Jennifer Sloane

Quantitative Methodologist

Houston VA and Baylor College of Medicine

Biography

I’m a quantitative methodologist at the Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety (IQuESt), which is associated with the Houston VA and Baylor College of Medicine. I am currently the lead quantitative methodologist on the Houston Evidence-based Rapid Measurement and Evaluation (HERMES), an internationally recognized, mixed methods program focused on improving Veteran health and safety. I have 12 years of experience as a cognitive psychologist and programmer and 3 years of experience in Health Services Research.

I received my BA in psychology from the University of Maryland in 2014, my Masters of Science in experimental psychology from Syracuse University in 2017, my PhD in cognitive psychology from University of New South Wales in 2022, and I completed a 2-year Health Services Research postdoctoral fellowship at IQuESt in 2024.

Download my academic CV and resumé.

Interests

Data analysis/statistics
Data science
Cognitive psychology
Medical decision-making
Teaching and mentoring

Education

PhD in Cognitive Psychology, 2022

University of New South Wales
Masters of Science in Experimental Psychology, 2017

Syracuse University
BA in Psychology, 2014

University of Maryland

Skills

R

I have been using R since the start of my graduate studies in 2015. I essentially use R for all my data analysis, modeling, and visualization. This year, I designed my first Shiny App (an interactive website to explore a dataset on baby names in Australia) in R.

Overleaf

I have recently started using Overleaf and learning LaTeX in 2018 for writing papers and other documents, such as my CV. I also believe it is a great tool for collaborations.

JavaScript

I began learning JavaScript this past year, specifically using jspsych to run some of my computer-based experiments online.

Python

In addition to JavaScript, I often use Python to code my psychology experiments. I have a couple of years of experience using Python.

Open Science Framework

I am an avid supporter of open science and greatly value their mission to “increase the openness, integrity, and reproducibility of scientific research.”

Experience

Quantitative Methodologist

Houston VA and Baylor College of Medicine

Aug 2024 – Present Houston

Responsibilities include:

Lead quantitative methodologist on a research project exploring the benefits and challenges to implementing an alternative 72/80 work schedule for nurses, including analyzing data with interrupted time series analysis and multilevel modeling.
Converting qualitative process map data to excel spreadsheets to create quantitative datasets and using R for subsequent data analysis and visualizations.

Postdoc Research Fellow

Houston VA and Baylor College of Medicine

Aug 2022 – Aug 2024 Houston

Responsibilities include:

Studying the effects of interruptions on diagnostic decision-making
Conducting research to improve diagnostic decision-making and reduce errors in medicine
Delivered a series of 8 workshops on “Introduction to R and Programming” to over 30 employees

PhD Student

University of New South Wales

Jan 2018 – Mar 2022 Sydney

Responsibilities include:

Scientia Scholar studying the effects of interruptions and time pressure on decision-making
PhD mentor for high school students in the Cognitive Science SciX Program at UNSW
Member of the UNSW Women in Maths and Science Champions Program and co-editor of the blog
Teaching assistant for “Research Methods”

Graduate Student

Syracuse University

Aug 2015 – Dec 2017 New York

Responsibilities include:

Successfully defended Master’s Thesis on “Effects of Item Relatedness on Output Interference in Recognition Memory”
Instructor for “Cognitive Psychology”
Teaching assistant and coordinator for “Introduction to Psychology”
Teaching Mentor for incoming international and domestic teaching assistants

Part-Time Research Assistant

University of Maryland College Park

Jan 2015 – Aug 2015 Maryland

Responsibilities include:

Researcher on a project titled “Hippocampal Memory Network”
Recruited and tested dozens of children 6-8 years old using fMRI, EEG, and behavioral methodologies