The PBRN Resource Center provides infrastructure development, training, research development and consultation to investigators and PBRN members.
Our Team PBRNs
Leadership
Inez Cruz, PhD, LMSW
Director for the Practice-Based Research Network Center and Residency Research Network of Texas (RRNET)
Dr. Cruz is the Director of the Practice Based Research Network Center for the Institute for Integration of Medicine and Science, the Director of the Residency Research Network of Texas (RRNeT) since 2018, and a member of RRNeT since 2014. She serves as the Director of Community Engagement and Partnerships for the UT School of Public Health. RRNeT’s Family Medicine faculty and residents have collaboratively developed new multi-site research projects that respond to PBRN member priorities such as social determinants of health and quality of life, comfort with uncertainty among trainees, physician burnout, and demonstrating accountability to payers and regulators. Dr. Cruz is an Assistant Professor of Research for the Department of Family and Community Medicine at UT Health San Antonio, primarily working in Qualitative Health Services Research. During Dr. Cruz’s leadership, RRNeT has created a trajectory of successful grant applications, presentations, and published manuscripts.
Elisabeth de la Rosa, MS, CHW
Community Engagement Research Operations Manager
Elisabeth serves as the point of contact for the IIMS Community Engagement Team. She works with the Community Engagement Team leaders to develop and implement programs that facilitate the continuation and formation of community and academic research partnerships. For 20 years, she has coordinated different projects and research studies within the UT System. She has been a part of the IIMS Community Engagement Team since 2009 and has worked alongside various partners to help develop, implement, and evaluate various projects that address community health concerns including diabetes, environmental health, teen pregnancy, and suicide.
Team Members
Rahma Mungia, BDS, MSc, DDPHRCS
Director of the South Texas Oral Health Network (STOHN)
Dr. Mungia is co-director of the South Texas Oral Health Network, as well as Clinical Coordinator for the South Central Area Health Education Center and Associate Professor/Research at the UT Health SA Department of Periodontics. She oversees all STOHN research and infrastructure activities. Her primary interest is in dental public health, especially tobacco cessation. She has also completed research on the effects of lead exposure in young children.
Melanie Taverna, RDH, MS
Co-Director of the South Texas Oral Health Network (STOHN)
Ms. Taverna is an Assistant Professor and the Director of Graduate Programs for UTHSCSA Dental Hygiene. She is the Co-Director of the South Texas Oral Health Network (STOHN) and is a member of the National Dental Practice-Based Research Network. She has worked in the dental field since 1984, as an office manager and dental hygienist. Her interests include geriatric oral health. She hopes to increase inter-department collaboration in education and research to improve oral health for senior populations.
Kathleen Stevens, EdD, FAAN, RN, ANEF
Director of the Improvement Science Research Network
The Improvement Science Research Network (ISRN) aims to advance the scientific foundation for quality improvement, safety and efficiency through transdisciplinary research in healthcare systems, patient-centeredness, and integration of evidence into practice. Dr. Stevens was the founding director of ACE-Center for Advancing Clinical Excellence 2000-2015, leading inter-professional efforts to advance evidence-based quality improvement and patient safety. Her federally funded activities emphasize healthcare transformation through scholarly work on the national Improvement Science Research Network, AHRQ Health Care Innovations Exchange, Institute of Medicine’s report Preventing Medication Errors, and team performance improvement. Dr. Stevens is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and the Academy of Nurse Educators and is the UT System Chancellor’s Health Fellow for healthcare delivery science. E-mail: stevensk@uthscsa.edu
Sara Masoud, PhD, MPH
Director of Supporting Older Adults through Research Network (SOARNet)
Dr. Sara Masoud is a community engaged researcher with a focus on the inclusion of family caregivers and persons living dementia as partners in research. As a caregiver for her grandfather who lived with dementia, Sara learned firsthand what it was like to balance the pressures of maintaining employment and attaining her education while caregiving for a family member. This experience shaped her understanding of the discriminatory systemic structures that prevent families from accessing necessary care and support. Her training as a researcher deepened her understanding of the relationship between generating scientific evidence and the development of supportive interventions. Sara partners with stakeholders in dementia care to conduct research that aligns with their priorities, needs, and experiences. She applies community engaged research methods to address the traditional practices that have resulted in the exclusion of communities from leading the research that ultimately shapes their access to dementia care and support.
Walter L. Calmbach, MD, MPH
Founder and Director of STARNet
Dr. Calmbach is a professor in the Dept. of Family & Community Medicine at UT Health San Antonio. He is the founder and director of the South Texas Ambulatory Research Network (STARNet), and is actively involved in local and national research projects with this research network. He currently serves as chair of the steering cmte of the Federation of Practice Based Research Networks, a national organization representing PBRN’s around the country. Dr. Calmbach also directs the Primary Care Research Methods & Statistics Conference, a meeting funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ) aimed at presenting new and emerging methods of primary care research. He is board certified in Family Medicine and Sports Medicine, and his primary clinical interest is in primary care sports medicine. His primary research interests include physical activity promotion and methods related to practice-based research networks.
Caitlin Sangdahl, BS
Coordinator for STOHN and SOARNet
Caitlin serves as the Research Coordinator for two practice-based research networks: South Texas Oral Health Network (STOHN) and Supporting Older Adults through Research Network (SOARNet). She graduated from Texas A&M University with a BS in Biomedical Sciences in May 2023. During her studies, she acquired experience in quantitative research, specifically in maintaining live specimen and data collection. Her research interests include microbiology, surgical advancements, and cancer research.
Kaitlin Waxler, BA
Coordinator for RRNeT and South Texas Psychiatry Network
Kaitlin is the coordinator for the Residency Research Network of Texas (RRNeT) and the South Texas Psychiatric PBRNs. She graduated from UTSA with a BA in Anthropology. Prior to that, Kaitlin served in the U.S. Army as a field historian, where she began learning qualitative research skills, such as conducting oral history interviews and collecting primary source data. Her research interests include ACEs, Military and Veteran Healthcare, and disability.