The Population Health Science Scholars Program at NYU Grossman School of Medicine trains scholars to improve healthcare delivery for individuals and to advance population health science. Students graduate prepared for academic careers in health services research and leadership roles in healthcare delivery. The interdisciplinary program is based in the Departments of Population Health, Pediatrics, and Medicine.

The program has two tracks, predoctoral and postdoctoral. In the predoctoral track, students complete a PhD in one of the following programs at NYU Langone’s Vilcek Institute of Graduate Biomedical Sciences: biostatistics, epidemiology, or computational biomedicine. In the postdoctoral track, fellows complete NYU Grossman School of Medicine’s MS in Clinical Investigation (MSCI) degree.

It is supported by a National Research Services Award (T32 award) from the Health Resources and Services Administration.

How to Apply

To apply for the program complete the application, including a CV, personal statement, and three letters of recommendation. We are accepting applications to both the postdoctoral and predoctoral track on a rolling basis. The program begins on July 1, 2024. Please contact populationhealthsciencescholarsprogram@nyulangone.org with questions.

We strongly encourage members of underrepresented and disadvantaged minority groups to apply.

Training Experiences

As a Population Health Science Scholar, you gain the methodological skill, institutional savvy, and social capital to bridge the gap between ivory tower research and real-world healthcare delivery systems. You learn fundamental research skills, including identifying a research question, performing an effective literature search, choosing the appropriate study design, submitting to an institutional review board, collecting and analyzing data, and writing results for publication.

You are also exposed to operational and clinical aspects of healthcare delivery through optional rotations with key hospital operational groups, opportunities to join relevant committees, and discussions with healthcare leaders. Finally, you have the opportunity to engage in population health activities through collaboration with NYU Langone clinical or research programs involving local communities, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, or community-based organizations.

In addition to the specific training components described below, scholars participate in a range of activities that leverage the full range of backgrounds, expertise, and interests of our trainees and faculty. Activities include Meet the Professor Seminars about the work and careers of our training faculty, journal clubs that explore core topics in healthcare delivery science, and training sessions in our data and library resources. Trainees also participate in monthly group meetings with program directors and a weekly Integrative Seminar to present research in progress for peer review, which is co-led by the three program directors.

Predoctoral Track

In the predoctoral track, you work toward a doctoral thesis with the oversight of a primary faculty mentor.

Curriculum

Predoctoral trainees must complete all requirements for their doctorate, with additional program-specific educational activities, including the weekly Integrative Seminar, a course in Healthcare Delivery Science, and at least one related elective.

Eligibility

The predoctoral program is open to current NYU Langone PhD or MD/PhD students in good standing who have completed the majority of their coursework and expect to pass qualifying exams. Applicants should have a dissertation proposal, a primary research mentor, and a thesis committee.

Applicants must be citizens or noncitizen nationals of the United States or permanent, lawful U.S. residents at the time of applying, per Department of Health and Human Services Grants Policy Statement requirements.

Postdoctoral Track

In the postdoctoral track, you have the option of either enrolling in the MSCI degree program or completing the core curricular requirements of the fellowship program, while tailoring coursework to fit your learning needs.

Curriculum

NYU Grossman School of Medicine’s MSCI program is taught by our faculty researchers. It provides fellows with the foundation of knowledge and research skills necessary for careers at the real-world interface of health services research and healthcare delivery systems. Fellows may substitute more advanced coursework on alternate topics; however, some courses are mandatory, including Integrative Seminar, Healthcare Delivery Science, Population Health, and Analytic Techniques for Healthcare Delivery Science.

Program concentrations include Healthcare Delivery Science, Comparative Effectiveness and Implementation Research, Biomedical Informatics, and Health Professions Education.

Mentored Research

A central element of your training is the opportunity to apply what you have learned in class to a mentored research project. Examples of past projects include health services research with primary or secondary data, health policy research and evaluation, community-based research, clinical care redesign interventions, quality or safety improvement research, and health disparities research.

All scholars are assigned an interim faculty coach to help acclimate to the program, choose a primary research mentor, and design an initial research protocol. We aim to match scholars with mentors who have similar academic interests and personal backgrounds, whenever possible. The matching process begins when you apply to the program. Although most scholars have identified a primary research mentor by the time the program starts, you have multiple opportunities to meet potential mentors.

Scholars are paired with primary research mentors based on need and meet at least every one to two weeks. Your mentorship experience can be tailored to include technical research advice; teaching, professional, and personal guidance; sponsorship; role-modeling and career planning; and socialization into the profession.

You also participate in peer mentoring during the Integrative Seminar, where you learn to give and receive feedback on research projects with supervision from the program directors, and meet with a thesis committee composed of faculty each semester to review your progress. Scholars and program directors meet monthly as a group to check in, troubleshoot issues, and explore core themes in how to survive and thrive in academia.

Eligibility

The program is open to physicians, nurse practitioners, or PhD graduates with prior relevant training in clinical medicine, health services research, behavioral health, health psychology, health economics, health policy, engineering, informatics, or computer science. Candidates who have MD, DO, DDS, or DMD degrees must have graduated from an accredited institution, completed an accredited clinical residency program, and be board-eligible or -certified. Candidates with PhD degrees must have graduated from an accredited institution. Nurse practitioners must have completed master’s degree training and at least two years of clinical experience.

Applicants must be citizens or noncitizen nationals of the United States or permanent, lawful U.S. residents at the time of applying, per Department of Health and Human Services Grants Policy Statement requirements.

Current Predoctoral Scholars

Haleigh Cavalier, MPH
Epidemiology

John Meddar, BS, MSc
Population Health

Allison Perry, MHS
Epidemiology

Stephanie Tuminello, MPH
Epidemiology

Current Postdoctoral Scholars

Alex Azan, MD
Internal Medicine

Roxanne Dupuis, PhD
Pediatrics and Population Health

Christina Kaul, MD
Infectious Disease

Christina Kim, PhD, MS
Human Development and Family Studies

Kimberly O’Neill, MD
Neurology

Dominique Tanner, PhD
Biomedical Engineering/Epilepsy

Radhika Teli, MD
Pediatrics

Roger Ying, MD
Internal Medicine

Recent Program Graduates

Our graduates have gone on to rich and rewarding careers.

Predoctoral Graduates

Jasmyn Abrams, PhD, 2023, Viiv

Alexi Archambault, PhD, 2021, Regeneron

Neloufar Rahai, PhD, 2020, Johnson & Johnson

Postdoctoral Graduates

Jaime Coffino, PhD, 2023
Private Practice

Rachel Engelberg, MD, 2023
Clinical Assistant Professor, Mount Sinai

Danielle Johnson, MD, 2023
Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, NYU Grossman School of Medicine

Acran Salmen-Navarro, MD, MSc, 2023
Assistant Director, Bellevue/NYU Occupational Environmental Medicine Clinic

Ratnalekha Viswanadham, PhD, 2023
Data Scientist, Office of Evaluation Services, General Services Administration

Byoungjun Kim, PhD, 2022
Research Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery, NYU Grossman School of Medicine

Natasha Gupta, MD, 2022
Assistant Professor, Department of Urology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine

Amanda M. Bunting, PhD, 2021
Assistant Professor, Department of Population Health, NYU Grossman School of Medicine

Omni L. Cassidy, PhD, 2021
Assistant Professor, Department of Population Health, NYU Grossman School of Medicine

Katharine Lawrence, MD, MSCI, 2021
Assistant Professor, Department of Population Health, NYU Grossman School of Medicine

Erica Liebermann, PhD, ANP, 2021
Assistant Professor, Nursing, University of Rhode Island

Andrew Nastro, MD, MSCI, 2021
Assistant Professor, Pediatrics, Columbia University

Madeline Renny, MD, 2021
Assistant Professor, Pediatrics, Mount Sinai

Megan Sutter, PhD, MSCI, 2021
Resident Scientist, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine

Andrea Titus, PhD, 2021
Assistant Professor, Department of Population Health, NYU Grossman School of Medicine

Faculty

Our faculty instructors and mentors are physicians and researchers with experience translating research into the practice of primary care. They work in diverse health systems and communities.

Program Co-Directors

Arthur H. Fierman, MD
Director, Division of General Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics
Professor, Department of Pediatrics

Mark D. Schwartz, MD
Vice Chair for Education and Faculty Affairs, Department of Population Health
Professor, Departments of Population Health and Medicine

Leora Horwitz, MD
Director, Division of Healthcare Delivery Science, Department of Population Health
Professor, Departments of Population Health and Medicine

Maria R. Khan, PhD, MPH 
Associate Professor, Department of Population Health
Director, Comparative Effectiveness and Implementation Training Program and Population Health Sciences PhD

Program Faculty

Lisa Altshuler, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine

Yindalon Aphinyanaphongs, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor, Departments of Population Health and Medicine

Brian P. Bosworth, MD
Chief Medical Officer, NYU Langone's Manhattan Campus
Professor, Department of Medicine

Marie Bragg, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Population Health

Scott Braithwaite, MD, MSc
Professor, Departments of Population Health and Medicine

Laurie M. Brotman, PhD
The Bezos Family Foundation Professor of Early Childhood Development, Department of Population Health
Professor, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Arthur L. Caplan, PhD
The Drs. William F. and Virginia Connolly Mitty Professor of Bioethics, Department of Population Health

Yu Chen, PhD, MPH
Professor, Department of Population Health

Charles J. DiMaggio, PhD
Professor, Departments of Surgery and Population Health

Benard P. Dreyer, MD
Professor, Department of Pediatrics

Brian D. Elbel, PhD, MPH
Professor, Departments of Population Health and Medicine

Heather T. Gold, PhD
Professor, Departments of Population Health and Orthopedic Surgery

Judith D. Goldberg, ScD
Professor, Department of Population Health

Marc N. Gourevitch, MD, MPH
Chair, Department of Population Health
The Muriel G. and George W. Singer Professor of Population Health, Department of Population Health
Professor, Departments of Medicine and Psychiatry

Richard B. Hayes, DDS, PhD, MPH
Professor, Department of Population Health

Nadia S. Islam, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Population Health

Christine T. Kovner, PhD, RN
The Mathy Mezey Professor of Geriatric Nursing, NYU Rory Myers College of Nursing

Simona C. Kwon, DrPH, MPH
Associate Professor, Department of Population Health

Devin Mann, MD, MS
Professor, Departments of Population Health and Medicine

Jennifer McNeely, MD
Associate Professor, Departments of Population Health and Medicine

Mary J. Messito, MD
Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics

Olugbenga G. Ogedegbe, MD, MPH
The Dr. Adolph and Margaret Berger Professor of Medicine and Population Health, Department of Medicine
Professor, Department of Population Health

Vincent J. Palusci, MD
Professor, Department of Pediatrics

Michael H. Pillinger, MD
Professor, Departments of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology and Medicine

Antoinette M. Schoenthaler, EdD
Professor, Departments of Population Health and Medicine

Donna Shelley, MD, MPH
Professor, Departments of Population Health and Medicine

Scott E. Sherman, MD, MPH
Professor, Departments of Population Health, Medicine, and Psychiatry

Linda R. Tewksbury, MD
Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics

Lorna E. Thorpe, PhD, MPH
Chair, Department of Population Health

Suzy Tomopoulos, MD
Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics

Leonardo Trasande, MD, MPP
Professor, Departments of Pediatrics and Population Health

Chau Trinh-Shevrin, DrPH
Professor, Departments of Population Health and Medicine

Andrea B. Troxel, ScD
Professor, Department of Population Health

Stephen P. Wall, MD
Associate Professor, Ronald O. Perelman Department of Emergency Medicine and Department of Population Health

Shonna Yin, MD
Associate Professor, Departments of Pediatrics and Population Health

Sondra R. Zabar, MD
Director, Division of General Internal Medicine and Clinical Innovation
Professor, Department of Medicine