Managers 

Benjamin M. Algeo – Corporate Controller

As Corporate Controller, Ben’s responsibilities include financial reporting, oversight of the accounting and finance group, and liaison with the company’s auditors, bankers, and statutory authorities. He plays a key leadership role in policy and systems development, internal controls, and strategic planning. Ben has nearly 15 years of accounting experience across various industries. Prior to joining QualityMetric, he served as Corporate Accounting Manager at GTECH Corporation and has also held accounting analyst and supervisory positions at Davol, Inc. and Tyco Adhesives LP. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and is a licensed CPA in the state of Rhode Island. Ben holds a BS from the United States Coast Guard Academy and an MBA from Bryant University.

Martha Bayliss, MSc – Vice President, Operations and Senior Scientist

Martha has 20 years of experience working with patient-reported outcomes (PROs), including the development, validation, and application of numerous generic and disease-specific health surveys. She was a founding member of the QualityMetric measurement science team in 1997. Martha applies qualitative and quantitative measurement methods in the development, customization, and implementation of PROs for use in clinical trials, program evaluation studies, promotional initiatives, and for many other purposes across the health care spectrum. She frequently consults with pharmaceutical companies on PRO strategy, applying state-of-the art methods required by regulatory agencies for clinical trial endpoints in early and late-phase studies. Martha holds a BA from Amherst College and an MSc from Harvard University School of Public Health.

Mark Bean – Vice President, Global Initiatives and Government Solutions

As Vice President, Global Initiatives and Government Solutions, Mark is responsible for government business development opportunities in the U.S., working domestically with Ingenix’s Government Solutions and international business development teams. Prior to joining QualityMetric, Mark enjoyed a full 34-year career with the United States Marine Corps, where he served in all three active duty Marine Divisions and seven of the nine Marine Infantry Regiments, earning advancement from Private to Colonel. Most recently, Mark served as Senior Advisor for the Afghan Ministry of Defense in Kabul, Afghanistan, where he was responsible for teaching, training, and coaching senior Afghan officials in developing top-level strategy, policy, and plans. Prior to this post, he advised the Afghan General Staff in all aspects of operational level planning. Before his work in Afghanistan, Mark was Senior Analyst with NORAD-US Northern Command’s Interagency Coordination Directorate and Director of Maneuver, Multi-National Force Iraq.

In addition to his extensive career as a Marine, Mark has completed a stellar education. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from the University of Washington and also holds three master’s degrees. These include a Master of Arts Degree in Business Management from Webster University, Master of Science Degree in Strategic Studies from Marine Corps University, and Master of Science Degree in National Strategy from National Defense University. Mark is also currently working on his PhD in Organizational Management, which he expects to earn in 2012.

Jakob Bue Bjørner, MD, PhD – Chief Science Officer

Dr.  Bjørner specializes in applying modern psychometric theory to the measurement of health outcomes. Jakob has been an International Quality of Life Assessment (IQOLA) project collaborator of QualityMetric co-founder John E. Ware, Jr., PhD for over ten years and was a consultant to QualityMetric before joining the company in 2003. He was formerly a professor at the Danish National Institute of Occupational Health, and co-developed QualityMetric's Dynamic Health Assessment (DYNHA^®) system and numerous computerized adaptive health assessments of generic and disease-specific health outcomes. An MD by training, Jakob also has a PhD in medical sociology from the University of Copenhagen. In addition, he is an award recipient for his research on quality of life and HIV.

Bob Frick – Vice President, Technology 

Bob has over 20 years of experience in software technology and engineering management, including 14 years of medical device development with Collins Medical. His most recent experience includes Director of Product Development for GE, Vice President of Engineering at Intellution, and Director of Research and Development at Federal Products. Bob began his career as an engineer with Northrop, and received his BS in Computer Engineering from Boston University.

Gus Gardner – President and Chief Operating Officer

Gus has over 21 years of senior management experience across several sectors of healthcare. As President and COO, Gus is tasked with the day-to-day operations of QualityMetric’s commercial business unit, and chartered with translating the company’s visions and strategies into viable business tactics, effective operational processes, and scalable methods. All Sales, Marketing, Commercial Science, and Technology functions report to Gus.

His expertise includes the diagnosis and treatment of management and operational processes/systems in order to streamline communications and enhance efficiency. Gus also brings integration management, merger/acquisition experience, sales channel development, and new product introduction experience to his roles of President and COO. He joined QualityMetric from Clinical Data, Inc., where he was first Senior Vice President and COO, and then President of the U.S. In-vitro Diagnostics Division.

Prior to working at Clinical Data, Inc., Gus was President of POLESTAR Labs, a private company with clinical lab operations in 18 states. He has also served as Vice President-Western Operations for Baxter Perfusion Services, Baxter International, Inc., where he managed cardiovascular services businesses with 500+ employees in 28 states. In addition, he was previously Senior Division President of PSICOR, Inc. (acquired by Baxter in 1994). Gus began his career as an officer in the United States Marine Corps.

Shelley Grace – Vice President, Business Development

Shelley has more than 25 years of experience in sales, business development, and senior leadership with extensive experience in health care technology. Her expertise includes strategic and tactical market approach planning and business development. She has helped a number of organizations successfully launch new health care technology products and services, as well as significantly expand existing markets.

In her most recent experience, Shelley was responsible for developing and expanding Life Science customer relationships for ThreeWire, a company that provides enrollment acceleration and management to sponsors of clinical trials. Prior to joining ThreeWire, Shelley was Vice President of Sales for Nightingale, an international electronic medical records company where she led the effort to bring the product to the U.S. market, and Vice President of Pharmacy Services for Achieve Healthcare Technologies. She was also President of SyG Global consulting. Shelley received her BA in Chinese Language from the University of Minnesota and her MBA from the University of St. Thomas.

Mark Kosinski, MA – Vice President and Senior Scientist

Mark has over 20 years of experience in developing and analyzing patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures. He was involved with the development and validation of the SF-36^®, SF-12^® and the SF-8™ health surveys, the Asthma Control Test™ (ACT)™, the Headache Impact Test™ (HIT-6™), other industry-sponsored PRO measures, as well as the development and analysis of item banks for computerized adaptive health assessments. Mark has co-authored more than 160 peer-reviewed journal articles related to the development and analysis of PRO measures used in clinical research, randomized controlled trials, and population health initiatives. He has also contributed to the writing of ten manuals and interpretation guides for various PRO measures including the SF-36, SF-12, and SF-8. Over the past 15 years, he has been actively involved in working with the pharmaceutical industry in the analysis of clinical trial data with PRO measures as secondary indicators of treatment efficacy. Mark received his MA in Psychology from Bridgewater State University.

Mark E. Maruish, PhD – Director, Commercial Publishing

Dr. Maruish has more than 25 years of experience with the development and implementation of psychological assessments and health outcomes surveys, as well as consultation and editorial services for psychological test publishers and book publishers. Mark also has several years of experience in providing psychological assessment and treatment services to mental health and medical patients. Prior to joining QualityMetric in 2004, he served as the Director of Survey Research at Ingenix Pharmaceutical Services, where he was responsible for surveys of patient populations pertaining to their well-being, symptoms, quality of life, and functioning. Before that, he served as the Director of Quality Improvement at Optum Behavioral Health. Mark received his PhD in Clinical Psychology from Alliant International University in San Diego and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Clinical Neuropsychology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. He is a licensed clinical psychologist, a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, and a Diplomate of the American Board of Assessment Psychology.

James O'Connor – Director, Marketing and Communications

Jim joined QualityMetric with over 14 years of marketing and communications experience. A skilled brand manager and strategic planner, he has a strong record of helping organizations communicate better with their customers, employees, and other key constituencies. Previously, Jim was the Assistant Vice President of Corporate Communications at Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island. Before that, he served as Vice President of Strategy and Planning at Trainor Advertising and Public Relations. Jim received his BA in American Studies from Providence College and is a member of the Public Relations Society of America and the American Marketing Association.

Ralph Perfetto, Jr., PhD – Vice President, Provider Solutions

Dr. Perfetto is a results-driven executive with a strong entrepreneurial background that includes over 20 years of experience building technology-based health care information companies. Ralph rejoins QualityMetric after co-founding the company in 1997. Prior to QualityMetric, he was co-founder and Chief Operating Officer for Response Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of software and hardware solutions used to measure health risks and provide immediate feedback reports to patients and employees engaged in wellness initiatives. At Response Technologies, Ralph was responsible for directing business development, product development, and forging partnerships with leading pharmaceutical and health care companies. Under his direction, the company earned a position on Inc. Magazine’s list of the “Top 500 Fastest Growing Private Companies” for two consecutive years.

Ralph’s primary expertise is creating innovative solutions for measuring the effectiveness of care, health plan performance, and patient outcomes. His knowledge also extends to managed care, risk analysis, and product adoption. Ralph has previously worked as a marketing professor at Providence College and has had work published in several peer-reviewed marketing journals. He holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering, MBA, and PhD in Business Administration, all from the University of Rhode Island.

Michelle K. White, PhD – Director and Scientist

As Director and Scientist, Dr. White manages a team of scientists and analysts in developing, analyzing, and interpreting patient-reported outcomes (PRO) across a broad range of therapeutic areas. She has conducted more than a dozen qualitative studies, three dozen quantitative studies, and has co-authored several instrument manuals. Prior to joining QualityMetric in 2008, Michelle spent a decade conducting addiction treatment outcome studies and implementing surveys for addiction and mental health treatment. In addition to publishing work related to multiple NIDA/NIH addiction grants, she oversaw the implementation of the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs (GAIN) bio-psychosocial assessment in 14 states and with dozens of individual treatment providers, and provided training and support for eight Center for Substance Abuse Treatment multi-site grant programs. Specifically, Michelle provided research training on selecting and designing assessment programs and quality assurance of assessment data. She also provided clinical training on using assessment data for diagnoses, treatment placement decisions, and treatment planning. Prior to this, she worked with individuals with behavioral disorders in residential treatment and detention centers, as well as other behavioral health clinical settings. Michelle has also held adjunct positions at Illinois State University and the University of Illinois, where she received her MS and PhD in Sociology, respectively.