Meet Our Team

Our team consists of physicians and other healthcare professionals, including a data core team. This diverse group allows our team to provide a dynamic approach to any initiative or project we collaborate in.

Leadership

Kavita P. Bhavan, MD, MHS, is the chief innovation officer at Parkland Health and faculty for the O'Donnell School of Public Health at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. She pioneered a self-care program (S-OPAT) that allows uninsured patients to self-administer IV antibiotics at home, significantly reducing hospital readmissions and saving over $40 million in healthcare costs. Dr. Bhavan’s interests include reducing health disparities with a low-tech,low-cost patient-centered approach to clinical innovation, patient engagement and “self-care models.”

Sheryl Mathew, PhD, LCSW, is the director of Clinical Innovation at Parkland. She previously pioneered Parkland's high utilizer program, which addresses inappropriate emergency department use, and managed the post-acute services and complex case program for patients with extended hospital stays. She holds a Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Texas at Austin, a Master of Social Work from Baylor University, and a PhD in Social Work from Our Lady of the Lake University. Her research interests are addressing the factors that drive inequities in health outcomes, with a particular emphasis on the influence of social determinants of health.

Lisa Matyiku, LMSW, MPH, joined the Center of Innovation and Value at Parkland in 2022 as the grants & research manager. She supports the Center’s health equity projects and research by identifying aligned funding mechanisms and guiding the grant proposal process. She works with departments such as grants management, finance and research administration to ensure awarded funds are used efficiently and that grant management and compliance processes are followed effectively.

Team Members

Erin Barnett, MPH, is a research program coordinator at the Center of Innovation and Value at Parkland with experience collaborating on multiple research grants. She is currently the coordinator for the EQuitable Breakthroughs in Medicine Development grant to strengthen equity in research and clinical trial participation. Additionally, she has a Master of Public Health degree, specializing in Health Promotion, Structure and Agency from the O'Donnell School of Public Health at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Michael Harms, MSBA, is the enterprise data scientist at the Center of Innovation and Value at Parkland. He focuses on supporting low-cost technology solutions for innovation projects and analyzing their impact by utilizing an assortment of statistical approaches. These solutions are supported and monitored by a range of enterprise tools along with custom code. He received his undergrad degrees in Information Technology and International Business at Marquette University. He completed his Master in Business Analytics with a focus on data science at the University of Texas at Dallas.

Jillian Smartt, BSN, RN, is the research program manager at the Center of Innovation and Value at Parkland Health. She started her career as a registered nurse at Parkland in the outpatient clinics. She has contributed to the development of the Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy program and served as the nurse navigator for the ID OPAT clinic for six years. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Texas Woman’s University and has a professional interest in quality improvement, healthcare innovation, patient-centered care and health literacy.

Virali Soni, MBA, is a business intelligence developer at the Center of Innovation and Value at Parkland. She holds a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy and a Master of Business Administration in healthcare administration. Virali focuses on healthcare analytics and data-driven decision-making, with a strong interest in public health research. She aims to use business intelligence tools to enhance patient outcomes and operational efficiency. Her background in both clinical and technical aspects of healthcare support her work in this field.

Physician Members

Govind Krishnan, MD, grew up in Singapore and moved to the United States in high school. He completed his undergraduate studies at Cornell University, after which he obtained his medical degree at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. He then moved to Duke University, where he did his residency in combined Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. He stayed as chief resident in Internal Medicine, which he completed his fellowship in pulmonary and critical care medicine. After eight years in North Carolina, he decided to come back home to Texas at UT Southwestern. His interests in medicine include healthcare innovation, quality improvement and provision of high-value care. He also has clinical interests in critical care and chronic respiratory failure. Outside of medicine, he loves the outdoors and spends his time hiking and kayaking with his wife and daughter.

Jaclyn Albin, MD, serves as the medical director of Food is Medicine at Parkland Health and is an associate professor of Internal Medicine, Pediatrics and Public Health at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. She is also the associate program director for the Med/Peds Residency Program. Passionate about nutrition and a person’s lifestyle impact on health, she founded in 2017 and directs UT Southwestern’s Culinary Medicine Program. The program teaches nutrition through hands-on cooking classes for students, healthcare professionals and the community. She co-designed and established the first Culinary Medicine Clinical Service Line in the United States, building a sustainable model that brings interprofessional collaboration to the forefront of primary care. She strives to blend clinical innovation, research and community partnership to creatively advance lifestyle health and nutrition security as foundational elements for health and thriving.

Sandeep Das, MD, MPH, is a professor of internal medicine in the Division of Cardiology at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and a professor at the Peter J O’Donnell, Jr, School of Public Health. He serves as cardiology service chief at Parkland Hospital. He earned his medical degree from Hahnemann University, a Master of Public Health from the University of North Carolina and a Master of Business Administration from UT Southwestern. His work focus is improving cardiovascular quality of care and outcomes for the urban poor. He is involved with the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association.

Robert B. Martin, MD, is an associate professor in the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. He earned his undergraduate degree in human development from the University of Chicago and completed his medical degree, residency in obstetrics and gynecology and fellowship in maternal-fetal medicine at UT Southwestern. Dr. Martin focuses on diabetes and cardiovascular disease in pregnancy, patient care, teaching, is interested in medical anthropology and addressing health disparities.

Natalie Cohen, MD, is an assistant professor in the Division of Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. She earned her undergraduate degree in anthropology from New York University and her medical degree from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at The Mount Sinai Hospital and received advanced training through a clinical fellowship in minimally invasive gynecologic surgery at UT Southwestern. She is currently a Health Equity Fellow at the Center of Innovation and Value at Parkland Health. Dr. Cohen’s work focuses on expanding access to care, optimizing surgical care delivery through innovation and leveraging emerging technology to improve outcomes in underserved populations.