Investigators
Bruce R. Schackman, PhD, MBA
Center Director
Population Data & Modeling Core
Administrative Core
Weill Cornell Medicine
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Bruce R. Schackman, PhD, MBA
Dr. Schackman is the Saul P. Steinberg Distinguished Professor and Executive Vice Chair of the Department of Population Health Sciences at Weill Cornell Medicine. He conducts research relating to economic evaluations of the comparative effectiveness of health interventions alongside clinical trials and cohort studies, cost-effectiveness and comparative effectiveness simulation modeling, and implementation science studies—particularly relating to treatment of infectious diseases and substance use disorders.
Kathryn E. McCollister, PhD
Methodology Core
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
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Kathryn E. McCollister, PhD
Dr. McCollister is a Professor of Health Economics and the Director of the Division of Health Services Research and Policy in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Dr. McCollister’s research uses cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit principles to evaluate prevention and treatment interventions for individuals including vulnerable and criminal justice populations with substance use disorders.
Benjamin Linas, MD, MPH
Population Data & Modeling Core
Boston Medical Center
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Benjamin Linas, MD, MPH
Dr. Linas is Director of the HIV Epidemiology and Outcomes Research Unit in the Department of Medicine at Boston Medical Center and Professor of Medicine at the Boston University School of Medicine. His research investigates the comparative- and cost-effectiveness of interventions to identify and treat the medical complications of substance use disorders, including HIV, HCV, and overdose, and to maximize the benefits of evolving therapies for HIV and HCV in the “real-world.” Dr. Linas is board-certified in Infectious Diseases and provides primary care and sub-specialty management of HIV, HCV, and HIV/HCV co-infected patients in clinical practice.
Zachary Meisel, MD, MPH, MSHP
Dissemination & Policy Core
University of Pennsylvania
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Zachary Meisel, MD, MPH, MSHP
Dr. Meisel is a Senior Fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics (LDI), Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, and co-director of the Center for Emergency Care Policy Research at the Perelman School of Medicine—all affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania. He conducts comparative effectiveness research in emergency care and knowledge translation related to opioid prescription guidelines and research evidence. Dr. Meisel is board certified in Emergency Medicine.
Brandon Aden, MD, MPH
Pilot Grant & Training Core
Weill Cornell Medicine
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Brandon Aden, MD, MPH
Dr. Aden is an Assistant Professor of Medicine and of Population Health Sciences at Weill Cornell Medicine, and Associate Program Director for the Weill Cornell Public Health and Preventive Medicine Residency. He is the primary medical care provider at the Vincent P. Dole Treatment Center in the NewYork Presbyterian Ambulatory Care Network, providing addiction treatment and primary medical care to patients with substance use disorders. His research focuses on quality-of-life assessment in opioid dependence and models of HCV care service delivery. Dr. Aden is board certified in Internal Medicine, Public Health and General Preventive Medicine, and Addiction Medicine.
Sean M. Murphy, PhD
Consultation Service
Methodology Core
Weill Cornell Medicine
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Sean M. Murphy, PhD
Dr. Murphy is an Associate Professor in the Department of Population Health Sciences at the Weill Cornell Medical College. He is a trained health economist with expertise in chronic-condition management with an emphasis in substance use disorders and related conditions. Dr. Murphy’s research includes comparative economic evaluations alongside clinical trials and cohort studies, claims-based analyses, and evaluating determinants of treatment access, outcomes and adverse effects.
Yuhua Bao, PhD
Population Data & Modeling Core
Administrative Core
Weill Cornell Medicine
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Yuhua Bao, PhD
Dr. Bao is an Associate Professor of Population Health Sciences at Weill Cornell Medicine. Trained as a health economist, she specializes in quantitative health services research and has recently initiated health economic research in the field of substance use.
Jake R. Morgan, PhD
Population Data & Modeling Core
Boston University School of Public Health
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Jake R. Morgan, PhD
Dr. Morgan is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Law, Policy, and Management at the Boston University School of Public Health. Dr. Morgan is an applied health economist with extensive experience in statistical, econometric, and simulation modeling approaches. He has a history of collaborating with public health stakeholders and excels at leveraging real-world big data to answer pressing public health questions. Dr. Morgan has worked with CHERISH since its inception.
Janet Weiner, PhD, MPH
Dr. Weiner is Associate Director for Health Policy at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics at the University of Pennsylvania. In that capacity, she works with multidisciplinary teams to conduct health services research and to develop strategies to disseminate research results to policymakers.
Staff
Nadiyah Browning
Nadiyah Browning is a policy coordinator for the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics at the University of Pennsylvania. In that role, she supports the translation and dissemination of health-related research to become impactful policy recommendations for actionable change.
Erminia Fardone, PhD
Methodology Core
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
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Erminia Fardone, PhD
Dr. Fardone is an Assistant Scientist in the Department of Public Health Sciences – Division of Health Services Research and Policy at University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Dr. Fardone is a broadly trained Neuroscientist who provides research and administrative support to a wide range of research projects focusing on economic evaluation (e.g. cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analyses) of prevention and treatment interventions for individuals with substance use disorders.
Jared Leff, MS
Mr. Leff is a Senior Research Manager in the Department of Population Health Sciences at Weill Cornell Medicine. He is experienced in providing research and administrative support to a portfolio of research projects evaluating interventions to improve the continuum of care for the diagnosis and treatment of substance use disorders, HIV, and hepatitis C.
Iván Montoya, MPH
Iván Montoya is a Research Associate/Biostatistician at the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Miami. Mr. Montoya is experienced in providing research and administrative support to a portfolio of research projects and interventions aiming to improve healthcare providers’ knowledge and performance regarding evidence-based treatments for OUDs and risk reduction practices. Mr. Montoya received his Master of Public Health training with a focus on epidemiology and biostatistics from the Boston University School of Public Health in 2019.
Caroline Savitzky, MSW
Population Data & Modeling Core
Boston Medical Center
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Caroline Savitzky, MSW
Caroline Savitzky is a Program Manager in the Section of Infectious Diseases in the Department of Medicine at Boston Medical Center. She has more than ten years of public health program management experience and previously managed community health and sexual and reproductive health programs in numerous countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to that she worked as a social worker and advocate for improved access to healthcare for people living with HIV. Caroline earned a Master of Social Work with a concentration in health, social and economic development from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.
Emily Stewart
Emily Stewart is a Research Program Specialist in the Section of Infectious Diseases at Boston Medical Center where she provides administrative and communications support. Emily graduated in January of 2021 from Washington University in St. Louis with a Bachelor of Arts in Cognitive Neuroscience with a minor in Anthropology.
Bonnie Tse
Bonnie Tse is a communications specialist within the Division of Comparative Effectiveness and Outcomes Research of the Department of Population Health Sciences at Weill Cornell Medicine. She provides strategic and communications support to the Center for Health Economics of Treatment Interventions for Substance Use Disorders, HCV, and HIV (CHERISH).
Bonnie is also a multi-disciplined creator with roots in Chinatown and the Lower East Side and cares deeply about the health and social issues impacting working-class communities and vulnerable populations. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Food Science from Hunter College and previously produced campaigns for the Charles B. Wang Community Health Center, a federally qualified health center serving the Asian American and immigrant community in New York City.
Advisory Board
Victoria Behar-Zusman, PhD
Principal Investigator, Center for Latino Health Research Opportunities (CLaRO)
University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies
Sherry Deren, PhD
Founding Director Emeritus, Center for Drug Use and HIV Research
New York University College of Nursing
Yih-Ing Hser, PhD
Investigator, Integrated Substance Abuse Programs
University of California, Los Angeles
James McKay, PhD
Director, Penn-TRI Center on the Continuum of Care in the Addictions
University of Pennsylvania
Daniel Polsky, PhD
Bloomberg Distinguished Professor at the Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Carey School of Business
Johns Hopkins University
Robert Remien, PhD
Director, HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies
New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University Medical Center
Jeffrey Samet, MD, MPH, MA
Director, Uganda Russia Boston Alcohol Network for Alcohol Research Collaboration on HIV/AIDS (URBAN ARCH)
Chief, Section of General Internal Medicine
Boston Medical Center
Pilot Grant Recipients
Yuhua Bao, PhD
Dr. Bao’s pilot grant examined the impact of Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) implementation on opioid prescribing in ambulatory care settings using National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) and the Medicaid Drug Utilization Data (MDUD). Dr. Bao and colleagues examined trends in prescribing opiates in ambulatory settings across states pre-/post-implementation of PDMPs. The investigators also examined the budget impact of PDMP policies on Medicaid spending for buprenorphine and naltrexone treatments as an indicator of change in medication-assisted treatment for opioid dependence. Dr. Bao was an Associate Professor of Healthcare Policy & Research at Weill Cornell Medicine. Trained as a health economist, she specializes in quantitative health services research and has recently initiated health economic research in the field of substance use.
Karen Lasser, MD, MPH
Dr. Lasser’s pilot grant proposed to evaluate economic and health outcomes for a primary care-based HCV treatment program in a patient-centered medical home. The treatment model was based on the chronic care model including a multidisciplinary team with physician, nursing, social worker, pharmacy technician and pharmacist. The team worked together to provide evaluation for the patient, HCV education, social support, adherence support, medication teaching visits, and prior authorization to facilitate patient progress through the treatment cascade. To evaluate program success, Dr. Lasser and colleagues measured and reported HCV treatment program services utilization, health outcomes achieved (including SVR) and conduct a budget impact analysis to address the scale-up and sustainability of program implementation. Dr. Lasser was an Associate Professor of Medicine at the Boston University School of Medicine. Dr. Lasser’s areas of research include quality of care, health disparities, health policy, smoking cessation, and practices in primary care to reduce prescription drug abuse.
Kit Delgado, MD, MPH
Dr. Delgado’s pilot grant assessed physician-level variability in opioid drug prescribing practices for six specific diagnoses across multiple specialties. Dr. Delgado used the Optum Cliniformatics DataMart national private insurance claims database to estimate excess prescription opioids prescribed by state and nationally, and calculated the resulting excess cost to the health system. Dr. Delgado was an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine and Epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was also a Senior Fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics. His research focuses on clinical and policy interventions in emergency care and trauma systems to improve injury outcomes.
Michael Pesko, PhD
Using econometric techniques, Dr. Pesko examined data from the National Center for Health Statistics to explore the impact of e-cigarette and marijuana policies on cigarette use and birth outcomes. The study provided evidence of whether e-cigarettes, marijuana, and cigarettes have differential risks to pregnant women. Dr. Pesko was an Assistant Professor of Healthcare Policy & Research at Weill Cornell Medicine. Trained as a health economist, Dr. Pesko’s research focuses on evaluating health policy changes and their effect on health outcomes.
Czarina Behrends, MPH, PhD
In collaboration with colleagues at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), Dr. Czarina Behrends assessed naloxone distribution patterns, outcomes and required resources in New York City. She used these data to develop a model for optimal allocation of those resources in order to prevent overdoses. Her project used geospatial analysis and costing information to maximize the impact of naloxone distribution in NYC. Dr. Behrends was an Assistant Professor at Weill Cornell Medical College. Her research interests include harm reduction strategies, program evaluation and research relating to HIV and hepatitis C testing and care, with a special focus on people who inject drugs.
Benjamin Ukert, PhD
Dr. Benjamin Ukert’s pilot grant described the physician- and state-level variation in prescribing practices post C-section and knee arthroscopy, two of the most common surgical procedures in the U.S. Using private insurance claims data, Dr. Ukert also determined the relationship between prescribing practices and the transition to prolonged opioid use. Lastly, he also estimated the associated healthcare costs and service utilization as a result of prolonged opioid use. Dr. Ukert was a postdoctoral researcher at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics and the Injury Science Center at the Perelman School of Medicine. He is an applied microeconomist with a specific interest in the areas of risky behaviors, insurance reform, public transfer programs, and crime prevention.
Tyler Bartholomew
Tyler Bartholomew was a doctoral student in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Miami. Prior to entering the doctoral program, he was the project manager for an HIV and HCV testing, linkage to care, and treatment program at five federally-qualified health centers in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as part of his AmeriCorps service. For his pilot grant, he conducted an economic analysis of Florida’s Infectious Disease Elimination Act (IDEA) Syringe Exchange Program located in Miami. Using clinical data from IDEA Exchange participants, he estimated the costs of the IDEA fixed syringe exchange program and the mobile syringe exchange program from the healthcare and societal perspectives. He also estimated the cost of ancillary services such as naloxone distribution and an onsite wound care clinic. The results of his pilot study supported the evaluation of broader implementation of syringe exchange services across the state Florida.
Shashi Kapadia, MD, MS
Dr. Shashi Kapadia was an instructor in Medicine and in Healthcare Policy & Research at Weill Cornell Medicine; he previously completed an Infectious Diseases Fellowship, a Public Health and General Preventive Medicine Residency, and his Masters of Science in Clinical Investigation at Weill Cornell. In his pilot grant, he used a national administrative dataset to characterize changes in the Hepatitis C (HCV) provider landscape, comparing the period before direct acting antivirals (DAAs) and after DAAs. Using this dataset, he assessed the changes in the number and types of providers offering HCV-testing and treatment, examined the HCV testing and treatment volume across providers, and compared the rate of treatment completion for patients treated by providers with different volumes. He evaluated results for all HCV patients and for HCV patient subgroups with opioid use disorder diagnoses and with HIV co-infection.
Katherine Wen
Katherine Wen was a doctoral student in the Department of Policy Analysis at Cornell University. Ms. Wen was working with CHERISH Research Affiliate and Cycle 1 Pilot Grant recipient, Dr. Yuhua Bao, and assessed the effects of state policies and practices aimed at improving prescriber use of Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs) on opioid prescriptions that put patients at high risk of opioid misuse and overdose (“high-risk opioid prescriptions”). With CHERISH enhancement funding, Ms. Wen used Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI) data to assess the effects of PDMP policies on opioid overdose and other opioid-related inpatient admissions and emergency department (ED) visits with a focus on the privately insured and Medicare Advantage populations. Findings of this study informed future policy-making for safe prescribing of pain medications for effective management of pain.
Melissa Zielinski, PhD
Dr. Melissa Zielinski was an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Arkansas. She completed a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Arkansas and pre-doctoral internship and post-doctoral fellowship in Addiction Research at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Dr. Zielinski served as the evaluator for the Pulaski County Regional Crisis Stabilization Unit (PCRCSU), one of Arkansas’ four state-mandated crisis stabilization units intended to aid in diverting people who come into contact with police due to acute mental health crises from jails and into a medically-appropriate level of care. Dr. Zielinski, CHERISH Research Affiliate Dr. Joshua Barocas, and colleagues used CHERISH enhancement funding to conduct a preliminary economic evaluation of the PCRCSU to provide timely information on the budget impact of the unit to the state of Arkansas as it considers expanding the number of units throughout the state.
Rachel Epstein, MD, MS
Dr. Rachel Epstein was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Infectious Diseases and Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Boston Medical Center. She previously completed a combined fellowship in adult and pediatric infectious diseases while completing an MS in Epidemiology from the Boston University School of Public Health. Her previous research has largely focused on characterizing the HCV care cascade for people with substance use disorder, and HIV medication adherence and prevention. With pilot grant funding from CHERISH, Dr. Epstein accessed the MarketScan commercial claims dataset and linked these data with a novel dataset of Medicaid HCV treatment policies maintained by the National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable and the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation of Harvard Law School. This enabled her to analyze HCV screening, linkage, and treatment rates by state and compare the trends in outcomes among states maintaining more restrictive HCV treatment Medicaid policies to those that decreased restrictions over the study period. Her pilot grant provided important information regarding unintended (or “spillover”) effects from Medicaid policies to commercial payers that could have future implications for the treatment policy landscape.
Margaret Lowenstein, MD, MPhil
Dr. Margaret Lowenstein was a Fellow and VA Scholar in the National Clinicians Scholars Program at the University of Pennsylvania and an Associate Fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics. As part of her health services research fellowship, Dr. Lowenstein’s research focused on access to harm reduction and substance use treatment for people with opioid use disorders. Her pilot grant estimated the cost and effectiveness of naloxone distribution to prevent overdose fatalities in public libraries in Philadelphia from a city policymaker perspective. This study was among the first to examine overdose outcomes, costs and cost-effectiveness of naloxone distribution in public institutions and the first to evaluate naloxone distribution efforts in public libraries. Libraries represent an innovative model for scaling up community-based overdose prevention efforts and are a promising part of comprehensive strategies to combat the opioid crisis. The results from her pilot study informed policymakers about the best use of scarce resources to reduce overdose mortality and increase access to naloxone.
Angélica Meinhofer, PhD
Dr. Angelica Meinhofer was an Instructor in the Department of Healthcare Policy & Research at Weill Cornell Medical College. She completed her doctorate in Economics at Brown University and previously worked as a Research Economist at RTI International’s Behavioral Health Services, Policy and Economics Research Program where she designed and conducted evaluations of interventions for opioid use disorder. Her pilot grant examined the impact of punitive and supportive pre-natal drug use policies on maternal behaviors, pregnancy outcomes, and costs using national data sets. Using CHERISH funds she purchased the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) data set, which includes the largest collection of longitudinal hospital care data in the United States, with all-payer, encounter-level information. This study addressed critical knowledge gaps regarding the impact of state policies for reducing substance use during pregnancy, and will guide policy approaches to improve maternal and infant health.
Ali Jalali, PhD
Dr. Ali Jalali is a Postdoctoral Associate in the Department of Population Health Sciences at Weill Cornell Medical College. He completed his doctorate in economics at the University of Utah. His current research focuses on economic evaluations of interventions for substance use disorders and related conditions. His pilot grant will examine healthcare resource utilization patterns and Medicaid costs for pregnant women with opioid use disorder, infants with and without exposure to opioids in utero, and infants with and without neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS). He will use data from the Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System (T-MSIS), which will provide the opportunity to generate nationally representative Medicaid unit costs for healthcare services. This study will address knowledge gaps regarding pregnant women with opioid use disorder and their infants, and will be the first study to provide Medicaid healthcare resource unit cost estimates for these women and infants for future economic evaluations.
Austin Kilaru, MD, MSHP
Dr. Austin Kilaru is a Fellow in the National Clinicians Scholars Program and Attending Physician in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and an Associate Fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics. As part of his fellowship he has received training in health services research and his research has focused on financial incentives to improve on opioid use disorder treatment systems within hospitals. His pilot grant will examine adherence to medications for opioid use disorder (buprenorphine and methadone) following an opioid related emergency department visit. He will explore the association between adherence and co-payment or out-of-pocket costs and the association between treatment discontinuation and repeated opioid-related emergency department use. He will use the Optum Clinformatics Datamart, a national commercial claims dataset. This study will have policy implications for payers and providers that seek to expand access to opioid use disorder treatment.
Hao Zhang, PhD
Dr. Hao Zhang is a Postdoctoral Associate in the Department of Population Health Sciences at Weill Cornell Medical College. He completed his doctorate in health services research at Texas A &M University focusing on econometric models and policy analysis. His current research centers on evaluating opioid-related policies and his pilot grant will examine the effect of changes in opioid prescribing practices on patients with metastatic bone cancer and patients with sickle cell disease who may be undertreated for pain. His study will assess trends in rates of emergency department visits, emergency department initiated opioid prescriptions, and costs among these populations using the Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI) claims database, a national dataset of commercially insured and Medicare Advantage individuals. This study will generate new knowledge regarding pain management, access to opioid therapies, and costs among patient populations at risk for under treated pain.
Shoshana Aronowitz, PhD, MSHP, FNP-BC
Shoshana Aronowitz is a family nurse practitioner, community-engaged health services researcher, and assistant professor in the Department of Family and Community Health at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. Her research examines innovative delivery models to promote equitable access to substance use treatment and harm reduction services, as well as racial disparities in pain management in the context of the opioid overdose crisis. In one of her latest publications, she evaluated a partnership between two community-based organizations and the Philadelphia Department of Public Health that provide free mailed naloxone kits and other harm reduction supplies to Philadelphians.
Aronowitz provides opioid use disorder treatment at Prevention Point Philadelphia and Ophelia Health and is a harm reduction community organizer with SOL Collective. She received her undergraduate degree from McGill University and earned her master’s and doctoral degrees from University of Vermont and University of Pennsylvania. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship at the National Clinician Scholars Program University of Pennsylvania site.
Ravi Gupta, MD
Ravi Gupta is an internal medicine physician and National Clinician Scholars Program fellow at the University of Pennsylvania. His research focuses on evaluating policies on the use of prescription drugs and has been published in several high-impact journals. Notably, his investigation into rising naloxone prices led to congressional investigations of companies that manufacture naloxone.
He received his undergraduate degree from Ohio State University, graduated from Yale School of Medicine, completed his clinical residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital in the Urban Health track, and practices medicine at the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center.
Xiao Zang, PhD
Xiao Zang is a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Epidemiology at Brown University where he has demonstrated expertise in disease simulation modeling, model calibration, and health economic evaluation. Working with his postdoctoral supervisor CHERISH Research Affiliate Brandon Marshall, Zang has led valuable research projects including examining the impact rural syringe service program closures have on the HIV epidemic in Indiana, and the development of a microsimulation model to inform community-level naloxone distribution strategies to minimize opioid overdose fatalities.
Zang received his undergraduate degree from Southeast University in China and a master’s degree in industrial and systems engineering from the University of Southern California. He earned his doctoral degree in health sciences from Simon Fraser University in Canada.
Thanh Lu, PhD
Thanh Lu is a postdoctoral researcher in the Division of Comparative Effectiveness & Outcomes Research in the Department of Population Health Sciences at Weill Cornell Medicine and a CHERISH Research Affiliate. Lu has robust expertise in conducting economic analyses with a range of data sources including emergency department encounters, hospital discharge records, and surveys. One of her recent publications examined the relationship between recreational marijuana laws and household spending on food and alcohol.
Lu received her undergraduate degree from the Clarion University of Pennsylvania and graduated from Temple University with a master’s and doctoral degree in economics.