Caitlin O'Connell headshot

Caitlin O'Connell, MPH

Pronunciation: KATE-lin oh-CONN-uhl
Research Consultant
caitlin.oconnell@osumc.edu

Caitlin is a Research Consultant at the Ohio Colleges of Medicine Government Resource Center (GRC). She specializes in healthcare quality metric construction and Medicaid claims data. Caitlin earned her Master’s in Public Health from Washington University in St. Louis with a specialization in Epidemiology and Biostatistics.

GRC Projects

At GRC, Caitlin has played a key role in designing and implementing an internal validation process for HEDIS-certified and other health quality measures derived from claims data to support the Data Analytics and State Directed Payments projects. She has validated numerous quality measures related to preterm birth, prenatal and postpartum care, and follow-up care after an ED visit or hospitalization. For the SUD 1115 Evaluation project, she validated measure code to ensure accuracy and reproducibility and implemented changes to improve efficiency and maintain consistency across the evaluation measures.

Prior to GRC

Prior to joining GRC, Caitlin worked as a Research Analyst at the National Cancer Institute. She performed epidemiological research focused on the interplay between diet, metabolism, the microbiome and their effects on cancer risks. During her graduate work, she worked with a cancer epidemiologist studying how access to care influences outcomes in pediatric and adolescent cancer patients. She contributed to the development of a local surveillance and rapid response system for addressing COVID-19 and other health misinformation with the Health Communication Research Laboratory at Washington University in St. Louis. Prior to her career pivot into public health research, she worked at PPG Industries as a chemical engineer.

Selected Publications:

  • O'Connell CP, Berndt SI, Chudy-Onwugaje K, et al. Association of alcohol intake over the lifetime with colorectal adenoma and colorectal cancer risk in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial. Cancer. 2026;132(3):e70201. doi:10.1002/cncr.70201 
  • O'Connell CP, Burns KF, Hong HG, et al. Title: Ultra-processed food intake and postmenopausal breast cancer risk in the NIH-AARP diet and health study. J Natl Cancer Inst. Published online April 21, 2026. doi:10.1093/jnci/djag124
  • O'Connell CP, Hong HG, Abar L, et al. Ultraprocessed food intake and risk of ovarian and endometrial cancer in the NIH-AARP cohort: a prospective cohort analysis. Am J Clin Nutr. 2025;122(2):513-522. doi:10.1016/j.ajcnut.2025.05.024 
  • Loftfield E, Zhang P, O'Connell CP, et al. Performance of a Food Frequency Questionnaire for Estimating Ultraprocessed Food Intake According to the Nova Classification System in the United States NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study. J Nutr. 2025;155(7):2376-2384. doi:10.1016/j.tjnut.2025.04.029 
  • Loftfield E, O'Connell CP, Abnet CC, et al. Multivitamin Use and Mortality Risk in 3 Prospective US Cohorts. JAMA Netw Open. 2024;7(6):e2418729. Published 2024 Jun 3. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.18729 
  • O'Connell CP, Johnson KJ, Brown DS. Pediatric cancer patient emergency department visits and disposition by sociodemographic and economic characteristics. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2023;70(11):e30636. doi:10.1002/pbc.30636