Happy New Year to our Implementation Science Community! 

We are very excited to introduce you to three new team members, Cintly Celis-de Hoyos, Ruby Cramer, and Aden Littlewood, who have brought infrastructure and research support for all of us in the BRIDGE Program since they joined us in Fall 2023. Read below to learn more about each of these outstanding individuals. We also highlight some recent 2023 invited and peer-reviewed presentations and publications, as well as local news about implementation science in a Warren Alpert Medical School Primary Care-Population Medicine medical student project. Want to learn more about the Society for Implementation Collaboration, the only professional organization dedicated to implementation science and practice? Read on! And finally, BRIDGE will host two Implementation Science Bootcamps in 2024! Mark your calendars for the first one, which takes place February 9-10, 2024 (CME credit available). See below for more information and the link for registration. 

Wishing you all a productive start to the new year, and may 2024 bring you much success in moving evidence into practice. As always, please reach out with any questions you may have about implementation science. 

Cintly received her master’s in clinical psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University in 2012. She joined the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown in June 2012 as a clinical research interviewer, and worked on various research projects of serious mental illness with Drs. Shirley Yen and Lauren Weinstock, including a longitudinal study of bipolar disorder in youth, a study evaluating treatment decisions among pregnant and postpartum participants with bipolar disorder, and projects examining the critical transition following inpatient hospitalization or incarceration, for adults with bipolar disorder. Cintly joined BRIDGE as Program Manager in October 2023, and collaborates with Dr. Elwy and Dr. Frank in managing the day-to-day of the program. Broadly, Cintly’s research interests involve examining the boundaries between mood and related disorders, and contributing to efforts to improve wellbeing among individuals living with serious mental illness. 

Aden Littlewood is a research assistant in the BRIDGE program. He received an Sc.B. in Social Analysis and Research and International and Public Affairs from Brown University, focusing on applied research and international security. As a research assistant, he collaborates with the other members of the BRIDGE team, supporting their research and working to advance the aims of the program.

Ruby Cramer is a research assistant in the BRIDGE program. She received her BA in Psychology from Bates College in 2023. Currently, she assists the BRIDGE team on a range of projects and initiatives. One commitment is supporting Dr. Martinez in his work to improve health systems for at-risk youth, focusing on equitable implementation of measurement based care. She also formats the newsletter now (hi!). In the future, Ruby hopes to further her education while remaining passionate about implementation science, liberatory psychology, and research as justice - particularly in regards to using community-engaged qualitative methods to re-center participant voices and address inequities across mental healthcare.

This piece, written by Katie Liesener on behalf of the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, highlights the rise of the BRIDGE Program. Curious about our history? 

Find the article here →

Washington University's D&I Science Bootcamp kicked off with the inaugural Enola Proctor speech given by Dr. Elwy. 

Learn more here →

Nicole Comella, a medical student conducting research, shouts out Dr. Elwy and the BRIDGE program for their mentorship and support. 

Read it here →