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Aneesa Motala

Program Coordinator and Project Assistant, Southern California Evidence-based Practice Center (SCEPC)
Santa Monica Office

Education

B.A. in sociology, University of California, Santa Barbara

Overview

Aneesa Motala is a project manager at the RAND Corporation, where she also serves as program coordinator for the Southern California-based Practice Center (SCEPC). She supports and manages numerous project teams consisting of literature reviewers, data programmers, principle investigators and co-principle investigators, and statisticians to produce systematic reviews, updates to prior reports and meta-analyses. Motala's background is in mental health, working with marginalized populations, and youth development. Prior to RAND, she spent 4 years in Bulgaria serving as a Peace Corps volunteer for the Youth Development program working with the Roma youth. Motala earned her B.A. in sociology from the University of California in Santa Barbara.

Research Focus

Selected Publications

Hempel S, Shekelle PG, Liu JL, Sherwood Danz M, Foy R, Lim YW, Motala A, Rubenstein LV, "Development of the Quality Improvement Minimum Quality Criteria Set (QI-MQCS): a tool for critical appraisal of quality improvement intervention publications," BMJ Qual Saf, 2015

Shekelle PG, Motala A, Johnsen B, Newberry SJ, "Assessment of a method to detect signals for updating systematic reviews," Syst Rev, 2014

Crandall CJ, Newberry SJ, Diamant A, Lim YW, Gellad WF, Booth MJ, Motala A, Shekelle PG, "Comparative effectiveness of pharmacologic treatments to prevent fractures: an updated systematic review," Ann Intern Med, 2014

de Kleijn MJ, Farmer MM, Booth M, Motala A, Smith A, Sherman S, Assendelft WJ, Shekelle P, "Systematic review of school-based interventions to prevent smoking for girls," Syst Rev, 2014

Rudin RS, Motala A, Goldzweig CL, Shekelle PG, "Usage and effect of health information exchange: a systematic review," Ann Intern Med, 2014

Dalal SR, Shekelle PG, Hempel S, Newberry SJ, Motala A, Shetty KD., "A Pilot Study Using Machine Learning and Domain Knowledge to Facilitate Comparative Effectiveness Review Updating.," Med Decis Making, 33(3):343-55, 2013

Ahmadzai N, Newberry SJ, Maglione MA, Tsertsvadze A, Ansari MT, Hempel S, Motala A, Tsouros S, Schneider Chafen JJ, Shanman R, Moher D, Shekelle PG., "A surveillance system to assess the need for updating systematic reviews," Syst Rev, 2013

Chung M, Newberry SJ, Ansari MT, Yu WW, Wu H, Lee J, Suttorp M, Gaylor JM, Motala A, Moher D, Balk EM, Shekelle PG., "Two methods provide similar signals for the need to update systematic reviews.," J Clin Epidemiol., 65(6):660-8, 2012

Honors & Awards

  • Impact Award, RAND

Publications