Christina Edwards began her academic career at Howard University, earning her Bachelor of Science. She later earned her Master of Health Administration from George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. A research coordinator position at an NYC research clinic would offset her career into the clinical research field. Years later she ventured into academic research at Weill Cornell Medicine, managing a multisite, NIH funded, pediatric study for children with Crohn’s disease. She later transitioned to the NewYork –Presbyterian Health System coordinating industry sponsored clinical trials for the Department of Medicine- Pulmonary and Critical Care. Now serving as the Clinical Trial Director for Center for Clinical and Social Research at NMQF, she aims to increase research trial participation among underserved and underrepresented populations.

As a Research Epidemiologist with the National Minority Quality Forum, Dr. Derrick J. Forney brings a wealth of experience, technical proficiency, and a steadfast commitment to improving health outcomes and addressing health disparities. Dr. Forney is an accomplished researcher with a distinguished career focused on health disparities, public health analytics, and modeling. With a strong background in public health research, Dr. Forney has consistently demonstrated his expertise in transforming data into research-grade insights, executing research proposals, and effectively communicating complex findings. He has a Ph.D. in Public Health with a focus on Health Disparities from Florida International University. Additionally, he holds a Master of Public Health (MPH) and a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Biology from Michigan State University, which further strengthen his academic background in the field. Throughout his career, Dr. Forney has held various roles in prestigious institutions such as the University of Miami, where he previously served as a Post-Doctoral Research Associate in the Department of Public Health Sciences. In this capacity, he has been instrumental in formulating publications and leveraging statistical programming tools such as SAS, R, and SQL to perform regression analysis and develop machine learning models. His research efforts have been extensive, covering diverse topics, including HIV care, mental health, and social determinants of health. With a keen focus on continuous learning and professional development, Dr. Forney has pursued additional training in machine learning and data science. His expertise in data management, statistical analysis, and program evaluation reflects his commitment to staying at the forefront of emerging methodologies and technologies. His publication record further highlights Dr. Forney's career accomplishments, comprising peer-reviewed journal articles and abstracts presented at national and international conferences. His research has contributed significantly to advancing our understanding of health disparities, HIV prevention and treatment, and social determinants of health among diverse populations.

Liou Xu serves as the Senior Principal Statistician and Vice President for Center for Clinical and Social Research at NMQF, where she conducts research and data analysis related to health and medical care delivery systems. She earned her PhD degree in Statistics from the University of Kentucky. After graduation she moved to Northern Virginia and joined the team in April 2011. She has worked on a variety of projects in health care research with application of real-world evidence and observational research data in all major therapeutic areas, providing statistical solutions to measure health status in small geographic areas and to identify care gaps across specific patient populations.