Please follow the links to find publications and more information.
|
Research interests: Econometric and statistical modeling, health equity, social determinants of health, Medicaid policy and reform Biographical statement: Sarah Aviña (she/her) is a PhD student in the Health Services Research and Policy Program at the University of Pittsburgh. She is a graduate student researcher at the Medicaid Research Center (MRC) working under the supervision of Dr. Julie Donohue. Aviña completed her bachelor's degree in finance and accounting and a master's degree in economics from the University of Toledo. Prior to pursuing her PhD, she worked as a data analyst at ProMedica Health System researching social determinants of health outcomes in the Midwest region. She also has experience working in the health insurance industry specializing in Medicaid research and policy. In her free time, Aviña enjoys traveling, running half-marathons and tending to houseplants. |
|
Research interests: Rural health, health equity, access to care, opioid use disorder, health disparities Biographical statement: Rebecca Bilden is a PhD student in the Health Services Research and Policy Program. She is a graduate student researcher at the Public Health Dynamics Laboratory working under the supervision of Dr. Mark Roberts. Bilden completed her undergraduate degree in Pure and Applied Mathematics at Boston University and her master’s degree in Applied Data Science and Statistics at the University of Exeter. Before moving to Pittsburgh, she worked for various startups as a data analyst and conducted research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in the Division of Digital Psychiatry. In her free time, Bilden enjoys hiking, gardening, and practicing yoga. |
|
Research interests: Design and effects of healthcare payment systems; impacts of health insurance coverage; organization and quality of healthcare delivery; and use of quasi-experimental methods for causal inference in observational studies Previously, Bourne worked as a research associate for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Evidence Synthesis Program, where he conducted systematic reviews on health services research of particular interest to Veterans. He also has experience conducting clinical research in the emergency department and trauma intensive care unit settings. Bourne holds an MPH in epidemiology from Oregon Health & Science University and a BS in microbiology from Oregon State University. |
|
Rachel Butler |
Research interests: Medical decision making in serious illness and at the end-of-life; organization, management, and utilization of palliative care and end-of-life care services; patient-provider communication; implementation science; and health policy communication. Biographical statement: Rachel Butler is a doctoral student in health services research and policy. She is a senior member of Dr. Douglas White’s Program on Ethics and Decision Making in Critical Illness within the Department of Critical Care Medicine’s CRISMA Center at the School of Medicine, where she manages research studies in the intensive care unit setting. Within HPM, Butler is working with Dr. Howard Degenholtz on examining the use of palliative care and hospice among dual-eligible beneficiaries in Pennsylvania. Butler grew up in Indiana where she obtained master’s degrees in health administration and in public health from the Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health and worked as a research assistant for serious illness and end-of-life decision making research. In her “free time,” Butler is an active volunteer in Pittsburgh’s end-of-life and deathcare community and flexes her creative muscles by playing with yarn. |
|
Research interests: Pharmaceutical policy, drug supply chains, drug prices Biographical statement: Katherine Callaway Kim is a PhD student currently working with Dr. Katie Suda in the Center for Pharmaceutical Policy and Prescribing (CP3) group in the Department of Medicine. Katherine’s research interests include US and international pharmaceutical policy, especially for drugs used in the hospital. She has extensive experience working with several large national and international claims and drug purchasing datasets. Katherine received both her B.S. and an MPH in biostatistics at Boston University. Previously, she worked as a SAS programmer/analyst in the Division of Health Policy and Insurance Research at Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare Institute in Boston. |
|
Research interests: Genetic and genomic policy; carrier screening policies; genetic and genomic privacy; health equity; access to care; ethics |
|
Research interests: Health equity, access to care, social determinants of health, public health ethics Biographical statement: Stephanie Doran Brubaker is a PhD student in health services research and policy. She is a graduate student researcher at the University of Pittsburgh’s Medicaid Research Center under the guidance of Dr. Julie Donohue. Prior to coming to Pitt, she worked as a research coordinator at Evidence Foundation and as a Human Research Specialist at the Mass General Brigham Institutional Review Board. Doran Brubaker holds an MPH from Yale University, as well as an MA in bioethics and a BA in psychology and cognitive science from Case Western Reserve University. |
|
Research interests: Cost-effectiveness analysis, value of information analysis, game theory analysis of vaccination decisions, and health economics Biographical statement: Glenson France is a doctoral student in the Health Services Research and Policy Program. He is originally from the island of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. As a graduate student researcher, he will be working under the supervision of Dr. Mark Roberts in the Dynamics Laboratory. Glenson earned a BSc. and a MSc. in Economics from the University of the West Indies (Mona), and a MA in Economics from The Ohio State University. Most recently, he completed a Certificate in Clinical Research at Pitt's Clinical Research department in 2018. Between 2010-2022, he taught economics at the University of Pittsburgh - Greensburg Campus, and joined the R01 flu modeling research group at Pitt Department of Family Medicine between 2016-2019. Outside of academics, France is an ardent fan of many sports, an avid wood worker, and enjoys watching movies. |
|
Alexandra Glynn |
Research interests: Health insurance costs and health outcomes; pharmaceutical, medical device, and healthcare delivery technologies; chronic disease and diabetic populations; Medicare and Medicaid policy; econometric methods. Biographical statement: Alexandra Glynn is a PhD student in health services research and policy under the mentorship of Dr. Eric Roberts. As a graduate student researcher, her current projects utilize quasi-experimental design to examine the effects of subsidy programs for Medicare beneficiaries on prescription drug use and health outcomes, with a focus on diabetes and chronic disease populations. Her other work includes examining telehealth utilization among Medicare Advantage enrollees and investigating economic and social effects of new medical device use in children with type 1 diabetes. Prior to starting at Pitt, she spent several years as a research analyst in financial economics at the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, where she conducted data analyses for market risk research. Glynn graduated with distinction from the University of Virginia in 2017 with a BA in Economics (concentration in public policy) and Government. |
|
Youngmin Kwon |
Research interests: Access to care; cancer care; Medicaid; Dual Eligibles. |
|
Anna Lewis |
Research interests: Social determinants of health; healthcare service access and iniquities; Medicare and Medicaid policies; critical illness survivorship and outcomes. |
|
Heather Mentch |
Research interests: health disparities, access to care, medical decision-making, organ transplantation Biographical statement: Heather Mentch is a PhD student in the Health Services Research and Policy Program. She is a graduate student researcher at the University of Pittsburgh under Dr. Howard Degenholtz. Mentch received her BS in biology and her BA in religious studies at Susquehanna University and received her master of bioethics (MBE) degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to coming to Pitt, she worked as a clinical research coordinator at the University of Pennsylvania for four years working on various organ transplantation clinical trials which offered transplantation of organs (kidney and lung) from Hepatitis C+ deceased donors to Hepatitis C- recipients. |
|
Bill Wang |
Research interests: Delivery innovations, mental health, substance use disorders Biographical statement: Bill Wang is a PhD student in the Health Services Research and Policy Program working with Dr. Julie Donohue and Dr. Lindsay Sabik in looking at the effects of various policies on the treatment of substance use disorders. Previously, Wang worked as a Research Assistant in the Department of Healthcare Policy at Harvard Medical School where his research focused on the impact of delivery innovations on healthcare access, cost, and quality outcomes. He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Toronto and his master's from the University of Chicago. |
|
Yuanbo Zhang |
Research interests: health equity, access to care, cost-effectiveness analysis, health services research Biographical statement: Yuanbo Zhang is a PhD student in the Department of Health Services Research and Policy at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health under the academic mentorship of Dr. Lindsay Sabik. Zhang completed her undergraduate degree in mathematics and philosophy at Wheaton College and her master's degree in applied statistics at the University of Michigan. Prior to Pittsburgh, she was a research assistant at the Center for Healthcare Engineering and Patient Safety helping OB/GYN physicians to simulate prenatal care processes and provide recommendations to improve prenatal care guidelines. She also likes photography and hiking. |
Sarah Aviña
Rebecca Bilden
Donald Bourne
Katherine Callaway Kim
Haley Director
Stephanie Doran Brubaker
Glenson France
