Clinical Evidence Spotlight Series Recordings | Trending Payer Topics to be Aware of Right Now

ECRI supports medical policy development and review through rapid assessment of the best available evidence, and has been a leader in evidence methodology for over three decades.

Now is your chance to go behind the scenes to connect with the research analysts responsible for producing thousands of clinical evidence assessment and genetic test assessment reports. Interact with these subject matter experts as they walk through high-interest, clinical topics and discuss how they systematically arrived at their evidence conclusions.

Session 1 – Autologous and Allogeneic Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy for Chronic Joint Pain

This event discussed autologous and allogeneic mesenchymal stem cell therapy for treating knee or ankle joint osteoarthritis (autologous) or knee osteoarthritis (allogeneic) compared with other nonsurgical approaches to treating chronic joint pain.

Session 2 – Treating Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia

This event discussed clinical evidence assessment of tissue ablation devices for treating benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and how they compare with BPH treatment options.

Session 3 – Molecular Diagnostic Testing for Monitoring Organ Transplant Rejection

This event discussed evidence assessments of molecular diagnostic testing for monitoring and detecting heart and kidney transplant rejection.

Dave Snyder, PhD
Senior Research Analyst, Clinical Evidence-Genetic Test Assessment, ECRI
Dave Snyder has worked at ECRI and its Evidence-based Practice Center and Clinical Evidence Assessment for 21 years. He has experience in health technology assessment, evidence-based medicine methodology, qualitative and quantitative research synthesis in medicine, and meta-analysis, and specializes in rapid reviews. He has authored systematic reviews of wound treatments (skin substitutes, negative pressure wound therapy, and synthetic wound dressings), orthopedic surgery procedures (hip and knee replacement, vertebroplasty), procedures involving bone fracture repair (non-unions, demineralized bone matrix), devices for peripheral hemorrhage control, and procedures involving intervertebral discs. 

Savvas C. Pavlides, PhD
Senior Manager, Scientific Quality, Clinical Evidence-Genetic Test Assessment, ECRI
Savvas Pavlides is senior manager, scientific quality for Clinical Evidence Assessment and Genetic Test Assessment. He joined ECRI back in 2014 and helps lead a large analyst team responsible for producing clinical evidence assessments that focus on diverse health technology topics, many of which are driven by the needs of current ECRI members. Savvas’ background includes focus on cell and molecular biology, as well as high throughput proteomics. Prior to working at ECRI, he was a research scientist at New York University Cancer Center.

Sara Montanez-Sauri, PhD
Research Analyst, Clinical Evidence-Genetic Test Assessment, ECRI
Sara Montanez-Sauri is a Research Analyst for Clinical Evidence and Genetic Test Assessment. She joined ECRI in 2018 and has written over one hundred clinical evidence reports on all types of healthcare technologies and interventions. Sara’s background includes close concentration on microfluidics, cancer biology, and materials science. Prior to working at ECRI, Sara was a research scientist in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.

Alfredo Penzo-Mendez, PhD
Manager, Scientific Quality, Clinical Evidence-Genetic Test Assessment, ECRI
Alfredo Penzo-Mendez is a senior research analyst for Clinical Evidence Assessment and Genetic Test Assessment. His background is in cancer biology and he conducted basic research in academia for 15 years before joining ECRI. His current work focuses on creating in-depth clinical evidence assessments about a variety of health technology assessment topics and developing a formal framework for rapid evidence assessment using the Nested Knowledge systematic review platform. Alfredo earned his PhD from Sorbonne University in 2001.

Coyne G. Drummond, PhD
Research Analyst, Clinical Evidence-Genetic Test Assessment, ECRI
Coyne Drummond is a Research Analyst for Clinical Evidence Assessment. He joined ECRI in 2019 and has written more than one hundred clinical evidence reports on all types of healthcare technologies including genetic tests. Coyne’s background includes molecular biology and virology. Prior to ECRI, Coyne worked as a post-doctoral research associate at the University of Pittsburgh where his studies included next-generation RNA sequencing.