Meet the team

 

Amy D. Waterman, PhD, Health Education Innovator

ADr. Amy D. Waterman is a national transplant innovator and the Deborah C. and Clifton B. Phillips Centennial Chair for Clinical Research in Transplant Medicine, a Full Professor, and the Director of Patient Engagement, Diversity, and Education, representing both J.C. Walter Transplant Center at Houston Methodist Hospital and the Houston Methodist Research Institute. In addition to many national transplant leadership positions, Dr. Waterman is a Fellow of the American Society of Transplantation. In 2018, she received the ClearMark Award of Distinction from the Center for Plain Language for her interactive digital application, My Transplant Coach, as well as a National Health Information Merit Award for two educational initiatives developed by Explore Transplant, a nonprofit consortium Dr. Waterman founded.

Dr. Waterman’s research has been supported by more than $28 million dollars in federal grants, and she has authored approximately 100 research articles and book chapters. She has designed 13 educational programs to help patients and potential living donors make informed transplant decisions. These programs have been disseminated to patients in hundreds of dialysis and transplant settings in the United States, Canada, and South Africa, in multiple languages. Dr. Waterman received her PhD in Social Psychology with an emphasis on patient education and behavior change from Washington University in St. Louis, MO and worked for 12 years at the University of California Los Angeles as a Professor in Residence. Learn more about Dr. Waterman»

LaShara A. Davis, PhD, Independent Investigator

Dr. LaShara A. Davis is an independent scientist with The Patient Engagement Research Lab. She graduated with a degree in Communication from the School of Communication and Information in 2004. She continued her education at Purdue University where she received a MA in 2007 and a PhD in Communication in 2011 with an emphasis in Health Communication and Social Influence. She completed postdoctoral training in racial and ethnic disparities in living donor kidney transplant in 2013 at Washington University School of Medicine. Since then, Dr. Davis has built her career around research on patient-centered care, health education development and reducing racial and ethnic health disparities. As an independent Scientist at Houston Methodist Hospital, her goal is to deepen the understanding of the creation, implementation, and evaluation of health campaigns with a special focus on health disparities affecting low-income, low-literate, and underserved populations.

Catherine Pulicken, MHA, Project Manager

Catherine Pulicken is responsible for business and research operations for The Patient Engagement Research Lab implementation at Houston Methodist through the management of research associates and federally funded grant projects. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Health Education in 2014 and completed a Master of Health Administration (MHA) in 2017 from the University of Houston. She is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, pursuing a public health degree with emphasis on health promotion and behavioral sciences. Catherine is an advocate for health promotion, chronic disease prevention and management, and reducing health disparities through public health initiatives, clinical and research efforts. Previous projects include improving the quality and delivery of chronic disease management and care within community health centers to improve both patient and provider outcomes. She hopes to inspire others and create a meaningful difference within the progressive world of public health.

Mayra Almendarez, Research Coordinator

Mayra Almendarez graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Administration from University of Houston–Clear Lake in 2019. She is currently a graduate candidate at Western Governors University, pursing a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with an emphasis on Healthcare Management. Mayra is currently working as a Research Coordinator for the Patient Engagement Research Lab, representing both J.C. Walter Transplant Center at Houston Methodist Hospital and the Houston Methodist Research Institute, with a focus on community engagement and outreach. She is passionate to conduct research in areas including how best to expand access to optimal treatments, reduce racial disparities, ensure informed decision-making, ensure patient-centered care, and improve health outcomes. Mayra has built her career around organ transplantation. She brings 13 years of experience on patient-centered care and health education development, and hopes to contribute to research clinical trials, behavioral and multilevel interventional studies, development of new educational technologies, outcomes and health services research and implementation of best practices. Mayra is excited to soon pursue a Doctoral in Public Health degree with an emphasis on health promotion and behavioral sciences.

Patient Engagement Research Lab

The Patient Engagement Research Lab is an interdisciplinary research and education center directed by Dr. Amy Waterman and located at the Houston Methodist Research Institute. The lab leads the field in conducting state of the art clinical research to understand and improve important issues affecting transplant outcomes, intervenes to reduce disparities in access to transplantation for diverse patient and donor populations and tests the effectiveness of interventions to increase transplant referrals and living donation rates. Through collaboration with healthcare providers, national transplant leaders, and healthcare policymakers, the lab translates findings from effective clinical trials into practice to ensure that patients can live longer and enjoy the best possible quality of life. Learn more about the Lab»

Health Literacy Media (HLM)

Health Literacy Media’s Explore Transplant (ET) and Explore Living Donation (ELD) programs help kidney patients in the USA and Canada make informed treatment choices about transplant and living donation. Through trainings, partnerships, research, and educational materials, ET and ELD have educated more than 4,000 providers, leading to better transplant education for over 28,000 kidney patients. ET and ELD are programs of Health Literacy Media, or HLM, a communications nonprofit that partners with health organizations to make health information easier for people to understand and use. Learn more about HLM»

Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation

The Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation (TIBI) is an independent non-profit research foundation affiliated with the University of California, Los Angeles. TIBI aims to solve the major problems limiting the success of organ transplantation. Working to provide the transplant community with new understanding of how to achieve success in transplantation, TIBI partners with organizations such as the Transplant Research and Education Center (TREC) as well as with transplant centers worldwide, serving as a core lab on research grants, working within research consortia, running major transplant registries, and partnering with many companies that develop new medications and technologies in transplantation. Learn more about Terasaki»

501creative

501creative is a strategic communications firm that designs and develops educational, recruitment, and fundraising tools for nonprofit organizations throughout the country. 501 has been working with Dr. Waterman and her lab since 2005 when they helped her name and brand the first set of educational materials about exploring transplant and living donation. Learn more about 501creative»

Goal Productions

GOAL Productions, Inc. (GOAL) is a full-service digital storytelling production company and creative agency located in Glendale, CA. “Digital Storytelling” is not just in GOAL’s name or email signature—rather, it’s the essence of who they are at GOAL Productions—Digital Storytellers. With a mission to tell stories that change and affect lives positively, GOAL provides all necessary pre-production planning services, field production services, field equipment, and all post-production editorial to deliver the best and most engaging content. GOAL has created hundreds of videos showcasing inspiring stories of organ, eye, and tissue recipients and donor families over the last 15 years. Learn more about Goal Productions»