Allison Ju-Chen Hu, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate
Dr. Allison Ju-Chen Hu is a health services researcher. She leverages large-scale data to provide population-level evidence on the effectiveness and unintended consequences of public health policies. Dr. Hu’s research interests lie in the intersection of behavioral health, Medicaid, health disparities, and access to care for underserved populations. Her previous studies have contributed to the understanding of how Medicaid managed care policies affect access to specialty care for enrollees with special health care needs. Currently, her research focuses on examining disparities in access to prescription opioids and opioid use disorder treatment across different populations and communities. Her work has been published in high-impact peer-reviewed journals including Health Affairs, JAMA Pediatrics, and JAMA Network Open. Dr. Hu received her PhD in health services research and health policy from Emory University and her Master of Health Services Administration from the University of Michigan. During her doctoral training, she was a research assistant at the Southeast Mental Health Technology Transfer Center. Dr. Hu joined the division in 2023 and works with her primary mentor Dr. Yuhua Bao and other faculty in the division.
Research Profile
Stephenson Strobel, MD, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate
Dr. Stephenson Strobel is a health economist and emergency physician. He holds a master's in economics from Queen's University and a PhD in public policy from the Brooks School of Public Policy at Cornell University. He is a trained family physician, having completed medical school at the University of Manitoba and a residency at the University of Toronto. He continues to practice as an emergency medicine physician and as a family physician in underserved communities in rural Canada. His previous research has contributed to the understanding of the demographics of persons experiencing homelessness, the organization of emergency departments, and how training affects physician supply. He has published research in leading journals like Annals of Emergency Medicine, Health Reports, Health Economics, and Medical Care. He has general research interests in health economics, organization of healthcare systems, and physician behavior. His current research in Population Health Sciences investigates the use of medications to prevent long COVID and the long run effects of physician access on health and productivity. Dr. Strobel joined the division in 2023 and works with primary mentors Dr. Rainu Kaushal, Dr. Yongkang Zhang, and Dr. Beth McGinty, along with other faculty in the division.
Research Profile
Diksha Brahmbhatt, MPH
Medical Student
Diksha Brahmbhatt is a fourth year medical student at Weill Cornell Medicine who works with Dr. Will Schpero. Diksha is planning a career at the intersection of primary care, local and national health policy, and public health and works with Dr. Schpero on studies spanning several policy-relevant spheres, including competition in hospital markets, Medicaid procedural denials, and mental healthcare disparities. Diksha co-led a secret shopper study with Dr. Schpero, calling 400 psychiatry offices across the country to assess the accessibility of appointments for a patient with Medicaid and examine the accuracy of health plan directories. Prior to medical school, Diksha studied anthropology at Yale College, completed an MPH in chronic disease epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health, and worked as a data manager for a New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene program that brought together academic and health department investigators to work on policy-relevant health equity research. Diksha plans to begin residency in Internal Medicine upon graduation and to continue participating in health policy research that affects Medicaid beneficiaries, low-income patients, and immigrants.
Matthew Maughan, MBA
Master's Student
Matthew Maughan is in his second year as a student in the Master of Science in Health Policy and Economics program at Weill Cornell Medicine with plans to graduate in spring 2024. Matthew holds a BA in economics and an MBA and previously worked in the pharmaceutical industry for seven years in various commercial analytics roles. Throughout his experience, Matthew became increasingly interested in issues of access, value, and pricing. He realized that incentives within the industry were distorted, and that his passion involved policy research, reform, and advocacy. In particular, he is interested in issues of payment and delivery reform for both public and private insurance. This led Matthew to the MS program and his pursuit of research opportunities. Under Dr. Jiani Yu’s mentorship, Matthew explores various trends in the nursing home space, as it has undergone incredible churn and consolidation in past years with the entrance of large corporate entities. He is readying a related paper for journal submission and will begin his PhD in health policy in the fall.