Programs | Penn PORTAL: University of Pennsylvania Patient-Oriented Research and Training to Accelerate Learning
Penn PORTAL: University of Pennsylvania Patient-Oriented Research and Training to Accelerate Learning
About
Penn PORTAL is funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to accelerate progress toward an integrated Learning Health System (LHS) at Penn and in the wider Philadelphia region. The program is a collaborative effort across many centers including the PAIR Center, the Penn Medicine Nudge Unit, the Penn Medicine Center for Health Equity Advancement (CHEA), the Center for Healthcare Improvement and Patient Safety (CHIPS), the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics (LDI), and the Penn Implementation Science Center (PISCE).
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LHS Pathways
Penn PORTAL is a P30 program (P30HS029745) uniting behavioral, data, and implementation scientists from Penn’s Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Engineering, and Business to support the research and training opportunities of the LHS Scientists. These experts are joined by leaders in the design, analysis, equity, and ethics of health services research studies; clinical operations leaders; and longstanding community partners in the Philadelphia region.
The Penn PORTAL program provides two pathways for research and training in LHS science: Scientist Investigator and Clinician Leader. Additional limited training opportunities are offered through an Affiliate Scholar program.
LHS Pathway 01
Scientist Investigator
Directed toward early-career clinician- and non-clinician investigators seeking to become independent and externally funded LHS Scientists.
LHS Pathway 02
Clinician Leader
Directed toward faculty clinicians and other health care professionals who are interested in pursuing training and mentorship in LHS science.
Program Overview
Research & Training Opportunities (2 years)
Didactic training in Learning Health Systems
Leadership development training
Recommended coursework tailored to each pathway
Mentorship in research and operations
LHS Design Studios1
LHS Seminar Series1
Participation in Health Equity Week, Nudge Unit Symposium, and the Implementation Science Institute
Development and completion of LHS research or QI project2
Access to consultants in equity, community engagement, ethics, research, and data analysis
Staff support from the PAIR Center, Nudge Unit and CHIPS for conducting LHS projects
1Affiliate Scholars from outside of Penn Medicine have access to the LHS Design Studios and LHS Seminar Series.
2These research projects will be in Penn Medicine and AHRQ/PCORI priority areas and not restricted to serious illness care.
Awardees
Cycle 1
Congratulations to the Penn PORTAL Cycle 1 LHS Clinician Leaders and LHS Scientist Investigators! Learn more about our inaugural awardees below.
Renee Betancourt, MD
LHS Pathway
Clinician Leader
Dr. Betancourt is the Vice Chair for Education and an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health; she is also the Faculty Director of the Health Equity Curriculum at Perelman School of Medicine. With an overarching goal of working to eliminate health inequity, Dr. Betancourt’s LHS quality improvement project will focus on patients with chronic kidney disease at Penn Family Care and is titled, “Primary Care Identification and Management of CKD Stage 3 to Improve Health Equity at the Level of the Provider.”
Eric Bressman, MD, MSHP
LHS Pathway
Scientist Investigator
Dr. Bressman is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hospital Medicine and is strongly interested in promoting safe transitions of care after hospital discharge. Dr. Bressman’s LHS research project, titled “Mobility-informed Dynamic Risk Monitoring to Guide Transitional Care Support for Older Adults,” will focus on the building blocks for improving transitioning older adults from the hospital to their home.
Kyra O’Brien, MD
LHS Pathway
Scientist Investigator
Dr. O’Brien is an Assistant Professor of Neurology and an MSHP candidate; her research interests are in improving and transforming care delivery for people with dementia. Starting with Penn Medicine primary care, Dr. O’Brien’s LHS research project is designed to develop an effective and equitable pathway for early detection of cognitive impairment. Her project is titled, “Supporting Cognitive Evaluations in Primary Care.”
Denise Xu, MD
LHS Pathway
Clinician Leader
Dr. Xu is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Neurology, the Assistant Program Director for the Neurology Residency, and Director for the Neurology Sub-Internship at the Perelman School of Medicine. Dr. Xu is interested in delirium prevention and in improving sleep quality for patients admitted to a Penn Medicine hospital. Her LHS quality improvement project is titled, “Improving Inpatient Sleep Outcomes.”
How to Apply
Applications for the Penn PORTAL program occur annually in winter, with appointments by July 1. Cycle 2 applications are now closed; awardees will be announced in April 2025.
Financial Support
Please see the Cycle 2 funding opportunity announcement for full details of the financial support offered under the two LHS Scientist pathways and the expected effort devoted to program activities.
Eligibility Requirements
Please see the Cycle 2 funding opportunity announcement for full details of eligibility criteria for the two LHS Scientist pathways. Please also note that the funded LHS Scientists must have appointments at Penn Medicine by July 1 of the funding cycle and research projects are expected to be completed at Penn Medicine.
Leadership
Penn PORTAL has three integrated cores, an equity and community engagement unit led by the Penn Medicine Center for Health Equity Advancement (CHEA), a steering committee, internal and external advisory boards, and governmental, community, and health system partnerships across Philadelphia.
Principal Investigators
Drs. Scott Halpern, Kit Delgado, and Meeta Kerlin
Research Education Core Leaders
Drs. Rachel Werner and Jennifer Myers
Research and Data Analysis Core Leaders
Drs. Kevin Johnson and Michael Harhay
Equity and Community Engagement Unit
Dr. Jaya Aysola
Partners
Penn PORTAL is a collaborative effort across many centers. Learn more about our partners below.
Palliative and Advanced Illness Research (PAIR) Center
The PAIR Center provides expertise in LHS study design and execution, particularly around improving care for patients with serious illnesses and removing barriers to health equity for such patients. PAIR supports Penn PORTAL as the administrative hub and by providing leadership and expertise in research operations, data management and analytics, and direct assistance to the LHS Scientists in completing their LHS projects.
Nudge Unit
The Nudge Unit is the nation’s first behavioral research center embedded within a health system with the explicit goal of developing and evaluating innovative strategies to improve patient-centered outcomes. The Nudge Unit team supports Penn PORTAL by delivering design and health system navigation support, while also cultivating internal stakeholder relationships across university entities to facilitate implementation of the LHS Scientists’ projects in the health system.
Center for Health Equity Advancement (CHEA)
CHEA brings the science of equity to the front lines of care delivery within Penn Medicine, with the goal of creating an LHS that mindfully strives to achieve equity through measurement, innovation, and evaluation. CHEA will support PORTAL in providing education, training, and operational expertise to guide equity-related projects and produce LHS Scientists skilled in community-informed, culturally humble approaches to scientific inquiry.
Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics (LDI)
LDI offers a range of resources to Penn PORTAL’s LHS Scientists as Penn’s hub for research on health care delivery, health policy, and population health. These resources include access to data assets, a secure computing environment, and skilled statistical analysts; a community of multidisciplinary Penn faculty and trainees; and expertise in translating research into plain language and disseminating the results to relevant stakeholders.
Center for Healthcare Improvement and Patient Safety (CHIPS)
CHIPS is Penn’s hub for education and leadership in healthcare quality and safety across the health system, which Penn PORTAL leverages for overseeing the education, mentorship, and advising program for our LHS Scientists. CHIPS is experienced in training clinicians in an interprofessional and interdisciplinary learning environment and provides mentored experiences that empower them to improve the quality of healthcare delivery in their chosen area of interest.
Penn Implementation Science Center (PISCE)
PISCE advances the science and practice of implementation by building capacity, driving methodological innovation, fostering collaboration, and encouraging community within Penn Medicine. PISCE provides expertise and training in implementation science with a four-day Implementation Science Institute intensive course offered annually. The Penn PORTAL program offers training funds to offset the costs of the institute for LHS Scientists.
