Research Department

Advancing global health research.

The Research Department carries every study from its first question through to publication, creating opportunities for students across our chapters to lead their own clinical and translational research.

The Meridian: Research and Practice The team

Hearts for the Homeless research volunteers reviewing screening data from chapter studies

clinical and translational research

The Research Department is completely independent of the IRB, so there are no conflicts of interest between the people who design a study and the people who review it.

The IRB is registered with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under IORG0010851, and is composed of practicing physicians and public health experts who provide independent and thorough reviews of all proposed projects and studies.

The department

How the research team works.

Three teams carry a study from its first question through to publication: one designs and runs it, one keeps it compliant and ethical, and one sees the writing through to print.

Chief Scientific Officer & Research Director Jennifer Daley, MSc, MPH View profile

Research Operations

Designs studies, builds instruments, runs analyses.

Co-lead Chukwuamaka Onyewadume, MPH View profile

Co-lead Akhilesh Jakhete, MPH View profile

Data analyst Sandilya Garemilla, MSc

Research Compliance & QA

Prepares IRB submissions, monitors protocol & ethics.

Lead Venkata Repaka

Compliance associate Fatima Shaikh

Quality assurance associate Layla Abousaab

Publication Development

Reviews student manuscripts, guides peer review.

Lead Feven Gidey, MD, MSc, MPH

Writing associate Sai Krishna Vallamchetla, MD

Publishing partner

Our journal is published by Meridian

The Meridian: Research and Practice is published by Meridian Research & Publishing, a separate organisation from H4H International. Submissions, author guidelines and published issues all live on their site.

The Meridian: Research and Practice All departments

Working with us

Research questions, answered.

Most research questions we receive come from students who want to lead a study and from outside researchers who want to collaborate on one. Both are welcome.

Can students lead their own research?

That is the point of the department. Chapters generate the data, students across the network design and run studies on it with mentorship from research operations, and publication development sees the manuscript through to print.

Who approves a study?

An institutional review board registered with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under IORG0010851, composed of practising physicians and public health experts. It is independent of this department, so nobody reviews their own protocol.

Can outside researchers collaborate?

Yes. Data requests, study collaborations and co-authorship enquiries all come through the Research Department. Tell us what question you are trying to answer and which readings you would need to answer it.

What kind of research does H4H produce?

Clinical and translational work grounded in what chapters actually record — blood pressure readings taken at community screening opportunities, and what those readings say about access to preventive care among people experiencing homelessness.

Where is the work published?

In The Meridian: Research and Practice, published by Meridian Research and Publishing — a separate organisation from H4H International. Submissions, author guidelines and published issues all live on their site.

How is participant data protected?

Data security sits with the chief scientific officer alongside study design, IRB submissions and analysis. Compliance and quality assurance is a separate team within the department, so protocol monitoring is not done by the people running the study.

External references

HHS Office for Human Research Protections → Meridian Research and Publishing →