VCU Department of Health Policy

10/12/2026

Students from VCU School of Public Health, including quite a few from the Department of Health Policy, were on hand at last month's Virginia Public Health Association conference at J. Sargent Reynolds Parham Campus. Congratulations to our students who made presentations, including Sonia Riaz, Sherline Pierre-Louis, and Grant Frazier. Way to represent!

09/23/2026

Happening Tomorrow! Health Policy Assistant Professor Erin Britton, Ph.D., and Department of Family Medicine Postdoctoral Fellow Conor Duffy, Ph.D., will be presenting at Department of Internal Medicine's Grand Rounds on Thursday, September 24 from 12 - 1 pm. Their lecture is entitled "Eliciting Patient Preferences for Artificial Intelligence in Primary Care." Join them in person in the Molecular Medicine Research Building, Room 1013, or register to attend via Zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/pyYHfCvRRj-6kEocWFRbyw See you there!

09/21/2026

Last week, Department of Health Policy Ph.D. candidate Paulette Omeaku successfully defended her dissertation, which is entitled "Colorectal Cancer Treatment among Younger Survivors in Virginia: Implications for Policy, Geographical, and Community Contexts." Congratulations, Dr. Omeaku!

09/16/2026

The latest edition of our Department of Health Policy newsletter is out now! Find out what we're up to by reading the new issue of "DHP In Action":

Email from VCU School of Public Health   Back To School Once Again!   DHP Social Media We are building our social media presence, and would love to have you along. Please follow our accounts if you ha

09/02/2026

Check out this amazing upcoming seminar from our colleagues at VCU Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences!

This year, we are launching a new seminar series, which we hope will grow to be a key element of the SBS identity and a way to share knowledge within our department community and beyond.

We're thrilled to announce that our very first seminar speaker will be Nandi Marshall, DrPH, MPH, CHES, CLC, CDE, CPH, current president of the American Public Health Association! She will be joining us on September 17th and we'll be hosting her talk on the Monroe Park campus at the University Student Commons.

RSVP to attend the in-person event here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfg1dYS3TPSbqZ3Yvp4mdX0nCvYGL5pMPfCGg1Q6uTAhL9_MQ/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=107426269286964978723

Or register to attend virtually via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/qt1vi9uDR_e1pFOI6_az0A

08/26/2026

Last week, Department of Health Policy MD/Ph.D. candidate Sarah Marks successfully defended her dissertation, which is entitled "Road to Recovery: Medicaid, Social Drivers, and Substance Use after Critical Illness." Dr. Marks will now return to medical school to finish the clinical portion of her MD/PhD training here at VCU. Congratulations Dr. Marks!

08/24/2026

The National Institute on Drug Abuse-funded MODRN EQUIP initiative, a partnership co-lead by the VCU Office of Medicaid Evaluation, published a commentary co-authored by individuals with lived opioid use disorder experience. The commentary discusses how this multistate research collaborative is collecting patient experiences with opioid use disorder treatment to guide a new generation of claims-based substance use treatment quality measurement that incorporates patient voices. Learn more here:

08/17/2026

Two scholars who traveled to VCU from the Central Asian country of Kazakhstan to study medicine and public health completed VCU-Bolashak International Scholarship Program this summer. Directed by Health Policy Associate Professor Askar Chukmaitov, Ph.D., the program has hosted 21 Kazakh scholars since it began in 2012, and expects four more to arrive at VCU this fall.

Two scholars who traveled to study at VCU from the far-off Central Asian country of Kazakhstan completed the VCU-Bolashak International Scholarship Program this summer. Dr. Ainash Khissamitova worked with the VCU Department of Otolaryngology, receiving mentorship from Dr. Rajanya S. Petersson, M.D.,...

08/10/2026

Congratulations to Health Policy Assistant Professor Erin Britton, Ph.D., who received an award from the VCU Quest Fund for her project, “Eliciting Patient Preferences for Artificial Intelligence in Primary Care.” Way to go, Dr. Britton!

These competitive internal grants empower faculty to launch pilot studies, restart research programs and drive transdisciplinary discoveries.

08/03/2026