Leading the Way at the Intersection of Health and Civic Engagement

Daniel Nielson is Professor of Government at the University of Texas at Austin, where he is also Director of Graduate Studies and Co-Executive Director at Innovations for Peace and Development. He is a co-founder and Chief Research Officer of Evaluasi LLC and also a co-founder and former Chief Social Scientist of AidData. He has been a principal investigator on grants from the U.S. National Science Foundation, the Hewlett Foundation, the Gates Foundation, the World Bank, and USAID. He is a co-author of Global Shell Games: Experiments in Transnational Relations, Crime, and Terrorism (Cambridge University Press 2014) and many peer-reviewed journal articles.

James A. McCann is a Professor of Political Science at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN.  Originally from the Chicago area, he did his doctoral studies at the University of Colorado-Boulder and had a two-year “pre-doc” appointment at the Government Data Center at Harvard University before joining the faculty at Purdue.  McCann conducts research and teaches courses on public opinion, campaigns, political participation, and representation in the United States and abroad. He has held Visiting Scholar appointments at the Russell Sage Foundation, the Brookings Institution, and Carleton University. Within his local community, he serves on the board of Greater Lafayette Immigrant Allies, and since 2008, he has volunteered as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA).

Dr. Shuhan He is a distinguished leader in healthcare innovation and research, holding dual-board certification in Emergency Medicine and Clinical Informatics. Serving as an Instructor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Program Director of Healthcare Data Analytics at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Institute of Health Professions, Dr. He’s expertise resides at the nexus of acute care and computer science. His research endeavors are dedicated to harnessing algorithmic approaches to distill actionable insights from extensive datasets, with a particular focus on Bayesian interpretation.

Beyond academia, Dr. He is a visionary entrepreneur and advocate for healthcare reform. Co-founding GetUsPPE, a celebrated nonprofit that distributed millions of pieces of PPE during the COVID-19 pandemic, he demonstrated his unwavering commitment to addressing critical healthcare needs. Additionally, Dr. He launched ConductScience.com, a pioneering platform providing cutting-edge scientific technologies to laboratories worldwide. His innovative spirit and dedication to advancing healthcare have earned him numerous accolades, including recognition as one of Emergency Medicine’s “25 under 45” and Modern HealthCare’s Top 25 Emerging Leaders. Through his multifaceted efforts, Dr. He continues to drive transformative change and inspire progress in the healthcare landscape.

Steven Lauterwasser is the Senior Research Scientist at A Healthier Democracy, leading research on the intersection of civic engagement and health, and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Northeastern University. He draws on diverse quantitative and computational methods to study the co-constitution of identity and political conflict, the personal determinants of civic engagement, and the way knowledge spreads through systems. Steven received his PhD in Sociology from University of California Berkeley and BA in History from the University of Chicago.

Katherine McCabe is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Rutgers University, specializing in the intricate interplay of political psychology, public opinion, and political communication within American politics. Her research investigates how individuals’ social identities, attitudes, and personal experiences shape their political engagement and decision-making processes, with a current focus on healthcare attitudes, the influence of the information environment on belief formation, and the resolution of conflicting political identities. Joining Rutgers in 2017, Dr. McCabe teaches courses in American politics, political behavior, political psychology, and quantitative methods, while also co-organizing Summer Institutes in Computational Social Science. She earned her bachelor’s degree in government from Harvard University and completed her master’s degree and doctorate in politics at Princeton University in 2017.

Georgia Kernell, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication and the Department of Political Science (by courtesy) at UCLA, is deeply engaged in research spanning political communication, parties, behavior, European politics, comparative democratic institutions, and research methodology. With a forthcoming book exploring how parties’ organizations influence party membership, representation, and electoral success, she also leads projects on party diversity regulation, the normative implications of party structures, social influence on voting, and the impacts of online hate speech. Dr. Kernell, who obtained her Ph.D. in Political Science from Columbia University and previously served as Assistant Professor of Political Science at Northwestern University, directs the UCLA Political Party Organizations Lab, where undergraduate researchers collaborate on global party constitutions and rules. Her teaching portfolio includes courses on political communication, media and politics, and research methodology, and she actively contributes to the Communication and Politics Group at UCLA. Dr. Kernell’s expertise is frequently sought by media outlets for insights on parliamentary systems, presidential debates, and electoral processes worldwide.

Benjamin Carter, PhD, is a Postdoctoral Researcher at Dartmouth College working at the intersection of politics, policy, and health. His research investigates upstream political causes of health inequities and the downstream effects of social policies and health care delivery.

Reese Green is a recent master’s graduate in Healthcare Data Analytics from MGH’s Institute of Health Professions. Her research interests involve exploring how unequal access to resources drives health disparities and how to identify critical targets for public health initiatives to optimize equitable change.

The A Healthier Democracy Research Fellowship is granted to outstanding data analysts who have mastered the field through graduate-level education and are adept at leveraging data science to enhance healthcare outcomes. Fellows are expected to work with A Healthier Democracy datasets to engage deeply with data visualization and data interpretation, utilizing these tools to develop research models that effectively communicate data-driven narratives and influence change within healthcare environments. This role emphasizes rigorous research and innovative analytical approaches to address complex challenges in the healthcare sector.

Tim, in his role as Project Manager, oversees recruitment for and completion of research endeavors. He aims to leverage partnerships with the many talented volunteers and team members at A Healthier Democracy to share the organization’s goals and achievements with a broader audience. Tim will complete his medical degree next year before pursuing a residency in Emergency Medicine.