1979 Bachelor of Arts in Economics, magna cum laude, Western Reserve College, Cleveland, Ohio
1983 Doctor of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio
Methodologies for Technology Assessment
Clinical Technology Assessment
Quality Improvement and Patient Safety
Health Geography
Methodologies for Technology Assessment
Clinical trials
Assessment of comorbidity
Meta-analytic methods for analysis of non-traditional data (diagnostic assessment data, non-randomized data, uncontrolled data)
Assessing patients' preferences - novel assessment instruments
Decision analysis
Clinical Technology Assessment
Hyperactive airways - asthma and cough
Common problems in Primary Care
Diagnostic tests
Quality Improvement and Patient Safety
Integrating Behavioral Health and Primary Care Services
Diabetes
Epidemiology and reporting of error
1986-89 Clinical Instructor and Physician Specialist, Department of Medicine, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, California
1989-1994 Assistant Professor of Medicine, Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, New Hampshire
1994-1999 Associate Professor of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
1999-present Henry and Carleen Tufo Professor of Medicine and Director of General Internal Medicine, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, Vermont
Integrating Behavioral Health and Primary Care. Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (Project number PCS-1409-24372, Littenberg as PI). 4/1/16-9/30/21. $18,577,042 total. This project is a cluster-randomized clinic-level intervention to answer the question: Does increased integration of evidence-supported behavioral health and primary care services, compared to simple co-location of providers, improve outcomes? 40 primary care practices around the country will either receive routine co-location of behavioral services or an intensive intervention to enhance integration of behavioral and medical services at all levels of the clinic’s operations.
A Curriculum for Clinical Research Training in Vermont. National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) (Project number 2K30 RR022260, Littenberg as Program Director). 6/1/05-5/30/13, $873,762. This grant supports developing a curriculum in clinical research at the University of Vermont to effectively and efficiently transform clinicians and other young academics into successful independent clinical investigators.
Barriers to Optimum Diabetes Outcomes. National Institutes of Health (NIDDK) (Project number K24 DK068380, Littenberg as PI). 7/1/04-6/30/09 $789,660. This career development award supports the investigation of barriers to optimum care for patients with diabetes and the mentoring of research fellows and other junior colleagues.
Integrating pharmaceutical and laboratory data to improve decision support in diabetes. (Project number Vermont EPSCoR SBIR Phase 0, Littenberg as PI). 10/1/08-6/1/09. $11,934 total. The goal of this project was to extend the Vermedx® Diabetes Information System by incorporating medication use data to improve the salience and precision of the decision support advice. The deliverables will include: the specification of a working interface for prescription data transfer to Vermedx, and a clinical logic scheme for incorporating the medication data into Vermedx reports.
Primary Care Faculty Development via Distance Learning. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) (Project number D54 HP00050, Littenberg as Program Director). 9/1/03 - 8/31/07. $565,977 total. This project applied distance learning technology to the development of an integrated system of skills development in research methods through formal courses, environmental supports via semi-formal group exercises, and individualized mentoring. The initial class of distance learners was drawn from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee and the University of Puerto Rico in San Juan.
Vermont Diabetes Information System. National Institutes of Health (NIDDK) (Project number R01 DK61167, Littenberg as PI). 9/1/03-8/31/07 $2,031,287. The project implemented and evaluated a regional system to support evidence-based disease management by primary care providers, their practices, and their patients in the community. The primary study question was: "What is the effect of a Diabetes Information System (including education, feedback and decision support) upon disease control measured by glycated hemoglobin?" Secondary questions addressed the effect of the system upon adherence to guideline recommendation, blood pressure, patient satisfaction, medication use, costs, and functional status. Evaluation included a prospective randomized trial in 7,400 patients across the region.
1975-1979 Western Reserve College Presidential Scholarship
1986 Howard S. Levine, M.D. Science Award for research, University of Connecticut Affiliated Residency Programs
1986 Ludwig J. Pyrtek, M.D. Award for research, Hartford Hospital
1989 Fellow of the American College of Physicians
1989 Society of General Internal Medicine Associates Member Prize for outstanding scientific presentation
1991-1994 American College of Physicians George Morris Piersol Teaching and Research Scholarship
1998 Quality Care Research Award, The Academic Medicine and Managed Care Forum
2008-09 University Scholar, University of Vermont
For a complete listing of Dr. Littenberg's publications, visit PubMed.
Chopan M, Littenberg B. The Association of Hot Red Chili Pepper Consumption and Mortality: A Large Population-Based Cohort Study. PLoS ONE 2017; 12(1):e0169876 doi:10.1371/ journal.pone.0169876.
Kelley KS, Littenberg B. Inter-rater reliability for scoring children’s dichotic words test responses. Int J Audiology 2015 Jun 22:1-7. PMID: 26097981.
Kessler R, Auxier A, Hitt J, Macchi CR, Mullin D, van Eeghen C, Littenberg B. Development and Validation of a Measure of Primary Care Behavioral Health Integration. Families, Systems, and Health 2016; 34:342-56. doi:10.1037/fsh0000227.
Littenberg B, Bonnell LN, LeBruin AS, Lubetkin DA, Troy AR, Zia A. The Relationship Between Access to Natural Environmental Amenities and Obesity. Cureus. 2015 Nov 11;7(11):e377. doi: 0.7759/cureus.377. PMID: 26719821.
Littenberg B, Corwin H, Gettinger A, Leichter J, AuBuchon JP. A practice guideline and decision aide for blood transfusion. Immunohematology 1995;11:88-94.
Littenberg B, Garber AM, Sox HC. Screening for hypertension. Annals of Internal Medicine 1990; 112:192-202. Republished in: Eddy DM, editor. Common Screening Tests. American College of Physicians, Philadelphia, 1991. Selected as part of the American College of Physicians Health Library.
Littenberg B, Gluck EH. A controlled trial of methylprednisolone in the emergency treatment of acute asthma. New England Journal of Medicine 1986;314:150-152.
Littenberg B, MacLean CD, Zygarowski K, Drapola B, Duncan J, Frank C. The Vermedx Diabetes Information System Reduces health Care Utilization. Am J Managed Care 2009 15:166-170.
Littenberg B, MacLean CD. Passive consent for clinical research in the age of HIPAA. J Gen Intern Med 2006; 21(3):207-11.
Littenberg B, Moses LE. Estimating diagnostic accuracy from multiple conflicting reports: A new meta-analytic method. Medical Decision Making 1993;13:313-321.
Littenberg B. Aminophylline treatment in severe, acute asthma: A meta-analysis. Journal of the American Medical Association 1988; 259:1685-1689.
Lubetkin D, Littenberg B. Availability, Strengths and Limitations of US State Driver’s License Data for Obesity Research. Cureus 2016 8(3): e518. doi:10.7759/cureus.518.
Macchi CR, Kessler R, Auxier A, Hitt J, Mullin D, van Eeghen C, Littenberg B. The Practice Integration Profile: Introduction to Rationale and Development Method Research. Families, Systems, and Health 2016; 34:334-41. doi: 10.1037/fsh0000235.
Moses LE, Shapiro D, Littenberg B. Combining independent studies of a diagnostic test into a summary ROC curve: Data-analytic approaches and some additional considerations. Stat Med 1993;12:1293-1316.
Otten J, Harvey-Berino J, Jones K, Littenberg B. Effects of a Television Viewing Reduction on Energy Intake and Expenditure in Overweight and Obese Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Arch Intern Med 2009; 169(22):2109-2115.
Sox HC, Littenberg B, Garber AM. The resting ECG as a screening test: A clinical analysis. Annals of Internal Medicine 1989; 111:489-502. Republished in: Eddy DM, editor. Common Screening Tests. American College of Physicians, Philadelphia, 1991.
Stewart EH, Davis B, Clemans-Taylor BL, Littenberg B, Estrada CA, Centor RM. Rapid Antigen Group A Streptococcus Test to Diagnose Pharyngitis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. PLoS ONE 2014; 9(11): e111727.
Tarleton EK, Littenberg B. Magnesium Intake and Depression in US Adults. J Am Board Family Med 2015; 28:249–56.
Ubags NDJ, Stapleton RD, Vernooy JHJ, Burg E, Bement J, Hayes CM, Zabeau L, Tavernier J, Poynter ME, Parsons PE, Dixon AE, Wargo MJ, Littenberg B, Wouters EFM, Suratt BT. Hyperleptinemia is associated with impaired pulmonary host defense. JCI Insight 2016;1(8):e82101. doi:10.1172/jci.insight.82101.
van Eeghen C, Littenberg B, Holman M, Kessler R. Integrating Behavioral Health in Primary Care Using Lean Workflow Analysis: Case Study. Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine 2016; 29:385-93.