Dr. Killian is an Associate Professor at the Florida State University (FSU) College of Social Work and has a courtesy appointment as a Professor in the FSU College of Medicine. He is also Research Faculty at Children’s Medical Center of Dallas and their Solid Organ Transplant Program. He serves as a Research Scientist for the Center for the Study and Promotion of Communities, Families and Children at the FSU College of Social Work. His primary research focus surrounds pediatric organ transplant recipients and their families, adherence to medication regimens, and post-transplant health-related quality of life and health outcomes.

AREAS OF FOCUS

• Pediatric Organ Transplant Social Work
• Health Outcomes in Childhood
• Measurement Development
• Quantitative Research Methodology

EDUCATION

• PhD, 2012, Social Work, College of Social Work, Florida State University,
• Graduate Certificate in Educational Measurement and Statistics, 2007, College of Education, Florida State University
• MSW, 2007, College of Social Work, Clinical Track, Florida State University
• BA, 2003, Florida State University, Psychology

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Killian, M. O., Clifford, S., Skivington, G., Lustria, M., & Gupta, D. (2022). Directly observed therapy to promote medication adherence in adolescent heart transplant recipients. Pediatric Transplantation, 00, e14288. doi:10.1111/petr.14288

Killian, M. O., Payrovnaziri, N., He, Z., Gupta, D., & Desai, D. (2021). Machine learning-based prediction of health outcomes in pediatric organ transplantation recipients: A study of single transplant center. JAMIA Open, 4, ooab008, doi: 10.1093/jamiaopen/ooab008

Killian, M. O., Triplett, K., Masood, S., Boehler, J., & Mayersohn, G. S. (2020). Measurement of disease-specific health-related quality of life in pediatric organ transplantation recipients: A systematic review of the PedsQL Transplant Module. Quality of Life Research, 29, 1137-1146. doi: 10.1007/s11136-019-02398-0

Killian, M. O., Schuman, D., Mayersohn, G., & Triplett, K. N. (2018). Psychosocial predictors of medication nonadherence in pediatric organ transplantation: A systematic review. Pediatric Transplantation, 22, e13188. doi: 10.1111/petr.13188.

Killian, M. O., Sanchez, K., Eghaneyan, B. H., Cabassa, L., & Trivedi, M. H. (2020). Profiles of depression in a treatment-seeking Hispanic population: Psychometric properties of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 30, e1851. doi: 10.1002/mpr.1851

SELECTED GRANTS

1R21LM013911-01        National Institutes of Health (NIH)        $395,020 award
National Library of Medicine (NLM), R21
Role: Co-Principal Investigator             2/10/22 – 2/9/24
Co-Principal Investigator Zhe He (Co-PI), FSU College of Communication and Information
Prediction of Health Outcomes and Adverse Events in Pediatric Organ Transplantation in Florida
The objective of this project is to develop predictive models for posttransplant outcomes through advanced machine learning modeling and natural language processing in pediatric organ transplant patients through the collaboration of Florida State University (FSU), the University of Florida (UF), and the University of Miami (UM).

1R21AI148849        National Institutes of Health (NIH)        $441,748 award
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), R21
Role: Principal Investigator                6/8/20 – 5/31/22
Trajectories of Medication Adherence Pediatric Organ Transplantation and their Relationship to Posttransplant Health Outcomes
The study explored growth trajectories of adherence and tested the extent to which individual growth trajectories cluster together in statistically and theoretically meaningful ways, explored factors that predict specific trajectories, and tested the association between classes of growth and posttransplant outcomes.

2UL1TR001427-05        National Institutes of Health (NIH)        $40,834 award
NIH National Center for Translational Science
University of Florida Clinical and Translational Science Institute (UF CTSI) Precision Public Health Award
Public Health Initiative Pilot Funding
Role: Principal Investigator             11/01/19 – 12/31/20
Posttransplant Health Outcomes in Pediatric Organ Transplantation
This CTSI Precision Health Initiative Pilot project explored pediatric posttransplant health outcomes and advanced predictive modeling. We analyzed two datasets with machine learning and deep learning approaches to understand risk factors including demographic, familial, medication adherence, health, and posttransplant characteristics.
Co-Principal Investigator: Zhe He, School of Information, Florida State University

APD - Agency for Persons with Disabilities - State of Florida        $150,000 contract
Role: Principal Investigator                07/30/21 – 6/30/22
Development of a Revised Resource Allocation Model for the Individual Comprehensive Assessment and the Florida Agency for Persons with Disabilities
The goal of this project is to a resource allocation model to predict and anticipate services utilization and costs for individuals with disabilities in Florida based on the newly validated Individual Comprehensive Assessment, administered by the agency to determine the level of need for the individuals.