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Emily O'Brien

Associate Professor in Population Health Sciences
Population Health Sciences
215 Morris Street, Suite 210, Durham, NC 27701

Overview


Dr. Emily O’Brien is Associate Professor in Population Health Sciences, Associate Professor in Neurology, Core Faculty Member at Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy,  and Co-Director of Population Health Sciences at the Duke Clinical Research Institute. Her research focuses on comparative effectiveness, patient-centered outcomes, and pragmatic health systems research in cardiovascular and pulmonary disease. Her areas of expertise include: Epidemiology, Pragmatic Clinical Trials, and Clinical Decision Sciences. Dr. O’Brien received her PhD in Epidemiology from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. As principal investigator for projects funded by the FDA, NIH, and PCORI, she has extensive experience working with diverse data sources including registries, epidemiologic cohorts, electronic health records, and administrative claims data. Dr. O’Brien teaches Analytic Methods in the Department of Population Health Sciences PhD program and has co-authored over 200 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals on topics ranging from epidemiologic methods, comparative effectiveness, and pragmatic clinical trials. She is an associate editor for Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, Chair of the AHA QCOR Scientific & Clinical Education Lifelong Learning Committee, social media editor for the Journal of the American Heart Association, and a fellow of the American Heart Association.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Associate Professor in Population Health Sciences · 2021 - Present Population Health Sciences, Basic Science Departments
Associate Professor in Neurology · 2020 - Present Neurology, Clinical Science Departments
Membership in the Duke Clinical Research Institute · 2013 - Present Duke Clinical Research Institute, Institutes and Centers
Core Faculty Member, Duke-Margolis Institute for Health Policy · 2024 - Present Duke-Margolis Institute for Health Policy, University Institutes and Centers

In the News


Published April 13, 2020
Health Care Workers Encouraged to Join COVID-19 Clinical Trial Registry
Published May 3, 2018
Minor bleeding not tied to risk of major bleeding in AF patients
Published November 16, 2016
Many With Common Atrial Fibrillation Unaware of Stroke Risk

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Recent Publications


Long-term safety of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine: Results from the HERO-together study.

Journal Article Respir Med · June 2026 BACKGROUND: COVID-19 vaccines were initially authorized based on short-term data from Phase 3 clinical trials in a highly selected population. OBJECTIVES: This study assessed the long-term safety of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine BNT162b2 and variati ... Full text Link to item Cite

Association Between Discrimination in Health Care and ASCVD Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults in the United States.

Journal Article Circ Popul Health Outcomes · May 1, 2026 BACKGROUND: Discrimination in health care can influence patient behavior and potentially lead to poor quality care. When patients perceive discrimination, they may disengage from health care, have heightened stress, and identify biased treatment practices. ... Full text Link to item Cite

Evaluating fitness-for-use of electronic health records in ascertaining baseline characteristics and clinical outcomes in clinical trials: insights from the VESALIUS EHR demonstration project.

Journal Article Trials · April 25, 2026 INTRODUCTION: A tremendous amount of clinical data is collected and stored in electronic health records (EHRs). Whether this data can be harnessed at scale to facilitate clinical trial conduct remains to be seen. METHODS: The Effect of Evolocumab in Patien ... Full text Link to item Cite
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Recent Grants


Unified Program for Therapeutics in Children

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEPreceptor · Awarded by Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development · 2025 - 2030

PCORnet Governance, Collaboration, and Operations to Facilitate PCORnet(R) Studies of National Scope

ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute · 2025 - 2028

NIH Health Care Systems Research Collaboratory-Coordinating Center (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2017 - 2028

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Education


University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill · 2012 Ph.D.