Welcome From The Chair

Rainu Kaushal


Welcome to the Department of Population Health Sciences of Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. As one of the top clinical research groups in the country, we aim to improve the health of individuals and populations through:

  • rigorous, collaborative, data-driven research,
  • novel educational programs,
  • development of innovative technologies,
  • provision of consulting services, and
  • the cultivation of a diverse and inclusive environment with a commitment to mentorship.

Our Department serves as a hub of discovery. Our faculty members possess substantial research strengths across an array of areas including health policy and economics, health data science and data analytics, health informatics, comparative effectiveness and outcomes research, healthcare delivery science, and biostatistics. We focus on innovative research, and our work has generated incredible breakthroughs, including:

  • algorithms for identifying and predicting patients with modifiable high use of healthcare
  • advanced computational techniques to detect Parkinson’s disease subtypes and guide treatment, and
  • a learning patient-centered healthcare system for pediatric epilepsy.

My vision for our graduate education and clinical training programs is to cultivate the next generation of leaders in healthcare delivery and transform the way they think about research. We offer four master’s programs: M.S. in biostatistics and data science, M.S. in health informatics, M.S. in health policy and economics, and a dual-degree Executive MBA/MS Healthcare Leadership program in conjunction with the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University. We are also home to a new PhD in Population Health Sciences, featuring a partnership with the Population Sciences Research Program of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Additionally, we offer a certificate program, a two-year ACGME-accredited residency in public health and general preventive medicine, and health services research fellowship opportunities. I am proud to share that our Department has witnessed tremendous growth and now has more than 200 students and fellows working together to shape the future of healthcare.

Our Department is home to five large research centers: All of Us Precision Medicine Initiative (NIH funded, PI Rainu Kaushal), Center for Health Economics of Treatment Interventions for Substance Use Disorders, HCV, and HIV (NIH funded, PI Bruce Schackman), INSIGHT Clinical Research Network (PCRF funded, PI Rainu Kaushal), Medical Device Epidemiology Network (FDA funded, PI Art Sedrakyan), and The Physicians Foundation Center for the Study of Physician Practice and Leadership (funded through a private foundation, PI Dhruv Khullar).

We engage in multi-stakeholder research initiatives that bring together patients, Departments across New York City and New York State, pharmaceutical companies, tech innovators, and community organizations. Using our Data Core, investigators can access some of the richest data resources in the country and streamline their research in a secure, scalable computing and storage environment designed for analyzing and processing data.

Through significant collaborations with major medical institutions and organizations across the nation and the world, we are creating an extensive healthcare data network, providing input into healthcare policies, and supporting new approaches to healthcare delivery.

As the U.S. healthcare system continues to evolve, so does our role as researchers, educators and providers. I welcome you to further explore our department highlights on this website and learn about the unique ways we are transforming the healthcare system.


Rainu Kaushal, M.D., M.P.H.
Chair of Population Health Sciences 
Nanette Laitman Distinguished Professor of Population Health Sciences

Population Health Sciences 402 E. 67th St. New York, NY 10065 Phone: (646) 962-8001