Dennis Cotter
As President of MTPPI, Mr. Cotter is an experienced outcomes-investigator in a wide variety of clinical areas for over 30 years. His recent work appears in top-tier medical journals and has received considerable international acclaim, US Congressional attention, Medicare policy-maker and FDA regulatory recognition, and has been cited by leading medical and general media outlets. Mr. Cotter has a particular interest in the identification and inclusion of stakeholders; consensus building between private and public sectors regarding clinical effectiveness of new and emerging healthcare technologies; dissemination of epidemiologic studies results based on analysis of large public and private clinical and administrative databases; and clinical practice guideline and policy development.
Mae Thamer
As Research Director at MTPPI, Dr. Thamer has extensive health services research experience dating back two decades with a focus on chronic conditions and vulnerable populations. Dr. Thamer has worked extensively using administrative data, electronic health records, and national surveys to conduct large scale studies to improve the care and outcomes for patients with renal failure (CKD), end-stage renal disease (ESRD), diabetes, lupus, and other conditions. Dr. Thamer is particularly interested in the analysis of new and emerging technologies in the health care arena.
Yi Zhang
As a Senior Associate at MTPPI, Dr. Yi Zhang has extensive experience in medicine and biostatistical research. At MTPPI she both designs and conducts research on large administrative databases using advanced statistical techniques including MSM, g estimator and dynamic treatment regimes. Dr. Zhang has spent the last 8 years working on causal modeling and specifically in the area of anemia management among dialysis patients. Dr. Zhang is the Principal Investigator of several projects to advance methodologic approaches to using causal modeling to address health services research, clinical and patient-centered research priorities.
Nicholas Hamilton-Cotter
Mr.Hamilton-Cotter is responsible for leading the Institute’s development activities. This involves building strategic alliances, identifying new research opportunities, and acting as the liaison to MTPPI’s twenty-eight collaborating centers. Prior to joining MTPPI, Nick held progressive positions at GE Healthcare, CCC Information Services, and Protiviti. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a BBA in Finance and is currently studying Public Health Informatics at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health.
Joyce Zhang
Joyce joined MTPPI as an Epidemiologist and SAS programmer in 2012 after her service to the Northern California Institute of Research and Education. Her expertise has expanded across several fields in epidemiology: chronic disease, infectious disease, and mental health. Since coming to MTPPI, she has taken over the responsibility to conduct Medicare claim analysis with a focus on detecting patterns of potential fraud and abuse within the healthcare industry. She also participates in preparation of several NIH/NIDDK and PCORI grants submissions on dialysis initiation and modality choice. As a SAS programmer, she has brought to MTPPI a strong analytics skill set that assists database preparation and manuscript writing.
Onkar Kshirsagar
As the Scientific Database Manager at MTPPI, Mr. Kshirsagar has extensive experience in designing, developing, integrating, and supporting tools and applications, including content management and database architecture. Mr. Kshirsagar has the primary responsibility for the management of the database and network systems including MTPPI's information technology infrastructure, including servers, workstations, network, and information security. Mr. Kshirsagar manages MTPPI's data acquisition efforts for multiyear projects using and applies his in-depth knowledge of technical specifications and workflow development to facilitate project goals and milestones.