Please join us for a special Brown Bag seminar featuring IFH’s Howard Leventhal Scholars, Michael Enich and John S. Palatucci, as they describe their research work this past year. These students were the recipients of last year’s Howard Leventhal Scholarship to support doctoral students with a stipend for their dissertation work focused on a topic within an intersectional, and often underfunded field.

“Identifying Homelessness in Medicaid Claims: a Mixed Methods Approach”

Michael Enich is an MD/PhD candidate at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and the Rutgers School of Social Work. He is interested in addressing health disparities for people experiencing chronic homelessness, with a specific focus on mitigating substance use-related harms. His previous work investigates the implementation of harm reduction-oriented health services, assessing and addressing social determinants of health, and peer-based interventions.

“Quasi-Experimental Designs in Evaluating Health and Health Care among Historically Institutionalized Populations”

John S. Palatucci is a PhD candidate in Health Systems and Policy at the Rutgers School of Public Health.  He is also a research assistant at the Rutgers Center for State Health Policy and a consultant at the Boggs Center on Developmental Disabilities. In his research, he applies econometric techniques to the study of behavioral health and disability policy. He has taught courses in health policy, outcomes research, and health economics. At Rutgers University, he has completed both the New Jersey Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (NJLEND) fellowship and the Eagleton Graduate Fellowship Program in Politics and Government. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Economics from American University and a Master of Public Administration in Healthcare Administration from the Rutgers School of Public Affairs and Administration. John is committed to partnering with patients, advocates, providers, researchers, and governmental leaders in efforts to enhance population health and mitigate disparities.