Salva Balbale

Dr. Salva Balbale is an Assistant Professor at Northwestern University with appointments in the Department of Medicine (Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology), Center for Health Services and Outcomes Research, and Northwestern Quality Improvement, Research, & Education in Surgery (NQUIRES). She specializes in health services research, patient safety, and outcomes research with a focus on improving care for patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and other chronic conditions.

Her research seeks to implement innovative, patient-centered strategies to enhance healthcare delivery safety and coordination. This includes a Crohn's and Colitis Foundation-funded project to develop a user-centered opioid safety screening tool for young adults with IBD. She also co-directs the Community Health Research concentration in Northwestern's Masters of Public Health program and teaches in the Masters of Health Services and Outcomes Research program.

Dr. Balbale's recent publications span implementation science in surgical care, opioid use disorder interventions, and chronic disease management. Notable work includes pragmatic implementation frameworks for opioid safety protocols, Camp Lejeune water contamination analysis, and ERAS protocol adoption in pediatric surgery. These studies frequently employ mixed-method approaches to bridge research and practice.

Scientific Awards:

• Career Development Award, Crohn's and Colitis Foundation
• Searle Fellowship, Searle Center for Advancing Learning and Teaching

Dr. Balbale's educational background includes an MS from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2011), PhD from Northwestern University (2019), and postdoctoral training at Northwestern's Gastroenterology division (2020). She is affiliated with the Institute for Public Health and Medicine (IPHAM) and AcademyHealth professional society.