Impact

Moving beyond the typical bounds of academic research, I have sought to develop and implement interactive technological tools that incorporate our research models and results. The following provides examples of research implementation aimed at impact:

• Infant Mortality Risk Prediction and Prevention: I led a team that conducted user-centered design studies with health and social service providers in order to develop interactive tools aimed at informing clinical decision-making, connecting high-risk parents with health and social service interventions that will reduce their child's risk of infant mortality

• Opioid Epidemic: I consulted with members of Congress in developing supply-side and harm reduction policies to curtail the opioid epidemic

• National Defense Research: During my time at RAND I have had the opportunity to participate in sponsored national defense research requiring security clearance. This research, while highly sensitive, produced recommendations presented to national defense decision-makers

I have presented at over 75 conferences, invited seminars, advisory board meetings, and expert panels. The following is a selection of my presentations:

• University of Southern California, Institute for Addiction Sciences Policy, 2023

• American Economic Association, New Orleans, LA, 2023

• American Society of Health Economists, Austin, TX, 2022

• Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, Austin, TX, 2021

• Econometric Society World Congress, Virtual, 2020

• Carnegie Mellon University – University of Pittsburgh Applied Microeconomics Seminar, Pittsburgh, PA, 2019

• American Society for Health Economists, Atlanta, GA, 2018

• National Bureau of Economic Research, Summer Institute, Cambridge, MA, 2017

• Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management International Conference, London, United Kingdom, 2016

• Annual Conference of the European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, Helsinki, Finland, 2015

I have worked to develop the next generation of researchers and to develop and disseminate novel causal inference methods. The following are examples of these efforts:

• Co-Director of the RAND Center for Causal Inference (2022 – Present): Provided research training by administering research grants and student fellowships; as well as frequently hosting and presenting during monthly seminars

• Professor of Policy Analysis at the Pardee RAND Graduate School (2019 – Present): Taught courses in causal inference and health policy, and served as a dissertation advisor for doctoral students

• Visiting Professor at Brigham Young University (2011): Taught international economics

I have served as a referee for numerous academic journals and as a grant reviewer for the National Institutes of Health. The following are examples:

• Academic Journals: Journal of Health Economics, JAMA, Journal of Development Economics, Economics of Education Review, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management

• NIH Grant Reviews: Organization and Delivery of Health Services; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Development Special Emphasis Panel; Topics in Health Services Research Special Emphasis Panel

My research has attracted the attention of numerous popular media outlets. The following is a selection of the media coverage of my research:

• Adapting to a hotter world: We must prioritize adaptation efforts – not just mitigation plans – to handle global climate change, with Jaime Madrigano, US News and World Report, 2015

• Scientists put $177 billion price tag on cost of poor child growth, Reuters, 2016

• Many Who Need Opioid OD Antidote the Most Can’t Afford It, US News and World Report, 2022

• Life-saving Opioid Treatment Out of Reach for Uninsured, The Hill, 2022

• Over-the-Counter Narcan Could Save More Lives. But Price and Stigma Are Obstacles, The New York Times, 2023

• An overdose drug is finally over-the-counter. Is that enough to stop the death toll? NPR, 2023

• The City of Pittsburgh's a Movie Star, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2023

• The depressing relationship between your job and your odds of drug overdose, The Washington Post, 2023