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 160 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
Recent Publications
Burnout in modern-day health care: Where are we, and how can we markedly reduce it? A meta-narrative review from the EUREKA* project.
Journal Article Health care management review · April 2025 BackgroundBurnout is disrupting the health care workforce, threatening the livelihoods of health care workers and the probability of safe and effective patient care.PurposesThe aims of this study were to describe the evolution and gaps in ... Full text CiteRandom Survival Forest Machine Learning for the Prediction of Cardiovascular Events Among Patients With a Measured Lipoprotein(a) Level: A Model Development Study.
Journal Article Circ Genom Precis Med · February 2025 BACKGROUND: Established risk models may not be applicable to patients at higher cardiovascular risk with a measured Lp(a) (lipoprotein[a]) level, a causal risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. METHODS: This was a model development study. ... Full text Link to item CiteRisk of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease After Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Hospitalization among Primary and Secondary Prevention Older Adults.
Journal Article J Am Heart Assoc · January 21, 2025 BACKGROUND: Meta-analyses have suggested that the risk of cardiovascular disease events is significantly higher after a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbation, but the populations at highest risk have not been well characterized to date. ... Full text Link to item CiteRecent Grants
NIH Health Care Systems Research Collaboratory-Coordinating Center (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2017 - 2028Evaluating the Implementation of High Intensity Home-Based Rehabilitation Following Stroke
ResearchCo-Mentor · Awarded by Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality · 2024 - 2027Understanding Disparities in Dementia Care Access and Quality
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Alzheimer's Association · 2024 - 2026View All Grants