Work
I work as a researcher in the field of health services research, health economics and outcomes, and health policy. I am currently studying health services research in the Clinical and Population Health Research doctoral program at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester. Under the direction of my advisor, Arlene Ash, my doctoral dissertation work focuses on emergency department utilization as a performance measure in patient-centered medical homes.
I also work part-time as a research associate at RTI International, an independent, nonprofit institute. I am in the Aging, Disability, and Long-term Care group, where my work has focused on payment reform in long-term care, disparities in treatment for colorectal cancer and Alzheimer’s, preventive care, and medical homes.
I have experience building simulation and decision-analytic (Markov) models, conducting large-scale database analyses, developing utility instruments, and performing comprehensive literature reviews. Current research interests include health reform; healthcare access and affordability; the economics of prevention, screening, and early detection; and modeling. I have experience in a broad range of disease areas, including oncology, nephrology, neurology, ophthalmology, and immunology. Below are highlights of some of my recent work.
- In 2011, I presented work on policy issues related to buprenorphine, a treatment for opiod addiction; quantile regression of the effects of HMO enrollment on health expenditures; and the effects of insurance discontinuity on receipt of preventive care.
- My master’s thesis was an exploration of out-of-pocket expenditures among people with cancer using 10 years of data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, a nationally representative database.
- A portion of the analysis was presented at the 9th Annual Health Services and Outcomes Research conference in Houston, TX.
- In May 2009, I gave an oral presentation on the predictors of enrollment in Medicare Part D.
- I have conducted several systematic reviews, including a review of the short-term economic and clinical effects of smoking cessation.
- I have co-authored papers on lifetime and phase-specific treatment costs, survival trends, and trends in healthcare utilization among patients with colorectal cancer.
- In 2006, I wrote a paper for PUBHLTH 524 at UMass Amherst on school nutrition policy.
- Inspired by research conducted for that paper, in January 2007 I conducted an independent study of local wellness policies in Massachusetts. The research was presented as an oral presentation at the 135th Annual Meeting of the American Public Health Association, November 3-7, 2007, in Washington, DC.
