Health Policy, Management & Behavior

About

The Department of Health Policy, Management and Behavior (HPMB) prepares students to pursue planning and leadership roles in public health. Graduates become health policy analysts, program planners and evaluators, health services researchers and managers, and health promotion specialists in the private sector, government and non-profit organizations.

Through HPMB program offerings, students gain strong analytical skills, knowledge of the health care and public health system, and experiences to prepare them to analyze, develop, implement, and evaluate health policy and health-related programs.

This educational experience is enhanced through study with senior-level health practitioners and researchers who are directly involved in the formulation and implementation of health policy and management strategies.

Department of Health Policy, Management, & Behavior

Suite 170

1 University Place
Rensselaer, NY 12144
United States

[email protected]

Phone

518-402-0333

Fax

518-402-0414

Faculty

Health Policy, Management & Behavior Faculty

Edmund Russell Altone

Clinical Associate Professor

[email protected]

Dorcey L Applyrs

Clinical Associate Professor

Research Professor

Clinical Assistant Professor

[email protected]

Haven B. Battles

Clinical Associate Professor

[email protected]

Catherine (Cate) M. Bohn

Clinical Associate Professor

Associate Professor

Research Associate Professor

Clinical Professor

Associate Professor

Professor and Dean Emeritus

[email protected]

David Gittelman

Clinical Associate Professor

[email protected]

Brett Harris

Clinical Associate Professor

Associate Professor

Clinical Associate Professor

[email protected]

David P. Hoffman

Clinical Professor

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Hayward Derrick Horton

Professor

Clinical Professor

Assistant Professor

Clinical Associate Professor

[email protected]

Janine M. Jurkowski

Professor, Department Chair

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John G. Justino

Clinical Associate Professor

[email protected]

Brenda Kirkwood

Clinical Associate Professor

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Kajal Lahiri

Distinguished Professor

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Nicole MacFarland

Clinical Associate Professor

[email protected]

Jennifer Manganello

Interim Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Development; Professor

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Patricia A. McGeown

Clinical Associate Professor

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Jean Moore

Research Assistant Professor

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Paul L. Morgan

Empire Innovation Professor, Social and Health Equity Endowed Professor, Director of the Institute for Social and Health Equity

[email protected]

Theodore D. Peters

Clinical Associate Professor

[email protected]

Jackson P. Sekhobo

Clinical Associate Professor

[email protected]

James Tesoriero

Clinical Associate Professor

Associate Professor

Assistant Professor

Clinical Associate Professor

Associate Professor

Clinical Associate Professor

[email protected]

Dwight C. Williams

Clinical Professor, Emeritus

[email protected]

Yuchi Young

Associate Professor

[email protected]

Programs

Master's

Public Health MPH | +JD Option | +CGS Option |

Public Health / Medical Doctorate Albany Medical College MPH / MD | +CGS Option |

Doctoral

Public Health DrPH | +CGS Option |

Projects & Publications

Featured Projects

Research and Technical Reports

In the past year, faculty in our Department of Health Policy, Management and Behavior submitted more than 25 professional reports based on their expertise (such as large research reports or technical reports) to government agencies, community-based organizations, and foundations.

Public Health Communication Lab (PHCL)

The PHCL is led by Jennifer Manganello and conducts research and practice-based work to analyze messages about health in the media, study the effects of media messages and technology on health, develop new ways to measure media use and health literacy, and more. A current research project from PHCL involves the study of COVID vaccine messages and African American women in New York State.

Evaluating Efforts to Reduce Health Care Costs (DSRIP)

Wendy Weller and Erika Martin led a team to conduct an independent evaluation of New York’s $6.4 billion Medicaid delivery system reform incentive program (DSRIP) which was designed to reduce the cost of care and improve health outcomes for more than five million New Yorkers. The team evaluated whether the DSRIP initiatives achieved desired impact, effectiveness, cost savings and value improvements using a pre-post design.

Substance Use Disorder (SUD)

Tomoko Udo is working with the Schenectady Police Department on its “Schenectady Cares” program. The concept is straightforward but powerful: Anyone struggling with substance use disorder (SUD) can enter the police department and simply ask for help. An officer will then call a community partner who will respond to the police station and help the person find the resources they need to achieve recovery.

Research Publications

2022 (Coming soon!)
2023 (Coming soon!)
2024 (Coming soon!)

Meet Our Students

Jabrea stands outside the College of Integrated Health Sciences. — MPH student Jabrea Robinson

Jabrea R., MPH Student

Jabrea Robinson recently conducted research to better understand how peer navigators could be used as an intervention for mood and anxiety disorders caused by the physical and emotional changes that occur during and after pregnancy. Her work, based at the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy, will be used to support the development of policies that will create interventions to better address the mental health of new parents.

Andrei C., DrPH Student

(DrPH) student Andrei Chell recently evaluated high-profile health campaign integrations in Honduras, Colombia, and Guyana related to three neglected infectious diseases. This work may help countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to better understand how integrated health campaigns could curb the spread of disease.

Chell’s work, conducted as a practicum with the Health Campaign Effectiveness Coalition of the Task Force for Global Health in Atlanta, Georgia.

Andrei Chell stands in the hallway of the College of Integrated Health Sciences. — DrPH student Andrei Chell.

MPH student Benish S. smiling at the camera. — MPH student Benish Syed.

Benish S., MPH Student

"The unique thing about UAlbany is that it provides necessary opportunities for students to succeed beyond their expectations. The internship component of the MPH program, which involves 720 hours of experiential learning, is empowering as it allows students to explore the various areas of public health," says Benish.

"My internship experience at NYSDOH has helped me learn how organizations function and how systems level initiatives can better the health of the public. I hope to complete my second internship at a different site so that I can view public health from a different perspective and see how it influences individuals at a more personal level."

Jeancarlo C., DrPH Candidate

Jeancarlo Cordoba, a clinical professor at the University of Costa Rica, is a dedicated public health professional. Now, he is also a DrPH student at UAlbany, chosen by his home University to receive an international doctoral degree.

“I wanted to select a university that would give me training that could be directly turned into actions at home. I knew UAlbany and its strong connection to NYSDOH would give me the experience to truly give back to my community," he says.

DrPH student Jeancarlo Cordoba smiling at camera — DrPH student Jeancarlo Cordoba

Cassie Kane stands outside the George Education Center. — MPH student Cassie Kane.

Cassie K., MPH Student

In her internship position, Cassie worked with Mary Gallant to evaluate the New York State Alzheimer’s Disease Caregiver Support Initiative, a five-year program through the New York State Department of Health designed to support caregivers and people with Dementia using evidence-based public health strategies. Using the data, she conducted analyses to help determine how services may consider changes going forward to improve caregiver support.

Raven C., MPH Student

Raven recently interned for a local health equity project, working to mitigate health disparities in the Capital Region. Now, Raven is the Family Planning and Reproductive Health Program Intern for the New York State Department of Health - Bureau of Women, Infant, and Adolescent Health. In this position, she is revising the current NYS Family Planning and Reproductive Health Program Policy Manual to be implemented later this year. She will also be training providers on how to utilize the manual

A portrait of Raven C. — MPH student Raven Cunningham

A portrait of Shannon M. — MPH student Shannon Mullin

Shannon M., MPH Student

Shannon Mullin works as a graduate assistant on the evaluation of the new Albany County Crisis Officials Responding and Diverting (ACCORD) program, which sends teams of social workers and EMTs in place of law enforcement to behavioral health 911 calls. A joint project with UAlbany’s College of Integrated Health Sciences and School of Social Welfare, the evaluation seeks to determine how effective the program is at reducing unnecessary hospitalizations and incarcerations, as well as adverse encounters with law enforcement.

Poorva K., MPH Student

Poorva Kulkarni worked on research collecting data on pneumococcal serotypes in south Asian countries. This data is useful in making policy decisions about pneumococcal vaccines. After focusing on international health issues, Poorva applied to UAlbany's MPH program in Health Policy and Management to learn about the challenges faced by the healthcare system in the U.S. and to understand health policy related issues.

Lauren D., MPH student

Lauren Dorvil now serves as the Undergraduate Coordinator for the Public Health Program, and this past summer collaborated with the New York State Department of Health on a research study entitled “Examining Maternal Health Outcomes of Women of Color Across New York State.

Melissa T., MPH Student

Melissa Toback is pursuing her MPH as part of the MSW/MPH combined program. Currently, she is interning at the Troy Commission on Economic Opportunity as part of the team spearheading the Baby Bundle Project – a project that aims to provide expectant families and families with a child one years of age or younger who reside in Rensselaer with materials and resources to help ease the stress of early parenthood.

Sabrina H., MPH Student

Sabrina Howard works as the manager of The Collaboratory at ACPHS, a community education center focused on social justice and social determinants of health for individuals who have social and structural difficulties in pursuing health care and other services. The Collaboratory team serves community members living in neighborhoods with a “pharmacy desert”. The team advocates for better patient/provider engagement through patient empowerment, provider education, and direct service provision.

UAlbany's Black Maternal Health Collective

Several students in the Department of Health Policy, Management and Behavior formed the Black Maternal Health Collective, a student-run organization focusing on increasing awareness surrounding maternal mortality and morbidity for women and birthing people who identify as Black/African-decent through scholarship, programming, advocacy, and community engagement. Current and prospective students interested in joining the Black Maternal Health Collective are welcome to email the group at [email protected] with any questions.

UAlbany's Black Maternal Health Collective