About CHRI

CHRI Leadership

Ann Anderson-Berry, MD, PhD

Executive Director

Don Coulter, MD

CHRI Scientific Director
Director, Pediatric Cancer Research Group

Dr. Don Coulter obtained his Medical Degree from the University of Arizona, and completed both Pediatric Residency and Pediatric Hematology / Oncology Fellowship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He joined the faculty of Children's Nebraska and the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 2008, and currently serves as the Edna Ittner Professor of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology. Dr. Coulter maintains a robust clinical practice at the Nebraska Medical Center while maintaining an active research career. He is the founder and currently serves as director of the Pediatric Cancer Research Group, a multidisciplinary collaborative team of researchers supported by the state of Nebraska and philanthropic donors investigating pediatric cancer in basic, clinical, translational and population based avenues. He is also the Lead Investigator for the Children’s Oncology Group grant at The University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Ryan Forman, MBA

Finance and Business Manager

Ellen Kerns, PhD

Director of Research Informatics

Ellen “El” Kerns (she/her/hers) is an assistant professor at the UNMC in the Department of Pediatrics Informatics and Health Systems Sciences Division. She has a BS in Biology from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, an MPH in Epidemiology from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a PhD in Biomedical Informatics from UNMC. She also completed a fellowship at the Center for Disease Control’s National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. El’s research focuses on building, deploying and evaluating community and clinical decision support tools. She also serves as a data scientist for the Children’s Nebraska Care Transformation division, co-directs the Biomedical Informatics & Cyberinfrastructure Core of the Great Plains IDeA-CTR and is a director of UNMC’s informatics service core entitled Research Education Administration and Development in Health Informatics (READi). Outside of work, El enjoys traveling the world and being active outdoors (e.g. hiking, biking, kayaking).

William Rizzo, MD

Ameritus Scientific Director

Lisa Runco, MPH

Administrative Director

Lisa Runco received both her Bachelor of Science in business administration and her Masters in Public Administration from the University of Nebraska-Omaha. She has been with UNMC for over 30 years, serving as department administrator for 4 different departments including ophthalmology, anesthesiology, internal medicine and now pediatrics. Prior to joining the Department of Pediatrics and the Child Health Research Institute in 2018, Lisa served as executive director for cardiovascular services and digestive diseases and kidney at Nebraska Medicine for four years. Lisa loves to travel with her husband, Mitch, and take care of their three dogs, Milo, Oscar and Beni.

Sajid Shahul, MD

Director, Interdisciplinary Research - Child Health Research Institute
Professor, UNMC Department of Anesthesiology

Brook Thurman, BS, RDCS, RVT

Senior Research Manager

Brook Thurman holds a Bachelor of Science in Health Professions and is the Clinical Research Operations Specialist for the Pediatric Research Office. Prior to joining the PRO, she led a Research Bioimaging Core in Colorado, where she managed imaging workflows and supported high-quality research data. With a strong background in research operations and a commitment to data integrity, Brook excels at optimizing processes and fostering cross-functional collaboration. Outside of her professional role, she enjoys spending time with her partner and young child, gardening, and finding moments to relax and recharge.

Matthew VanOrmer, PhD, MBA

Senior Research Manager

Dr. VanOrmer completed his PhD in Patient-Oriented Research at UNMC under the mentorship of Dr. Anderson Berry and has research interests in maternal-fetal health, nutrition, mobile health applications, and public policies’ effects on community health outcomes. He has been with UNMC for 9 years, implementing and conducting numerous clinical research studies focused on nutrition’s impact on maternal-fetal health outcomes. Dr. VanOrmer holds an undergraduate degree in Business Administration from the University of Nebraska at Omaha with a concentration in Management and is currently pursuing a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Healthcare Management. In his free time, Dr. VanOrmer enjoys woodworking in his garage woods, 3D printing, working on a variety of home improvement projects, and traveling with his wife Kaitlin.

CHRI National Scientific Advisory Board

CHRI's National Scientific Advisory Board is composed of experts in pediatric science at leading institutions around the U.S., bringing a wealth of experience and knowledge to the growing institute. The National Scientific Advisory Board will provide input on CHRI strategies, objectives, priorities and other institute-wide matters. They will meet twice a year, once virtually this summer, and in-person at the annual CHRI Scientific Conference.

The National Scientific Advisory Board members are:

Chair of the Board

Lisa M. Satlin, MD, Herbert H. Lehman Professor of Pediatrics and Chair of the Jack and Lucy Clark Department of Pediatrics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Pediatrician-in-Chief, Mount Sinai Kravis Children's Hospital

Board Members

Phyllis A. Dennery, MD, Professor and Sylvia K. Hassenfeld Chair of Pediatrics; Professor of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry, Brown University; Pediatrician in Chief, Hasbro Children's Hospital
Margaret (Peggy) K. Hostetter, MD, Professor Emerita, Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, former B. K. Rachford Chair and Director of the Research Foundation, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
Kevin Johnson, MD, MS, FAAP, FAMIA, FACMI, Vice President of Applied Informatics at the University of Pennsylvania Health System and David L. Cohen University Professor of Pediatrics, Informatics, Engineering and Communication, Perelman School of Medicine, School of Engineering and Applied Science, Annenberg School of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania