January 26, 2016 | Erin Bluvas, bluvase@sc.edu 

South Carolina’s biomedical research collaborative, Health Sciences South Carolina (HSSC), has named Xiaoming Li the Chief Analytics Officer (CAO) of the organization. Joining the Arnold School of Public Health in 2015, Li already holds the titles of professor (Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior), S.C. SmartState Endowed Chair of Clinical Translational Research, and Director of the SmartState Center for Healthcare Quality.

Previously a professor and director of the Pediatric Prevention Research Center at Wayne State University School of Medicine, Li has been principal investigator or site principal investigator on 12 research projects, including seven National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded projects, and a co-investigator on 28 research projects. He is currently the principal investigator on two NIH RO1 grants. He has published over 300 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters and special reports and his specialties include research methodology, advanced statistics, health disparities, and health risk behaviors and perceptions among minority adolescents and other vulnerable or at-risk populations.

As CAO, Li will develop a strategic roadmap of data analytics and acquisition that will enable HSSC to meet the needs of their stakeholders, support innovation and enhance sustainability. By building on the collaborative’s existing analytics resources and identifying additional sources and tools to integrate into their current approach, HSSC can help researchers, health care providers, and other stakeholders effectively utilize the available data.

Established in 2004, HSSC was the first statewide biomedical research collaborative in the nation. It connects six of S.C.’s largest health systems (Greenville Hospital System University Medical Center, Palmetto Health, Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System, McLeod Health, AnMed Health, Self Regional Healthcare) as well as the largest research-focused universities (Clemson University, Medical University of South Carolina, University of South Carolina) to help these members improve the health of all South Carolinians through collaborations and evidenced-based research.