Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology Alumna Receives Young Alumni Professional Award

The Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology and Office of Alumni Affairs awarded the 2021 Young Alumni Professional Award to Dr. Juell Homco, a 2019 Ph.D. alumna. Recipients of these prestigious awards are recognized for achieving professional and personal successes, and demonstrating exemplary service to their community and/or the University.

Dr. Juell Homco graduated from the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology in 2019 with a Ph.D. in epidemiology. Following completion of her degree, she was hired as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medical Informatics at the University of Oklahoma-University of Tulsa School of Community Medicine in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She serves in key leadership roles as the Director of Research and Community Analytics at OUSCM and Associate Director of the Oklahoma Primary Healthcare Improvement Cooperative (OPHIC) at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC). In these roles, she has contributed substantially to advances in healthcare informatics, quality improvement and dissemination and implementation projects within the clinical community and across the state. These contributions reflect her research expertise, which uses epidemiologic and applied informatics methods to understand the impact of advanced health information technology on healthcare utilization, clinician behavior, and population health.

As Director of Research and Community Analytics, Dr. Homco leads the OUSCM’s community analytics efforts. This team is responsible for providing advanced data analytics, performance dashboards, and quality improvement support to the OU Physicians-Tulsa clinics, the Oklahoma Primary Healthcare Improvement Cooperative (OPHIC), the Sooner Health Access Network (a state-financed care management program providing evidence-based care management to Medicaid SoonerCare Choice members), and numerous multidisciplinary researchers across Oklahoma.

As Associate Director of the Oklahoma Primary Healthcare Improvement Cooperative (OPHIC) at OUHSC, Dr. Homco helps lead a consortium of researchers and practitioners transforming health care delivery through statewide dissemination and implementation projects in Oklahoma. Over the last 6 years, OPHIC has received over $20 million in state and federal funding from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to improve primary care. Dr. Homco serves as Co-Investigator and Evaluation Lead for these projects.

As Co-Director of the Medical Informatics course at OUSCM, Dr. Homco has also pioneered an innovative educational program in medical informatics and health system sciences at the OUSCM. This one-of-a-kind rotation includes didactics, mini-preceptorships, and mentored research. Learners get hands-on experience working on data analytics, social determinants of health, and clinical quality improvement projects. The course aims to empower learners to become transformation agents in their own practice.

Dr. Homco’s substantial professional achievements during this short period of time are deserving of this recognition. We couldn’t agree more! Congratulations, Dr. Homco!