Doctoral students receive fellowships in global health economics

Representatives from UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and its health policy and management department have announced recipients of a new fellowship program in global health economics and outcomes research, sponsored by Bristol-Myers Squibb.

 

Awardees Diana Chirovsky, MS, and Ching-Ching (Claire) Lin, MHS, health policy and management doctoral students, will participate in ongoing projects at Bristol-Myers Squibb’s headquarters in Princeton, N.J., including at the organization’s Center for Observational Research and Data Sciences. Chirovsky is in Princeton this summer, and Lin will arrive there in September.

 

“We are delighted to have established the UNC – Bristol-Myers Squibb Global Health Economics and Outcomes Research Fellowship Program and to have such high-caliber students as our first awardees,” said John O’Donnell, MPP, PhD, vice president of global health economics and outcomes research at Bristol-Myers Squibb. “Looking forward, this fellowship will not only help expose advanced graduate students to the opportunities and challenges of the pharmaceutical research and development environment, but also will help Bristol-Myers Squibb bring the latest insights from a top research university to its research programs. It is a win-win for Bristol-Myers Squibb, UNC, and ultimately, for improving the health outcomes of patients.”

 

“The research projects assigned to the fellows are cutting-edge in the field,” added Gil L’Italien, PhD, executive director of global health economics and outcomes research at Bristol-Myers Squibb, and sponsor of the fellowship program. “The research should provide rich fodder for the students’ dissertation proposals and content, as well as high-quality peer-reviewed publications.”Chirovsky holds a master’s degree in health and biopharmaceutical economics from Lehigh University, where she was a Presidential Scholar. Her research interests include the use of decision analytic methods to improve the quality of care in patients with cancer.

 

Lin, who earned her master’s degree in health policy and management from Johns Hopkins University, studies health economics, physician prescribing behaviors, and statistical and econometrical modeling.

 

“The fellowship provides the unique opportunity to not only gain access to insights that will enhance my dissertation research, but also to acquire real-world industry experience,” Chirovsky said. “I have no doubt that my experiences at Bristol-Myers Squibb will prepare me well for a career in health services research.”

 

Lin said the fellowship would provide her with a window to the ‘real world.’

 

“With my interest in health economics, I am excited to learn how econometrical modeling and research methods are actually applied in the industry to improve patient outcomes,” she said.

 

The fellowship program is designed to provide dissertation-phase doctoral candidates in health economics, health policy and epidemiology with grounding in the methods and applications of health economics and outcomes research to pharmaceutical research and development.

 

UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health contact: Ramona DuBose, director of communications, (919) 966-7467 or ramona_dubose@unc.edu.