Biography

Terri Tanielian is a senior social research analyst and serves as coleader of the RAND Center for Military Health Policy Research. In this capacity, she oversees RAND's diverse military health research portfolio and maintains relationships with senior military health leaders. She was the co–study director for a large, privately funded assessment of the psychological, emotional, and cognitive consequences of deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan, entitled Invisible Wounds of War: Psychological and Cognitive Injuries, Their Consequences, and Services to Assist Recovery. She also recently completed a congressionally mandated evaluation of a TRICARE demonstration to expand access to mental health counselors. Tanielian's areas of interest include the psychological and behavioral effects of combat, terrorism, and disasters; public health emergency preparedness; and risk communication. She was recently the co–principal investigator for a study examining the Department of Defense response to and management of three anthrax-related incidents in March 2005. This work builds upon her earlier study examining the relationship of health care decisionmaking and perception of risk among individuals treated for anthrax exposure during the fall of 2001.

Tanielian has published numerous peer-reviewed articles, and serves as editor for the Emergency Preparedness column in Psychiatric Services. She was also a member of the planning committee for the 18th and 22nd Annual Rosalynn Carter Symposium on Mental Health Policy, which focused on mental health needs and recovery following September 11, 2001, and Hurricane Katrina, respectively.

Tanielian earned her B.A. in psychology from Boston University and her M.A., also in psychology, from American University.