Our Scholars

Helena Addison, PhD, MSN, RN
Yale

Advancing health equity by addressing the mental health harms of structural racism, incarceration, and violence exposures and improving access to quality care.

Emily Ager, MD, MPH
UCSF

Investigating gaps in care and developing interventions to improve the quality and equity of reproductive and sexual health care in the Emergency Department.

Zainab Ahmed, MD
UCLA

Investigating both policy and clinical solutions to replace arrest and jail for those with psychiatric conditions; exploring the intersections between public health interventions at home and health equity abroad.

Sameen Ansari, MD
UCSF

Assessing state-level policies that focus on reducing healthcare disparities and improving access to care for systemically disadvantaged populations.

Tashalee Brown, MD, PhD
UCLA

Investigating social determinants of mental health, the role of racism in perpetuating racial/ethnic disparities in mental health care, community-partnered mental health interventions, and the implementation of evidence-based anti-racism training in mental health care.

Joniqua Ceasar, MD
Penn

Using mixed methods to explore the relationship between neighborhoods and health, especially as it relates to structural racism, environmental justice, the built environment and climate change.

Cassandra Dictus, PhD, MPH, RN
Duke

Investigating long-term care, systems, and policy to improve quality of life and health equity for older adults and their caregivers

Jean Digitale, PhD, MPH, RN
UCSF

Improving quality, safety, and equity in pediatric hospital care using electronic health record data, clinical informatics, and advanced analytics.

Marc Henry Gary Estriplet, MD, MPH
Yale

Investigating the implementation sciences surrounding value-based healthcare and its impact on outcomes; unraveling the relationship between the political determinants of health, access to care, and interventions that drive equity.

Sarah Follman, MD
Yale

Improving quality of care for vulnerable emergency department patients including those with substance use disorders and psychiatric emergencies, victims of trauma, and patients with obstetric and gynecologic complications.

Amy Goh, PhD, MPhil, CNM, FACNM
Yale

Examining midwifery and birth center utilization within the Asian American community and identifying interventions to improve birthing outcomes for Asian birthing people.

Daniel M. Gonzalez, MD
UCLA

Investigating healthcare access and policy factors impacting care for marginalized populations, including Medi-Cal patients.

Caleb Haley, MD
Michigan

Investigating how policies and systems affect healthcare access, delivery, and outcomes for gender-affirming medical and surgical care.

Nina Hill, MD
Michigan

Characterizing impact of health-related social needs on vulnerable adolescents and young adults, and developing primary care-based interventions to improve disparities in chronic disease development.

Brianna Jackson, PhD, MScN, RN, CPMHN(C)
UCSF

Exploring how social and structural adversities, trauma, and violence influence mental health and resilience in marginalized youth transitioning to adulthood.

Jacqueline Marie Kent-Marvick, PhD, BSN
Penn

Investigating how characteristics of social networks are associated with postpartum diet, activity, and weight as an important first step in addressing postpartum health behaviors from a multi-level/domain approach.

Joseph A Kern, MD
Penn

Understanding the economic and policy factors impacting victims of violent injury and developing targeted, sustainable interventions that will improve patient outcomes and ultimately reduce rates of violent injury.

Kera Kwan, MD
UCLA

Investigating and mitigating disparities in colorectal and anal diseases, including cancer and inflammatory bowel disease, using implementation science and epidemiologic approaches.

James Lee, MD
Michigan

Investigating the impacts of state-level price regulations on healthcare access, quality, and equity to help advance future reforms.

Juan Carlos Lozano, MD
UCSF

Investigating the sequelae of oppressive systems affecting underrepresented communities' health outcomes and researching health disparities to impact health policy and local program development.

Olivia Lynch, MD, MPH
Yale

Investigating inequalities and inefficiencies in the perioperative period and the resultant impact on patient and provider experiences, as well as health system costs and utilization.

Nicole Mott, MD
Michigan

De-implementing low-value preoperative testing before common surgical procedures and optimizing perioperative care.

Cody Mullens, MD
Michigan

Investigating the unique challenges in the delivery of surgical care for rural patients and working towards improving access, quality, and costs of care for rural patients in the United States.

Kristen Obiakor, MD, MS
UCLA

Using an intersectional lens to investigate early intervention strategies to attenuate adverse childhood events within vulnerable, historically minoritized pediatric populations and how it impacts the health outcomes and inequities experienced.

Whitney Orji, MD, MSHP
UCLA

Developing strategies to mitigate inequities in care for elective and emergency pediatric surgery patients.

Isabel Ostrer, MD
UCSF

Integrating social and medical care to improve wellbeing at a population level.

Madeline Perry, MD
Penn

Investigating how state-level policies differentially influence perinatal outcomes and utilizing health policy implementation science to challenge obstetric health disparities, especially among people with high risk maternal health conditions.

Jamila Picart, MD
Michigan

Investigating how diversity is defined and recruited for in surgical specialties to refine recruitment strategies and advance the diversification of the surgical workforce.

Melissa Powell, PhD, RN, CPHQ
UCLA

Exploring mental health interventions to support the psychological well-being of nurses and their retention in the nursing profession.

Maxwell Presser, MD, MPH
UCSF

Investigating injury and violence prevention strategies with a specific focus on hospital-based violence intervention programs.

Lauren Raymond, MD
Yale

Evaluating disparities in advanced care planning, referral patterns to palliative care, and how to optimize goal-concordant care delivery for surgical patients.

Naveen Reddy, MD
UCSF

Examining the Veterans Health Administration's method of adopting emerging medical technologies and developing policies to promote their sustainable utilization.

Sarah Revak, MD
Penn

Investigating policy and practice-based interventions to improve health-promoting government assistance programs for children and their families living in poverty. 

William Roberts, MS, MSc
Yale

Investigating health policy, community empowerment, quality improvement, and payment reform to improve health equity and delivery of primary care.

Jessica Santos-Parker, MD, PhD
UCSF

Improving access to surgical care for low-income and vulnerable populations, with a focus on thoracic surgery.

Kristan Scott, MD
Penn

Examining the drivers of disparities in maternal and infant morbidity and mortality and establishing strategies and interventions to mitigate these disparities.

Kaustav P. Shah, MD
Penn

Investigating how medical professionals interface with electronic health records (EHR) and how novel machine learning tools can integrate into the EHR to both improve quality of care and provider wellness.

Walter Solorzano, MD, MPH
UCLA

Improving delivery of care for underserved communities in federally qualified health centers and investigating diabetes disparities with a focus on technology access.

Allison O. Taylor, MD, MS
Duke

Understanding disparities in diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes for patients with hematologic malignancies from underrepresented racial and ethnic backgrounds, and developing relevant interventions to address these inequities through community engagement.

Andrew Wong, MD
Michigan

Development and ethical implementation of provider-facing machine learning and artificial intelligence tools for clinical diagnosis, hospital operations, and medical education.

Hilary Wright, MD, MPH
UCLA

Enhancing health systems and policies to improve mental health outcomes among people experiencing homelessness.

Annie Yang, MD
Yale

Improving the quality of care within skilled nursing facilities and long-term care for older, vulnerable adults; evaluating the impact of Medicaid policies and changes on care delivery and beneficiary outcomes.

Portia Zaire, PhD, MSNEd, BSN
Michigan

Investigating the delivery of health and preventive care services to historically marginalized communities.