David E. Bard, PhD, is Professor of Pediatrics at The University of Oklahoma Health Campus, where he serves as Director of the Biomedical and Behavioral Methodology Core (BBMC) and Chief Research Informatics Officer. He is also Director of the Environmental and Biological Research on Adversity and Resiliency (EmBRACER) center.
Dr. Bard's work sits at the intersection of implementation science, advanced quantitative methods, and research informatics. His research focuses on understanding and improving outcomes related to early-life adversity and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), with an emphasis on translating evidence into scalable, real-world service systems.
Across his roles, he leads interdisciplinary efforts that integrate clinical, administrative, and biological data to support learning health systems, improve program effectiveness, and accelerate the adoption of evidence-based interventions in child health and human services settings.
Academic Section(s):
Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics
Clinical/Research Interests:
- Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and early-life adversity
- Implementation and dissemination science
- Home visiting and child welfare systems
- Measurement and psychometrics
- Research informatics and data integration
- Learning health systems and AI-enabled research
Director, EmBRACER Center
Dr. Bard directs the Environmental and Biological Research on Adversity and Resiliency (EmBRACER) interdisciplinary research center focused on understanding how early-life adversity shapes developmental, behavioral, and biological outcomes.
The program integrates multi-level data, including clinical, environmental, and emerging biological measures, to examine mechanisms of risk and resilience and to inform the design of effective interventions. EmBRACER supports a portfolio of federal and state-funded studies, including implementation trials of home visiting and prevention programs, as well as longitudinal research on child and family outcomes.
A central goal of EmBRACER is to bridge discovery and application by generating evidence that can be directly translated into policy and practice, particularly within child welfare and early childhood service systems.
EmBRACER Center
Director, BBMC
As Director of the Biomedical and Behavioral Methodology Core (BBMC), Dr. Bard leads a multidisciplinary team that supports pediatric and child health research across the Department of Pediatrics and its clinical and academic partners. The BBMC brings together expertise in biostatistics, research design, psychometrics, genetics and genomics, implementation science, quality improvement, research informatics, and data management to help investigators develop, execute, and disseminate high-quality research.
The Core provides support across the full research lifecycle, from study conception, grant development, and protocol design to data acquisition, statistical analysis, interpretation, and publication. In addition to methodological consultation, BBMC faculty and staff contribute to research education, faculty development, and workforce training, helping build the next generation of pediatric investigators
Through these efforts, the BBMC strengthens the research enterprise within Pediatrics and helps translate scientific discoveries into improved health outcomes for children, adolescents, and families.
BBMC
Chief Research Informatics Officer(CRIO)
As Chief Research Informatics Officer at The University of Oklahoma Health Campus, Dr. Bard leads the Office of Clinical Research Informatics (OCRI) and oversees the development and governance of the university’s research data infrastructure.
His work focuses on building and maintaining scalable, secure, and interoperable systems that support clinical and translational research, including clinical data warehouses, REDCap, clinical trial management systems, and high-performance computing environments. He has played a key role in advancing data integration strategies using modern standards (e.g., FHIR®) and enabling large-scale collaborative initiatives such as national data networks and AI-enabled research environments.
Through this role, Dr. Bard supports the development of a learning health system by connecting clinical data, research workflows, and advanced analytics to accelerate discovery and improve patient outcomes.
OCRI
Select Publications:
Link to Dr. Bard's current publications
Aversity & Resiliency Research
Skowron EA, Nekkanti AK, Skoranski AM, Scholtes CM, Lyons ER, Mills KL, Bard D, Rock A, Berkman E, Bard E, Funderburk BW. Randomized trial of parent-child interaction therapy improves child-welfare parents' behavior, self-regulation, and self-perceptions. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2024 Feb; 92(2):75-92. doi: 10.1037/ccp0000859. Epub 2023 Dec 7. PubMed PMID: 38059943; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10894622; manuscript-id: NIHMS1966451; NIHMSID: NIHMS1966451.
Yamaoka Y, Bard DE. Positive Parenting Matters in the Face of Early Adversity. Am J Prev Med. 2019 Apr;56(4): 530-539. PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10954083.
Methodological Work
Liao X, Song H, Bard D. Predicting Successful Treatment Completion Using Baseline Case Characteristics through Machine Learning and Ensemble Modeling: A Two-Step Approach. Chinese Political Science Review. 2024/11. doi: 10.1007/s41111-024-00265-z.
Bard DE, Wolraich ML, Neas B, Doffing M, Beck L. The psychometric properties of the Vanderbilt attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder diagnostic parent rating scale in a community population. J Dev Behav Pediatr. 2013 Feb; 34(2):72-82. doi: 10.1097/DBP.0b013e31827a3a22. PubMed PMID: 23363972.
Research Informatics & Learning Healthcare Systems
Anzalone AJ, Patrick S, Abel A, Price B, Reisher E, Ripplinger K, Emmett M, Horswell R, Chu S, Hillegass WB, Sy FS, Melancon B, Bunnell HT, Miele L, Mays MH, Kaholokula JK, Chen ES, Crowley KM, Sarkar IN, Santangelo SL, Rosen CJ, Harper J, Bard D, Beasley W, Hodder SL. Building a collaborative ecosystem across the IDeA-CTR networks in response to a public health emergency. J Clin Transl Sci. 2025;9(1):e168. PubMed Central PMCID: MC12444709.
Wright CV, Goodheart C, Bard D, Bobbitt BL, Butt Z, Lysell K, McKay D, Stephens K. Promoting measurement-based care and quality measure development: The APA mental and behavioral health registry initiative. Psychol Serv. 2020 Aug; 17(3):262-270. doi: 10.1037/ser0000347. Epub 2019 Apr 25. PubMed PMID: 31021113.