OPTIC Policy Pioneers Summit

Bennett Allen is an assistant professor of epidemiology in the Department of Population Health at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, where he is affiliated with the Center for Opioid Epidemiology and Policy. His research evaluates programs and policies in substance use, overdose prevention, and behavioral health using epidemiological and machine learning methods. Additional work considers various facets of public health practice using qualitative methods and bioethical frameworks. Current projects of note include a longitudinal evaluation of the New York City overdose prevention centers, evaluation of shelter-based harm reduction interventions for people experiencing homelessness in New York City, and microsimulation modeling to inform New York City public health investments in overdose prevention. As principal investigator, his research has been supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, City of New York, and Commonwealth Fund. Dr. Allen received a Ph.D. in epidemiology from the NYU Grossman School of Medicine and an M.P.A. in public policy from the NYU Wagner School of Public Service. Prior to joining NYU, he worked in substance use and mental health policy for the New York City government.

Zoe Lindenfeld joined the Bloustein School in September 2024. She is a health policy and services researcher focused on mitigating factors that perpetuate health inequities for individuals with substance use disorders. She has used mixed-methods research designs with qualitative, quantitative, and geospatial data to evaluate questions related to how harm reduction can be operationalized as an approach to care within clinical settings, racial disparities in the availability of hospital-based substance use treatment, factors contributing to the development of comprehensive substance use treatment models, and the feasibility of using telemedicine for opioid use disorder treatment, among others. Her research contributes to theory and understanding of disparities in the distribution of services for substance use disorders and can inform the decisions of health system leaders, policymakers, and practitioners. Zoe earned her Ph.D. in public health policy and management at NYU School of Global Public Health.

Dr. Lozano-Rojas’ research lies in the intersection between public finance and health policy. Dr. Lozano-Rojas has worked in different areas, including local consumption taxation, Medicaid/Medicare and their relation to local governments’ budgets, sales tax holidays, effects of non-pharma interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic, and, more recently, substance policies. Dr. Lozano-Rojas earned his Ph.D. in public affairs from Indiana University, and the Tax Foundation, the Wall Street Journal, US World News, and NPR have portrayed his research. Previously, Dr. Lozano-Rojas served as a consultant for the World Bank in matters related to student financial aid and was the Chief Planning Officer for ICETEX, the student loan agency in his home country, Colombia.

Dr. Steuart is a health policy scholar and assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management. Her research focuses on the effects of cannabis and opioid policy on health care utilization, prescribing behavior, and substance use disorder treatment, particularly within insured populations (including Medicaid, Medicare, and privately insured). She also examines how policy interventions—such as Medicaid managed care, prescription drug monitoring programs, and COVID-era regulatory changes—affect treatment access and health outcomes across vulnerable groups.

Shelby’s research interests include Medicaid Managed Care, opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment, and the impact of cannabis legalization on health outcomes. Shelby’s dissertation work focused on the impact of several policies related to cannabis, including how adding cannabis to state PDMPs impacted fills of medications in Medicaid claims.

Dr. Sugarman is a health behavior and policy researcher. Olivia’s general research areas include mental health, substance use disorder, HIV, Hepatitis C, and incarceration as a health determinant. Additional experience and expertise encompass LGBTQ+ health, health impacts of climate change and disaster, mental health and depression, health disparities and health equity, social determinants of health, Medicaid, and program evaluation. Olivia utilizes mixed-methods approaches, health behavior frameworks, and community-partnered research approaches in conducting research.

Core values reflected in Olivia’s work include a sense of community, ambition, and precision. Olivia emphasizes that the best research is conducted with community, for community, with the common goal of solving public health problems efficiently and effectively. A strong sense of responsibility guides Olivia’s commitment to rigorous, welcoming, and approachable research practices.

Current projects center on access to medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), naloxone saturation, xylazine as an adulterant in the drug supply, and incarceration and Hepatitis C virus (HCV) elimination. Olivia is an assistant scientist in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Rebecca Bilden, Ph.D., M.Sc., is a T32 Postdoctoral Fellow in Pain and Substance Use at Stanford University School of Medicine, where she conducts research under the mentorship of Drs. Keith Humphreys and Brian Bateman. Dr. Bilden is a health services researcher and decision scientist whose work focuses on improving access to treatment for substance use disorders through evidence-based policy and simulation modeling. By integrating qualitative insights into models, she analyzes system dynamics and develops strategies to improve care delivery within complex healthcare systems.

Dr. Bilden earned her Ph.D. in health services research and policy from the University of Pittsburgh, an M.Sc. in applied data science and statistics from the University of Exeter, and a B.A. in pure and applied mathematics from Boston University. Her current research focuses on evaluating opioid-related policies, improving treatment retention among people with substance use disorders, and expanding access to care in carceral settings.

Kechna Cadet, Ph.D., examines the impact of structural determinants of health, such as poverty and inequality, on substance use outcomes and develops interventions to reduce substance use-related harms. In particular, she aims to reduce mortality through research that incorporates a variety of methods, including spatial epidemiology, Bayesian modeling, and machine learning. She earned her Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Most recently, she was a Substance Use Epidemiology Postdoctoral Fellow at Columbia Mailman.

J. Travis Donahoe, Ph.D., is a health economist whose research focuses on how public policies can reduce harms from addictive substance use at the population level. His work on this topic features applied economic theory, state-of-the-art econometric methods, and large and novel datasets.

One of the principal policy responses to the opioid epidemic has entailed shutting down prescribers, dispensers, and distributors who supply excessive amounts of prescription opioids. Prior literature is unclear about whether these interventions are likely to reduce overdose mortality or be undermined by prescription opioid users switching to more dangerous substances. Taking advantage of differential exposure to enforcement across U.S. counties from 2006 to 2014, Dr. Donahoe found that these interventions reduced mortality—with the average intervention preventing 11 deaths. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University and a Master's in Public Health from the University of Michigan.

Dr. Luba’s interest in substance use disorder research and treatment stems from both personal and professional experiences. She grew up in a family, like many, that grappled with addiction and its consequences and was surrounded by people who boldly expressed compassion and acceptance for people who use drugs in a world that often demands the opposite. These early experiences shaped her commitment to conduct research and deliver treatment for people who use drugs that is evidence-based, person-centered, and grounded in principles of harm reduction.

Dr. Luba is a lifelong New Yorker. She was born on Long Island and attended Fordham University for her undergraduate degree and SUNY Albany for her Ph.D. in clinical psychology. She completed her pre-doctoral internship at Stony Brook University and then completed a T32 fellowship in the Division on Substance Use Disorders at Columbia University. In 2024, she received a K23 mentored-career development award focused on buprenorphine induction strategies for people who use fentanyl and high-potency synthetic opioids.

Nicole Siegal, Ph.D. started at the O'Neill School as a postdoctoral fellow. Previously, she worked as a graduate research assistant at the University of Hawai`i Economic Research Organization (UHERO), as part of the Pacific Alliance Against COVID-19 (PAAC), working on projects evaluating the effects of the pandemic and other health disparities in the state of Hawai`i. Siegal's research lies primarily in applied microeconomics of health economics, public health, policy evaluation, and political economy.