ICRE News

September 4, 2019

New Teaching Faculty Member Joins the Institute for Clinical Research Education

We are very happy to announce that the ICRE has added another superb teaching faculty member to our ranks. Gretchen White, PhD, has 10 years of experience conducting epidemiological research along with teaching and mentoring experience gained throughout her training and the early part of her career.

Dr. White earned an MPH from Drexel University School of Public Health in 2009, after which she worked for 5 years as an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. During this time she mentored new epidemiologists and gave seminars to researchers and clinicians around the country on epidemiological research methods appropriate for disease surveillance. She then came to Pitt to work toward her PhD, which she earned in 2018 from the Department of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health. Since then she has been a Senior Research Analyst providing technical and statistical expertise in the Department of Surgery.

Dr. White will continue her work with Surgery in the area of bariatric outcomes, though the majority of her time will be spent teaching here at the ICRE. Her background and experiences will allow her to step in to a number of areas, including medical writing and research methods. We found that Dr. White’s teaching philosophy, which she articulated in her application, resonates with our own: “that active learning, including the integration of case studies, partner discussions, and small group projects, is one of the best ways to learn about clinical research. Lecturing is necessary, but supplementing lectures with real-life examples and hands-on learning allows for more active engagement.”

We are excited for Dr. White to start contributing to our work here at the ICRE.