Kacie L. Dragan
PhD Candidate in Health Policy, Harvard University
I am a PhD candidate in the Harvard University PhD Program in Health Policy and am a 2023-2024 Radcliffe Institute graduate fellow. My research draws on theories and methods from both economics and epidemiology to study how health systems interact with the broader social safety net, including evaluations of policies addressing social determinants of health, especially for children and families. I am currently on the job market (for positions starting in 2024).
Most of my current research concerns the relationship between health and the housing, urban planning, education, and family services sectors, with a focus on Medicaid-insured families and children with chronic diseases. I also study variation in Medicaid policy more generally, and I tackle methodological questions in health services research, such as outcome measurement in claims data, variation in hospital coding behavior, and administrative data linkage methods. I am highly committed to interdisciplinary research: I currently collaborate with economists, epidemiologists, clinicians, housing researchers, and practitioners from various social service sectors. My work has been published in JAMA Health Forum, Health Affairs, the Journal of Health Economics, and the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, among others.
Prior to my doctoral training, I earned my Master of Public Health from Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, concentrating in social epidemiology and public health research methods. I hold a BA from Barnard College in sociology. I was formerly the lead analyst and project manager of the NYU Policies for Action research hub, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. I also previously worked at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in the Bureau of Epidemiology Services, where I co-authored the 2015 Community Health Profiles, summarizing key health and economic indicators for each of NYC's 59 neighborhoods.
In addition to research, I am very passionate about teaching and mentoring, as well as supporting student wellbeing in general by addressing issues like the "hidden curriculum" in academia. I've taught and mentored students at the undergraduate, Masters, and doctoral level, and these experiences have been some of the highlights of my career so far. Outside of my academic work, I enjoy nature-related travel and am an avid reader of both fiction and non-fiction (recommendations always welcome; please take a rec -- or leave a rec -- here!).
(And yes, it's pronounced like "dragon"!)