Celebrating Juan Pablo Zapata’s Selection as an IRI Fellow!
June 17, 2025
We are proud to celebrate Juan Pablo Zapata, PhD, Research Assistant Professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine Department of Medical Social Sciences, for being selected as a 2025 Fellow of the Implementation Research Institute (IRI)—one of the most prestigious and comprehensive training programs in the field of implementation science. This is an incredible honor and a powerful recognition of Pablo’s dedication to bridging the gap between research and real-world impact.
Over the past year, Pablo has embraced new challenges as a faculty member—leading projects, applying for grants, and driving forward a vision that centers accessibility and scalability in mental health and HIV prevention. His work to simplify and adapt digital interventions like Keep It Up! into more streamlined, single-session versions like Keep It Brief! is a perfect example of the thoughtful innovation and practical problem-solving that implementation science demands. Through this work, he’s helping ensure that evidence-based interventions not only exist—but actually reach the people who need them most.
The IRI fellowship was not just a milestone—it’s a springboard. Through the program, Pablo deepened his methodological expertise, strengthened transdisciplinary partnerships, and refined strategies for sustainable implementation in under-resourced settings, including Puerto Rico. In fact, he’s already off to a strong start: shortly after his selection, Pablo teamed up with fellow IRI cohort member Jennifer Hoffmann, MD, MS, to submit a collaborative grant to pilot single-session interventions in pediatric emergency rooms, paving the way to broaden the scope and accessibility of these interventions.
We are incredibly proud of Pablo—not only for this well-earned recognition, but for the clarity of purpose and care he brings to his work every day. His commitment to equity, innovation, and impact is exactly what the field needs right now. Congratulations, Pablo!