People

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.

Health and Public Policy

Kim DeFiori

Kim DeFiori, MBA, MA, is in her first year as a PhD student and plans to focus on advancing wellness programs for first responders and veterans.

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

Glendedora Dolce, MPH 20', uses research to advance policies that prevent injury disparities and promote equity within transportation systems.

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

Michelle Duren, MIPA '15, uses research to advance policies that promote safe and sustainable transportation systems.

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

C. Ross Hatton, MPA, uses mixed methods to explore how families understand and interact with social safety net programs, as well as the implications of those interactions for food insecurity, nutrition, and social and economic mobility.

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

Nicholas Meyerson, MA, is a third year PhD student who studies gun violence prevention with an emphasis on place-based and racial and ethnic disparities.

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

Jirka Taylor researches policies and interventions at the intersection of public health and public safety to improve health, well-being, and other outcomes for various populations, including vulnerable individuals

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

Lauren CJ Barrow, MHA researches the impact of hospital behaviors of quality of care and community health

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

Maria Cruz, BA, is a second-year PhD student whose research focuses on mental health; one of her current projects is examining the association between the legalization of medical cannabis and related mental health outcomes.

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

Lois Dankwa, MS, uses research to envision and identify opportunities to enhance care management for individuals experiencing chronic illness and complex social challenges in underserved communities.

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

Valerie Ganetsky, PharmD, MSc, focuses on research around expanding access to medication for opioid use disorder and comprehensive programs, particularly in the pregnant and parenting population.

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

Andrew Jopson, MPH, is working to develop contextual measures that consider how Medicaid-funded long-term services and supports (LTSS) influence the care experiences of older adults dually-eligible for Medicare and Medicaid.

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

Angela Liu, MPH, conducts health services and health policy research the helps researchers, policymakers, and practitioners better understand the role of prices and utilization on healthcare spending.

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

Jenny Markell, BA, conducts health services research exploring the integration of health and social services, reducing U.S. health care costs, and international comparisons of high-income countries.

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

Jenni Seale Reiff, OTR/L, is an occupational therapist whose research focuses on identifying and improving healthcare policies and practices that promote physical resilience for older adults.

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

Aleksandra Wec uses research to inform policies and practices aimed at improving care for older adults.

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

Yiqing Kuang uses research to enhance the accessibility and effectiveness of long-term care services.

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

Jeffrey Marr applies methods from economics to examine how the behavior of payers and providers affects health care access, quality, and costs for older adults.

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

Ben Thornburg uses applied econometrics to study mental health and healthcare, particularly in the context of general equilibrium effects.

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

Sheethal Jose researches the ethical, legal, and social implications of using human genomics for infectious disease clinical care and public health control.

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

Odia Kane, MPH, focuses on the social and ethical implications of digital health regulation and the dynamics between digital healthcare innovation and race-related health disparities.

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