Dr. Gillani has a PhD in Economics/Econometrics from Boston University, but her career has evolved from econometrics to health economics, to HIV/AIDS epidemiology, to her current focus on health care informatics, quality improvement, and public health. While her background is non-traditional, it has allowed her to establish a unique position at the intersection of medical informatics, analytics, healthcare systems, and public health both domestically and internationally. She is a dedicated researcher and has a deep understanding of research methodologies and informatics systems that support healthcare research. Dr. Gillani joined Lifespan and Brown University in 2003. During her time at Brown, she has advised junior faculty members, clinical and research ID-Fellows, residents, and medical students on research projects and publications. She also collaborates on many research grants with colleagues from Brown University. While working in the ID division, Dr. Gillani developed a passion for serving disadvantaged populations inflicted with diseases like HIV. This drove her to start a large HIV Awareness, Prevention, and Education project in Pakistan, which has been ongoing since 2019 (see link below).
| Steingrimsson JA, Fulton J, Howison M, Novitsky V, Gillani FS, Bertrand T, Civitarese A, Howe K, Ronquillo G, Lafazia B, Parillo Z, Marak T, Chan PA, Bhattarai L, Dunn C, Bandy U, Scott NA, Hogan JW, Kantor R. "Beyond HIV outbreaks: protocol, rationale and implementation of a prospective study quantifying the benefit of incorporating viral sequence clustering analysis into routine public health interventions." BMJ Open, vol. 12, no. 4, 2022, pp. e060184. |
| Naranbat D, Schneider L, Kantor R, Beckwith CG, Bazerman L, Gillani F, Sahu S, Rapoza K, Sam S, Novitsky V, Shin J, Hipolito E, Diaz I, Carnevale D, Tripathi A. "DirectDetect SARS-CoV-2 Direct Real-Time RT-PCR Study Using Patient Samples." ACS omega, vol. 7, no. 6, 2022, pp. 4945-4955. |
|
Gillani FS, Abbas, S.
"HIV Awareness, Prevention, and Education in Pakistan." Journal of Pakistan Society of Internal Medicine , vol. 3, no. 2, 2022, pp. 162-164.
|
| Schoenberger SF, Idrisov B, Sereda Y, Kiriazova T, Makarenko O, Bendiks S, Ahuja N, Dutta A, Flanigan T, Gillani FS, Lunze K. "Police abuse and care engagement of people with HIV who inject drugs in Ukraine." Global Public Health, 2022, pp. 1-16. |
| Sam SS, Rogers R, Gillani FS, Tsongalis GJ, Kraft CS, Caliendo AM. "Evaluation of a Next-Generation Sequencing Metagenomics Assay to Detect and Quantify DNA Viruses in Plasma from Transplant Recipients." The Journal of molecular diagnostics : JMD, vol. 23, no. 6, 2021, pp. 719-731. |
| Novitsky V, Steingrimsson J, Howison M, Dunn C, Gillani FS, Manne A, Li Y, Spence M, Parillo Z, Fulton J, Marak T, Chan P, Bertrand T, Bandy U, Alexander-Scott N, Hogan J, Kantor R. "Longitudinal typing of molecular HIV clusters in a statewide epidemic." AIDS, vol. 35, no. 11, 2021, pp. 1711-1722. |
| Pandita A, Gillani FS, Shi Y, Hardesty A, McCarthy M, Aridi J, Farmakiotis D, Chiang SS, Beckwith CG. "Predictors of severity and mortality among patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Rhode Island." PLOS ONE, vol. 16, no. 6, 2021, pp. e0252411. |
| Novitsky V, Steingrimsson J, Gillani FS, Howison M, Aung S, Solomon M, Won CY, Brotherton A, Shah R, Dunn C, Fulton J, Bertrand T, Civitarese A, Howe K, Marak T, Chan P, Bandy U, Alexander-Scott N, Hogan J, Kantor R. "Statewide Longitudinal Trends in Transmitted HIV-1 Drug Resistance in Rhode Island, USA." Open Forum Infectious Diseases, vol. 9, no. 1, 2021, pp. ofab587. |
| Kantor R, Fulton JP, Steingrimsson J, Novitsky V, Howison M, Gillani F, Li Y, Manne A, Parillo Z, Spence M, Marak T, Chan P, Dunn CW, Bertrand T, Bandy U, Alexander-Scott N, Hogan JW. "Challenges in evaluating the use of viral sequence data to identify HIV transmission networks for public health." Statistical communications in infectious diseases, vol. 12, no. Suppl 1, 2020. |
| Novitsky V, Steingrimsson JA, Howison M, Gillani FS, Li Y, Manne A, Fulton J, Spence M, Parillo Z, Marak T, Chan PA, Bertrand T, Bandy U, Alexander-Scott N, Dunn CW, Hogan J, Kantor R. "Empirical comparison of analytical approaches for identifying molecular HIV-1 clusters." Scientific reports, vol. 10, no. 1, 2020, pp. 18547. |
| Byrd KM, Beckwith CG, Garland JM, Johnson JE, Aung S, Cu-Uvin S, Farmakiotis D, Flanigan T, Gillani FS, Macias-Gil R, Mileno M, Ramratnam B, Rybak NR, Sanchez M, Tashima K, Mylonakis E, Kantor R. "SARS-CoV-2 and HIV coinfection: clinical experience from Rhode Island, United States." Journal of the International AIDS Society, vol. 23, no. 7, 2020, pp. e25573. |
| Sereda Y, Kiriazova T, Makarenko O, Carroll JJ, Rybak N, Chybisov A, Bendiks S, Idrisov B, Dutta A, Gillani FS, Samet JH, Flanigan T, Lunze K. "Stigma and quality of co-located care for HIV-positive people in addiction treatment in Ukraine: a cross-sectional study." Journal of the International AIDS Society, vol. 23, no. 5, 2020, pp. e25492. |
|
Qadeer Farhan, Douglas Shemin, Fizza S. Gillani, Erika M.C. D’Agata.
"Bloodstream Infections in Hospitalized Hemodialysis patients." Kidney Medicine, vol. 1, no. 3, 2019.
|
| Farhan Q, Shemin D, Gillani FS, D'Agata EMC. "Bloodstream Infections in Hospitalized Hemodialysis Patients." Kidney Medicine, vol. 1, no. 3, 2019, pp. 144-146. |
| Enimil A, Antwi S, Yang H, Dompreh A, Alghamdi WA, Gillani FS, Orstin A, Bosomtwe D, Opoku T, Norman J, Wiesner L, Langaee T, Peloquin CA, Court MH, Greenblatt DJ, Kwara A. "Effect of First-Line Antituberculosis Therapy on Nevirapine Pharmacokinetics in Children Younger than Three Years Old." Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, vol. 63, no. 10, 2019. |
| Bouton TC, Gillani FS, Lu S, Carter EJ. "High Rates of Indeterminate TB Tests Among Hospitalized Patients: Can We Optimize Use of Gamma Interferon Release Assays in Tuberculosis?." Rhode Island medical journal (2013), vol. 102, no. 6, 2019, pp. 27-30. |
|
Awewura Kwara, Hongmei Yang, Sampson Antwi, Anthony Enimil, Fizza S. Gillani, Albert Dompreh, Antoinette Orstin, Theresa Opoku, Dennis Bosomtwe, Anima Sarfo, Lubbe Wiesner, Jennifer Norman, Wael Alghamdi, Charles A. Peloquin, Michael H. Court, David J. Greenblatt.
"Effect of rifampin/isoniazid-containing antituberculosis therapy on efavirenz pharmacokinetics in HIV-infected children aged 3 to 14 years old." Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, vol. 63, no. 1, 2018.
|
|
Hongmei Yang, Anthony Enimil, Fizza S. Gillani, Sampson Antwi, Albert Dompreh, Antoinette Orstin, Eugene Adu Awhireng, Maxwell Owusu, Lubbe Weisner, Charles A Peloquin, Awewura Kwara.
"Evaluation of the Adequacy of the 2010 Revised World Health Organization Recommended Dosages of the First-Line Antituberculosis Drugs for Children." The Pediatric Infectious Diseases Journal , vol. 37, no. 1, 2018, pp. 43-51.
|
|
Van den Berg, J. J., Zaller, N. D., Gillani, F. S., Dunsiger, S. I., Marshall, B. D. L., Kahler, C. W., & Operario.
"Longitutinal HIV transmission risk profiles among men who have sex with men living with HIV in the SUN Study." American Journal of Men's Health, vol. 13, no. 1, 2018.
|
| Adriana Saavedra, Nia Campinha-Bacote, Maurice Hajjar, Ernest Kenu, Fizza Syeda Gillani, Adjoa Obo-Akwa, Margaret Lartey, Awewura Kwara. "Causes of death and factors associated with early mortality of HIV-infected adults admitted to Korle-Bu teaching Hospital." Pan African Medical Journal, vol. 27, no. 1, 2017. |
|
Sampson Antwi, Hongmei Yang, Anthony Enimil, Anima M. Sarfo, Fizza S. Gillani, Daniel Ansong, Albert Dompreh, Antoinette Orstin, Theresa Opoku, Dennis Bosumtwe, Lubbe Wiesner, Jennifer Norman, Charles A. Peloquin, Awewura Kwara.
"Pharmacokinetics of the First-line Antituberculosis Drugs in Ghanaian Children with Tuberculosis with and without HIV Coinfection." Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, vol. 61, no. 2, 2017.
|
| Becofsky KM, Wing EJ, Wing RR, Richards KE, Gillani FS. "Obesity prevalence and related risk of comorbidities among HIV+ patients attending a New England ambulatory centre." Obesity science & practice, vol. 2, no. 2, 2016, pp. 123-127. |
| Francine Touzard Romo, Fizza S. Gillani, Peter Ackerman, Aadia Rana, Erna M Kojic, Curt G Beckwith. "Monitored viral load: a Measure of HIV Treatment Outcomes in an Outpatient Setting in Rhode Island." Rhode Island Medical Journal, vol. 98, no. 1, 2015, pp. 26-30. |
| Rana, Aadia I., Liu, Tao, Gillani, Fizza S., Reece, Rebecca, Kojic, Erna M., Zlotnick, Caron, Wilson, Ira B. "Multiple gaps in care common among newly diagnosed HIV patients." AIDS Care, vol. 27, no. 6, 2015, pp. 679-87. |
| Awewura Kwara, Anthony Enimil, Fizza S. Gillani, Hongmei Yang, Amina Sarfo, Albert Dompreh, Antoinette Ortsin, Lawrence Osei-Tutu, Sandra Kwarteng Owusu, Lubbe Wienser, Jennifer Norman, Jaclynn Kurpewski, Charles Peloquin, Daniel Ansong, Sampson Antwe. "Pharmacokinetis of First-line Antituberculosis Drugs Using WHO Revised Dosage in Children with Tuberculosis with and without HIV Coinfection." Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society, no. Advanced Access Published online, May 26 2015, 2015, pp. 1-10. |
| Archampong TN, Lartey M, Sagoe KW, Obo-Akwa A, Kenu E, Gillani FS, Yang H, Boamah I, Flanigan T, Kwara A. "Proportion and factors associated with Hepatitis B viremia in antiretroviral treatment naïve and experienced HIV co-infected Ghanaian patients." BMC Infect Dis, vol. 16, no. 1, 2015, pp. 14. |
| Sangal RB, Taylor LE, Gillani F, Poppas A, Klinger JR, Ventetuolo CE. "Risk of Echocardiographic Pulmonary Hypertension in Individuals with Human Immunodeficiency Virus–Hepatitis C Virus Coinfection." Annals of the American Thoracic Society, vol. 11, no. 10, 2014, pp. 1553-9. |
| Beckwith C, Bazerman L, Gillani F, Tran L, Larson B, Rivard S, Flanigan T, Rich J. "The feasibility of implementing the HIV seek, test, and treat strategy in jails." AIDS Patient Care and STDs, vol. 28, no. 4, 2014, pp. 183-7. |
| Leeper S, Fillion K, Gillani FS, Rana A, Tashima K, Ross H. "Decade of HIV in Rhode Island: demographic and clinical characteristics of patients diagnosed in 2001 and 2010." Rhode Island medical journal (2013), vol. 96, no. 2, 2013, pp. 35-40. |
| Winston SE, Montague BT, Lopez MJ, Delong A, Lemarchand C, Bedoya A, Gillani FS, Beckwith CG. "Evaluation of longitudinal clinical outcomes and adherence to care among HIV-infected refugees." Journal of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care, vol. 12, no. 3, 2013, pp. 202-7. |
| Chan PA, Kazi S, Rana A, Blazar I, Dejong CC, Mayer KH, Huard TK, Carleton K, Gillani F, Alexander N, Parillo Z, Flanigan TP, Kantor R. "Short communication: new HIV infections at Southern New England academic institutions: implications for prevention." AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, vol. 29, no. 1, 2013, pp. 25-9. |
| Zachary D, Gillani FS, Najfi N, Casarella R, Tashima K. "Cardiovascular health of HIV-infected African-American women at the Miriam Hospital Immunology Center in Providence, RI." Medicine and health, Rhode Island, vol. 95, no. 6, 2012, pp. 179-82. |
| Firth J, Wang CC, Gillani F, Alexander N, Dufort E, Rana A, Cu-Uvin S. "The changing face of HIV in pregnancy in Rhode Island 2004-2009." Infectious Diseases in Obstetrics and Gynecology, vol. 2012, 2012, pp. 895047. |
| Tate DF, Delong A, McCaffrey DE, Kertesz K, Paul RH, Conley J, Russell T, Coop K, Gillani F, Flanigan T, Tashima K, Hogan JW. "Recent clinical history and cognitive dysfunction for attention and executive function among human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients." Archives of clinical neuropsychology : the official journal of the National Academy of Neuropsychologists, vol. 26, no. 7, 2011, pp. 614-23. |
| Chan PA, Tashima K, Cartwright CP, Gillani FS, Mintz O, Zeller K, Kantor R. "Short communication: Transmitted drug resistance and molecular epidemiology in antiretroviral naive HIV type 1-infected patients in Rhode Island." AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, vol. 27, no. 3, 2011, pp. 275-81. |
| Rana AI, Gillani FS, Flanigan TP, Nash BT, Beckwith CG. "Follow-up care among HIV-infected pregnant women in Mississippi." Journal of Women's Health, vol. 19, no. 10, 2010, pp. 1863-7. |
| Vanhomwegen, J., Kwara, A., Martin, M., Gillani, F. S., Fontanet, A., Mutungi, P., Crellin, J., Obaro, S., Gosciminski, M., Carter, E. J., Rastogi, N. "Impact of Immigration on the Molecular Epidemiology of Tuberculosis in Rhode Island." Journal of clinical microbiology, vol. 49, no. 3, 2010, pp. 834-844. |
| Gillani FS, Zaller ND, Zeller K, Rich JD, Cu-Uvin S, Flanigan TP, Carpenter CC. "Changes in demographics and risk factors among persons living with HIV in an academic medical center from 2003-2007." Medicine and health, Rhode Island, vol. 92, no. 7, 2009, pp. 237-40. |
| Beckwith CG, DeLong AK, Desjardins SF, Gillani F, Bazerman L, Mitty JA, Ross H, Cu-Uvin S. "HIV infection in refugees: a case-control analysis of refugees in Rhode Island." International Journal of Infectious Diseases, vol. 13, no. 2, 2009, pp. 186-92. |
|
PA Chan, FS Gillani, S Cu-Uvin, CC Carpenter, R Kantor.
"Predicting HIV Viral Load by Immunological Trends: Implications for Identification of Treatment Failure in Resource-poor Settings." Rhode Island medical journal (2013), vol. 91, no. 11, 2008, pp. 344.
|
| Zaller N, Gillani FS, Rich JD. "A model of integrated primary care for HIV-positive patients with underlying substance use and mental illness." AIDS Care, vol. 19, no. 9, 2007, pp. 1128-33. |
Dr. Fizza S. Gillani has several research interests, including global health with a special focus on HIV/AIDS, TB, COVID-19, and Hepatitis C; medical informatics; data analytics; data systems design and management; EMR usages in healthcare research; and other electronic data systems integrations for research. Her current international research projects are in the U.S. and Pakistan. She previously completed a 5-year collaborative research project in Ghana.
As a student of Economics, I started my research career conducting macro-level research focusing on government tax policies and micro-level research working with international organizations (The World Bank and International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)) to create field survey tools for households and small businesses. I also participated in data collections activities of these agencies in Pakistan and used IFPRI's household level longitudinal panel data to examine household altruistic vs. risk sharing behaviors for my PhD dissertation. At the end of my PhD program, my research interests shifted towards Health Economics with a heavy concentration in programming econometric models for various government agencies, which ultimately paved my way into the field of public health.
With a strong background in the combined fields of Econometrics, Health Economics, and Healthcare Systems, my primary research interests include Public Health, Global Health, Infectious Disease, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, data designs and management, and integration of electronic medical records and other electronic systems for healthcare research. To support my technical research interests, I have comprehensive experience in SAP analytics, Business Intelligence, and SQL platform. While I enjoy these vast research interests, I also collaborate with research teams to create HIV care systems to help control the epidemic at both the national and international level. In past, I collaborated a five year long R01 in collaboration with Dr. Awe Kwara and colleagues from Ghana.
In my current position, I enjoy working with multidisciplinary teams, including junior faculty, ID-Fellows, residents, Brown University students, clinic staff, and research groups from other universities as well as from the RI Department of Health. I have mentored many junior colleagues on their research projects and most of which resulted in publications. I collaborate with faculty members on their research grants and am currently collaborating with three R01s and a few smaller institutional research grants. Working on such a large variety of projects related to the HIV epidemic, has given me a unique perspective and a deep understanding of the challenges in the HIV field. This experience has informed and driven my research career further towards helping underserved communities. After a 2019 HIV outbreak in more than 1400 children in a small rural area in Pakistan, I started an HIV Awareness, Prevention, and Education project for t healthcare providers in Pakistan (for details see the project web page)
In summary, my field and research interests have shifted over the years. After these experiences in infectious disease and working so closely in the HIV field, I feel a deep responsibility to help people in underserved communities live healthy, long, and respectful lives by having access to better HIV and general health care.
Current collaborative funded grants
1. Providence-Boston Center for AIDS Research (CFAR), PI: Dr. Cu-Uvin, NIH/NIAID Grant# P30AI042853
Roles: Informatics Director for HIV/AIDS Program; Faculty for Biostatistics Core, Bio-Behavioral Core, and Clinical Core
2. Real Time Phylogeny and Contact Tracing to Disrupt HIV Transmission. NIH 5R01AI136058-01; PI: Rami Kantor.
Roles: Informatics Specialist
3. Sleep and Circadian Rhythms in Child and Adolescent Mental Health: Core 2: Pediatric Biopsychology Core, PI: Mary A. Carskadon; NIGMS, Grant#: KD5TGBT74AKC9
Role: PD/PI, Bradley PB Core Faculty
4. Ryan White Part C - Outpatient Early Intervention Services with Respect to HIV Disease, PI: Dr. Garland, DHHS/HRSA Grant # 5H76HA00018
Role: Informatics Director
Past collaborative funded grants
2. Rhode Island Center for Clinical and Translational Science (Advanced-CTR); PI: Dr. James Padbury; Brown University, NIH Grant# U54GM115677, 5/1/2019-8/31/2020; Role: Sub-contract: PD/PI
3. Working with HIV Clinics to Adopt Addiction Treatments Using Implementation Facilitation (WHAT-IF?), PI: David Fiellin (Yale University), Phil Chan (co-awardee), NIDA Grant# R01DA04106, 12/1/2016–8/31/2020; Role: Data Analytics Specialist
4. Ryan White Title III HIV Capacity Development and Planning Grant, PI: Joe Garland, DHHS/HRSA Grant # P06HA30508-01-00, 9/1/2016 – 12/31/2017
Role: System Administrator
5. Pharmacokinetics of Anti-Tuberculosis and Antiretroviral Drugs in Children, PI: Dr. Kwara, NIH/NICHD Grant # R01HD071779. 7/15/2012 – 4/30/2016
Roles = 1) Data Systems Administrator, 2) Data Analyst, and 3) Informatics
6. Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Treatment (OPAT) Project, Lifespan Risk Management Grant Award. 10/1/2014-1/1/2016.
Role=Co-Investigator
7. Improving Linkage to Care Following Release from Incarceration (LINCS), PI: Dr. Rich, NIH/NIDA Grant #: R01DA030778. 9/30/2010-1/30/2016.
Role=Analyst
8. Outpatient Early Intervention Services with respect to HIV Disease - Ryan White Title III” (PI: Dr. Rich), Human Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) (Grant # H76 HA00018), 5/1/94- 12/31/09
Role= Informatics and Data Systems Administrator
9. Ryan White – Capacity Building to Develop Standardized Electronic Client Information Data Systems (PI: Dr. Montague), HRSA (Grant# 6H97HA15310). 9/1/2009-8/31/2011.
Role=Informatics, Analyst
Invited National Presnetations
Invited International Presentations
| Year | Degree | Institution |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | PhD | Boston University |
| 1989 | MA | Boston University |
| 1982 | MSc | Quaid-i-Azam University |
| 1978 | BA | Islamia University |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Beckwith, Curt | Professor of Medicine |
| Cu-Uvin, Susan | Director of Global Health Initiative, Professor of Health Services, Policy and Practice, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Professor of Medicine |
| Flanigan, Timothy | Professor of Medicine, Professor of Health Services, Policy and Practice |
| Fulton, John | Clinical Associate Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences |
| Garland, Joseph | Associate Professor of Medicine, Clinician Educator |
| Hogan, Joseph | Carole and Lawrence Sirovich Professor of Public Health, Professor of Biostatistics, Chair of Biostatistics |
| Kantor, Rami | Professor of Medicine |
| Rich, Josiah | Professor of Medicine, Professor of Epidemiology |
| Steingrimsson, Jon | Assistant Professor of Biostatistics |
Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI
Lifespan/The Miriam Hospital, Providence, RI
| Certified Professional in Healthcare Information and Management System (CPHIMS) | Health IT Certification Institution, Electronic health records | 2013-Present | |
| Certification | Computer programming | 2005- | #36 credit hour coursesProgramming In computer programming |
| Senior Research Scientist . The Miriam Hospital, 2020-Present |
| Research Scientist, The Miriam Hospital/Lifespan, Providence, RI. The Miriam Hosptial, 2003-2020 |
