About

Richard K. Wolf is a professor of Music and South Asian Studies at Harvard University who conducts ethnomusicological field research on the musical traditions, languages, and cultures of South, Central, and West Asia. His work includes the study of regional musical practices, rituals, and cultural expressions, with a focus on communities such as the Kotas of South India, the Wakhi musicians of Central Asia, and Sufi traditions in Punjab. Wolf's research encompasses a wide range of media, including audio/video recordings, photographs, and ethnographic films, which document and explore the transformation of materials, bodies, and spiritual entities through music and ritual practices. His projects include ethnographic films like 'Pots of Millet, Faces of Gold: Transformation,' which draws from over 35 years of research with the Kota community, and 'Two Poets and a River,' examining themes of love and loss among Wakhi musicians. Wolf's background includes early studies in rock music composition and classical guitar at Oberlin College, which shifted after a pivotal experience with South Indian classical music, leading him to study Karnatak vina, vocal music, mridangam, and Tamil in South India. His work aims to provide insights into the artistic and ritual activities of these communities, emphasizing their cultural resilience and transformation over time.

Research topics

• Medicine
• Machine Learning
• Computer Science
• Family medicine
• Surgery
• Statistics
• Demography
• Oncology
• Finance
• Internal medicine
• Emergency medicine

Selected publications

• Outpatient palliative care and end-of-life care intensity: linking Massachusetts Cancer Registry with All-Payer Claims Database

  JNCI Cancer Spectrum · 2025-01-03 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  BACKGROUND: Early palliative care is associated with better outcomes for patients with advanced-stage cancers. Using a novel data linkage, we assessed outpatient palliative care use before death and its association with end-of-life care intensity and variation across 8 provider networks in Massachusetts. METHODS: We linked Massachusetts Cancer Registry and the All-Payer Claims Database for individuals with commercial insurance, Medicaid, or Medicare Advantage diagnosed with colorectal, lung, prostate, and breast cancers from 2010 to 2013 who died by December 31, 2014. We characterized outpatient palliative care visits in the 6 months before death and identified end-of-life hospitalizations, emergency department visits, intensive care unit admissions, chemotherapy, no/late hospice enrollment, and in-hospital deaths. We used logistic regression to assess factors associated with outpatient palliative care and ordinal logistic regression with provider network fixed effects to assess the association of palliative care with a composite measure summing individual end-of-life intensity measures. RESULTS: Among 6279 decedents, 11.3% had at least 1 outpatient palliative care visit. Palliative care use varied across provider networks from 6.0% to 19.3%. In adjusted analyses, younger age, longer duration from diagnosis to death, death in 2012-2014 vs 2010, and provider network were associated with palliative care visits (all P values less than .05). End-of-life care intensity varied across provider networks. Patients with palliative care visits had lower adjusted odds of receiving intensive end-of-life care (adjusted odds ratio = 0.62 per additional measure of end-of-life intensity, 95% CI = 0.53 to 0.72). CONCLUSIONS: Outpatient palliative care use varied substantially among regional provider networks and was associated with less intensive end-of-life care.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Trendbericht Photochemie 2025

  Nachrichten aus der Chemie · 2025-03-31

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Dieser Trendbericht erläutert Erkenntnisse der letzten beiden Jahre aus der Sicht von Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftlern des interdisziplinären, durch die DFG geförderten Konsortiums Transregio 325. Die Autorinnen und Autoren forschen vor allem zu chemischer Photokatalyse und beleuchten besonders Themen mit molekülchemischer Komponente.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Post-acute care facility utilization and outcomes among Medicare beneficiaries undergoing inpatient cancer surgery.

  Journal of Clinical Oncology · 2024-06-01

  article

  11088 Background: Patients with cancer using post-acute care facilities have poor outcomes, including delayed return home and increased health care utilization. However, little is known about post-acute care use and outcomes among patients with cancer undergoing surgery. Methods: We examined Medicare claims of 100% of fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries from 2010-2022, to identify patients who underwent inpatient cancer-directed surgery and were thus eligible for a post-acute facility stay. We used billing codes within 3 days of hospital discharge to identify post-acute facility stays, defined as skilled nursing facility (SNF), long-term acute care hospital (LTACH), or inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) stays. We used logistic regression to identify patient sociodemographic and clinical factors associated with post-acute care facility use. We also compared hospital readmissions within 30 days and days at home (defined as days not in an acute or post-acute facility) in the 90 days after discharge by setting, using Chi-square and Wilcoxon rank sum tests. Results: We studied 1,637,792 Medicare beneficiaries who underwent inpatient cancer surgery from 2010 to 2022. About half (48.9%) were women; median age was 73.0 years. The most common cancer diagnoses were colorectal (28.4%), lung (14.4%), and prostate (12.1%), and 22.7% had a Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) of ≥3. Overall, 16.0% of patients were discharged to a post-acute care facility (11.4% SNF, 4.5% LTACH/IRF). Discharge to post-acute care was greater among patients who were aged ≥80 vs 65-69 (Adjusted Odds Ratio[AOR] 3.85, 95% Confidence Interval[CI] 3.79,3.90), had CCI ≥3 versus 0 (AOR 2.92, 95%CI 2.88,2.95), were dual-eligible (AOR 2.01, 95%CI 1.99,2.04), or had metastatic cancer (AOR 1.26, 95%CI 1.24,1.28). Patients undergoing brain or spinal surgeries for primary or metastatic cancers had highest odds of PAC facility utilization. Compared to those discharged home, patients discharged to post-acute care facilities had a higher 30-day hospital readmission rates (18.6% vs. 9.5%, p<0.0001), and fewer days at home in the 90 days after discharge from their index surgical admission (median 68 vs. 90 days, p<0.0001). Conclusions: Patients with cancer undergoing inpatient surgery who are older, have comorbidities, or have advanced disease have higher rates of post-acute care facility use, and such post-acute care is associated with higher hospital readmissions and fewer post-operative days at home. Further work is needed to improve pre-operative decision-making and optimization as well as to develop supportive care and rehabilitative interventions that can improve post-operative outcomes for patients who need post post-acute care.

  PublisherDOI

• Menschengerechte und effiziente Gestaltung von Interaktionsarbeit : Entwicklung des Social-Service Engineering-Ansatzes

  2023-01-01

  reportOpen accessSenior author

  Der Forschungsbericht spiegelt die Ergebnisse der interdisziplinären Zusammenarbeit am Projekt SO-SERVE (“Social Service Engineering – Synergien von Arbeits- und Dienstleistungswissenschaft für die Verbesserung von Arbeit an und mit Menschen nutzen”) wider. Die Publikation spricht nicht nur Wissenschaftler:innen an, sondern gibt auch detaillierte Einblicke in die Arbeit der Praxispartner. Social Service Engineering geht davon aus, dass nachhaltiger Unternehmenserfolg nur durch eine beschäftigtenorientierte, menschenwürdige Arbeitsgestaltung in Verbindung mit einer Dienstleistungsgestaltung möglich ist, die wirtschaftliche Aspekte und die Wünsche der Kund:innen berücksichtigt. Deshalb kombiniert das entwickelte Social Service Engineering theoretische Ansätze, Konzepte und Methoden aus dem Service Engineering und der Arbeitspsychologie, um Synergien aus beiden Disziplinen zu generieren. Der Forschungsbericht beschreibt das Vorgehen bei der Entwicklung und Erprobung des Social Service Engineerings. Ein besonderer Fokus liegt auf der Darstellung der praktischen Anwendung in der Praxis, wobei der Fokus auf der Arbeit der Partner aus den Bereichen der ambulanten Pflege sowie der Kindertagesbetreuung liegt. Ziel des Berichtes ist, die Mehrwerte des Social Service Engineerings weiteren Unternehmen darzustellen und ihnen Möglichkeiten vorzustellen, von diesem Ansatz zu profitieren. In diesem Zusammenhang werden auch der mögliche Umgang mit Herausforderungen des Ergebnistransfers diskutiert.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• CCDC 2269912: Experimental Crystal Structure Determination

  The Cambridge Structural Database · 2023-09-05

  datasetOpen accessSenior author

  An entry from the Cambridge Structural Database, the world’s repository for small molecule crystal structures. The entry contains experimental data from a crystal diffraction study. The deposited dataset for this entry is freely available from the CCDC and typically includes 3D coordinates, cell parameters, space group, experimental conditions and quality measures.

  PublisherDOI

• PHEOCHROMOCYTOMA PARAGANGLIOMA SYNDROME: AN UNCOMMON CAUSE OF STRESS CARDIOMYOPATHY

  Journal of the American College of Cardiology · 2023-03-01 · 1 citations

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Terminal Complement Inhibition in the Management of Transplant-Associated Thrombotic Microangiopathy: Single-Center Experience

  Transplantation and Cellular Therapy · 2023-02-01 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  Electrical properties of n-Ge contacts tailored with nanostructured WO3 is analysed using current–voltage (I-V) and capacitive-voltage (C-V) measurements. Au/WO3/n-Ge heterostructure show its significant improvement in terms of high forward current and high magnitude of rectification ratio (RR = 3040 at ± 0.5V) than compared to contact without interlayer. The series resistance evaluated using Cheung’s method found to be very low (Rs = 17 Ω) in contacts with WO3 interlayer than compared to pristine sample. The influence of WO3 interfacial layer in defining the accumulation and inversion regions is clearly observed in the C-V characteristics measured at 1 MHz. A transition from ohmic conduction at low bias voltages to trap charge limited current (TCLC) conduction at high bias voltages is observed in the case of Au/WO3/n-Ge contacts. The distribution of traps or defects at the oxide-Ge interface possibly associated to the observed current conduction mechanisms at high bias regions. Very low series resistance, high rectification ratio and high forward currents of Au/WO3/n-Ge contacts show its applicability in optoelectronic and photovoltaic applications.

  PublisherDOI

• Impact of measurement and feedback on chlorhexidine gluconate bathing among intensive care unit patients: A multicenter study

  Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology · 2023-09-01 · 5 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Objective: To assess whether measurement and feedback of chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) skin concentrations can improve CHG bathing practice across multiple intensive care units (ICUs). Design: A before-and-after quality improvement study measuring patient CHG skin concentrations during 6 point-prevalence surveys (3 surveys each during baseline and intervention periods). Setting: The study was conducted across 7 geographically diverse ICUs with routine CHG bathing. Participants: Adult patients in the medical ICU. Methods: CHG skin concentrations were measured at the neck, axilla, and inguinal region using a semiquantitative colorimetric assay. Aggregate unit-level CHG skin concentration measurements from the baseline period and each intervention period survey were reported back to ICU leadership, which then used routine education and quality improvement activities to improve CHG bathing practice. We used multilevel linear models to assess the impact of intervention on CHG skin concentrations. Results: We enrolled 681 (93%) of 736 eligible patients; 92% received a CHG bath prior to survey. At baseline, CHG skin concentrations were lowest on the neck, compared to axillary or inguinal regions ( P < .001). CHG was not detected on 33% of necks, 19% of axillae, and 18% of inguinal regions ( P < .001 for differences in body sites). During the intervention period, ICUs that used CHG-impregnated cloths had a 3-fold increase in patient CHG skin concentrations as compared to baseline ( P < .001). Conclusions: Routine CHG bathing performance in the ICU varied across multiple hospitals. Measurement and feedback of CHG skin concentrations can be an important tool to improve CHG bathing practice.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Optimization of Complex Matte Converting in a TBRC

  2023-01-01

  book-chapterSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Combined laparoscopic and open colon surgery rankings fail to accurately rank hospitals by surgical-site infection rate

  Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology · 2022-07-12 · 6 citations

  articleOpen access

  OBJECTIVE: To compare strategies for hospital ranking based on colon surgical-site infection (SSI) rate by combining all colon procedures versus stratifying by surgical approach (ie, laparoscopic vs open). DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. METHODS: We identified SSIs among Medicare beneficiaries undergoing colon surgery from 2009 through 2013 using previously validated methods. We created a risk prediction model for SSI using age, sex, race, comorbidities, surgical approach (laparoscopy vs open), and concomitant colon and noncolon procedures. Adjusted SSI rates were used to rank hospitals. Subanalyses were performed for common colon procedures and procedure types for which there were both open and laparoscopic procedures. We generated ranks using only open and only laparoscopic procedures, overall and for each subanalysis. Rankings were compared using a Spearman correlation coefficient. RESULTS: In total, 694,813 colon procedures were identified among 508,135 Medicare beneficiaries. The overall SSI rate was 7.6%. The laparoscopic approach was associated with lower SSI risk (OR, 0.5; 95% CI, 0.4-0.5), and higher SSI risk was associated with concomitant abdominal surgeries (OR, 1.4; 95% CI, 1.4-1.5) and higher Elixhauser score (OR, 1.1; 95% CI, 1.0-1.1). Hospital rankings for laparascopic procedures were poorly correlated with rankings for open procedures (r = 0.23). CONCLUSIONS: Hospital rankings based on total colon procedures fail to account for differences in SSI risk from laparoscopic vs open procedures. Stratifying rankings by surgical approach yields a more equitable comparison of surgical performance.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Andrê S. H. Prévôt

  98 shared

• Emily A. Bruns

  Universität Hamburg

  88 shared

• Peter Zotter

  Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts

  87 shared

• Luka Drinovec

  86 shared

• Susan S. Huang

  London Health Sciences Centre

  73 shared

• D. Neil Granger

  71 shared

• Bruce A. Baethge

  The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston

  71 shared

• Sharon‐Lise T. Normand

  Harvard University

  66 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Musicology

  Harvard University

  1990

• M.A., Musicology

  Harvard University

  1986

• B.A., Musicology

  Harvard University

  1983

Awards & honors

• Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award from the Alexander v…
• 2023 article prize from the International Council for Tradit…