The Department of Pediatrics announces the appointment of Mandy A. Allison MA, MD, MSPH (Associate Professor, Section of General of Pediatrics) as the next Director of the Prevention Research Center for Family and Child Health (PRC). The PRC is a joint program of the Department of Pediatrics and the Adult and Child Center for Outcomes Research and Delivery Science (ACCORDS).
Following the conclusion of an internal search process, Dr. Allison was chosen to lead the next chapter of the PRC’s efforts to use science to build healthier and more equitable communities for children and families to flourish. Mandy is uniquely positioned to serve in this capacity as Director. She has been a member of the Center since her recruitment to the University of Colorado in 2012. In June 2019, she was named PRC Co-Director in partnership with the Center’s founding Director, David L. Olds, PhD (Professor of Pediatrics). In her four years as Co-Director, Mandy has further cultivated the Center’s growth-oriented culture, lead the integration of the PRC into ACCORDS, and advanced collaborations among PRC investigators and research partners on the Anschutz Medical Campus, across the nation, and globally.
Dr. Allison is currently the Principal Investigator on two major research initiatives within the PRC. First is her National Institute of Nursing Research funded research project grant (R01-NR020008) titled, “Randomized Clinical Trial of Nurse Family Partnership for Women with Previous Live Births.” This 4-year, $3 million award is designed to investigate the effectiveness of nurse home-visiting for people with previous live births. Her second project is a National Heart Lung and Blood Institute funded cooperative agreement (UG3-HL162967) titled, “Colorado Nurse Family Heart Trial for the ENRICH Program.” This 2-year, $1.6 million award is focused on the effectiveness of home-visiting to enhance maternal and child cardiovascular health and addressing health disparities in both mothers and children who are of low socio-economic status and/or live in low-resource rural or urban communities with a high burden of cardiovascular disease risk factors.
Prior to joining the University of Colorado in 2012, Dr. Allision was a faculty member of the University of Utah, Department of Pediatrics from 2006 to 2012, receiving the Excellence in Teaching Award as well as being elected to the Society for Pediatric Research. She received her Medical Degree and pediatric residency training from the University of Utah School of Medicine between 1997 and 2004 where she was chosen Alpha Omega Alpha. Mandy came to Colorado in 2004 to complete a fellowship in primary care research and obtain her Master of Science in Public Health degree. Since joining our faculty, Mandy has served on the American Academy of Pediatrics, Council on School Health Executive Committee and has been a member of the National Institute for Children’s Health Quality (NICHQ) Pediatrics Supporting Parents Expert Advisory Group.
Dr. Allison succeeds the remarkable leadership tenure of Dr. David Olds. Dr. Olds was the founding Director of the PRC upon his recruitment from the University of Rochester in 1993. Over his 30-year tenure, Dr. Olds has established the PRC as among the world’s foremost programs in developing and testing a program of prenatal and infancy home visiting by nurses for low-income mothers and their children, known as the Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP). Today, that program serves families across 40 states, the US Virgin Islands, and many Tribal communities. I am grateful for the David’s outstanding leadership and stewardship of this amazing program. He has well positioned the PRC and Dr. Allison for another exciting 30 years of research innovation in support of communities for children and families.
Please join me in thanking Dr. Olds for his leadership service and for supporting and welcoming Dr. Allison into her new role effective December 1, 2023.
-- Stephen Daniels, MD, PhD
April 9, 2024