What We’re About

Mark Cochran leads the Johns Hopkins HealthCare Solutions team, a unique initiative charged with expanding and managing partnerships with the business world, fostering collaborations among faculty and clinicians to leverage their intellectual assets, and bringing to external markets evidence-based innovations that address the wide range of population health challenges.

Dr. Cochran’s professional experience spans the spectrum of the global health care value chain including drug discovery, business development, clinical research, program management, and venture capital initiatives. He has held leadership positions in organizations such as Bayer Pharmaceuticals (in Germany and USA), Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute, MDS Capital Corp., and NeuroVentures Capital.

An inventor of several recombinant vaccines and other biological products, and author of a number of scientific papers, Dr. Cochran also co-founded MicroGeneSys Inc., a Connecticut-based vaccine company, now called Protein Sciences.

Dr. Cochran holds a doctoral degree in Microbiology and Immunology from Queen’s University, in Kingston, Ontario; a master’s degree in microbiology from the University of Guelph, in Ontario; and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Toronto. He also was a postdoctoral Fellow at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD.

Chad Abrams has been a member of the ACG System team since 1994. Today he utilizes his extensive experience with the ACG System as well as his knowledge of the Affordable Care Act, to apply the ACG System to the new health care delivery landscape in the United States. He also works directly with a variety of North American and governmental agencies and academic users to help bridge the gap between academic research and application of risk adjustment in real world settings.

Mr. Abrams also has broad programming experience with SAS, AUTOGRP, and PC-Group software, and he is an author of several academic articles concerning the application of the ACG System.

Prior to joining Johns Hopkins University, Mr. Abrams worked at the Urban Institute, in Washington D.C.

Mr. Abrams earned a master’s degree in economics from the University of California, Davis and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the College of William and Mary.

Susan Carr brings to the Solutions team 20 years of business development experience in infectious diseases, infection control, managed care, patient satisfaction, and patient safety. As part of the Consulting & Collaborations team, Ms. Carr manages the corporate relationship with both Walgreens and Healthways/Sharecare.

Ms. Carr is also a part of the Innovations-to-Solutions team, helping to identify, assess, and promote faculty research that serves the Solutions team mission of connecting the world with the innovative, Johns Hopkins evidence-based products and services.

Before joining Solutions, Ms. Carr held several business development and consulting leadership roles within the health care and pharmaceutical industries. Her expertise includes assessment of business development opportunities, competitor and market landscape mapping, and primary and secondary market research.

Ms. Carr holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Scranton and a certificate of clinical research from Drexel University. She currently is pursuing a certificate in quality, patient safety and outcomes research and a Master of Public Health degree at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Walter Fenner has more than 20 years of international experience in strategic business development, planning, budgeting, operations, project management, and marketing. As part of the ACG System team, Mr. Fenner manages the back-office operations, working closely with the ACG System development and licensing teams as well as more than two dozen international customers.

Before joining Solutions, Mr. Fenner worked in a range of management positions at the Johns Hopkins University and in the public and private sector in both the United States and Europe.

Mr. Fenner earned a Master of Business Administration degree from European University, Switzerland and a bachelor’s degree from the University of the Nations, USA.

As a member of the Solutions’ Employer Programs team, Ian Grant leverages his experience deploying population-based initiatives in urban and rural communities. With a background in nutrition and stakeholder engagement, Mr. Grant manages Solutions’ growing suite of diabetes and program interventions.

Prior to joining the Solutions team, Mr. Grant led health care reform projects in patient activation, diabetes prevention, chronic disease self-management and smoking cessation. He also has collaborated with diverse stakeholders to assess and address health needs that impact at-risk populations.

Mr. Grant earned a Master of Public Health degree from SUNY Upstate Medical University and a Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry from the University of the West Indies (Jamaica). He also earned a Certificate of Advanced Study in health services management and policy from Syracuse University (Maxwell School) and has pursued graduate studies in nutrition at Pennsylvania State University.

Bruce Leff is an internationally recognized leader and researcher in the development, evaluation, and dissemination of novel models of care for older adults including the Hospital at Home, Guided Care, geriatric service line models, and medical house call practices. His research interests extend to issues related to multi-morbidity, performance measurement, and case mix. He has a strong interest in health policy issues and is a Health and Aging Policy Fellow of the American Political Science Association. Dr. Leff is an award-winning teacher and mentor and also is involved in directing the basic Medicine Clerkship in the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He currently serves as president of the American Academy of Home Care Physicians and is a member of the Board of Governors of the American College of Physicians.

As the associate medical director of Johns Hopkins HealthCare Solutions, Dr. Leff represents faculty, clinical staff, and researchers and serves as a liaison with the business development team, advising the team on academic issues and considerations in the ongoing development of projects and products.

Dr. Leff earned a medical degree from New York University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania. After residency and fellowship training at Johns Hopkins, he served as a medical officer in the U.S. Army, in Seoul, Korea, before joining the Johns Hopkins faculty in the Department of Medicine, in 1994.

Steve Libowitz has written about health care for more than 35 years. As Solutions’ marketing and communications manager and director of the Solutions line of business, he works with the medical, public health and nursing faculty and staff to expand the reach and impact of their evidence-based innovations beyond Johns Hopkins.

Before joining the Solutions team, Mr. Libowitz directed the Johns Hopkins Office of Consumer Health Information, which developed consumer and professional health multi-media content and licensed it to health care-related organizations worldwide. He also served as the director of the Johns Hopkins University’s Office of News and Information and the editor of the University newspaper, The Gazette.

Among his professional experiences, Mr. Libowitz, a former journalist and media producer, developed and wrote patient education film and video programs for Baltimore-based Milner-Fenwick Inc.

He earned a master’s degree from Towson University and a bachelor’s degree from Florida Atlantic University.

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Kyle Marmen has more than 15 years experience in health care finance. For more than 11 years at Johns Hopkins, his work has focused on the commercial business interests of Johns Hopkins HealthCare, which includes the insurance product lines and Johns Hopkins HealthCare Solutions. As manager of the commercial finance team, Mr. Marmen is responsible for Johns Hopkins HealthCare’s financial performance, analysis and reporting functions. Prior to coming to Johns Hopkins, he worked in major medical institutions in the Baltimore Metropolitan area. Mr. Marmen earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, with a minor concentration in Marketing, from Fairfield University, in Fairfield, Connecticut.

As part of the Consulting & Collaborations team, Harriet Martyn brings 10 years of project management and public health experience to the Solutions’ relationship with Premier, building faculty and industry relationships to improve health care quality, safety, and value through clinical research and program development. Ms. Martyn also is part of the ACG System team, helping to expand the use of this risk adjustment tool, both domestically and internationally.

Prior to joining the Solutions team, Ms. Martyn worked on international business projects including managing, in London, the implementation of health care reform for the National Health Service and local government and, in Baltimore, supporting the Latin America and Caribbean initiatives for Johns Hopkins Medicine International.

Ms. Martyn earned a Master of Science degree in public health, with a specialization in health policy, from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She holds a postgraduate diploma from Warwick Business School and a bachelor’s degree from University College London.

Michelle Martin-Daniels is the executive assistant to executive director Mark Cochran. Ms. Martin-Daniels has deep roots at Johns Hopkins Medicine, serving many years at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics as administrative, community relations, and academic program coordinator. Ms. Martin-Daniels is a member of the Johns Hopkins Community Research Advisory Council and co-authored “A Dietary Intervention in Urban African Americans: Results of the ‘Five Plus Nuts and Beans,” which was published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (August 2015).

Ms. Martin-Daniels earned a master’s degree in applied and professional ethics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and a bachelor’s degree in philosophy at Bates College, in Lewiston, Maine. She currently is furthering her studies to practice clinical ethics.

Rebekah Montcalmo has spent 15 years improving the health of populations by combining business strategies with innovative, high quality solutions that improve outcomes and health care delivery. As part of the Employer Programs team, Ms. Montcalmo manages the Johns Hopkins Onsite Employee Health and Wellness Centers as well as the Managing Cancer at Work and DECIDE employee programs.

Prior to joining the Solutions team, Ms. Montcalmo worked at Penn Medicine, as associate director of Digital Health Initiatives where she led Penn Medicine’s Connected Health and TeleMedicine efforts, to deliver an array of transformative health care delivery options and clinical programs. Her background includes leading the strategy for CMS value based care programs, executive health, and Nursing Home care administration.
Ms. Montcalmo earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Saint Joseph’s University and a bachelor’s degree in health care administration from Austin Peay State University

Alina Oseguera is the financial manager of Commercial Markets for Johns Hopkins HealthCare. With over 15 years of experience in corporate finance, financial management and reporting, Mrs. Oseguera oversees for Johns Hopkins HealthCare Solutions the financial forecasting, analysis, performance and reporting functions. She also is responsible for identifying useful measures and key performance indicators for success. Prior to coming to Johns Hopkins, Mrs. Oseguera was part of the Management Reporting & Analysis teams at Legg Mason Global Asset Management and Constellation Energy.

Giulianna Peri brings to the Solutions team more than 20 years of leadership experience as a marketing, operations, and information technology executive in health care, telecommunications, and architecture and planning. She is the team’s chief marketing strategist, webmaster, and creative director.

Throughout her career, Ms. Peri has worked with leading academic medical centers and corporate organizations to advance their business objectives by creating and managing e-commerce initiatives, developing new business processes, improving marketing operations, and facilitating partnerships worldwide.

Prior to joining the Solutions team, Ms. Peri lead an organization pioneering the online commercialization of intellectual property between the top health systems in the United States and around the world.

Ms. Peri earned a Master of Science degree in management of information systems and e-commerce from Nova Southeastern University and a Bachelor of Science degree in international business and French from Florida Atlantic University.

Richard Safeer was instrumental in bringing ‘wellness’ into the managed care industry. As medical director of Employee Health, Wellness and Innovation, at Johns Hopkins HealthCare, he develops and implements institution-wide employee health and wellness programs for the Healthy at Hopkins initiative.

Earlier in his career, Dr. Safeer practiced family medicine in Northern Virginia. He was on the faculty at the George Washington University, where he served as the Director of the Family Medicine Residency program in his last year at the institution. He also served as the Medical Director of an occupational health center, in Baltimore, as well as the wellness director for the parent company’s Mid-Atlantic region.

Through his leadership as medical director of Preventive Medicine, the Baltimore-based CareFirst Blue Cross/Blue Shield (CFBCBS) was among the first health plans to be accredited for wellness by the NCQA.

Dr. Safeer has published several papers on cholesterol and wellness and has spoken nationally on these and related topics. He currently serves on the board of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. He continues to practice medicine in the Johns Hopkins University Lipid Clinic.

Dr. Safeer earned his medical degree at the State University of New York at Buffalo and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in nutrition at Cornell University. He completed his residency in family medicine at the Franklin Square Hospital Center, in Baltimore, and completed a faculty development fellowship at the Virginia Commonwealth University of Medicine, in Richmond, Virginia. Certified in clinical lipidology, Dr. Safeer holds fellowships in both the American Academy of Family Practice and the American College of Preventive Medicine.

Diana Schulin has more than 20 years experience in program development. A former assistant director on the Solutions team, Ms. Schulin currently supports the Solutions team’s technology collaborations as well as the Managing Cancer at Work and DECIDE employee programs.

Ms. Schulin has worked at Johns Hopkins in a variety of roles including director of marketing and communications for the Johns Hopkins University Whiting School of Engineering Programs for Professionals, and as online media strategist for the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing.

A published science writer, she has received a number of professional awards for her work.

Ms. Schulin earned master’s degree in science writing from the Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Maryland.

As part of the Innovations-to-Solutions team, Nicole Sokol has been integral to the development, management, and growth of the Johns Hopkins Point-of-Care Information Technology (POC-IT) Guides and other technology-based clinical decision support tools marketed by the Solutions team. In this role, she also supports the global marketing of the Guides including onsite feasibility testing and training in Zambia, Kuwait, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Ms. Sokol is also a part of the Consulting & Collaborations team, managing Solutions’ relationships with Broadmead and Welltower. Working with the Employer Programs team, she supports the launching of new Johns Hopkins Onsite Employee Health & Wellness Centers.

Ms. Sokol earned a master’s degree in instructional technology from the Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor’s degree from Towson University.

Kumar is the Executive Officer for Population Health Analytics at Johns Hopkins HealthCare Solutions. He is responsible for the day-to-day management of the business line and for the development and execution of its long-term domestic and international commercial strategy, centered around the Johns Hopkins ACG^® System, which transforms healthcare data into actionable information.

Kumar has a strong track record as an innovator in the development and commercialization of health care information technologies. Most recently, he was the chief information officer (CIO) of ShareCare Healthways’ Population Health division, where he enhanced their technology infrastructure and product portfolio and reimagined and built a new program delivery platform that reduced operating expenses. Prior to that, Kumar was the CIO of Humana Inc.’s Behavioral Health division, where his work in systems and business integration, joint venture enablement, portfolio modernization, and process optimization, earned him the company’s President’s award.

Kumar recently completed his Doctorate in Business Administration at the Walden University School of Technology and Business. He has an MBA in entrepreneurship from the University of Louisville, KY, a Bachelor of Engineering from Pune University, and has also completed a Chartered Financial Analyst program.

Stuart Sutley has founded and grown several health care-related companies and brings to the Solutions team many years of executive experience in business development, strategic planning, and sales. Prior to his work in health care, Mr. Sutley had a successful management and sales career at Bank Boston Ventures.

Mr. Sutley is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, having served as an infantry officer in Operation Desert Storm, in Kuwait, and Operation Eastern Exit, in Somalia.

He earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Capital University School of Management and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia.

Danielle Thompson supports Solutions operations, responsible for contract management, financial facilitation, and project research. As part of the Innovations-to-Solutions team, Ms. Thompson has helped develop the Johns Hopkins POC-IT Guides and supports the writing and updating of the Guides as well as coordinates the Guides’ continuing medical education initiative. She also is a part of the Consulting & Collaborations team, managing several industry relationships and related programs.

Prior to coming to Johns Hopkins, Ms. Thompson had a career in social work and psychiatric care, working with students and adults with disabilities and mental illness.

Ms. Thompson earned a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from Towson University.

Jonathan Zenilman is known internationally for his work in infectious disease epidemiology. Prior to coming to Johns Hopkins in 1989, he was a medical epidemiologist at the U.S .Centers for Disease Control (CDC), where he conceived, developed, and implemented the National Gonococcal Isolate Surveillance Program (GISP). GISP operated continuously since 1987, and has been responsible for identifying multiple types of resistant strains before they became large clinical problems.

In Baltimore, his activities have included directing the Baltimore City Health Department Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) program and developing the multi-school Johns Hopkins Center for STI Prevention and Training. Dr. Zenilman was one of the first to apply GIS technology to public health, and his syphilis mapping project was highlighted in Malcolm Gladwell’s “The Tipping Point.” He has been active in health policy, has served as a senior medical advisor for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (DHHS) 1995-1997, and has testified before the United States Congress and the Maryland General Assembly on infectious disease-related issues.

Dr. Zenilman has more than 290 publications and is an active teacher, and has mentored more than 40 fellows and residents during his career.

He earned his medical degree from SUNY-Downstate and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Cornell University. He trained in internal medicine at SUNY-Kings County Hospital and was an infectious diseases Fellow at Emory University. Dr. Zenilman is board certified in internal medicine and infectious diseases, and he is a Fellow of both the American College of Physicians and the Infectious Diseases Society of America.