Laura E. Henkhaus, PhD
Health Economist with Expertise Across Research, Healthcare, and Biopharma
LinkedIn ∙ Website ∙ Google Scholar ∙ New York, NY
Professional Experience
Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine TItusville, NJ
Director, Access and Policy Research (Scientific Affairs) 06/2025 - Present
Lead research supporting evidence-based policies that accelerate medical innovation and enhance patient value, access and affordability at the J&J Center for U.S. Healthcare Policy Research
PriMed Management Consulting Services, Hill Physicians Medical Group New York, NY
Staff Data Scientist 03/2025 - 06/2025
Data Scientist 05/2022 - 03/2025
Demonstrated $0.5-3.3M annual savings from care management program in presentation to executive committee, leading value assessments leveraging health insurance claims data, electronic health records, and clinical team insights
Launched pilot patient support program for diabetes management in collaboration with pharmacy services by developing randomized study design and statistical analysis plan
Advanced health equity initiatives and informed new business strategy through presentation to Finance All Hands: (1) demonstrating business case that socioeconomic status predicted 15% higher costs among membership and (2) leveraging public data to facilitate patient targeting
Built organizational capacity in health economics and outcomes research by training data science staff and clinicians on impact evaluation methods, econometric analysis, and healthcare data management
Vanderbilt University, Data Science Institute; Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Dept. of Health Policy Nashville, TN
Data Scientist, Postdoctoral Researcher 08/2019 - 04/2022
Cited by the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services for research demonstrating positive impacts of vaccine policies on uptake and disease prevention, measured using rigorous causal inference methods (difference-in-differences, regression discontinuity) and published in the American Journal of Health Economics and Journal of Policy Analysis and Management
Produced policy-relevant, rapid-response research on COVID-19 impacts on families by developing survey questionnaire, interpreting results, and drafting publication for Pediatrics in less than 2 months, which resulted in extensive media coverage and 1,500+ citations including by the National Association of Medicaid Directors and CDC
Influenced allocation of state budget including >$2B in federal funds for COVID-19 relief by partnering with TN Medicaid, Department of Health, and Department of Education to develop a research agenda with national importance while sensitive to state needs (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Award #75821; $1.25M)
Precision Health Economics (Precision AQ after acquisition) Los Angeles, CA
Research Associate 06/2012 - 06/2014
Developed methodology paper on indirect treatment comparison by evaluating health technology assessment approaches, collaborating with pharmaceutical clients to present recommendations at ISPOR Europe 2014
Led systematic literature review and meta-analysis of undiagnosed non-valvular atrial fibrillation prevalence by managing project needs and contributions from multidisciplinary team including clinician consultants, epidemiologists, health economists, and pharmaceutical industry partners
Shaped evidence generation strategy for medication adherence by synthesizing research priorities through stakeholder engagement and publishing recommendations in a manuscript in the Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy
Education
University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA
PhD, Health Economics 08/2014 - 08/2019
Developed dissertation on adverse childhood experiences and long-term impacts on health and human capital by using longitudinal survey data and econometric methods (partial identification, multivariate analyses, falsification tests), which resulted in a top 10% most downloaded article in Health Economics in first 12 months of publication
Built cost-effectiveness simulation model of combination therapy for diabetes; presented HTA findings at ISPOR 2016
University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, CA
BS, Environmental Economics and Policy 08/2008 - 05/2012