CMC3 Evans

Charlesnika T. Evans, MPH, PhD

Dr. Evans is an investigator with CMC3 and the Spinal Cord Injury Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (SCI QUERI). She is also a Research Assistant Professor at the Institute for Healthcare Studies in the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University. She has a bachelor’s degree in microbiology, a master’s in public health, and a doctoral degree in epidemiology, which was received from the University of Illinois at Chicago, School of Public Health in 2007.

Dr. Evans has expertise in epidemiologic methods, health outcomes, and infectious disease related research. Her past and current research has focused on the secondary complications of persons with spinal cord injury and disorder (SCI&D) and women with HIV. Her major research interests include the epidemiology of infectious diseases and outcomes as related to these infections, antimicrobial prescribing and its effects on patient outcomes, healthy behaviors, and disparities.

Dr. Evans was recently funded by the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) for the study, ‘Antibiotic Prescribing for Veterans with SCI&D and Clinician Perceptions.’ The goals of this study are to assess antibiotic prescribing trends in veterans with SCI/D over time; identify factors associated with prescribing; and determine the reasons for type of antibiotic selection by providers who care for persons with SCI/D. Dr. Evans was also named as the 2008 Fritz Krauth Memorial Fellow by the PVA. This fellowship was established by PVA, named after a life-time PVA member who established a trust fund in the 1990’s to benefit PVA research upon his death. The Fritz Krauth Memorial Fellowship is bestowed annually on the highest scoring fellowship grant.

She is also working on several studies which include describing the treatment and management of respiratory conditions in persons with SCI&D, assessing the effects of a local VA formulary change on the rates of Clostridium Difficile infection, and identifying unique health care needs of active duty military returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with spinal cord injuries.