Introducing the Cornell Health Policy Center

By Beth McGinty and Colleen L. Barry

The Cornell Health Policy Center (CHPC) was launched in November 2024. The Center is co-led by founding directors Dr. Beth McGinty, Ph.D., M.S., Chief of the Division of Health Policy and Economics at Weill Cornell Medical College, and Dr. Colleen Barry, Ph.D., MPP, the inaugural Dean of the Cornell Brooks School of Public Policy. In addition to advancing health policy research and training within Cornell University, the Center’s mission includes broad engagement with the health policy field, including researchers at other institutions and policy partners at the federal, state, and local levels.

The Cornell Health Policy Center looks forward to engaging the broader health policy community in its activities including health policy webinars, forums, briefings, and roundtables that will be open to all. If you would like to join the Center’s mailing list, please send an email to chpc@cornell.edu. You can find additional details in our website: https://healthpolicycenter.cornell.edu/chpc/. More information about the Center is described below.

The CHPC is organized around three core pillars that reflect transdisciplinary expertise at Cornell: health care system financing and organization, health policy communication, and policy to address social drivers of health.

The Center’s pillar on health care system financing and organization is led by Associate Center Directors Dr. Amelia Bond (Weill Cornell Medical College) and Dr. Sean Nicholson (Cornell Brooks School of Public Policy). The Center’s work in this area will focus on how policy can shape clinician payment, health care system structure, and provider organization to optimize patient and population health and control health care spending.
The Center’s pillar on health policy communication is led by Associate Center Directors Dr. Dhruv Khullar (Weill Cornell Medical College) and Dr. Jeff Niederdeppe (Cornell Brooks School of Public Policy). The Center’s work in this area will focus on how we can effectively communicate with diverse audiences –policymakers, interest groups, the public and others – about evidence-based health policy.
The Center’s pillar on policy to address social drivers of health is led by Associate Center Directors Dr. Will Schpero (Weill Cornell Medical College) and Dr. Maria Fitzpatrick (Cornell Brooks School of Public Policy). The Center’s work in this area will focus on how policies related to social risk and protective factors (e.g., education, income, transportation) influence health care and population health outcomes.

Across these pillars, the Center will lead activities focused on research, training, and impact. Research Director Dr. Kayla Tormohlen and Policy Director Emily Workman will play a critical leadership role for all of these activities.

Research: The Center will bring together interdisciplinary researchers to conduct high-impact health policy studies addressing critical societal challenges.
Training: The Center will engage trainees at the undergraduate and graduate levels, providing opportunities to participate in cutting-edge research and impact-driven activities.
Impact: Through forums, briefings, journalist roundtables, and a network of policy partners, including policymakers at the federal, state, and community levels, the Center will support translation of research findings into actionable policy solutions.

We look forward to engaging with the ASHEcon and the broad health policy community on a long and fruitful journey to advance evidence-based health policy and improve lives.