Associate Professor Gilbert Gimm named director of Health Services Research PhD program

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The Department of Health Administration and Policy is pleased to announce Associate Professor Gilbert Gimm as the new director of Health Services Research PhD program at George Mason University. 

Gimm

“I’m delighted to be able to serve as the new PhD program director in health services research. Our program is unique in offering courses in both health policy and health informatics, which gives our PhD students the opportunity to conduct exciting research in both areas,” said Gimm. “Also, I really enjoy working with our PhD students and helping them to succeed as they apply rigorous methods to reveal new insights and contribute to new knowledge in the field of health services research. Our PhD alums are already blazing new trails in academia, government, industry. It is exciting and deeply meaningful to see our PhD students become leaders in the field!” 

As director of the PhD program, Gimm will lead the administration of the doctoral program including student mentoring, curriculum review, dissertation advising, and promoting the program to future students. 

Dr. Gimm has research experience in disability and aging, program evaluations, and health care financing. Currently, he serves as a co-investigator on a 5-year Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) to examine rural-urban disparities in service use among adults with disabilities. He is also a co-investigator on a CDC grant to evaluate sustainable financing models that seek to support community health workers and build community resilience in Virginia. Gimm holds a PhD in Health Economics and Policy from the University of Pennsylvania. 

Previously, Gimm was a senior researcher at Mathematica Policy Research in Washington, DC, where he conducted evaluations for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services of the Medicaid Buy-In program and impacts of early interventions on the receipt of federal disability benefits for adults with mental health conditions. He also examined the financial performance of rural hospitals in response to Medicare payment reforms. His research has been published in several journals, including the American Journal of Public Health, Disability and Health Journal, Health Services Research, and the Journal of General Internal Medicine. His other research interests include social isolation, family caregiving of older adults, and substance use prevalence among youth and adults with disabilities. 

The department thanks former Professor Yiota Kitsantas for her previous service as the program’s director.