HPM PhD Students
Meet HPM PhD students in each of the four concentrations: Health and Public Policy, Health Services Research and Policy, Health Economics and Policy, and Bioethics and Health Policy.

Kim DeFiori
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Concentration: Health and Public Policy
Year Started in HPM: 2022
Research Interests: Mental health; suicide; prevention; wellness and well-being
Current Degrees: BS, MA, MBA

Glendedora Dolce
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Concentration: Health and Public Policy
Year Started in HPM: 2022
Research Interests: Transportation safety; injury disparities; transportation equity
Current Degrees: MPH BA in English

Michelle Duren
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Concentration: Health and Public Policy
Year Started in HPM: 2019
Research Interests: Transportation safety; cycling infrastructure; quantitative methodologies; health behavior change theory
Current Degrees: Master of International Public Affairs

Ross Hatton
Pronouns: He/him/his
Concentration: Health and Public Policy
Year Started in HPM: 2020
Research Interests: Social safety net programs; public opinion; food insecurity; nutrition; social and economic mobility; procurement
Current Degrees: MPA

Nicholas Meyerson
Pronouns: He/him/his
Concentration: Health and Public Policy
Year Started in HPM: 2020
Research Interests: Gun violence prevention; police-involved violence; health disparities; health inequity, social mobilization; community-based interventions
Current Degrees: BS, MA

Jirka Taylor
Pronouns: He/him/his
Concentration: Health and Public Policy
Year Started in HPM: 2022
Research Interests: Public health and public safety; drug policy; criminal legal system; substance use; opioids; policy evaluation; program evaluation
Current Degrees: MPhil, International Relations; MA, American Studies
Health Services Research and Policy

Lauren Barrow
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Concentration: Health Services Research and Policy
Year Started in HPM: 2021
Research Interests: Health equity; hospital pricing; community benefits; health care disparities; quality of care; neighborhoods and the built environment; implementation science
Current Degrees: MHA

Maria Cruz
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Concentration: Health Services Research & Policy
Year Started in HPM: 2021
Research Interests: Mental health; prevention; mental health services
Current Degrees: BA

Lois Dankwa
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Concentration: Health Services Research and Policy
Year Started in HPM: 2020
Research Interests: Cross-sector collaboration; stakeholder engagement; organizational behavior; implementation science; health behavior; maternal health
Current Degrees: MS in Health and the Public Interest, BA in Psychology

Valerie Ganetsky
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Concentration: Health Services Research and Policy
Year Started in HPM: 2022
Research Interests: Substance use; access to care; medication for opioid use disorder; disparities; pregnant and parenting individuals
Current Degrees: PharmD, MSc

Andrew Jopson
Pronouns: He/him/his
Concentration: Health Services Research and Policy
Year Started in HPM: 2020
Research Interests: Long-term services and supports; home and community-based services; dual-eligibility; disability; caregiving; health workforce
Current Degrees: MPH

Angela Liu
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Concentration: Health Services Research and Policy
Year Started in HPM: 2020
Research Interests: Healthcare spending; Medicare; value-based payment models
Current Degrees: BS Biomedical Engineering, HPM

Jenny Markell
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Concentration: Health Services Research & Policy
Year Started in HPM: 2021
Research Interests: Social determinants of health; health equity; health care spending; international comparisons; EHR data
Current Degrees: BA

Jenni Reiff
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Concentration: Health Services Research and Policy
Year Started in HPM: 2020
Research Interests: Physical medicine and rehabilitation; gerontology; prevention; resilience; functional outcomes; Medicare; policy; disability
Current Degrees: BA, MSOT

Aleksandra Wec
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Concentration: Health Services Research and Policy
Year Started in HPM: 2021
Research Interests: Health services research; gerontology; family caregivers; patient-provider communication
Current Degrees: BA
Health Economics and Policy

Yiqing Kuang
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Concentration: Health Economics and Policy
Year Started in HPM: 2022
Research Interests: Health economics; long-term care; economic evaluation
Current Degrees: Health Policy and Management

Jeffrey Marr
Pronouns: He/him/his
Concentration: Health Economics and Policy
Year Started in HPM: 2021
Research Interests: Health economics; health insurance; Medicare; aging
Current Degrees: BA

Ben Thornburg
Pronouns: He/him/his
Concentration: Health Economics and Policy
Year Started in HPM: 2021
Research Interests: Applied microeconomics & econometrics; mental health; substance use; HEOR
Current Degrees: BS
Bioethics and Health Policy

Sheethal Jose
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Concentration: Bioethics and Health Policy
Year Started in HPM: 2019
Research Interests: Ethical; legal; social implications (ELSI) research; health policy and outcomes; genomic medicine implementation; and infectious diseases
Current Degrees: BS, BA

Odia Kane
Pronouns: She/her/hers
Concentration: Bioethics and Health Policy
Year Started in HPM: 2021
Research Interests: Digital health; health inequity; artificial intelligence; machine learning; intersectionality
Current Degrees: MPH