For Immediate Release
Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Sept. 26, 2014) – Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Chief Science Officer Bryan Luce, PhD, MBA, who led the development and implementation of PCORI’s comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER) agenda over the past 18 months, today announced his intention to retire within the next six to 12 months. PCORI will initiate a search for his replacement immediately.

“As PCORI’s first Chief Science Officer, Bryan brought his scientific insights and leadership skills to support rapid growth in our scientific staff, and to develop structures and processes for building and managing our research portfolio of patient-centered CER projects,” said PCORI Executive Director Joe Selby, MD, MPH.

“Thanks in large part to Bryan’s leadership, we have a vibrant science department and a large and growing research portfolio that will improve outcomes of importance to patients,” Selby said. “Bryan has also played a key role in articulating and implementing PCORI’s pragmatic clinical studies program. This program of larger projects addresses major stakeholder-driven CER questions with studies conducted in typical care delivery environments and the type of engagement by patients and other stakeholders needed to ensure dissemination and implementation.”

“It’s been a great pleasure to have played a role in PCORI’s growth into one of the nation’s leading research funders,” Luce said. “It’s been particularly gratifying to have been part of a team that not only believes that engaging patients and other stakeholders can transform the way clinical research is done, but is making that approach a reality. I look forward to PCORI continuing to blaze this trail and wish my colleagues great success as they pursue their commitment to ‘research done differently.’”

According to Selby, Luce has agreed to continue in his current position for as long as 12 months while the search for his successor is conducted. If a successor is identified before that point, he may also stay on for the remainder of this period to facilitate and support the transition in leadership. “PCORI owes a debt of gratitude to Bryan for his generous flexibility during this period,” Selby said.

Luce joined PCORI from United BioSource Corporation (UBC), where he served as Senior Vice President for Science and Policy and focused on CER and the development of novel research methods to support a more patient-centered approach. Luce joined UBC in 2004 with the organization’s acquisition of MEDTAP International, a company he founded to provide health economics and outcomes research services for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry.

Luce has devoted his career to developing research methods, policies, and applications to help improve evidence-based information to support health care decision-making. In 2008, he founded the Pragmatic Approaches to Comparative Effectiveness (PACE) Initiative, a collaborative effort to improve the practicality and efficiency of comparative clinical studies to meet demands by payers, clinicians, and policy makers for more “real-world” evidence.

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About PCORI

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) is an independent, non-profit organization authorized by Congress in 2010. Its mission is to fund research that will provide patients, their caregivers and clinicians with the evidence-based information needed to make better-informed healthcare decisions. PCORI is committed to continuously seeking input from a broad range of stakeholders to guide its work.