Grant development & study design
Support for NIH and foundation proposals, study aims, statistical methods, analytical plans, sample-size considerations, data-management plans, and feasibility assessment.
Experienced academic research support, now based in Ohio
After decades of biomedical research and informatics work at the University of Pittsburgh, UPMC, and Marshall University, I have relocated to northern Ohio and am establishing new collaborations with university faculty, physicians, research centers, and biomedical organizations throughout Ohio and the Pittsburgh region.
My experience includes directing clinical informatics at Marshall University, developing research data infrastructure, supporting funded research, contributing to peer-reviewed publications, and teaching graduate-level research technologies. I offer defined consulting engagements, longer-term collaborations, and practical faculty presentations.
CardiologyClinical pharmacologyGastroenterologyMetabolic diseasePublic health
How I can help your research team
Biostatistics & scientific analysis
SAS, SPSS, R, and Python. Regression, ANOVA, survival analysis, descriptive statistics, predictive modeling, data quality assessment, and publication-ready results and visualizations.
Clinical databases & research data marts
Focused study databases, SQL Server data warehouses, data extraction and transformation, integration of clinical and laboratory data, structured analysis datasets, and repeatable workflows.
Programming & visualization
Python, C#, SQL, custom research applications, automation, machine learning, dashboards, Power BI, and Tableau.
Full-stack research systems for medicine
A full-stack research system connects structured data ingestion, storage, visualization, statistical analysis, and AI-assisted interpretation in one workflow. In medicine, it can combine approved clinical and laboratory data with multimedia sources such as medical images and research documents, helping investigators examine patterns and answer research questions without moving between disconnected tools. Locally operated AI can support this work on institution-controlled systems, subject to appropriate privacy, security, and research approvals.
Faculty presentations and practical workshops
Available for introductory seminars, departmental research talks, and hands-on technical workshops tailored to the experience of the audience.
1. Research data marts: turning existing data into usable research resources
How to build focused research datasets from existing clinical, laboratory, and administrative systems; improve data quality; and prepare data for statistical analysis, dashboards, and publications.
2. Private AI for scientists: using and adapting Ollama
How local language models run on a compatible laptop, workstation, or institutional server, and how researchers can connect them to approved local documents and knowledge collections using retrieval-augmented generation (RAG).
Demonstrations can cover model selection, installation, prompts, Python/C# integration, document retrieval, and limitations of AI-generated scientific output.
3. From research question to publication
Integrating study-specific data marts, SAS/SPSS/R/Python analysis, visualization, and carefully validated AI assistance into a reproducible biomedical research workflow.
4. Applied machine learning in clinical research
Practical examples of classification, prediction, model validation, and how to evaluate whether machine learning adds value beyond conventional statistical approaches.
Privacy and compliance: Ollama is software for running language models locally; it is not itself a secure research environment or a statistical analysis system. Local processing can reduce dependence on external AI providers, but confidentiality depends on model selection, network configuration, access controls, and institutional approval. Protected health information should only be used within an appropriately authorized environment.
Selected experience and publications
- Former Director of Clinical Informatics, Marshall University: designed and managed clinical research data infrastructure and analytical workflows.
- University of Pittsburgh / UPMC: cardiovascular research, clinical pharmacology data center leadership, gastro-nutritional research, and research informatics support.
- University teaching: graduate-level statistics, databases, informatics, machine learning, and data visualization.
Selected publication: Cecchetti AA et al. (2020), Fueling Clinical and Translational Research in Appalachia: Informatics Platform Approach, JMIR Medical Informatics. Read publication.
Additional publication: Bhardwaj N et al. (2020), Analysis of Benzodiazepine Prescription Practices in Elderly Appalachians with Dementia via the Appalachian Informatics Platform, JMIR Medical Informatics. Read publication.
Start with a specific research problem
Whether you need a statistical workup, a grant methodology section, a data mart, an automated analysis, or a faculty workshop, I welcome an initial conversation about scope, deliverables, timing, and available resources.
Alfred A. Cecchetti, PhD, MSc, MSc IS
Independent Biomedical Research & Clinical Informatics Consultant
eResearchPro · Northern Ohio
Serving Cleveland, Columbus, Toledo, Akron, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and remote research teams.
Email: cecchetti@eresearchpro.com