This interview is with Dr Jun Ma, Editor in Chief of Primary Prevention Insights, and Associate Staff Scientist in the Department of Health Services Research at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation Research Institute in California, USA.

Tom: What would you say is the primary focus of your research effort (and how do you refer to your 'sub-area')?

The overall goal of my research is to contribute evidence on the development, evaluation and dissemination of health care innovation as a means for promoting evidence-based practices by patients, their care providers, and health care systems. Specifically, my research aims to:

1. Study translation of evidence-based medicine to clinical practice;

2. Understand the forces influencing physician and patient behavior;

3. Design interventions to improve health outcomes through prevention.

My research portfolio spans preventive medicine and health services research, with a particular emphasis on the prevention and control of obesity and co-morbidities, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, asthma, and depression. The burden of these chronic diseases is increasing rapidly worldwide. These diseases are largely preventable, non-communicable conditions associated with lifestyle and behaviors. Primary prevention is considered the most cost-effective, affordable and sustainable course of action to cope with the epidemic of chronic diseases.

However, the current health care system remains overly oriented towards acute care, causing many missed opportunities for preventive and chronic care and leaving the majority of chronically ill patients inadequately treated. My research focuses on identifying gaps in preventive and chronic care in primary care settings, evaluating patient, physician, and system factors contributing to those gaps, and designing interventions to ameliorate or eliminate those gaps and thus improve health care.

Tom: What do you consider to be the most significant developments arising from research in your area?

Growing recognition of the importance of primary prevention in reducing global disease burden and improving quality of life is a significant development in and of itself. Primary prevention is a diverse field. Over the past few decades, many advances have been achieved in various related disciplines, including, but not limited to, basic research on gene-behavior-environment interaction; innovative behavioral and social interventions that target the individual, small group, community/institutional, and societal/policy levels; modeling approaches that integrate multiple levels of analysis – from cells to society – of factors that influence health and behaviour; health information technology; and translational research that leads from basic laboratory research to clinical research to routine clinical and community practice.

Tom: What do you consider to be the most significant open questions and research challenges in your area?

The gap between research discovery, program delivery and effective health policy.

Tom: Tell us about your collaborative research. Who else do you directly work with and what are the aims of your collaboration?

Collaborative research is a cornerstone in my field of research. I am privileged to have been working with many scientific and clinical colleagues both within and outside my prime institution who have extensive and diverse expertise in health services and outcomes research, clinical medicine, behavioral science, nutrition science, exercise physiology, epidemiology, and biostatistics.

Tom: Is balancing all these activities challenging? How do you deal with it and what tools do you find useful in doing so?

I am used to setting and balancing priorities on a daily basis. The human factor is all there is that truly helps me deal with daily demands on my time and effort. By that I mean a supportive family, outstanding collaborators, and dedicated staff.

Tom: When did you decide to be primarily involved in the field that you are now in?

I already knew that I wanted to work in the field of primary prevention when I was getting my Doctor of Medicine degree, specialized in Preventive Medicine, at the West China University of Medical Sciences, where I graduated in 1994. My doctoral training from 1996-2002 in Nutritional Sciences and Biometry at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln cemented my aspiration for a research career in primary prevention.

Tom: What resources do you find indispensible for your research work?

Funding, talented collaborators, dedicated staff, and information and technology.

Tom: What do you think about the development of open access publishing and open access development? How has it changed your perspective on research or development practices?

Open access publishing allows the scientific literature to be freely accessible to all internet users throughout the world, transcending conventional journal access boundaries. As with conventional journal publishing, however, the primary concern is quality and first-rate peer review is a cornerstone of maintaining the quality.

Tom: What books do you think should be required reading for researchers working in your area?

Text books are an excellent resource for training purposes but they tend to fall behind the leading-edge research. To keep abreast of the frontlines of scientific research, scientists mostly rely on the latest journal publications and scientific presentations at professional meetings.

Tom: What books are current on your reading list?

I am current reading “Fundamentals of Clinical Trials” by Lawrence Friedman, Curt Furberg, and David DeMets. (Amazon.com)

Tom: Do you teach any courses? Is so, which ones?

In my current position, I do not have teaching responsibilities. However, my department has a fellowship training program and I participate in mentoring of post-doctoral fellows in that program.

Tom: Which historical research figures do you think have most influenced you in how you think about research? Why are they significant?

Bian Que (ca. 500 B.C.), Hua Tuo (ca. 110 - 207), and Li Shizhen (1518 - 1593) were three renowned physicians in Chinese history. I am deeply inspired by their groundbreaking contributions to Chinese medicine. This, plus guidance and encouragements from my father – a retired surgeon in China, accounted for much of my aspiration for a career in medicine.

Though not historical figures, three people have most influenced my thinking about research and my career to date. They are Dr. Nancy Betts, my doctoral advisor at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln and currently Professor and Chair of the Department of Nutritional Sciences at Oklahoma State University; Dr. Randall Stafford, Associate Profession of Medicine at the Stanford Prevention Research Center in Stanford University School of Medicine, who was my previous employer and has a key collaborator on multiple past and current research projects; and Dr. Sandra Wilson, Senior Staff Scientist and Chair of the Department of Health Services Research in Palo Alto Medical Foundation Research Institute, where I am currently employed.

Tom: Which meetings do you attend on a regular basis?

I regularly attend the annual conference jointly sponsored by the Council on Epidemiology and Prevention and the Council on Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism of the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association annual conference.

Tom: If you could change something about how research in your area is conducted, used, perceived, or resourced, what would it be?

Stronger and more frequent collaborations between researchers and practitioners.

My thanks to Dr Ma.

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