Valerie Lewis, PhD

Valerie A. Lewis, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and a Fellow in the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research. She is a sociologist and policy researcher with extensive experience researching health care payment and delivery reform, health care organizations, and racial and socioeconomic disparities in outcomes. She uses a mix of research methods, from quantitative data and sophisticated statistical modeling to in-depth qualitative site visits. Her work has been funded by NIH, AHRQ, the Commonwealth Fund, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Donaghue Foundation. Dr. Lewis earned a BA from Rice University and an MA and PhD in sociology from Princeton University. She completed postdoctoral training at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Prior to joining the faculty at UNC, she was on the faculty of The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth.
 
Dr. Lewis’s current projects include work focused on primary care delivery, with an emphasis on the health care safety net; health care payment reforms; racial disparities in health care; the integration of care for medical needs and the social determinants of health; integrated health care delivery systems; and the effects of COVID-19 on care delivery.
 
Dr. Lewis enjoys training, mentorship, and teaching. She works with undergraduate, master’s, and PhD students in the department, as well as postdoctoral trainees and fellows. She is also engaged with efforts to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion in academic spaces.

Education

BA, Sociology, Rice University, 2004

MA, Sociology, Princeton University, 2007

PhD, Sociology, Princeton University, 2009