Gina Kruse, MD, MPH
Director of C-VENT Research Program
Associate Professor

Dr. Kruse is a physician researcher in the Division of General Internal Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. She trained in internal medicine and primary care at Massachusetts General Hospital, completed a Harvard Medical School General Internal Medicine research fellowship, earned her MPH in Clinical Effectiveness from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health followed by a post-doctoral fellowship in Cancer Prevention from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences. Dr. Kruse’s research uses clinical trials, observational research, and mixed methods to test interventions and examine implementation strategies to improve the delivery of preventive services with a focus on improving tobacco cessation treatment in healthcare settings in the US and internationally. 

Sara Cooper, PhD, MSPH
Executive Committee Member

Sara Cooper is the Director of the Community Epidemiology and Program Evaluation Group (CEPEG) and a Senior Instructor, Clinical Teaching Track, in the Department of Community and Behavioral Health. With over 25 years of experience, Dr. Cooper is an expert on evaluation best practices, survey research, and innovative theory-based evaluation strategies for programs, policies, and community initiatives.

 Dr. Cooper directs CEPEG’s work as external evaluation center for Colorado’s Amendment 35-funded public health initiatives, including chronic disease prevention and tobacco control. Dr. Cooper's is leading partnerships with research centers and programs across multidisciplinary organizations to provide development and implementation assessment, translational science, sustainability planning, and program evaluation. CEPEG's Survey Research Unit is a center of excellence in survey research and population surveillance. Cooper represented the University of Colorado on the Colorado Tobacco Education, Prevention and Cessation Grants Program Review Committee, where she also served two terms as Chair. 

Chad Morris, PhD
Executive Committee Member

Chad Morris is a clinical psychologist and Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Colorado- School of Medicine. At CU he is the Director of the Behavioral Health & Wellness Program and Wellness Leadership Institute. He is the principal investigator of over 150 projects and studies exploring the effectiveness of organizational, psychosocial, and pharmacologic whole health and nicotine use treatment strategies across the U.S. and internationally. His work has focused on the needs of persons with mental illnesses and addictions, individuals who are homeless or at risk for homelessness, justice involved individuals, and rural and frontier residents among other health disparity populations. He is a Motivational Interviewing trainer and member of the MI Network of Trainers (MINT). Dr. Morris also specializes on the work and well-being of professionals including healthcare providers, correctional officers, educators, and U.S. district judges. As the Vice President of Spark Inspiration, Dr. Morris also offers corporate wellness solutions. 

Jamie Studts, PhD
Executive Committee Member

Dr. Studts is a Professor of Medical Oncology and serves as Co-Leader for the Cancer Prevention and Control (CPC) Program within the University of Colorado Cancer Center (UCCC) as well as the Co-Director of Population Health Shared Resource. He is a licensed clinical health psychologist and cancer control researcher with over 20 years of experience conducting mixed methods research in clinical and community-based settings using patient-reported outcomes and behavioral research. Areas of focus for research include behavioral aspects of lung cancer early detection and survivorship.

Yamila Sierra, MPH, CCRP

Clinical Research Program Manager

Thrinisha Malpeddi, MBBS

Research Services Professional