2025 Health & Wellness Conference Program

Click Here for PDF Version of the Schedule | Click Here for List of Conference Attendees

FRIDAY, APRIL 11, 2025

LOCATION: University Club, 123 University Pl., Gold Rm.

7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Welcome Reception 

SATURDAY, APRIL 12, 2025 

LOCATION: 1500 Wesley W. Posvar Hall, 230 S. Bouquet St.  

Each talk in each session is scheduled for 25 minutes (except keynotes): a 20-minute presentation followed by 5 minutes of discussion.  All talks are held in Posvar 1500.

8:15 - 8:45AM Registration & Breakfast 

8:45 - 9:00AM Welcome & Introduction to the Conference, Lise Vesterlund & Osea Giuntella, University of Pittsburgh

9:00 - 10:00AM  Keynote I: Kosali Simon, Indiana University - "School Closures and Parental Mental Health”

10:00 - 10:20AM Coffee Break 

10:20 - 11:10AM Session 1: Wellbeing in the Workplace 

Chair: Lester Lusher, University of Pittsburgh

Michele Belot, Cornell University - "The Value of Bonding at Work: Evidence from a Field Experiment"

Julian Reif, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - "How Do Habits Form? Experimental Evidence from Health Screenings”

11:10 - 12:10PM Panel: Making Our Communities Healthier

Sirry Alang, University of Pittsburgh

Michael S. Dunbar, RAND

Sera Linardi, University of Pittsburgh

Lisa Sontag-Padilla, RAND

12:10 - 1:10 PM Lunch 

1:10 - 2:10 PM Keynote II: Gautam Rao, University of California, Berkeley - "The Economics of Mental Health in the Developing World" 

2:10 - 3:00 PM Session 2: Determinants of Mental Wellbeing 

Chair: Colin Sullivan, University of Pittsburgh 

Jonathan Zhang, Duke University - "The Effects of Suicide Hotlines on Health: Evidence from 988 Implementation"

Peter Schwardman, Carnegie Mellon University - "Depression Stigma"

3:00 - 3:20 PM Coffee Break 

3:20 - 4:20 PM Session 3: AI, Media, Digital Technology, and Health 

Chair: Felix Koenig, Carnegie Mellon University 

David Creswell, Carnegie Mellon University - "Sitting with Discomfort: Mindfulness, Equanimity, and Health"

Morgan Frank, University of Pittsburgh - "Measuring AI and Worker Outcomes"

Osea Giuntella, University of Pittsburgh - "AI and Worker's Health"

4:20 - 4:40 PM Coffee Break 

4:40 - 5:40 PM Panel: Harnessing AI, Digital Technology, & Robotics for Better Health 

Michael Barber, Highmark Health

Marco Capogrosso, University of Pittsburgh Spinal Cord Stimulation Laboratory 

Erin Dalton, Allegheny County Department of Human Services

Mark Collins, UndauntedBio Inc.

6:30 - 8:30 PM Dinner for pre-registered guests only. Location TBA.

SUNDAY, APRIL 13, 2025 

LOCATION: 1500 Wesley W. Posvar Hall, 230 S. Bouquet St.  

Each talk in each session is scheduled for 25 minutes: a 20-minute presentation followed by 5 minutes of discussion.  All talks are held in Posvar 1500.

8:00 - 8:30 AM Coffee & Breakfast 

8:30 - 9:45 AM Session 4: Policy and Trust

Chair: David Huffman, University of Pittsburgh

Travis Donahoe, University of Pittsburgh - "When Do Supply-Side Drug Policies Save Lives? Evidence from Pharmacy Methadone Restrictions"

Silvia Saccardo, Carnegie Mellon University - "Information Avoidance in Health Care"

Michael Darden, John Hopkins University - "Trust and Health Care Seeking Behavior"

9:45 - 10:05 AM Coffee Break 

10:05 - 10:55 AM Session 5: Gender and Physician Behavior 

Chair: Claire Duquennois, University of Pittsburgh 

Manasvini Singh, Carnegie Mellon University - "Gender Mix and Team Performance: Evidence from Obstetrics"

Tianyi Wang, University of Toronto - "The Power of Daughters: How Physicians' Family Influences Female Patients' Health"

10:55 - 11:15 AM Coffee Break 

11:15 - 12:15 PM Keynote III: Heather Royer, University of California - Santa Barbara 

12:15 - 12:30 PM Wrap-Up & Closing Remarks 

12:30 PM Boxed Lunch