only treat patients at their family medical centers but train family medicine physicians, nurses, pharmacists and other allied health professionals while exposing them to rural, underserved communities. The campuses also conduct hands-on educational programs for rural high school and college students, growing a future health care workforce to serve Arkansas.

Joseph Sanford, M.D., is director of the UAMS Institute for Digital Health and Innovation (IDHI), which offers one of the larger telehealth networks in the nation. IDHI offers  telemedicine to rural patients with limited access to health care, and physicians across the state can consult with UAMS specialists on issues such as high-risk pregnancies, stroke, and trauma medicine. IDHI also hosts training sessions for health care groups interested in using telehealth, and IDHI’s Learn on Demand offers online continuing medical education for health care professionals across the state.

Michael Birrer, M.D., is the director of the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute. He oversees the Office of Community Outreach and Engagement which works closely with rural communities to expand cancer screening, education, and research. Cancer patient navigators in rural settings bridge the gap between cancer patients and health care providers, wellness and financial resources. Rural cancer patients can also participate in cancer clinical trials through the cancer clinical trials office.

Bridewell is the director of the UAMS Office of Strategic Management and serves as the president of the Arkansas Rural Health Partnership. The group’s members include rural hospitals, federally qualified health centers, medical schools, associations, and emergency medical services providers. The partnership also manages the Rural Health Association of Arkansas, a membership-based network that offers education, advocacy, and collaboration for more than 400 rural health professionals statewide.

Pearl McElfish, Ph.D., MBA, is the director of the UAMS Institute for Community Health Innovation. The institute creates solutions for delivering health care to rural populations and uses research to develop community-based programs, shape policy and transform standards of clinical care. The institute has developed several programs to serve rural Arkansans such as diabetes self-management education and maternal and child health care. It trains community health workers and doulas to fill the health care gap for rural Arkansans in addition to training schools on better nutrition for their students.