Assistant Director of Research Programs
University of Pittsburgh
Katherine Bedford, M.A., Assistant Director of Research, University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine.
Katherine Bedford is a seasoned public and behavioral health leader with extensive experience designing, implementing, and evaluating large-scale clinical and community-based initiatives. She provides strategic and operational oversight for basic, translational, and clinical research programs and serves as Program Coordinator for multi-million dollar NIH NIDCR-funded initiative focused on Temporomandibular Disorders. Ms. Bedford also serves as a Co-PI for the Pennsylvania Centers of Excellence (COE) initiative within the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Pharmacy, where she led statewide efforts to improve outcomes for individuals with opioid use disorder. In that role, she secured and oversaw multi-million-dollar state and managed care contracts, developed fidelity and performance measurement frameworks, and aligned payers, providers, and policymakers to advance quality improvement and patient-centered care. She has also led federal and Department of Defense–aligned initiatives focused on suicide prevention and military health systems.
Ms. Bedford’s expertise spans clinical research coordination, strategic program development, quality assurance, performance measurement, and cross-sector stakeholder engagement. She is deeply committed to advancing evidence-based practice, equity in healthcare delivery, and systems-level innovation that improves outcomes for individuals and communities affected by substance use and behavioral health conditions.
