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Department of Health Policy and Management

Job-Seeking 2025-2026 PhD Candidates

 


Lauren Jordan Barrow, MHA  

Health Services Research and Policy
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Dissertation Title: Examining the Influence of External Factors on Non-Profit Hospital Community Benefit Spending 

Dissertation Executive Summary: More than half of U.S. hospitals identify as non-profit hospitals (NPH). NPH can receive tax-exempt status if they operate for a charitable purpose and must report annual community benefits (CB) spending to the IRS. Federal legislation provides NPHs with flexibility on how and where to invest CB dollars. This dissertation examines how external factors, such as community-level social vulnerability and state-level legislation, impact CB spending. 

Advisors: Gerard Anderson, PhD; Darrell Gaskin, PhD

Dissertation Committee Members:  Terrinieka Powell, PhD; Hossein Zare, PhD; Michael Desjardins, PhD 

Job Type Preferences: Primarily research, research services and management, consultation.

Workforce Sector Preference: Opportunities in academics, clinical, nonprofit or community-based organizations, private or for-profit organizations.

Geographical Preferences: Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan area; Remote

 

 

Jirka Taylor 

Health and Public Policy
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Dissertation Title: Examining Linkage to Care After Nonfatal Opioid Overdoses: A Mixed-Methods Study

Dissertation Summary: While non-fatal opioid overdoses offer a chance to link patients to treatment and other services, in practice the cascade of care is often interrupted.  This dissertation analyzes individual, structural, and policy-related factors determining service use at multiple key post-overdose points of care after the initial EMS encounter, after discharge from the emergency department, and in the community as part of an alternative model offered by crisis stabilization centers. 

Advisor: Alexander McCourt, PhD, JD, MPH

Dissertation Committee Members: Elizabeth Stuart, PhD; Sachini Bandara, PhD; Karen Shen, PhD

Job Type Preferences: Research, teaching, research services & management, program administration & management, and consultation.

Workforce Sector Preference: Opportunities in an academic setting, government, non-profit or community-based organizations, private or for-profit organizations. 

Geographical Preferences: Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan area, Mid-Atlantic area

 

photo of Aleksandra Wec

 

Aleksandra Wec 

Health Services Research and Policy
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Dissertation Title: An Examination of Patient-Initiated Secure Messaging Intensity in the Patient Portal Among Older Adults

Dissertation Summary: Secure messaging within the patient portal is an increasingly used platform for patient-clinician communication. Yet how older adults engage with secure messaging remains poorly understood. My dissertation draws on five years of electronic medical record (EMR) and linked patient portal data from a large academic health system to examine patient-level factors associated with higher messaging intensity and the reasons for increased messaging use among older adults and their care partners. 

Advisor: Jennifer L. Wolff, PhD

Dissertation Committee Members: John McGready, PhD;  Chanee Fabius, PhD; Kelly Gleason, PhD

Job Type Preferences: Primarily research, research services & management, and consultation.

Workforce Sector Preference: Opportunities in academic settings, government, nonprofit or community-based organizations, private or for-profit organizations.

Geographical Preferences: New England, Mid-Atlantic