Brower, Kaipust, and Wright Join IPH Team
The IPH team added three new members before the end of 2025, including Chris Kaipust, PhD, MPH, director of the newly formed Core for Applied Research and Evaluations (CAREs) unit and Dr. Harold J. Bonstetter Endowed Chair in Preventive Medicine in the School of Medicine; Amy Brower, PhD, population health research scientist and senior scholar and associate dean for research in the School of Medicine; and Jabari Wright, community health navigator.
Amy Brower, PhD
Brower earned her doctoral degree from the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. Early in her career, she contributed to the Human Genome Project at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Joint Genome Institute at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory before leading biotechnology initiatives in Madison, Wisconsin, including projects supporting the International Haplotype Map. She also developed a medical genomics course for Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
A recognized expert in research, public health, genomics and informatics, Brower has advised the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders in Newborns and Children. She has collaborated extensively with researchers, clinicians, public health teams, community-based groups and federal partners to advance the use of genomics in newborn and childhood screening.
From 2008 to 2024, Brower;led the Newborn Screening Translational Research Network, a national program funded by the National Institutes of Health. She has co-edited special issues in newborn screening research and hosts a podcast highlighting advancements in rare disease research.
Brower brings extensive experience in translational research from bench to bedside to community. She has expertise in evidence generation, best-practice evaluation and dissemination and policy implementation.
Christopher Kaipust, PhD, MPH
Dr. Kaipust earned his PhD in epidemiology from the UTHealth School of Public Health, with advanced training in biostatistics and occupational epidemiology, where he was a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) trainee. He also holds a Master of Public Health in epidemiology and biostatistics from UTHealth.
An epidemiologist with more than a decade of experience, Kaipust brings expertise in study design, research methodology, survey development, participatory-based research methods and advanced data analytics. He has led and managed multiple concurrent federally funded research projects, overseeing interdisciplinary teams, ensuring compliance with federal reporting requirements and delivering complex project aims on time and at scale.
Prior to joining Creighton, Kaipust served as director of the SHIELD Research Center at NDRI-USA, Inc., where his work focused on occupational health and safety and health disparities among first responders and other high-risk populations. His scholarship includes a robust portfolio of peer-reviewed publications and national presentations addressing mental health, substance use, health disparities and social determinants of health.
Under Kaipust’s leadership, the CAREs unit will serve as a vital hub for the design and execution of rigorous population health research and evaluation with community-based organizations, health systems and University partners. He will provide essential mixed-methods expertise to Creighton faculty in Omaha and Phoenix, ensuring that population health initiatives are backed by robust methodology and a commitment to health equity.
Kaipust brings a strong commitment to applied, community-engaged research that translates evidence into practice and policy. We look forward to his leadership of the CARE unit and his contributions to advancing preventive medicine, population health and health equity across our academic and community partnerships.
Jabari Wright
Wright joined the IPH in December and serves the community from the Creighton at Highlander offices. As community health navigator, Wright will help community members connect with the community-based organizations that provide the programs and services they and their families need. Health navigator clients will be referred by the programs and services operating in Creighton at Highlander and elsewhere. Wright joins the IPH with a background in community resources and health and wellness coaching.