Directed by Debraj “Raj” Mukherjee, MD, MPH, the laboratory focuses on improving access to care, reducing disparities, maximizing surgical outcomes, and optimizing quality of life for patients with brain and skull base tumors.

The laboratory achieves these aims by creating and analyzing institutional and national databases, developing and validating novel patient-centered quality of life instruments, leveraging machine learning and artificial intelligence platforms to risk-stratify vulnerable patient populations, and designing novel surgical trials to push the boundaries of neurosurgical innovation.

Our research also investigates novel approaches to improve neurosurgical medical education including studying the utility of video-based surgical coaching and the design of new operative instrumentation.

Researchers in the Claire Snyder Lab study the quality of cancer care, with a special focus on two areas: the quality of life for cancer patients undergoing treatment and the coordination of care between cancer specialists and primary care providers. As part of our quality-of-life research, we're investigating the use of patient-reported outcome questionnaires in routine oncology practice as well as developing a website for collecting the questionnaires and linking them with the electronic medical record. As part of our cancer-survivorship research, we've conducted large database studies to identify the physician specialties involved in the care of cancer survivors and to determine how that relates to survivors receiving recommended follow-up care. We're also working with investigators in the Sydney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center to develop care strategies for breast cancer survivors.

Dr. Rowan is actively involved in both outcomes and translational research relating to chronic rhinosinusitis and endoscopic skull base surgery. He has a keen interest patient-reported quality of life outcomes as well as those that pertain to smell and taste. Dr. Rowan is also involved in sinus-related clinical trials, pursuing new medical therapies and technological advancements for the treatment of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis.

Research in the Lilly Engineer Lab examines the quality and safety of medical care, with a focus on rural and underserved communities. Our current research evaluates methods for improving immunization rates among inner-city populations of school-aged children. We are also exploring the effect of federal policy changes and health care market forces on rural hospitals in the United States.

Research in the Cynthia Boyd Lab concentrates on the clinical care of comorbid chronically ill and frail older adults, both chronically and during acute illnesses. Current projects focus on the treatment burden among older adults with multimorbidity, the importance of competing risks in decision-making for the elderly, the effects of guided care on the quality of care and the improvement of clinical practice guidelines for the elderly.

Research in the Alicia Arbaje Lab aims to help older adults maintain dignity and quality of life as they age. We are particularly interested in creating health care systems to improve safety and outcomes for older adults.

Led by Stephen Wegener, Ph.D, this research group focuses on projects that have the potential to improve function and quality of life and reduce disability following injury or illness. These projects include research on cognitive, behavioral, psychological and health care system factors that affect outcomes following injury.

The bony skeleton is one of the most common sites of metastatic spread of cancer and a significant source of morbidity in cancer patients, causing pain and pathological fracture, impaired ambulatory ability and poorer quality of life.

In our continuous investigation of the mechanism of metastasis in spine tumors and of developing animal models and treatments, our team seeks to understand how cancer cells metastasize to the bony spine.

Our laboratory develops novel techniques to evaluate our animal models of metastatic spine disease.

The ALS Center for Cell Therapy and Regeneration Research at Johns Hopkins is committed to identifying the causes of the neurodegenerative disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and discovering new and effective treatment options. At the ALS Center, Johns Hopkins researchers work with other investigators, including those at the Robert Packard Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins and clinicians within the Johns Hopkins ALS Clinic to aggressively take groundbreaking scientific discoveries and turn them into clinical applications that will improve the quality of life of those diagnosed with ALS.

Ari Cedars, M.D., and his team have three primary research goals. First, the Cedars Lab is interested in patient-centered outcomes in congenital heart disease, which they investigate using a digital tracking system to record participants’ symptoms and quality of life. Second, the Cedars Lab investigates outcomes with mechanical circulatory support and transplant in congenital heart disease, with a focus on those with end-stage heart disease and a Fontan circulation. Third, the Cedars Lab is interested in the biological mechanisms underlying circulatory deterioration and end-organ dysfunction in patients with a Fontan circulation.