Team
Study Leads
Heidi L. Allen
Heidi Allen, MSW, PhD is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Work at Columbia University. Dr. Allen’s research focuses on eliminating health disparities through evidence-based health policy and evolved from her clinical practice in mental health and emergency department social work. Dr. Allen is currently a commissioner on the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC), a non-resident fellow at the Urban Institute, and a contributing writer at Milbank Quarterly.
Jamie Daw, PhD
- Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Management
Jamie Daw, PhD, is a co-lead of the PAHS and an Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Dr. Daw studies how policies affect the barriers faced by reproductive-aged women and pregnant people in accessing health services, from gaining health insurance to connecting with providers and ultimately, receiving high-quality care. She holds a PhD in Health Policy from Harvard University and a MSc in Population and Public Health from the University of British Columbia.
Co-Investigators
Brittany Chambers, PhD
Assistant Professor, Human Development and Family Studies, Department of Human Ecology, University of California Davis
Elizabeth Howell, MD, MPP
Chair, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
Katy Kozhimannil, PhD, MPA
Distinguished McKnight University Professor, Division of Health Policy and Management, University of Minnesota School of Public Health; Director, Rural Health Research Center
Kristen Underhill, JD, DPhil
Professor of Law, Cornell Law School; Professor of Population Health Sciences, Weill Cornell Medical College
Staff
Zohn Rosen, PhD
- Project Team
Zohn Rosen, PhD is a Lecturer in Health Policy and Management at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Dr. Rosen is an experimental psychologist, and is currently an investigator on a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. He has a long history of managing large-scale research projects, and extensive experience in regulatory matters related to conducting studies in the US.
Student Alumni
Erica Eliason, MPH, PhD
Erica Eliason, MPH, PhD graduated from the Social Policy and Economics doctoral program at the Columbia University School of Social Work. She served as a Research Assistant for the PAHS team in the summers of 2019 and 2020.
Emma Kaishian, MPH
Emma Kaishian, MPH graduated from the Department of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. She served as the Project Coordinator for the PAHS team from 2019-2020.
Amanda Spishak-Thomas, LCSW, MSW, PhD
Amanda (“Mandi”) Spishak-Thomas, LCSW, MSW, PhD graduated from the Social Policy and Economics doctoral program at the Columbia University School of Social Work. She served as a Research Assistant for the PAHS team in summer 2020.
Sarra Yekta, MPH
Sarra Yekta, MPH graduated from the Department of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. She served as a Research Assistant for the PAHS team in summer 2021.