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Center for Access & Delivery Research and Evaluation-CADRE

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VA Advanced Fellowship

VA’s OAA Advanced Fellowship in Health Systems Research (HSR) and
Development Postdoctoral Fellowship

Co-Directors - Michelle Mengeling, PhD, MS and Kumar Bharat, MD



Eligibility

Fellows can be clinicians or non-clinician scientists who have completed doctoral-level training (e.g., MD, DDS, DPM, PhD).

  • Clinician applicants can be physicians and dentists who have completed residency training, as well as nurses, pharmacists, and clinical psychologists who have completed doctoral-level training.
  • Non-clinician applicants can be doctoral-trained individuals in fields relevant to healthcare (e.g., economics, statistics, epidemiology, public health, health policy, psychology, anthropology, sociology, communications, and other fields)
  • Must be a US Citizen

Training and Experience

Fellows will:

  • Spend approximately 80% of their time in research and education and 20% in clinical care (clinicians) or healthcare system improvement activities (non-clinicians)
  • Be provided with a competitive stipend and health insurance as a VA employee
  • Develop an individual development plan (IDP) tailored to the fellow’s strengths and interests with support from their primary mentor and the fellowship Co-Directors
  • Collaborate with a primary mentor, other senior VA CADRE faculty, and our academic affiliates in the University of Iowa’s (UI) Colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, and Public Health, the UI department of Psychology and Brain Science, and the UI Institute for Clinical and Translational Sciences (ICTS) 

Now Accepting Applications (Year-Round)

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis as fellowship openings become available.

Start dates are contingent upon completion of VA hiring and credentialing processes

Application

Application materials should include:
  • A personal statement
  • CV
  • Two Letters of Recommendation
  • (Optional) Proposed CADRE mentor(s), research subject areas, and/or research or project ideas

 Interested candidates should send their application materials to: iowahsrfellowship@va.gov

Post-Fellowship Opportunities

Upon fellowship completion, fellows desiring to continue their career locally have multiple opportunities to compete for funding, such as:

  • VA HSR&D’s Career Development Award https://www.hsrd.research.va.gov/cdp/about.cfm
  • Internal funding (e.g., CADRE’s Small Award Initiative for Impact (SWIFT) program)
  • The Rural Career Development Award (rural CDA) within VRHRC-IC, which provides 2 years of additional support and protected time for mentored rural health focused research.
  • For clinicians, Rural Scholars Fellowship Program - Rural Scholars receive 50% of their time protected from clinical care over two years to engage in a virtual curriculum in rural health care improvement and systems redesign.
  • Our academic affiliate’s Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (ICTS) KL2 Career Development Award https://icts.uiowa.edu/workforce-development/scholar-programs/kl2-scholars-program
  • Applying for other federal funding (e.g., NIH, AHRQ)


 Current and Former CADRE OAA Fellows in Health Systems Research

Dr. Gatr-Alnada Gheriani, MD 2025-2027

Dr. Gheriani is a rheumatologist whose research interests focus on vasculitis and autoimmune disorders. During her VA Quality Scholars fellowship, she investigated neurological involvement across different types of vasculitis. As an OAA Advanced Fellow in Health Systems Research, she is continuing to build expertise in genetic, immunological, and environmental factors that influence autoimmune disease onset and progression. Her goal is to integrate clinical care and research to improve outcomes and advance the management of patients with vasculitis and related autoimmune conditions.

Fellowship Publications:

1.  Autoimmune Disorders Affecting the Larynx: Review of Laryngoscopic Findings and Approach to Multidisciplinary Management. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41587910/

Fellowship Presentations:

1. The Many Faces of ANCA Associated Vasculitis. UIHC Internal Medicine Grand Rounds.
 https://uicapture.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=214d6ecd-4962-46e1-8b59-b3e101411940

2. The ANCA Alliance: A Rheum-Renal Dialogue on Shared Battles in Vasculitis. UIHC Nephrology Grand Rounds.

AM Racila, PhD 2023-2026

Dr. AM Racila received his PhD in medical anthropology from the University of Iowa in 2020 and previously completed an NIH T32 fellowship in Nephrology, where he collaborated on implementation science research in nephrology, urology, and oncology. During his fellowship, he has contributed to research focused on LGBTQ+ Veteran health, reproductive health, infection prevention, and implementation science. His work has examined Veterans’ experiences with reproductive healthcare and fertility intentions, implementation of infection prevention interventions in healthcare settings, and challenges in collecting sexual orientation and gender identity data in clinical and registry systems. Dr. Racila is developing expertise in mixed methods and qualitative approaches to studying healthcare experiences and healthcare delivery among Veterans. He was also recently awarded a two-year Office of Rural Health Career Development Award for “Sexually Transmitted Infection Testing among Rural Veterans: A Mixed Methods Veteran Needs Assessment Study.”

Fellowship Publications: 

1.“Every Person Is Going to Have Different Needs and Different Expectations”: Reproductive Health Care Experiences of LGBTQ+ Veterans Assigned Female at Birth Within the Veterans Health Administration. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42055881/

2. Survey of hemodialysis patients’ knowledge of their infection risk and acceptability of an intranasal decolonization intervention. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41635193/

3. Assessing United States Military Veterans' Fertility Intentions Before and After Military Service Using a Cognitive-Social Model. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41240357/

4. Facilitators and barriers for the use of ultraviolet-C disinfection for patient room cleaning at VA hospitals: a qualitative analysis . https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41287380/

5. Variation in veterans affairs hospitals’ UV-C surface disinfection systems guidance documents: a qualitative content analysis. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40567398/

6. Implementing intranasal povidone-iodine in the orthopedic trauma surgery setting to prevent surgical site infections: a qualitative study of healthcare provider perspectives. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39985058/

7. Leveraging Electronic Health Record Data to Identify Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ+) Veteran Participants in the PRIDE in All Who Served Program. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40068137/

8. Challenges in collecting information on sexual orientation and gender identity for cancer patients: perspectives of hospital and central cancer registry abstractors. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38954307/

9. Implementing nasal povidone-iodine decolonization to reduce infections in hemodialysis units: a qualitative assessment. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38779819/

Dr. Alessandra (Lexi) Pratt, PhD 2022-2024

During her fellowship, Dr. Pratt conducted research focused on women Veterans’ health, environmental and occupational exposures, and reproductive health outcomes. Her work included studies examining postpartum mood and anxiety disorders among women Veterans, the impact of chronic pain on pharmacotherapy for Veterans with PTSD, and disability claims among women Veterans exposed to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune. She also published work from her doctoral training evaluating aerosol exposures and the effectiveness of face shields during simulated healthcare and dental procedures. Her work integrates public health, industrial hygiene, and Veteran-focused health services research to address environmental and occupational factors affecting health outcomes and health delivery.

Fellowship Publications:

1. Risk of Delayed Intubation After Presumed Opioid Overdose in the Emergency Department. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40047773/

2. Incidence and risk factors for postpartum mood and anxiety disorders among women veterans. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37433239/

3. Evaluation of aerosols in a simulated orthodontic debanding procedure. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36964164/

4. Evaluation of face shields used during aerosol generating procedures. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37730888/

5. Comparison of virus aerosol concentrations across a face shield worn on a healthcare personnel during a simulated patient cough. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37609833/

6.  The Impact of Comorbid Chronic Pain on Pharmacotherapy for Veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37510878/

7. Disability Claims for Female Veterans Exposed to Contaminated Water at Marine Base Camp Lejeune. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38756093/

Dr. Matt Smith, MD 2022-2024

During his fellowship, Dr. Smith conducted research focused on antimicrobial resistance, infection prevention, and healthcare epidemiology with the Veterans Health Administration. His work examined county-level patterns of antimicrobial resistance, strategies to prevent healthcare-associated infections, and approaches to antimicrobial stewardship and nasal decolonization in healthcare settings. He also contributed to research addressing sustainability and environmental stewardship in healthcare delivery, including the role of telemedicine in reducing healthcare-related environmental impacts. Collectively, his fellowship work applied epidemiologic and implementation science approaches to improve the quality, safety, and sustainability of Veteran healthcare.

Fellowship Publications:

1. County-level spatiotemporal distribution of fluoroquinolone-resistant Enterobacteriaceae in outpatient settings of the Veterans’ Health Administration, 2000–2017. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36458687/

2. Are Contact Precautions "Essential" for the Prevention of Healthcare-associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37738565/

3. Infection Prevention, Planetary Health, and Single-Use Plastics. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37782511/

4. Health Care and Climate Change—Telemedicine’s Role in Environmental Stewardship. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36719685/

5. Assessing the potential for improved predictive capacity of antimicrobial resistance in outpatient Staphylococcus aureus isolates using seasonal and spatial antibiograms. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38519975/

6. Nasal decolonization: What antimicrobials and antiseptics are most effective before surgery and in the ICU. 
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37890955/

7. Research agenda for transmission prevention within the Veterans Health Administration, 2024–2028. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38600795/
(Stock photos courtesy of City of Iowa City)
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