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Working together to enhance recovery

RECOVER Leadership

The RECOVER Observational Consortium – which consists of many study sites and researchers – works closely with Patients, Caregivers, and Community Representatives across all levels of the initiative, including in national leadership roles and communities with study enrollment locations.

Visit the Clinical Trials Leadership page to learn more about the leadership structure for the RECOVER Clinical Trials.

Executive Committee

The Executive Committee directs the RECOVER Initiative’s overall strategy. To ensure that RECOVER meets its scientific objectives and mission, the Executive Committee:

  • Leads and oversees RECOVER’s operations.
  • Evaluates the progress of RECOVER research and advises the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the RECOVER Observational Cohort Steering Committee (OCSC) if any changes are necessary.
  • Offers recommendations to the NIH on high-level processes, procedures, plans, and strategy.

Voting members

Gary Gibbons, MD Co-Chair

Director, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Director, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Acting Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Joseph Breen, PhD Co-Chair Designee

Immunoregulation Section Chief, Division of Allergy, Immunology, and Transplantation, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Amy Patterson, MD Co-Chair Designee

Deputy Director, Clinical Research and Strategic Initiatives, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Clinton B. Wright, MD, MS Co-Chair Designee

Director, Division of Clinical Research, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Director, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Director, National Library of Medicine

Director, Transversa Myelitis Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Professor of Neurology and Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Betty Diamond, MD External Expert

Director, Institute of Molecular Medicine & Maureen and Ralph Nappi Professor of Autoimmune Diseases, Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research

Professor, Molecular Medicine and Medicine, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell Health

Chief of Neurology Clinical Outcomes Research and Population Sciences, Columbia University Irving Medical Center

Professor of Neurology and Epidemiology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center

Mitchell Miglis, MD External Expert

Clinical Associate Professor, Neurology & Neurological Sciences, Stanford Center for Sleep Sciences and Medicine

Clinical Associate Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford Center for Sleep Sciences and Medicine

Wendy Post, MD, MS External Expert

Director of Cardiovascular Research, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Professor of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Professor of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Felicia Davis Blakley Co-Chair, RECOVER National Community Engagement Group

Social Sector Executive, Chicago, IL

Heather Marti Co-Chair, RECOVER National Community Engagement Group

Case Manager, Office of Student Conduct and Academic Integrity, West Virginia University

Ex-officio, non-voting members

Andrea S. Foulkes, ScD MPI, RECOVER Data Resource Core

Director of Biostatistics, Massachusetts General Hospital

Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Professor of Biostatistics, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health

Stuart D. Katz, MD MPI, RECOVER Clinical Science Core

Director, NYU Langone Health Heart Failure Program

Professor of Advanced Cardiac Therapeutics, NYU Grossman School of Medicine

Lisa Newman, MSPH Administrative Coordinating Center Principal Investigator

Director of Center for Public Health Surveillance and Technology, RTI International

Tracy Nolen, DrPh MPI, RECOVER Clinical Trials Administrative Coordinating Center

Senior Research Statistician, RTI International

Kanecia Zimmerman, MD, MPH PI, RECOVER Clinical Trials Data Coordinating Center

Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Duke University School of Medicine

Jeffrey Burns, MD, MPH Co-chair, RECOVER Observational Studies Steering Committee

Chief of Critical Care, Boston Children's Hospital

Chair, ICU Governance Committee, Boston Children's Hospital

Chair, International Health Services, Boston Children's Hospital

Professor of Anesthesia and Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School

Serena Spudich, MD, MA Co-chair, RECOVER Observational Studies Steering Committee

Co-director, Center for Neuroepidemiology and Clinical Neurological Research, Yale School of Medicine

Division Chief, Neurological Infections & Global Neurology, Yale School of Medicine

Gilbert H. Glaser Professor of Neurology, Yale School of Medicine

Eldrin Lewis, MD, MPH Co-chair, RECOVER Clinical Trials Steering Committee

Chief, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Stanford School of Medicine

Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, Stanford School of Medicine

Laurie Gutmann, MD Co-chair, RECOVER Clinical Trials Steering Committee

Chair, Department of Neurology, Indiana University School of Medicine

Professor of Neurology, Indiana University School of Medicine

Chief Medical Officer and Director, Center for Clinical Standards and Quality, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Rear Admiral and Assistant Surgeon General, U.S. Public Health Service

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Science and Medicine, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

Director, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Sam Posner, PhD

Acting Director, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Hilary Marston, MD

Chief Medical Officer, U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Executive Director, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute

Observational Consortium Steering Committee (OCSC)

The OCSC provides scientific leadership, operational oversight, and program coordination to achieve the scientific goals of the RECOVER Initiative.

The roles and responsibilities of the OCSC include the following:

  • Oversee the science and operations for all observational studies.
  • Monitor progress toward RECOVER milestones to deliver results within timelines and budgets.
  • Set up and oversee a team of subcommittees, Coordinating Committees, and sub-coordinating committees.
  • Facilitate and promote collaboration, cooperation, and communication across the RECOVER Observational Consortium.
  • Identify, assess, and develop solutions for operational or scientific challenges.
  • Review summary reports on data quality and completeness, protocol noncompliance, and participant safety and retention.
  • Review and decide on proposals from subcommittees and Coordinating Committees.

Voting members

Professor of Anesthesia and Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School

Gilbert H. Glaser Professor of Neurology, Yale School of Medicine

Felicia Davis Blakley Patient, Caregiver, and Community Representative

Social Sector Executive, Chicago, IL

Brittany D. Taylor, MPH Patient, Caregiver, and Community Representative

Community Impact Director, American Heart Association

Neely A. Williams, MDiv, EdD Patient, Caregiver, and Community Representative

Administrator, Community Partner's Linked Network of Services

Charles Bailey, MD, PhD Convening Chair of the Electronic Health Records Studies Coordinating Committee

Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

Torri Metz, MD, MS Convening Chair of the Pregnancy Cohort Coordinating Committee

Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Vice Chair of Research of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Utah Health

Igho Ofotokun, MD Convening Chair of the Adult Cohort Coordinating Committee

Professor of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine

Melissa Stockwell, MD, MPH Convening Chair of the Pediatric Cohort Coordinating Committee

Chief of the Division of Child and Adolescent Health, Columbia University Irving Medical Center

James Stone, MD, PhD Convening Chair of the Autopsy Studies Coordinating Committee

Associate Professor, Massachusetts General Hospital

Melissa M. Cortez, DO Subject Matter Expert

Associate Professor, Neurology, University of Utah

Jessica Lasky-Su, DSc, MS Subject Matter Expert

Associate Professor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Sudha Seshadri, MD, DM Subject Matter Expert

Founding Director, Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer's & Neurodegenerative Diseases, UT Health San Antonio

PJ Utz, MD Subject Matter Expert

Professor of Medicine (Immunology and Rheumatology), Stanford University

David Goff, MD, PhD Senior Scientific Program Director from the National Institutes of Health

Director, Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health

Mine Cicek, PhD Biorepository Core Principal Investigator

Director, Biospecimens Accessioning and Processing (BAP) Core Laboratory, Mayo Clinic

Andrea S. Foulkes, ScD Data Resource Core Principal Investigator

Professor of Medicine, Biostatistics, Harvard Medical School

Stuart D. Katz, MD Clinical Science Core Principal Investigator

Professor of Advanced Cardiac Therapeutics, NYU Grossman School of Medicine

Lisa Newman, MSPH Administrative Coordinating Center Principal Investigator

Director of Center for Public Health Surveillance and Technology, RTI International

National Community Engagement Group

RECOVER’s National Community Engagement Group (NCEG) represents over 70 patient, caregiver, and community representatives in the RECOVER Observational Consortium and Clinical Trials. It helps ensure that RECOVER research meets the needs of patients, caregivers, and community members by guiding RECOVER study leaders and other RECOVER groups on the best ways to engage with participants and the community.

NCEG members will:

  • Share thoughts from the patient and community point of view about the experience of people affected by Long COVID.
  • Discuss and work to determine the important research questions.
  • Provide feedback on study materials.
  • Provide input about the best way to collect information from participants.
  • Review study findings and help identify ways to share them.
  • Ensure RECOVER study leaders follow the guiding principles when engaging with the public and participants.

Guiding Principles for RECOVER’s Community Engagement

The RECOVER Patient and Community Engagement Strategy describes how RECOVER will engage people affected by Long COVID. The strategy helps ensure that we include people from all communities and backgrounds. The strategy features RECOVER’s Guiding Principles for patient and community engagement, which underpin RECOVER’s continued engagement efforts. These guiding principles are values that RECOVER will follow when engaging with people interested in joining a study, with participants, and with the public.

NCEG Co-Chairs

Felicia Davis Blakley is a socially conscious executive leader, who leads with radical authenticity, unparalleled passion, and inspirational vision. A proven leader in the government, public policy, higher education, and philanthropic sectors, she is deeply committed to community through inclusive service to others. Felicia is a self-described girl from the Southside of Chicago and for more than 30 years, has worked at the intersection of public policy and community equity and inclusion. For her, the transformational idea of being a social change agent coexists with a deep awareness of the practical realities facing our society. Felicia believes profoundly in the power to transform individual lives, families, and whole communities through collective efforts and that advancing equality and equity in society are causes worth fighting for.

Most recently, Felicia served as President and CEO of Chicago Foundation for Women, where she led the Foundation's strategic efforts in investing in women and girls as catalysts, fighting for gender equity, and building stronger communities for all. Successfully completed CFW’s Comprehensive Fundraising Campaign, raising over $45 million over 4 years. In September 2021, under her leadership, CFW launched the SHEcovery™ initiative. A commitment to raise over $11M, identify, uplift, fund, advocate for, and support a more equitable system to ensure women and their families emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic stronger than before. Prior to joining Chicago Foundation for Women, Felicia held diverse executive positions in Chicago city government, including Inaugural Executive Director for the Mayor’s Office of Public Engagement, Commissioner, and Deputy Mayor for Public Safety.

An advocate and acclaimed public speaker, Felicia has appeared on local and international news outlets, been a presenter at forums and featured in a diverse roster of radio & television outlets, as well as various online and printed publications. Davis Blakley gives generously of her personal time, serving on several civic and charitable boards. Previously she served as a member on JB Pritzker Gubernatorial Inauguration Committee and served as an appointee to the Illinois Senate Sexual Discrimination, Harassment Awareness and Prevention Task Force. Presently, she is a member of the Board of Regents at Mercy Home for Boys and Girls, Trustee with Court Theatre at University of Chicago, Board Member at The Partnership for College Completion, and the Better Government Association, and she serves as a Co-Chair for the National Community Engagement Group and Executive Committee member for RECOVER, a research initiative from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), seeks to understand, prevent, and treat PASC, including Long COVID.

Brittany is a public health practitioner with 14 years of experience overseeing and implementing projects focused on chronic disease management and prevention, health equity advancement, infectious disease control, tobacco cessation and maternal health. She has served in leadership positions on several grants and research projects funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and the Health Resources and Services Administration. She has held leadership positions with the CEAL Alliance, National Million Hearts Initiative, Deloitte, CDC Diversity & Inclusion Team, and the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors, Cardiovascular Health Leadership Council. Brittany is a graduate of the College of Charleston where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and of Mercer University where she earned her Master of Public Health degree. She is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.

Heather works for West Virginia University as a Case Manager in The Office of Student Rights & Responsibilities. She is originally from the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area, but currently resides in Morgantown, West Virginia with her husband. Heather is a 1995 graduate of Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. She is the mother of two adult children. She worked in social service for over 20 years, 10 of which she served as Executive Director of CASA of Beaver County, PA. Heather has a passion for advocacy and helping others, which explains her enthusiasm for her volunteer work within the RECOVER Initiative. As a PASC patient since 2020, Heather hopes that her participation in the study will help the medical community better understand why specific individuals are more susceptible to Long COVID and how to successfully treat the wide range of symptoms. In addition to her participation in the study, Heather is also an NCEG Co-Chair, a member of the RECOVER Steering Committee and serves on the RECOVER National Community Advisory Board.

NCEG Members

NCEG members are listed with permission. This roster is not a comprehensive list of NCEG membership, as some participants prefer to contribute to the NCEG without being listed publicly and we honor their preference.

  • Felicia Davis Blakley - Co-Chair
  • Heather Marti - Co-Chair
  • Brittany Taylor - Co-Chair
  • Teresa Akintonwa
  • Frank Blancero
  • Heather Elizabeth Brown
  • Megan Carmilani
  • Marta Cerda
  • Debra Copeland
  • Yvonka Hall
  • Kevin Kondo
  • Fadwa Lawrence
  • Lydia Lerma
  • Jacqui Lindsay
  • Christine Maughan
  • Tony Minor
  • Marjorie Roberts
  • Hyatt Vincent
Ex-Officio, Non-Voting Members

Learn more about how RECOVER research works and the role of patients, caregivers, and community representatives.

Coordinating Committees

The Coordinating Committees plan, manage, and monitor the scientific progress of and operations within their respective studies (Adult, Pediatric, Pregnancy, Electronic Health Record (EHR), and Autopsy).

The roles and responsibilities of the Coordinating Committees include the following:

  • Address daily scientific tasks within each of the observational cohort studies.
  • Monitor study-specific risks, challenges, and opportunities for collaboration to ensure the success of each study.
  • Review site-specific reports on data quality and completeness, protocol noncompliance, and participant safety and retention.
  • Act as a go-between for the Hub/Site Principal Investigators and the OCSC.
  • Report progress and risks to the Senior Scientific Program Director via the OCSC.

Go to: Adult Cohort | Pediatric Cohort | Pregnancy Cohort | Autopsy Cohort | EHR Cohort

Adult Cohort Coordinating Committee

  • Alexander Charney, MD, PhD
  • Andrea Foulkes, ScD
  • Bruce Levy, MD
  • Christine Maughan
  • Hassan Brim, PhD
  • James Heath, PhD
  • Jeff Martin, MD, MPH
  • Jerry Krishnan, MD, PhD
  • Juan Lewis
  • Leora Horwitz, MD
  • Lumy Sawaki-Adams, MD, PhD
  • Megumi Okumura, MD, MAS
  • Nathan Erdmann, MD, PhD
  • Rachel Hess, MD, MS
  • Sairam Parthasarathy, MD
  • Sally Hodder, MD
  • Thomas Patterson, MD
  • Torri Metz, MD, MS
  • Upinder Singh, MD

Pediatric Cohort Coordinating Committee

  • Aimee Peddie
  • Amy Salisbury, PhD, RN
  • David Warburton, OBE, DSc, MD, MMM, FRCP, FRCS, FRCPCH
  • Gail Pearson, MD, ScD
  • Jane Newburger, MD, MPH
  • Jessica Snowden, MD, MS, MHPTT
  • Kay (Kyung) Rhee, MD, MSc, MA, FAAP
  • Kelan Tantisira, MD, MPH
  • Lawrence Kleinman, MD, MPH
  • Megan Carmilani
  • Megan Fitzgerald
  • Rachel Gross, MD, MS
  • Tanayott Thaweethai, PhD
  • Torri Metz, MD, MS
  • Valerie Flaherman, MD, MPH

Pregnancy Cohort Coordinating Committee

  • Harrison Reeder, PhD
  • Krista Coombs
  • Leora Horwitz, MD
  • Megan Rockwell
  • Monica Longo, MD, PhD
  • Rachel Gross, MD, MS
  • Valerie Flaherman, MD, MPH
  • Vanessa Jacoby, MD, MAS

Autopsy Cohort Coordinating Committee

  • Aloke Finn, MD
  • Andrea Troxel, ScD
  • Barbara Sampson, MD, PhD
  • Daniel F Gallego Umana, MD
  • Jonathan Melamed, MD
  • Kristen Thomas, MD
  • Lauren Stiles
  • Mady Hornig, MA, MD
  • Marrah Lachowicz-Scroggins, PhD
  • Vivian Gainer, MS

EHR Cohort Coordinating Committee

  • Andrew Wylam
  • Emily Pfaff, PhD, MS
  • Gabriel Anaya, MD, MSc
  • Ivan Diaz, PhD
  • Lisa O'Brien
  • Rainu Kaushal, MD, MPH
  • Richard Moffitt, PhD
  • Shawn Murphy, MD, PhD
  • Suchitra Rao, MD
  • Thomas Carton, PhD, MS

Sub-Steering Committees

Three committees, which report to the OCSC, oversee several cross-consortium activities.

Ancillary Studies Committee (ASC)
The ASC assesses how inquiries for external studies match up with RECOVER’s research portfolio and scientific aims. The intent is to allow external studies to access RECOVER’s study data and participant samples, qualifying them as RECOVER ancillary studies.

Biospecimen Access Committee (BAC)
The BAC recommends policies on how to prioritize study requests and recommend studies for access and use of RECOVER samples and biospecimens from Adult, Pediatric, and Autopsy studies.

Presentations and Publications Oversight Committee (PPOC)
The PPOC oversees publications for the Observational Consortium. It ensures that reports about the RECOVER Initiative are accessible to the public and promote better understanding of Long COVID.

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