A health professional with extensive international and domestic experience with US and foreign government agencies, private donors, and other organizations monitoring and appraising public health programs conducting epidemiological and operations research; measuring impact of novel techniques for disease prevention, treatment, and mitigation; and developing management information systems to best measure and document program outputs, effectiveness, and strategic development. A senior level manager with extensive experience implementing programs, including program start-up in-country, day-to-day program operations, performance management plans, financial reporting, and partner and donor relationships. Demonstrated technical leadership in advanced statistical methods, electronic data collection, and data interpretation and presentation. Natural ability for forging and maintaining relationships with colleagues from partner organizations as well as building capacity within local partners and researchers of all levels.
SKILLS & EXPERIENCE SUMMARY
Leadership: Serving as principal liaison with donors and external stakeholders for monitoring and evaluation activities and impact assessments to better guide the strategic direction of program via empirical measurement. Providing oversight to program managers and guidance to organizational leadership on all things data.
Management: Developing knowledge management tools and strategies to nurture program improvement and efficiency of staff. Creating and implementing work plans to best adhered to long term programmatic vision. Managing staff with a wide range of abilities and skill sets from contract to permanent to volunteers.
Capacity building: Working with colleagues of all levels and backgrounds to develop better methods for data collection, management, and usage. Providing structured in-house technical guidance for developing data management and evaluation skill sets through mentoring, workshops and by example.
Evaluation: Designing and executing of impact assessment, operations research; and knowledge, attitudes and behavior surveys to better direct programs. Conducting baseline situation analysis, key informant groups, and secondary analysis. Preparing and disseminating results for internal and external audiences.
Technical: Developing process and outcome indicators and impact metrics. Leading the organization towards the use of more advanced statistical methods, greater electronic data collection, more rigorous data quality, and the interpretation and insightful presentation of data.
SELECTED WORK SUMMARY
November 2015 – present Senior Research Manager, Project SOAR, Population Council, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Manage broad research portfolio of HIV and AIDS operations research to inform programs and policy.
April 2013 – October 2015 Director Monitoring and Evaluation, Global Team, World Health Partners, Delhi, India
Leading the development, implementation, analytics, and long-term programmatic vision for monitoring and evaluation systems globally in order to continually improve internal process and program activities.
December 2012 – March2013 Consultant, Optimal Models Team, ICAP, Columbia University, NY
Used competing-risk statistical models to determine significant factors affecting death, transition to ART, and loss to follow-up events in HIV+ children in Mozambique.
March 2012 - June 2012 Senior Data Manager, Center for Biomedical Research, Population Council, NY
Conducted quality assurance analysis of clinical trial data. Developed clinical trial database for phase 1 trial.
June 2011 – February 2012 Associate, HIV & AIDS Program, Population Council, Ethiopia
Initiated and directed a population-based impact evaluation of a program designed to increase the age of marriage in girls in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.
May 2009 – May 2011 Associate, HIV & AIDS Program, Population Council, Swaziland & Zambia
Initiated and managed a broad research portfolio evaluating many aspects of a large-scale male circumcision program to mitigate HIV infection in Swaziland and Zambia.
August 2003 – April 2009 Senior Data Manager, HIV & AIDS Program, Population Council, DC
Conducted evaluations to examine the effectiveness of a multi-sector scale-up of community-based initiatives for mitigating the impact of HIV and AIDS in Zambia and the region.
January 2002 – July 2003 Data Management Coordinator, National Immunization Program, CDC, GA
Led quality control and analytic development on the Vaccine Safety Datalink and Anthrax IND databases.
EDUCATION
May 1998 Master of Science Public Health, Department of Biostatistics, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
November 2015 – present Senior Research Manager, Project SOAR, Population Council, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Managing broad research portfolio of HIV and AIDS operations research to inform programs and policy.
Conducting high-quality operations research studies to provide critical evidence.
Strengthening capacity of local institutions to conduct and use operations research.
Promoting use of operations research findings to ensure the adoption of evidence-based practices.
Serving as primary contact for all partners and evaluation activities for Population Council in Tanzania.
Key accomplishments:
Initiating research operations in Tanzania for Project SOAR activities.
April 2013 – October 2015 Director Monitoring and Evaluation, Global Team, World Health Partners, Delhi, India
Leading the development and implementation of appropriate plans to monitor progress, evaluate effectiveness, and disseminate achievements of World Health Partners social franchise program.
Continual development and integration of all data systems; clinical, monitoring, and evaluation. Ensuring that all necessary information from routine reporting and ad hoc evaluations are collected, analyzed, and used in guiding internal project planning. Providing senior management with the empirical evidence for decision making and informing external partners about project activities and accomplishments.
Serving as primary contact for all monitoring and evaluation activities with external partners and donors.
Key accomplishments:
Developed short-term evaluation program to gauge program effectiveness midterm review for TB, VL, and childhood diarrhea and pneumonia for Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation program in Bihar, India.
Developed monitoring plans within a framework of public-private sector programs for RMNCH+A and family planning in Uttar Pradesh.
Developed “One-Source” data warehouse of monitoring and financial data reducing person-time processing and increasing data quality. Initiated data sharing, integration and standardization across multiple platforms and departments.
Lead the organization in the use of internationally accepted metrics to measure program effectiveness specifically, LiST Tool, DALYs, Equity Matrix, among others.
Co-authored two successful awards; a program to strengthen TB control efforts in urban Patna, India via public-private interface agencies (2.9 million USD from BMGF) and a program to increase the uptake of family planning services in three districts of Uttar Pradesh (3 million USD from STBF).
Improved accuracy of target estimates for program planning.
Manage 20+ regional fulltime program and contract staff along with short-term evaluation partners.
Conduct capacity building workshops with respects to data collection, processing and use for all levels of organization.
Work with WHP’s ICT team to ensure sound implementation of the program’s management information system and facilitate effective information sharing between departments.
Developed monitoring plans, survey tools and sampling plans for multiple internal and external evaluations and assessments.
Provide ongoing mentorship and oversight of the M&E staff and support capacity building for staff by regular task shifting and instructional meetings.
Develop and institutionalized appropriate systems and tools for data quality assurance.
Document and disseminate activities and accomplishments of different interventions in the form of reports, publications, and oral presentations.
Conduct secondary analyses, including the use of complimentary data sets, integration of census data, DHS, national health surveys, and other data sources.
December 2012 – March 2013 Consultant, Optimal Models Team, International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs, Columbia University
New York, NY
Analyze a cohort of children enrolled in care and treatment from 2004 to 2011 for HIV/AIDS in ICAP-supported sites in Mozambique. Develop analytic dataset and perform competing risk analysis on selected cohorts to determine significant factors affecting death, transition to ART, and loss to follow-up.
March 2012 - June 2012 Senior Data Manager, Center for Biomedical Research, Population Council
New York, NY
Developed management information system for a phase 1 clinical study to evaluate the safety, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and acceptability of a Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NNRTI) microbicide gel formulation in HIV-seronegative women.
Managed quality assurance of clinical trial data.
Key accomplishments:
Developed detailed relational framework and logical checks for a phase I clinical study data warehouse.
June 2011 – February 2012 Associate, HIV & AIDS Program, Population Council
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
As part of the senior management team, managed the fiscal, research, intervention, and performance management plan for the $5 million USAID cooperative agreement to develop proven cost-effective, sustainable, and replicable approaches to increase the age at marriage in child marriage ‘hot spots’ in Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.
Senior technical advisor for the PEPFAR funded ‘HIV Prevention for Vulnerable Adolescent Girls in Ethiopia’ cooperative agreement. Tasked to develop and implement cost-effective impact evaluations, management information and reporting systems for internal monitoring and donor reporting. Produced publications and reports for dissemination of study results via peer-reviewed publications and conferences.
Key accomplishments:
Led the effort on a 4-country population-based baseline survey including, directing survey design, sampling frame, identifying and training of local enumerators, programming for electronic data collection, data management and analysis. Fieldwork completed within six months of arriving at post.
Managed the development of three program interventions and subawards for local implementing partners in 3 months.
Introduced electronic data collection via handheld computers (including application development and the training of local staff); eliminating data entry time and costs and greatly reducing lag time between data collection and publishable results.
Authored two successful protocols for research evaluations: One to gauge effectiveness of program in reducing the transmission of HIV in marriage; another focusing on adolescent women and men.
Invited guest speaker at ICASA 2011 as well co-authored three posters.
Quickly identified and vetted new partners and survey sites following program area changes by donor.
Organized workshops by country with each local implementing partner to share results of key informant interviews and collaborated on the development of the program’s intervention strategies.
Managed associated regional and contract staff along with local partners and temporary hires.
May 2009 – May 2011 Associate, HIV & AIDS Program, Population Council
Lusaka, Zambia and Mbabane, Swaziland
Program supervisor for the ‘Male Circumcision Partnership’ tasked to implement the Partnership’s research portfolio in Swaziland and Zambia. Engaged Partnership members to identify key research topics and develop relevant study protocols. Developed cost proposals, managed finances, completed performance management plans, supervised regional and local field staff, developed protocols, oversaw fieldwork, conducted data analysis, and disseminated results.
Project manager and co-principal investigator for RAPIDS (Reaching HIV/AIDS Affected People with Integrated Development and Support) endline evaluation in Zambia.
Key accomplishments:
As the sole Council representative in Swaziland (and initially Zambia), initiated relationships with partners and vetted suitable local collaborators and potential sites for research studies. Promoted and accelerated the Council’s research agenda for Male Circumcision program and other Council interests in Zambia, Swaziland, South Africa, and the region.
Authored one protocol and co-authored four others that successfully cleared the Council’s and host country’s IRB requirements.
Recruited, trained and hired site supervisors, enumerators, and other local contractors for quantitative and qualitative data collection.
Led the design, fieldwork, and report writing to completion for five research studies.
Principal investigator for one study and co-PI on four other studies relating to male circumcision.
Gave oral presentations on two studies and chaired one session at Swaziland’s National Health and Research Conference 2010.
Performed all management and administrative duties for the Council in Swaziland including donor reporting and representation at international meetings.
January 2008 – April 2009 Senior Data Manager, HIV & AIDS Program, Population Council Washington DC
Project manager and co-principal investigator for RAPIDS endline evaluation, a $1.3 million subagreement to evaluate the multi-sector scale-up of community-based initiatives for mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS in Zambia.
Interim statistician and data manager for the Council’s Center for Biomedical Research. Managed and analyzed data from the phase III study of the efficacy and safety of the microbicide Carraguard® in preventing HIV seroconversion in women.
Interim project manager for the Family Centered Approach program. Examined the feasibility of recruiting and expanding access to ART services to children through family members and service providers in South Africa.
Key accomplishments:
Served concurrently as project manager for RAPIDS and senior data manager for the Carraguard Microbicide trial.
August 2003 – December 2007 Data Analyst, Horizons Program, Population Council
Washington DC
Co-investigator for baseline and endline evaluation of ‘mothers2mothers’, a peer support program that provides education and psychosocial support to HIV+ pregnant and new mothers to prevent mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
Co-investigator for situation analysis of current practices and strategies of pediatric ARV roll-out and integration in early childhood programs in South Africa in collaboration with the University of Cape Town, South Africa.
Co-investigator for baseline impact assessment for the “continuum of care approach” of Africare’s COPE program (community-based care, protection and empowerment) as well as coordination and enhancement of the associated monitoring and evaluation system in Tanzania, Uganda, and Mozambique.
Co-investigator for an exploratory study using respondent driven sampling (RDS) to better map sexual networks and risk behaviors of injection drug users in India.
Project manager and co-principal investigator for RAPIDS midterm evaluation, a $1.3 million subagreement to evaluate the multi-sector scale-up of community-based initiatives for mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS in Zambia.
Data analyst for a cohort study comparing abstinence and sexuality in three schools from Mexico, South Africa, and Thailand.
Data analyst for a study comparing the effectiveness of social workers versus peer educators to deliver HIV prevention messaging to a highly mobile populations of construction workers in Ho Chi Minh City.
Data analyst for a cohort study quantifying the impact of training on care and support outcomes, home visits to OVC/PLHA, and club-based peer support activities in KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo, South Africa.
Data analyst for an assessment of the impact of ABC programming for HIV mitigation among flower farm workers and in-school youth in the Nakuru, Kenya in collaboration with FHI’s IMPACT program.
Key accomplishments:
Promoted electronic data collection using handheld computers in seven studies, including training local staff and providing technical support.
Designed a three-country probability-proportional-to-size sampling frame for COPE survey.
Trained 70+ interviewers and site supervisors in five weeks in three different countries to use handheld computers for data collection.
Collaborated in the writing of reports and peer-reviewed articles.
Early adopter of respondent driven sampling to reach hidden or hard to reach populations.
January 2002 – July 2003 Data Management Coordinator, Vaccine Safety Datalink, National Immunization Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Atlanta, Georgia
Led quality control on the Anthrax IND database. Supervised two consultants assigned to project. Coordinate responses to outside inquiries. Assess data base design and recommend future changes and enhancements.
Coordinated annual data submissions for Vaccine Safety Datalink, a large collaborative project linking private and not-for-profit healthcare organizations’ vaccine related data across the US.
Collaborated in the automation of the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System using SAS, SQL, and script language.
Technical advisor for statistics and data management for the Stop Transmission of Measles and Polio team (STOMP) seconded to the World Health Organization in Nairobi, Kenya. Support development and data management within the Kenyan Ministry of Health.
Key accomplishments:
Developed Measles surveillance data entry module for Kenyan Ministry of Health.
June 2000 – November 2001 Senior Risk Analyst, Credit Risk Management, Wachovia Bank
Atlanta, Georgia
Provided statistical model development, data mining, ad hoc analyses, and programming for projects associated with consumer credit card acquisition campaigns and fraud detection.
Key accomplishments:
Top Performer, Wachovia Bank, 2001.
Developed Prospect Data Mine, a database of 62 million records of credit card campaigns.
December 1996 – May 2000 Epidemiologist, American Cancer Society
Atlanta, Georgia
Provided statistical programming and analysis of Cancer Prevention Study data (CPS-I, CPS-II, Nutrition surveys).
Developed the SAS/AF application used to monitor and update cancer incidence, mortality, and other response information for the Cancer Prevention Study Nutrition Survey database.
Key accomplishments:
Published three peer-reviewed publications.
Developed five-year information technology plan.
EDUCATION
May 1998 Master of Science in Public Health, Department of Biostatistics, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
Thesis: “Smoking vs. Other Risk Factors as the Cause of Smoking-Attributable Deaths: Confounding in the Courtroom”;
May 1993 Bachelors of Arts, Department of Anthropology, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
Concentration in archaeological field methods and the anthropology of Southeast Asia.
COUNTRIES OF PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Botswana, Ethiopia (lived 1 year), India (lived 3 years), Kenya (lived 4 months), Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland (lived 2 years), Tanzania, Uganda, United States, Zambia (lived 6 months), and Zimbabwe.
April 2013 – present: UCSF Social Franchising Metrics Working Group Core member
August 2013 – present: Technical Advisory Group for Second Global Conference on Clinical Social Franchising Oct 22-24, 2014, Cebu, Philippines
LANGUAGE SKILLS
Native English speaker (American), French at a low level.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
B Friedland, L Apicella, K Schenk, M Sheehy, P Hewett. “How informed are clients who consent? A mixed-method evaluation of comprehension among clients of male circumcision services in Zambia and Swaziland,” AIDS and Behavior, 17(6): 2269-2282, July 2013.
A Sarna, W Tun, A Bhattacharya, D Lewis, Y Singh, L Apicella. “Assessment of unsafe injection practices and sexual behaviors among male injecting drug users in two urban cities of India using respondent driven sampling,” The Southeast Asian Journal of Tropical Medicine and Public Health, 43(3): 652-667, 2012
P Hewett, N Haberland, B Mensch, L Apicella. “The (Mis)Reporting of Male Circumcision Status among Men and Women in Zambia and Swaziland: A Randomized Evaluation of Interview Methods,” PLoS One, 7(5):e36251, May 2012.
A Erulkar, L Apicella, A Ferede. “Addis Birhan project: Working with boys and men to address young girls’ social vulnerability,” Brief no. 6 in the Promoting healthy, safe, and productive transitions to adulthood series, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Population Council, May 2011.
K Schenk, B Friedland, L Apicella, M Sheehy, K Munjile, P Hewitt. “On the cutting edge: Improving the informed consent process for adolescents in Zambia undergoing male circumcision for HIV prevention,” Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies, DOI:10.1080/17450128.2011.651173, Mar 2012.
L Apicella, K Schenk, and H Khan. “RAPIDS Evaluation Final Report 2005-2009 Key Findings,” Lusaka, Zambia: Population Council, 2010.
H Khan, C Baek, V Mathambo, S Mkhize, I Friedman, L Apicella, N Rutenberg. “From mother to mother: A peer mentor programme to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV in South Africa offers much needed support,” SAfAIDS, 13(3):6-7, 2007.
L Gilborn, L Apicella, J Brakarsh, L Dube, K Jemison, M Kluckow, T Smith, and L Snider. “Orphans and vulnerable youth in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe: An exploratory study of psychosocial well-being and psychosocial support,” Horizons Final Report. Washington, DC: Population Council, 2006.
J Pulerwitz, G Barker, M Segundo, L Apicella. “Intervention focused on promoting gender-equitable attitudes and behaviors leads to reduced HIV/STI risk for young men in Brazil,” Horizons Final Report. Washington, DC: Population Council, 2006.
L Apicella, J Redner, N Rutenberg, K Schenk. “COPE Impact Assessment Baseline Survey,” Horizons Final Report. Washington DC: Population Council, 2006.
M Thun, L Apicella, S Henley. “Smoking vs. Other Risk Factors as the Cause of Smoking-Attributable Deaths: Confounding in the Courtroom,” Journal of the American Medical Association, 2000; 284: 796-712.
S Martin, B Tierney,A Aranas, N Rosenstein, L Franzke, L Apicella, N Marano, M McNeil. “An Overview of Adverse Events Reported by Participants in CDC’s Anthrax Vaccine and Antimicrobial Availability program,” Phamacoepidemiology and Drug Safety 14(6): 393-401, 2005.
R Levy, M Thun, L Apicella, S Henley. “Estimating the Numbers of Smoking-Related Deaths,” Journal of the American Medical Association, 2000; 284: 2319-2320.
M Thun, J Henley, L Apicella. “Epidemiological Studies of Fatal and Nonfatal Cardiovascular Disease and ETS Exposure from Spousal Smoking,” Environmental Health Perspective, 1999; Vol. 107 (suppl 6): 841-846.
E Jacobs, M Thun, L Apicella. “Cigar Smoking and Death from Coronary Heart Disease in a Prospective Cohort of United States Men,” Archives of Internal Medicine, 1999; 159: 2413-2418.
SELECTED PRESENTATIONS and POSTERS
“Patterns of Provider Behavior in the Telemedicine-enabled SkyHealth Network.” L Apicella. Oral presentation. 2014 Global Conference on Social Franchising for Health, Cebu, Philippines, Oct 22 – 24, 2014.
“A call for the adoption of the 5 goals and metrics endorsed by the SFMWG.” K Fry, L Apicella, B Hayes, J C Negrette, K Longfield. Panel discussion. 2014 Global Conference on Social Franchising for Health, Cebu, Philippines, Oct 22 – 24, 2014.
“Measuring and assessing adverse event rates for male circumcision clients in Swaziland.” L Apicella. Oral presentation. International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2011.
“Impact of a comprehension assessment among adult and adolescent clients on scale up of male circumcision series in Zambia.” B Friedland, L Apicella, M Sheehy, K Schenk, K Munjile, A Adams, P Hewett, L Katzen. Poster. International AIDS Conference, Rome, Italy, 2011.
“The mis(Reporting) of Male Circumcision Status by Men and Women in Swaziland.” L Apicella. Oral presentation. 1st Annual National Health and Research Conference, Ezulwini, Swaziland, 2010.
“Mothers2mothers – Preliminary Evaluation Results Show that Supporting HIV+ Women Affects PMTCT Outcomes.” C Baek, V Mathambo, S Mkhize, I Friedman, L Apicella, N Rutenberg. PEPFAR meeting South Africa, 2007.
“Field Experiences Using Handheld Computers To Collect HIV-Related Survey Data.” L Apicella. Oral presentation. International Center for Research on Women. Washington DC, 2006.
