Behavioral Measurement & Population Science

The Behavioral Measurement and Population Science Shared Resource supports the development and implementation of cancer-focused population science and patient-centered research through a dedicated research infrastructure.

Director

Dolores Guest, PhD, RD, Director

Dolores Guest, PhD, RD, Director

 

Contact

To set up a meeting to discuss how we can provide support for your research efforts:

Email Joe Rodman

or call him at 505-272-6557.

BMPS Offers the Following Services

  • Provides methodologic input, especially pertaining to qualitative, mixed method and community-based observational and interventional trials.
  • Develops and designs study protocols, standard operating procedures, data collection instruments, and databases.
  • Provides community- and clinic-based recruitment, consenting, and data collection activities.
  • Project coordinators may manage staff, monitor fidelity, and implement quality control procedures.
  • Ensures study timelines and tracks study progress.
  • Provides analytic support for qualitative and mixed methods studies.
  • Develops data collection instruments, and conducts interviews and focus groups.
  • Leads qualitative data analysis using NVivo® or Dedoose software packages, a unique service in the UNMCCC
  • Facilitates study accrual data are captured on CCSG Data Table 4.
  • Develops and follows processes to ensure new studies initiated by CCPS members meet CCSG guidelines for accurate accrual reporting.
  • BMPS leadership serves on the Population Science CWG to further integrate research and data accrual reporting needs.
  • Develops and provides research tailored training events for research teams and more broadly to UNMCCC faculty, study staff, and students.
  • Hosts a monthly journal club to discuss behavioral and population science research of topical and catchment area relevance.
  • Provides mentored training opportunities for students and interns in collaboration with UNMCCC’s CRTECC and other UNM programs.

Acknowledgment

For continued support and operation of our facility, it is vital that all users acknowledge the use of the facility in their publications. Here is some suggested text that can be used in the Acknowledgments section of your publications:

To acknowledge use of this shared resource, please include the following in your publications:

This research was partially supported by UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center Support Grant NCI P30CA118100 and the Behavioral Measurement and Population Science shared resource.

Thank you.

Faculty and Staff

Guest ImageDirector, Behavioral Measurement & Population Sciences 

Dolores D. Guest, PhD, RD, (505-272-1487) is a Research Assistant Professor in the Division of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Preventive Medicine in the Department of Internal Medicine (DOIM) and the Director of the Behavioral Measurement and Population Science Shared Resource at the University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center (UNMCCC). She received her Ph.D. (Nutritional Sciences, 2009) and completed her dietetic internship (Registered Dietitian, R.D., 2009) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). She completed two additional years in post-doctoral training in the Department of Kinesiology and Exercise Physiology at UIUC as well as at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine.

Dr. Guest has designed and led several qualitative research studies in a number of areas including Parkinson’s disease, pain management, and women’s health and body composition. She has conducted this research with a variety of culturally and ethnically diverse groups, including Alaska Natives and Native Americans. Her research has focused on lifestyle influences in combination with genetic variability on disease development, recovery and subsequent quality of life. Presently, her research focuses on improving access to nutrition care for patients with cancer.

Given the diversity of her previous work, she brings a broad skill set to the Shared Resource, including grant and IRB application preparation, direct clinical and community engagement, study design and execution, and database development and management expertise. She has been at the UNMCCC since 2014 where she has supported dozens of cancer-focused population-based research studies through project management, pre-award and study design assistance, regulatory support, and dissemination.

Rodman ImageSenior Research Scientist & Technical Director, Behavioral Measurement & Population Science

Joe Rodman (505-272-6557) is a Senior Research Scientist and the Technical Director for Behavioral Measurement & Population Science Shared Resource. Joe provides day-to-day management of BMPS personnel, projects, communication, planning, and budget considerations. He also directly supports a number of research studies for by providing project coordination/management, personnel oversight, qualitative analysis (to include experience with NVivo and Dedoose), survey instrument development, direct clinical and community collaboration, and writing and editing support.

Prior to his work at the University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center and BMPS, Joe conducted social and behavioral science research for the US Army for three years. He also spent two years working in Afghanistan—one year conducting qualitative field research in support of the US Army and another year managing community development and governance projects for USAID. Preceding this, Joe served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Uganda in support of local health education and organizational development initiatives.

He brings to BMPS significant management and research experience working with and for diverse teams, organizations, and communities. He is inspired to support BMPS’s core mission of developing and implementing cancer-focused population science and patient-centered research in partnership with New Mexico’s vibrant communities. Joe earned a Master’s degree from Indiana University’s Department of Geography.

Boyce ImageBiostatistician, Biostatistics Shared Resource

Tawny Boyce (505-272-9578) joined the Biostatistics Shared Resource early in 2015 and shares a portion of her time with Behavioral Measurement and Population Science Shared Resource at UNMCCC.

In 2010, she earned a dual Master’s degree from Tufts University focusing on epidemiology, biostatistics and nutrition. She has prior experience as a quantitative epidemiologist/biostatistician at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Medical Center. She has experience with large population datasets used to illustrate health disparities in chronic conditions and health behaviors, including people with disabilities and older adults.

Ms. Boyce also has knowledge of data management and analysis of longitudinal observational clinical data for use in publications and presentations for a wide range of audiences. She has used clinical, behavioral, and quality of life data to assess health outcomes and promote disease prevention across the lifespan. Services through BMPS include 1) Case report form design and development 2) Database design and development (i.e. REDCap) 3) Data management plans and standard operating procedures.

Scientific Research Manager

Shoshana Adler Jaffe (505-272-6504) is a Research Data Specialist with the Behavioral Measurement and Population Science (BMPS) Shared Resource of the UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center. She began working for the UNMCCC in 2018 as a research assistant while earning her MPH from the UNM College of Population Health.

Shoshana completed an epidemiology concentration within the MPH program and joined BMPS in 2019. She has experience with data analysis and with developing manuscripts and presentations concerning notable research findings. Shoshana has worked with STATA, Excel, SEER*Stat, and REDCap to collect, process, and analyze data. She also has experience in conducting semi-structured interviews and in study participant recruitment. While earning her bachelor's degree in biology at UNM, Shoshana conducted research in both plant physiology and human rights.

Research Scientist 3

Ellen Burgess (505-272-4595) is a Research Projects Specialist with the Behavioral Measurement and Population Science (BMPS) Shared Resource at the University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Ellen joined BMPS in May 2019 after earning her MPH (Community Health concentration) from UNM’s College of Population Health. Her graduate research assistantship involved qualitative study and analysis of a national sample of Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) partnerships, co-facilitating workshops testing partnership tools developed by the research team, and creating a facilitation guide for future CBPR workshops.

Ellen was a Teaching Assistant for three graduate level Public Health courses: Program Planning, Determinants & Equity, and the CBPR Summer Institute. Early in her career, she worked in Albuquerque and Dallas for a large apparel company utilizing her BS in Industrial Engineering education.

Ellen, who was born and raised in New Mexico, brings program coordination and social services provision experience to BMPS from previous positions with a local cancer non-profit organization and a rural county social services office.

Research Scientist 2

John Torres is a Research Scientist with the Behavioral Measurement and Population Science (BMPS) Shared Resource at the University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center.

He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry, Sociology and Spanish at University of New Mexico. John has worked in various research studies from pharmaceutical randomized controlled clinical trials to observational studies with approximately three years working in a research environment. He has experience in: (1) screening and recruiting, (2) database creation and data collection, (3) data analysis and management using REDCap and Microsoft Excel, (4) regulatory documentation for both local and external IRB, and (5) proposal elaboration and research presentation.

As an undergraduate, John worked in community-based research creating an intervention plan to increase access to healthcare in rural New Mexico. He has been active in serving his community by volunteering in community clinics, providing translational services (between Spanish and English), and advocating for underserved community needs both in New Mexico and his hometown in Honduras.

Most recently, he worked as a Research Coordinator for the Clinical Trials Unit (CTU) under Nephrology at UNMH’s Department of Internal Medicine. John is currently pursuing a Master's in Science in Data Analytics.

Research Scientist 2

Kendal Jacobson is a Research Scientist with the Behavioral Measurement and Population Science (BMPS) Shared Resource of the UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Hispanic studies from Lewis & Clark College in 2020. Kendal has experience in data collection and analysis, manuscript writing, and research presentations. She previously worked for the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions as a bilingual (English/Spanish) Customer Service Agent assisting a diverse population of New Mexicans during the pandemic.