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The College of Public Health is pleased to announce Alison Evans Cuellar, PhD, MBA, will lead efforts to advance research initiatives as the Interim Associate Dean of Research. Dr. Cuellar has been a professor in the Department of Health Administration and Policy since 2009, has served on prominent taskforces, and served as the College’s Interim Associate Dean of Research for the College in 2018-2019.
“Dr. Cuellar is a national leader on health policy research with an impressive portfolio of high-impact research and interprofessional leadership at the local and national levels. She is a natural choice to serve as Interim Associate Dean of Research,” said Dean of the College of Public Health Melissa Perry, Sc.D., MHS. “Her dedication, experience, and commitment to public health will enable Dr. Cuellar to thrive supporting research faculty throughout the pre-and post-award process and fostering internal and external collaborations. Under her guidance, the College’s research portfolio will continue to grow in service to Mason’s research goals.”
Dr. Cuellar has extensive research experience in health care systems, Medicaid, behavioral health, and justice-involved populations. Her scholarly work includes evaluating new organizational forms, such as hospital systems and physician alliances and their effects on quality, efficiency, costs, and prices. Currently, she is engaged in research related to Medicaid perinatal care, equity, and payment.
Her research has been funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the National Institute of Justice, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and private foundations including National Institute for Health Care Management, Robert Wood Johnson, and John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur, among others.
Dr. Cuellar was recently appointed to The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's Improving the Health and Wellbeing of Children and Youth through Health Care System Transformation committee. Additionally, Dr. Cuellar was appointed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as Chair of the Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF), an independent, nonfederal panel of public health and prevention experts that provides recommendations and findings on programs, services, and other interventions to protect and improve population health.
Holly Park, MBA, will continue as interim assistant dean of research as of March 25. The College thanks Park for her service during this transition.