Christina Zigler PhD

Dr. Zigler is an independent investigator dedicated to improving the ways in which we measure patient-centered, meaningful health states. In addition to leading measurement development projects, she also is a methodological co-investigator who supports the application of novel statistical approaches and bespoke measurement strategies across a diverse array of studies and clinical trials. As Co-Director of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Core, part of the NIH Pragmatic Trials Collaboratory, Dr. Zigler supports a number of pragmatic clinical trials, including those funded through the Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) Initiative.

Her methodological expertise includes qualitative techniques (i.e. concept elicitation, cognitive testing), quantitative analysis (i.e., classical test theory, item-response theory), and more innovative methods (i.e. anchoring vignettes, novel approaches to support meaningful change) to ensure measures are centered in the patients’ experiences and ‘fit for purpose’. She works in a variety of populations and contexts, including pediatrics, where patient-reported outcome measures empower children to report directly on their own health status, and rare diseases, where a creative and pragmatic approach to measure development is necessary.