Denise M. Hynes

Denise M. Hynes, PhD, RN is a Professor at Oregon State University's College of Public Health and Human Sciences, directing the Health Data & Informatics (HDI) Program within the Center for Quantitative Life Sciences. She holds a courtesy faculty appointment at Oregon Health & Science University's School of Nursing. Her research focuses on improving healthcare quality and access, particularly for U.S. Veterans, leveraging informatics and data science to evaluate healthcare interventions. She has led studies on care coordination for chronic conditions, long-term outcomes of COVID-19 infection, and VA healthcare system effectiveness.

Education: BSN from Loyola University Chicago, MPH from Johns Hopkins University, PhD in Health Policy from UNC-Chapel Hill. Postdoctoral training includes the Sheps Center for Health Services Research (UNC) and the ELAM leadership program (Drexel University).

Research interests emphasize innovative approaches to healthcare system improvement, including veteran health outcomes, care coordination strategies, and data-driven solutions to address health inequities. Recent work highlights veteran mental health post-pandemic, financial hardship linked to healthcare utilization, and vaccine efficacy studies.

Key awards include the VA Senior Research Career Scientist Award (2021) and AMIA Fellowship (2021). She leads the VA's Center to Improve Veteran Involvement in Care (CIVIC) and collaborates with interdisciplinary teams on national health initiatives. Current projects include evaluating VA community care programs, long COVID clinic utilization, and disparities in healthcare access.

Her work bridges academic research and real-world healthcare challenges, with a focus on translating evidence into policy and practice. She mentors graduate students in public health and health informatics, emphasizing data literacy and health equity advocacy.