Student Handbook
Student Handbook
Khadijah Bland
Khadijah Bland joined the HSR & Policy PhD program in 2020. I obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Chemistry from Wesley College with a minor in Math and a certificate in Informatics. My research interests include patient outcomes and health disparities particularly within minority and underserved communities.
Aaron Bloschichak
Aaron Bloschichak joined the HSR & Policy PhD program in 2022. He received his B.S. in Neuroscience from Muhlenberg College and M.P.H. from The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice. Prior to joining the doctoral program, he worked as a research assistant at the Health Care Cost Institute and as a research analyst at ECRI. His background includes evaluating health care spending trends in both Medicare and privately insured individuals, writing and editing systematic reviews to inform clinical guidelines, and using data visualization tools to inform policy and future research. His research interests include outcomes research for aging populations, unwarranted variation in spending and utilization, and health policy. When not in the office, Aaron enjoys hiking, skiing, and watching the Philadelphia Eagles and Phillies.
Porooshat Dadgostar
Porooshat Dadgostar joined the HSR & Policy PhD program in 2020. She received her Bachelor of Science in Biology-Physiology from the University of Washington and her Master of Public Health from George Washington University. She is continuing her education by studying health services research to learn the methodologies to define complex problems in public health dynamically, identify the factors influencing the distribution and determinants of health and disease in populations, and disentangle the complexities of health systems.
Espérance Mutoniwase
Espérance Mutoniwase joined the HSRP Ph.D. program in 2021. She completed her undergraduate studies in philosophy at the University of Chicago. Her research interests include health care management, health economics, health disparities, and health care ethics. Espérance loves the outdoors and is a yoga enthusiast.
Ruonan Ding
Ruonan Ding received her Bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of California San Diego and earned a Master of Science degree at the University of Southern California. She then worked at a biotechnology company where she focused on supporting health economics and outcome research (HEOR) as well as real-world evidence (RWE). Currently, her research interests include health economics, decision modeling, health disparities, and healthcare utilization.
Claire Louise Herrman
Claire Louise Herrman started the HSR & Policy Ph.D. Program in 2022. She currently holds a bachelors in nursing, an MPH with a concentration in public health practice, and maintains an active RN licensure in New York and Texas. In her career thus far, she has managed vaccine programs, worked in opioid overdose response, taught clinical public health nursing, and collaborated on disaster management plans. Most recently, she helped manage the COVID-19 vaccination programs and epidemiological response at the Texas Department of Health and Human Services. Her research interest is the intersection of climate change and public health with an emphasis on preparedness and environmental health behaviors.
Yusheng Jia
Yusheng Jia joined the HSR & Policy PhD program in 2023. She earned her Bachelor of Management from Fudan University and followed it with a Master of Science in Global Health and Population from Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Prior to coming to Rochester, Yusheng worked as a business consultant and subsequently as a research assistant in the fields of economic evaluation and health equity research. Her research interests include health economics, health disparities, and policy evaluation, particularly concerning disabled and aging populations.
Deniz Naghibi
Deniz Naghibi (deniz_naghibi@urmc.rochester.edu) joined the HSR & Policy PhD program in 2022. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Healthcare Management from Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Iran. Her research interests include systematic reviews, health disparities, socioeconomic determinants of health, and health economics. She likes hiking, traveling, and going on new adventures with friends.
Alex Torbuck
Alex Torbuck joined the HSR & Policy PhD program in 2021. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the University of East Anglia and a Master of Science degree in Health Economics from the University of York. His research interests are health economics, preventative policy and tobacco.
