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NORC at the University Chicago
Michael is a national leader in rural health services research and evaluation.

Michael serves as a senior fellow in NORC’s Public Health research department, as director of East Tennessee State University’s (ETSU) Center for Rural Health Research, and as deputy director of the ETSU/NORC Rural Health Research Center. Through this joint appointment, Michael leads NORC projects in the areas of opioid and overdose mortality, rural health, and public health systems, while leveraging synergies between NORC and ETSU research agendas to develop collaborative research initiatives.

Michael has recently led efforts to develop overdose mapping visualization tools, completed studies exploring geographic health disparities, and has conducted evaluations of rural community-based health initiatives and tribal health professions training programs; he has also led several public health systems research projects in the areas of accreditation, performance improvement, workforce and financing.

Michael has over 20 years of experience in public health systems and rural health research and practice. His experience includes work at both the state and national levels, first with the Pennsylvania Department of Health and then with the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO). Following his tenure at NACCHO, he served as the founding director of the University of Pittsburgh Center for Rural Health Practice. Michael served on the National Advisory Committee for Rural Health and Human Services from 2004 to 2008 and serves on the editorial and advisory boards for the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, the Journal of Appalachian Health, and Public Health Reports—the official journal of the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General. Michael was recently elected as a Governing Councilor to the American Public Health Association. In 2019, Michael received the National Rural Health Association’s Outstanding Researcher of the Year award.

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Expertise

Education

MPH

University of Pittsburgh

MA

Indiana University of Pennsylvania

BS

Bradley University

Appointments & Affiliations

Director

East Tennessee State University's Center for Rural Health Research

Deputy Director

ETSU/NORC Rural Health Research Center

Governing Councilor

American Public Health Association

Editorial Committee

Public Health Reports

Advisory Board

Journal of Appalachian Health

Editorial Committee

Journal of Public Health Management and Practice

Member

National Rural Health Association; Rural Health Association of Tennessee; Tennessee Public Health Association

Honors & Awards

Rural Health Outstanding Researcher | 2019

National Rural Health Association

Project Contributions

Appalachian Overdose Mapping Tool

An online tool enables sophisticated analysis of opioid crisis in Appalachia

Client:

Appalachian Regional Commission

Development of a Rural Recovery Ecosystem Index

The nation’s first-ever county-level index of a community’s substance use recovery ecosystem

Client:

HRSA Federal Office of Rural Health Policy

World Bank Enterprise Surveys

A baseline study of the business environment around the world

Client:

World Bank

ETSU/NORC Rural Health Research Center

Conducing Conducting methodologically rigorous research on rural health and health care to inform policymakers and rural communities

Client:

Federal Office of Rural Health Policy

Tribal Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) 2.0 Evaluation

A mixed-methods evaluation of tribal career pathways programs

Client:

Administration for Children and Families

National Opioid Misuse Community Assessment Tool

Integrating social determinants with overdose mortality rates

Publications

Research Library & Findings