Faculty and Staff Profile

Smith Heavner, PhD, RN, FCCM

Educational Background

2021 Clemson University - Doctor of Philosophy, Applied Health Research and Evaluation

2019 Clemson University - Master of Science, Applied Health Research and Evaluation 2017 Clemson University - Graduate Certificate, Clinical and Translational Science

2014 Clemson University - Bachelor of Science in Nursing
2012 Tri-County Technical College - Associate in Applied Science, Nursing 2010 Tri-County Technical College - Diploma, Practical Nursing

Courses Taught

Health 8420 - Applied Evaluation Methods in Health
Health 8410 - Foundations of Evaluation in Health Research

Profile

Dr. Smith Heavner, PhD, RN, FCCM (he/they) is adjunct faculty in the Department of Public Health Sciences at Clemson University. Dr. Heavner has guided the design and execution of patient focused projects, serving as PI, co-investigator, and key personnel on over $35 million in awarded research funding. Dr. Heavner currently serves as Scientific Director for Real-World Evidence at the Critical Path Institute, a private-public partnership with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Leveraging expertise as a critical care nurse, Dr. Heavner leads domestic and international efforts to extract, harmonize, and analyze electronic health record (EHR) data. In addition to teaching at Clemson University, he holds adjunct faculty appointments in the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville Department of Biomedical Sciences and the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law. He received the Centennial Alumni Award from Clemson University in 2024 and was inducted as a Fellow in the American College of Critical Care Medicine in 2025.

Research Interests

Dr. Heavner is a mixed-methods evaluation scientist with expertise in dissemination and implementation science, clinical and biomedical informatics, causal inference, real-world data, real-world evidence, and regulatory science. Dr. Heavner’s research interests include drug repurposing, drug development, critical care, and health disparities.

Research Publications

Howard, Anderson …Heavner SF. “Wrangling Real-World Data: Optimizing Clinical Research through Factor Selection with LASSO Regression.” Accepted 1.12.25: Int J Environmental Research and Public Health
Armaignac DL, Heavner SF, Rausen M, Zhang XT, Al-Hakim T, Strekalova YL, Shah N, Remy KE, Manion S, Haendel M, Kramer AA, Scruth EA, Rincon TA, Park S, Evans LE, Ozrazgat-Baslanti T, Herasevich V, Laudanski K, Murphy DJ, Engel HJ, Sikora A, Khanna AK, Zimmerman JJ, Reuter-Rice K, Cobb JP, Clermont G. Guiding Principles for Data Sharing and Harmonization: Results of a Systematic Review and Modified Delphi From the Society of Critical Care Medicine Data Science Campaign. Crit Care Med. 2025 Feb 21;. doi: 10.1097/CCM.0000000000006578. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 39982146.

Murphy DJ, *Anderson W, Heavner SF, Al-Hakim T, Cruz-Cano R, Laudanski K, Kamaleswaran R, Badawi O, Engel H, Grunwell J, Herasevich V, Khanna AK, Lamb K, MacLaren R, Rincon T, Sanchez-Pinto L, Sikora AN, Stevens RD, Tanner D, Teeter W, Wong AI, Wynn JL, *Zhang XT, Zimmerman JJ, Kumar V, Cobb JP, Reuter-Rice KE. Development of a Core Critical Care Data Dictionary With Common Data Elements to Characterize Critical Illness and Injuries Using a Modified Delphi Method. Crit Care Med. 2025 Feb 21;. doi: 10.1097/CCM.0000000000006595. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 39982128.

Heavner SF, Kumar VK, *Anderson W, Al-Hakim T, *Dasher P, Armaignac DL, Clermont G, Cobb JP, Manion S, Remy KE, Reuter-Rice K, Haendel M. Critical Data for Critical Care: A Primer on Leveraging Electronic Health Record Data for Research From Society of Critical Care Medicine's Panel on Data Sharing and Harmonization. Crit Care Explor. 2024 Nov 15;6(11):e1179. doi: 10.1097/CCE.0000000000001179. PMID: 39559555; PMCID: PMC11573330.

Sivaraj LBM, Basco WT, Heavner SF, Lopes SS, Rolke LJ, Shi L, Truong K. Outpatient Opioid Dispensing Patterns for SC Medicaid Children 1-36 Months Old. Matern Child Health J. 2023 Jun;27(6):1043-1050. doi: 10.1007/s10995-023-03621-8. Epub 2023 Mar 20. PMID: 36939951.

Heavner SF, Stuenkel M, Russ Sellers R, *McCallus R, Dean KD, Wilson C, Shuffler M, Britt TW, Stark Taylor S, Benedum M, Munk N, Mayo R, Cartmell KB, Griffin S, Kennedy AB. “I Don’t Want to Go to Work”: A Mixed-Methods Analysis of Healthcare Worker Experiences from the Front- and Side-Lines of COVID-19. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2023; 20(11):5953. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20115953

Heavner SF, Anderson W, Kashyap R, *Dasher P, Mathé EA, Merson L, Guerin PJ, Weaver J, Robinson M, Schito M, Kumar VK, Nagy P. A Path to Real-World Evidence in Critical Care Using Open-Source Data Harmonization Tools. Critical Care Explorations 5(4):p e0893, April 2023. | DOI: 10.1097/CCE.0000000000000893

Joudeh L, Heavner SF, Johnstone E, Propst SK, Harris OO. Challenges and opportunities for medical referrals at a mobile community health clinic serving sexual and gender minorities in rural South Carolina: a qualitative approach. BMC Health Serv Res. 2023 Feb 17;23(1):168. doi: 10.1186/s12913-023-09141-z. PMID: 36803696; PMCID: PMC9937739.

Kiker WA, Cheng S, Pollack LR, Creutzfeldt CJ, Kross EK, Curtis JR, Belden KA, Melamed R, Armaignac DL, Heavner SF, Christie AB, Banner-Goodspeed VM, Khanna AK, Sili U, Anderson HL 3rd, Kumar V, Walkey A, Kashyap R, Gajic O, Domecq JP, Khandelwal N. Admission Code Status and End-of-life Care for Hospitalized Patients With COVID-19. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2022 Oct;64(4):359-369. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2022.06.014. Epub 2022 Jun 25. PubMed PMID: 35764202; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9233554.

Klinefelter Z, Heavner S, Kennedy AB, Britt T, Stark Taylor S & Benedum M (2022) Neglecting physician desires to teach at an academic medical facility: A mixed method investigation of the consequences, Medical Teacher, DOI: 10.1080/0142159X.2022.2058386

Dikranian L, Barry S, Ata A, Chiotos K, Gist K, Bhalala U, Danesh V, Heavner S, Gharpure V, Bjornstad EC, Irby O, Heneghan JA, Montgomery V, Gupta N, Miller A, Walkey A, Tripathi S, Boman K, Bansal V, Kumar V, Kashyap R, Sayed I, Woll C, From the Society of Critical Care Medicine Discovery Viral Infection and Respiratory Illness Universal Study: COVID-19 Registry Investigator Group. SARS-CoV-2 With Concurrent Respiratory Viral Infection as a Risk Factor for a Higher Level of Care in Hospitalized Pediatric Patients. Pediatric Emergency Care: September 2022 - Volume 38 - Issue 9 - p 472-476 doi: 10.1097/PEC.0000000000002814

Lopes SS, Shi L, *Sivaraj LB, Truong K, Rolke L, Heavner SF, Basco WT Jr,. Dispensed Opioid Prescription Patterns, by Racial/Ethnic Groups, Among South Carolina Medicaid-Funded Children Experiencing Limb Fracture Injuries. Acad Pediatr. 2022 May-Jun;22(4):631-639. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2022.02.021. Epub 2022 Mar 4. PMID: 35257927.
Wilson CA, *Metwally H, Heavner S, Kennedy AB, Britt TW. Chronicling moral distress among healthcare providers during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal analysis of mental health strain, burnout, and maladaptive coping behaviours. Int J Ment Health Nurs. 2022 Feb;31(1):111-127. doi: 10.1111/inm.12942. Epub 2021 Oct 13. PMID: 34644443; PMCID: PMC8653372.

Johnson J, Gormley MA, Bentley S, Baldwin C, Bublitz M, Heavner SF, Roth P, Litwin AH. HIV Preexposure Prophylaxis Care Continuum Among Individuals Receiving Medication for Opioid Use Disorder, South Carolina, 2020-2021. Am J Public Health. 2022 Jan;112(1):34-37. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2021.306566. PMID: 34936400; PMCID: PMC8713624.

Denson JL, Gillet AS, Zu Y, Brown M, Pham T, Yoshida Y, Mauvais-Jarvis F, Douglas IS, Moore M, Tea K, Wetherbie A, Stevens R, Lefante J, Shaffer JG, Armaignac DL, Belden KA, Kaufman M, Heavner SF, Danesh VC, Cheruku SR, St Hill CA, Boman K, Deo N, Bansal V, Kumar VK, Walkey AJ, Kashyap R; Society of Critical Care Medicine Discovery Viral Infection and Respiratory Illness Universal Study (VIRUS): COVID-19 Registry Investigator Group. Metabolic Syndrome and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome in Hospitalized Patients With COVID-19. JAMA Netw Open. 2021 Dec 1;4(12):e2140568. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.40568. PMID: 34935924; PMCID: PMC8696573.

Tripathi S, Christison AL, Levy E, McGravery J, Tekin A, Bolliger D, Kumar VK, Bansal V, Chiotos K, Gist KM, Dapul HR, Bhalala US, Gharpure VP, Heneghan JA, Gupta N, Bjornstad EC, Montgomery VL, Walkey A, Kashyap R, Arteaga GM; VIRUS: COVID-19 Registry Investigator Group. The Impact of Obesity on Disease Severity and Outcomes Among Hospitalized Children With COVID-19. Hosp Pediatr. 2021 Nov;11(11):e297-e316. doi: 10.1542/hpeds.2021-006087. Epub 2021 Jun 24. PMID: 34168067.

Amer M, Kamel AM, Bawazeer M, Maghrabi K, Butt A, Dahhan T, Kseibi E, Khurshid SM, Abujazar M, Alghunaim R, Rabee M, Abualkhair M, Al-Janoubi A, AlFirm AT, Gajic O, Walkey AJ, Mosier JM, Zabolotskikh IB, Gavidia OY, Teruel SY, Bernstein MA, Boman K, Kumar VK, Bansal V, Kashyap R; VIRUS: COVID-19 Registry Investigator Group. Clinical characteristics and outcomes of critically ill mechanically ventilated COVID-19 patients receiving interleukin-6 receptor antagonists and corticosteroid therapy: a preliminary report from a multinational registry. Eur J Med Res. 2021 Oct 2;26(1):117. doi: 10.1186/s40001-021-00591-x. PMID: 34600589; PMCID: PMC8487342.

Moschella P, Heavner S, *Cordero-Romero S, *Knapp J, Roth P, Litwin AH. Leveraging public and private funding to implement opt-out HIV screening programs in one rural and one urban emergency department in South Carolina increased screening and discovered a higher rate of HIV-infected Black patients. J Healthc Sci Humanit. 2021 Fall;11(1):163-172. PubMed PMID: 36818204; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9930519.

Tripathi S, Sayed IA, Dapul H, McGarvey JS, Bandy JA, Boman K, Kumar VK, Bansal V, Retford L, Cheruku S, Kaufman M, Heavner SF, Danesh VC, St Hill CA, Khanna AK, Bhalala U, Kashyap R, Gajic O, Walkey AJ, Gist KM. Risk Factors for Critical Coronavirus Disease 2019 and Mortality in Hospitalized Young Adults: An Analysis of the Society of Critical Care Medicine Discovery Viral Infection and Respiratory Illness Universal Study (VIRUS) Coronavirus Disease 2019 Registry. Crit Care Explor. 2021 Aug 20;3(8):e0514. doi: 10.1097/CCE.0000000000000514. PMID: 34476401; PMCID: PMC8382320.

Joudeh L, Harris OO, Johnstone E, Heavner S, Propst SK. "Little Red Flags": Barriers to Accessing Health Care as a Sexual or Gender Minority Individual in the Rural Southern United States-A Qualitative Intersectional Approach. J Assoc Nurses AIDS Care. 2021 Apr 22. doi: 10.1097/JNC.0000000000000271. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33935190.

Honors and Awards

2025 Inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Critical Care Medicine (FCCM). Mount Prospect, IL.
2025 Presidential Citation for outstanding contributions to the Society of Critical Care Medicine. Mount Prospect, IL.
2024 Inducted to Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society for Nursing. Indianapolis, IN.
2024 Presidential Citation for outstanding contributions to the Society of Critical Care Medicine. Mount Prospect, IL.
2023 – Present Appointed to Common Data Elements Steering Committee for the National Trauma Research Repository, Coalition for National Trauma Research. San Antonio, TX.
2022 – Present Appointed as co-chair of Data Harmonization and Data Sharing Guiding Principles Panel for the Society of Critical Care Medicine. Mount Prospect, IL.
2022 – Present Appointed to Data Outcomes and Definitions working group. Society of Critical Care Medicine. Mount Prospect, IL.
2021 Presidential Citation for outstanding contributions to the Society of Critical Care Medicine. Mount Prospect, IL.
2020 Minorities in Medicine Honoree, Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine: Carolinas Campus. Spartanburg, SC.

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