Dear Members of the HMS and HSDM Community:
It is with great pleasure that I announce the appointment of Dr. Nicole Maestas, the Margaret T. Morris Professor of Health Care Policy, as the next chair of the HMS Department of Health Care Policy, effective Nov. 1.
Nicole emerged from a rigorous national search that surfaced numerous outstanding candidates within and beyond our community. She stood out for her disciplinary excellence and her discerning taste for distinction in others.
Nicole’s research focuses on the economics of disability insurance, labor markets, health care systems, and population aging. She has made major contributions to science by combining new data sources with innovative study designs, and her investigations have helped overcome long-standing obstacles to understanding policy-relevant issues in disability and aging. Her explorations of the complex interaction of social, economic, and medical factors exemplify the multifaceted, multidisciplinary work necessary to improve policy and individual health while also enhancing people’s ability to work, be productive, and participate in society in meaningful ways.
In addition to her role at HMS, Nicole is a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, where she directs the Retirement and Disability Research Center. She earned her Master of Public Policy and PhD in economics from the University of California, Berkeley. Before coming to Harvard, she was a senior economist at RAND, where she led a multidisciplinary research department and taught at the Pardee RAND Graduate School.
I am inspired by Nicole’s vision for leading the Department of Health Care Policy at a time when our country is in dire need of strong insights into how the economics and policy aspects of health care can improve health and well-being for all. Please join me in congratulating Nicole on her new role.
I would also like to extend my gratitude to Vikram Patel, the Paul Farmer Professor and Chair of the HMS Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, and Leemore Dafny, the Bruce V. Rauner Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, who served as co-chairs of the advisory search committee for this crucial position.
Last but certainly not least, I want to thank Barbara McNeil, who founded and has led our Department of Health Care Policy since 1988, for her vision, leadership, and exceptional service to the School. Her remarkable tenure includes serving as interim dean of HMS on two separate occasions.
Sincerely,
George Q. Daley
Dean of the Faculty of Medicine
Harvard University