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Jun Ma, M.D., Ph.D.

Associate Scientist/Invstigator, Health Services Research

Jun Ma, M.D., Ph.D., is an associate investigator in the Department of Health Services Research at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation Research Institute. From 2003 to 2006 she was research director of the Program on Prevention Outcomes and Practices at Stanford University School of Medicine's Prevention Research Center. Previously, Dr. Ma was a research assistant and lecturer at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, in the Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences, which is also where she was awarded her doctorate in Nutrition Sciences and Biometry. She received her medical degree at the West China University of Medical Sciences, Chengdu, P.R. China, where she specialized in preventive medicine.

She has substantial scientific and administrative leadership experience in conducting a variety of research projects, including several federally funded, multi-year randomized controlled clinical trials of behavioral interventions targeting patients with high-risk, high-cost chronic diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and asthma. She also has extensive experience in analyzing and reporting on nationally representative survey datasets, such as National Ambulatory Care Surveys and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Dr. Ma serves as editor-in-chief of Primary Preventive Insights, a new peer-reviewed open-access journal that covers all aspects of primary prevention of disease and mental disorders.

Research Interests

Dr. Ma currently leads an active and diverse research program focusing on:

Innovative interventions for the prevention and control of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, asthma and related conditions
New models of health care delivery for chronic disease prevention and management in primary care settings
National patterns of outpatient quality of care
Disparities in health and health care

Publications

Published over 30 peer-reviewed, original research articles in reputable medical and social science journals.
Contributed to two edited books – "Sports Supplements" (2001) and "Using Technology to Support Evidence-Based Behavioral Health Practices: A Clinician's Guide" (2009).