About UHC Applied Analytics & Research
Goals
We are grounded in mission, vision and values to advance the following goals:
- Improve the health and well-being of the U-M community
- Optimize the student experience of healthcare (e.g., access, equity)
- Partner across the institution to create actionable insights and best practices
- Increase data interoperability and exchange
- Increase insights into both timeless and emerging health concerns for college students
- Improve analytic capacity at both the individual and population level
Population Focus:
College students, including undergraduate, graduate and professional students.
Selected Focus Areas and Projects:
Student Engagement
Students engage in Health and Wellness Applied Research through paid and volunteer opportunities that build practical research skills. Students may support public health monitoring and response, research study planning, data collection, analysis, report writing, dissemination, and other aspects of the research process. We also collaborate with student advisory groups to ensure student perspectives inform our research practices and shape the development of future studies.
Recent Studies & Publications
2024
- Respiratory human adenovirus outbreak captured in wastewater surveillance
- This study quantified human adenovirus in wastewater compared to cases from an outbreak investigation in 2022.
- This study quantified human adenovirus in wastewater compared to cases from an outbreak investigation in 2022.
2025
- College student sports betting experiences and behaviors at a U.S. public university
- The primary goal of this study was to evaluate college student sports gambling experiences and behaviors through a college student convenience sample recruited at an on-campus health service in fall 2024.
- Containment of a Multi-index B.1.1.7 Outbreak on a University Campus Through a Genomically Informed Public Health Response
- This study details the public health response to an outbreak of B.1.1.7 on a college campus.
- Management of College Student Mental Health Emergencies
- This review included published literature on common presentations, unique challenges, existing models of care, and best practices regarding college student psychiatric emergencies.
- Arts & Loneliness Survey
- From January-May 2025, around 1,400 U-M students completed a short survey that included demographic questions, self-reported measures of loneliness, and inquiries about artistic engagement. These findings are informing efforts across campus, including the development of a new social prescribing program in the arts in collaboration with the Arts Initiative, the Well-being Collective, and other campus partners.
- From January-May 2025, around 1,400 U-M students completed a short survey that included demographic questions, self-reported measures of loneliness, and inquiries about artistic engagement. These findings are informing efforts across campus, including the development of a new social prescribing program in the arts in collaboration with the Arts Initiative, the Well-being Collective, and other campus partners.
2026
- Containment of a Multi-index B.1.1.7 Outbreak on a University Campus Through a Genomically Informed Public Health Response
- This study details the public health response to an outbreak of B.1.1.7 on a college campus.
- An analysis of emergency department visits for injuries among students at a large U.S. public university
- In this study, we analyzed narrative details of emergency department encounters for injuries by college students to identify factors that can inform injury prevention efforts.
- Problem sports betting/gambling in U.S. undergraduate students at a large public university
- To better understand problem gambling in college students, we developed a custom module for a college health survey that used a validated screening tool to estimate the prevalence of potential problem gambling among students who reported ever sports betting/gambling.
- Nature & Loneliness Survey
- Between January-May 2026, over 1,130 U-M students and community members completed a short survey about engagement in nature and nature-based activities, as well as self-reported measures of loneliness. These findings add to the informing efforts for social prescribing across campus and was completed in collaboration with NatureRx, Matthaei Botanical Gardens & Nichols Arboretum, University Health and Counseling and the Applied Public Health Team
- Factors Associated with Greater Engagement With Arts Prescriptions for Lonely College Students Presenting to the College Counseling Center for a First Appointment (planned)
- In this pilot study, we aim to assess factors that impact arts prescribing among students at U-M seeking care at CAPS for their first appointment. This study will be active starting in Fall of 2026.
- In this pilot study, we aim to assess factors that impact arts prescribing among students at U-M seeking care at CAPS for their first appointment. This study will be active starting in Fall of 2026.
Meet Our Team
Principal Investigators (PIs):
Lindsey Mortenson, MD, MS
Susan Ernst, MD
Rob Ernst, MD
Chris Frank, MD, PhD
JoLynn Montgomery, PhD, MPH
Applied Public Health Team:
Elizabeth Edwards, MPH
Jessica Cannon
Libby McEvoy, MPH
Harika Mekala, MS