Leadership
Elbert Huang, MD, MPH, FACP
Director
Dr. Huang is Professor of Medicine and founding Director of the Center for Chronic Disease Research and Policy. He is also Associate Director of the Chicago Center for Diabetes Translation Research at the University of Chicago. From 2010-2011, he served as a Senior Advisor in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Department of Health and Human Services.
Dr. Huang is a general internist who studies clinical and health care policy issues at the intersection of diabetes, aging, and health economics. His main research focus is in the area of medical decision making for elderly patients with type 2 diabetes where uncertainty exists regarding how to best individualize diabetes treatments based on clinical parameters and patient preferences. His prior and ongoing research has influenced care recommendations for older patients with diabetes. Apart from his work in geriatric diabetes, Dr. Huang has also performed other seminal translational diabetes research in the area of cost-effectiveness analysis. In 2008, Dr. Huang led a widely cited study that forecasted the growth in the diabetes population and related health care costs over the next 25 years. He has also led economic evaluations of community-based diabetes initiatives, clinic quality improvement programs, new diabetes technologies (continuous glucose monitoring), and the application of basic scientific discoveries (genetic testing).
Dr. Huang serves on the Midwest Comparative Effectiveness Public Advisory Council of the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review. He previously served as Policy Chair for the Society for Medical Decision Making and as Chair for Health Care Delivery/Economics for the Scientific Sessions Meeting Planning Committee of the American Diabetes Association.
Rachel Jantke, PhD
Administrative Director
Rachel Jantke, PhD, joined the University of Chicago in July 2018 as the Administrative Director of the Center for Chronic Disease Research and Policy (CDRP). She assists with providing strategic leadership for the center to expand the role of the center. Dr. Jantke’s primary responsibility is to develop, organize, and manage the University of Chicago Practice-Based Research Network (UC-PBRN) and its Advisory Committee.
Previously, Dr. Jantke served the Chicago Department of Public Health as the Director of HIV Surveillance and the Principal Investigator of multiple CDC-funded projects. She was responsible for federal grant reporting, submission of grant applications, surveillance operations and work flows, a large Chicago HIV database (eHARS), and fiscal management of these multi-million dollar projects. Dr. Jantke brings many years of experience working in non-profit and research settings, including DePaul University and the Alzheimer’s Association.
After completing her MA in Clinical Psychology, Dr. Jantke continued her education and earned a doctoral degree in Community Psychology at National Louis University. Dr. Jantke has co-authored several papers and has presented at regional and national conferences.