Our Team – CDA Foundation

Homie Razavi

Managing Director

Homie A. Razavi is the founder and managing director at the Center for Disease Analysis Foundation. Since 2008, Homie has led a team of epidemiologists and modellers to quantify the epidemiology of hepatitis, forecast the future disease burden and help countries/territories develop national strategies. His team has been responsible for the development of a number of mathematical models currently used by countries/territories to develop intervention strategies for hepatitis B & C. In addition, his team has developed the Polaris Observatory, which collects and reports HCV, HBV, and HDV epidemiology, and disease burden and treatment rates for all countries/territories. He has a broad background, which includes basic research, commercial development, portfolio management, and decision analysis. He has a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Colorado and an MBA from Washington University.

Ivane Gamkrelidze

Modeling, Manager

Ivane Gamkrelidze is a technical specialist at the Center for Disease Analysis. He works on developing parametric disease progression models, debugging existing models, developing and working with CDA databases, conducting analyses, and writing manuscripts and reports. Prior to joining CDA, Ivane worked as a data and process coordinator at Bright by Three in Colorado, where he developed distribution and tracking systems for the organization’s statewide initiative aimed at encouraging parent-child interaction. Ivane holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics and economics from Amherst College.

Devin Razavi-Shearer

Director

Devin Razavi-Shearer is the is the Director of The Polaris Observatory at the Center for Disease Analysis Foundation (CDAF). As part of this role he continues his work on the Hepatitis B and Delta projects that he has been leading since their inception at the CDAF. He worked with the modeling team at CDAF to develop the PRoGReSs Model, a fully dynamic hepatitis B transmission and disease progression model with immigration and economic impact modules. Devin also led CDAF’s previous work with the Vaccine Impact Modelling Consortium (VIMC) the group that models the impact of vaccination for GAVI. Prior to joining CDAF, Devin was a professional research assistant at the University of Colorado Spine Center. He has extensive experience in managing device clinical trials as well as study design and data analysis of both prospective and retrospective studies. Devin holds an Executive Master of Public Health from the University of Washington. Devin graduated with distinction from the University of Colorado Denver with a Bachelor of Science in Biology. Additionally, Devin holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in Anthropology and Ethnic Studies from the University of Colorado Boulder where he minored in History.

Katie Razavi-Shearer

Epidemiologist, Manager/Supply Chain Manager

As the Supply Chain Manager of the Global Procurement Fund at the Center for Disease Analysis Foundation, Katie helps expand access to hepatitis treatment and diagnostics around the world. She manages the global supply chain and works with international pharmaceutical and diagnostic manufacturers to bring affordable treatment and diagnostics to low and middle income countries/territories including Uzbekistan, Uganda, Fiji, Nepal, Myanmar, India, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Mongolia, Tanzania and Ghana. Her work as Supply Chain Manager of the Global Procurement Fund has been an integral part of the Uzbekistan Hepatitis Elimination Program (UHEP) in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. She attends meetings with international stakeholders, business leaders and community members to devise an effective hepatitis elimination program in Uzbekistan.

As an epidemiologist, Katie forecasts hepatitis B and hepatitis C disease burden in 28 countries/territories and collaborates with international public health experts to devise multiple methods to ease and eradicate disease burden. She also forecasts the economic impact of disease control and disease eradication strategies. Her work informs the development of public health policies around the world and serves as an integral part of the open-access hepatitis disease database known as the Polaris Observatory. Katie holds a Master of Public Health in Leadership and Public Health Practice from the University of Colorado Anschutz.

Julie Barbera

Office Manager

Julie Barbera is the office manager at the Center for Disease Analysis. Julie has over 25 years experience in technical publications, technical illustration, and graphic design. She has worked as a publications specialist for Microsoft Corporation, Data I/O Corporation and The Boeing Company. She also has over 7 years experience in commercial property management.

Alexis Voeller

Epidemiologist

Alexis Voeller is a global health epidemiologist working to outline the hepatitis B and hepatitis C global and country specific burden in order to devise viral elimination strategies. Prior to joining the Center for Disease Analysis Foundation, she was a research technician at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill studying drug development for pulmonary diseases as well as trying to understand the damage caused by using disposable vapes. Alexis holds a Master of Health Science degree in Molecular Microbiology and Immunology and a certificate in Maternal and Child Health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Alexis graduated as a research scholar with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Chemistry along with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She also concentrated her studies in Medical Anthropology and Spanish for the Healthcare Professions during her undergraduate career.

Samantha Hall

Epidemiologist

Samantha is a global health epidemiologist who collaborates with experts in global public health to estimate the burden and devise elimination strategies for hepatitis B and hepatitis C. Additionally, she develops and analyzes statistical models to delve deeper into the data available at CDA. Before joining CDA, Samantha worked as a research assistant at the San Diego State Disease Modeling Lab, focusing on modeling the effect of mobility across a region on the spread of coronavirus. Samantha holds a Master of Science degree in Biostatistics with an emphasis on public health research from San Diego State University. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics from Cal State Fullerton with a concentration in Statistics and Probability.

Carolyn Wallace

Epidemiologist

Carolyn is a global health epidemiologist who focuses on the disease burden and economic impact of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). She evaluates cost-effective strategies to mitigate disease burden and collaborates with international public health experts to facilitate implementation. Her epidemiologic research has spanned many areas including inflammation, cardiovascular disease, infectious disease, metabolic disorders, and women’s health. She also has extensive experience in pharmaceutical forecasting for new product development and lifecycle management of launched products. Carolyn holds a Master of Public Health degree in Health Management and Policy from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Georgia; she is also a licensed nurse and educator.

Shakhlo Sadirova

MD, PhD; Director of the Representative Office of the CDA Foundation in Uzbekistan; Project Lead, Uzbekistan Research Institute of Virology

Dr. Shakhlo Sadirova currently is working as project manager for the pilot project “Elimination of viral hepatitis B and C in Tashkent, Uzbekistan” funded by the CDA Foundation (CDAF). Within this project she is responsible for management and coordination of all project stakeholders.

She received her medical degree from Tashkent Pediatric Medical Institute, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and completed a residency program in Otolaryngology at Tashkent Pediatric Medical Institute. Shakhlo also completed Postgraduate education for Infectious diseases through the program at the Tashkent Institute.

Shakhlo has over 7 years of experience in marketing in the pharmaceutical industry, where she was most recently responsible for developing marketing plans, analysis of market and competitors, segmentation and positioning of medications, preparation of advertising-information materials, and key messaging presentations.

She has experience in organizing training programs for physicians, participation in congresses, developing and maintaining the relations with OL and KOL, as well as planning and control of budgets.

In 2020 Shakhlo received her PhD degree in Medicine from the Higher Attestation Commission of Uzbekistan.

She is Director of the Representative Office of the CDA Foundation in Uzbekistan. In this position, Shakhlo participates in the creation of national protocols and guidelines in Uzbekistan, advises neighboring countries in establishing viral hepatitis screening and treatment protocols, conducts negotiations, and business correspondence with partners, government agencies, ministries, and other organizations.