Who We Are

Signe Peterson Flieger, PhD, MSW

Director, Center for Health Systems and Policy

Signe Peterson Flieger (she/her) is Associate Professor in the Department of Public Health and Community Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine. She joined Tufts in 2014. Prior to Tufts, Signe worked at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in the Medicaid and Children’s Health Division coordinating with New England states on their home and community-based services waiver programs and also conducted policy analysis at non-profits on the impact of Medicaid policy changes on vulnerable populations. Signe brings expertise in mixed methods implementation research, evaluation, policy analysis, and organizational learning and culture change to studies of health services, systems, and policy. Her areas of expertise include payment and delivery system reform, care coordination, state health policy, primary care, palliative care, advance care planning, and aging. Signe holds a PhD in Social Policy and Health Services Research from Brandeis University, an MSW from Washington University in St. Louis, and an AB from Harvard College.

Kimberly Dong Breen, DrPH, MS, RD

Program Director, COHERE

Kim Dong Breen (she/her) is Associate Professor in the Department of Public Health and Community Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine. Before joining Tufts as faculty in 2017, Kim was a research assistant and project manager for over a decade working on several studies related to HIV and nutrition. Kim’s current research focuses on food insecurity and dietary quality as determinants of health, particularly with people living with HIV and individuals involved with the criminal justice system. Her current projects explore health disparities and causes and consequences of food insecurity among adults on probation and evaluating the transition of healthcare from jail to the community for people with HIV. Additional areas of interest include addressing food systems to improve food access, nutritional consequences of substance and alcohol use, and improving linkage to healthcare for vulnerable populations. Kim holds a DrPH from Tufts University School of Medicine, an MS from Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, an RD from Frances Stern Nutrition Center at Tufts Medical Center, and a BS from University of California, Berkeley.

Fernando Ona, PhD, MPH, MSW, MDiv

Associate Director, COHERE

Fernando Ona is Clinical Professor in the Department of Public Health and Community Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine. He joined the Department in 2014. Fernando’s research focuses on mental health and psychosocial stabilization interventions in contexts of war, conflict, and complex humanitarian emergencies, especially with survivors of torture. Over the course of twenty-five years, Fernando has held public health appointments at local, State and global health institutions to address health inequities and structural violence in communities that are disproportionately impacted by disease morbidity and mortality. Fernando holds a doctoral degree from the University of California, Berkeley, an MPH from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, an MSW from Boston University School of Social Work and a MDiv (magna cum laude) from Boston University School of Theology. He is currently a DMin student as the Whitney M. Young Fellow and the FOR Walter Wink and June Keener Wink Fellow at Boston University School of Theology.  

Jasmin Kamruddin

Policy Fellow

Jasmin Kamruddin is a current MD/MPH student at Tufts University School of Medicine from Duluth, Georgia. Prior to coming to Tufts, she served as a medical scribe for the University of Virginia Health Systems. She is passionate about working to achieve health equity for our most vulnerable populations and understanding the role health systems and policies play in this. Jasmin holds BAs in Political Science and African and African American Studies from Stanford University.

Clare Lonsdale

Policy Fellow

Clare Lonsdale is a current MPH student at Tufts University School of Medicine from Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Prior to Tufts, Clare worked for four years at the Alzheimer’s Family Support Center, providing phone and Zoom support. Clare is interested in the intersection of health insurance and access to healthcare as well as reproductive justice. Clare holds a BA in Legal Studies from the University of Massachusetts Amherst Commonwealth Honors College.

Erin Mooz

Policy Fellow

Erin Mooz is a current MD student at Tufts University School of Medicine from Boulder, Colorado. Before coming to Tufts, she spent two years as a Business Analyst at McKinsey & Co focusing on healthcare consulting. She is particularly interested in the impacts of health care consolidation on cost and quality of care and sustainability in healthcare. Erin holds a BA in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology with minors in Environmental Policy and Gender & Sexuality Studies from Princeton University.  

Wayne Altman, MD, FAAFP

Affiliated Faculty

Wayne Altman is Professor of Family Medicine and Jaharis Family Chair at Tufts University School of Medicine. Wayne joined Tufts in 1998, serving as the Family Medicine Clerkship Director for 17 years. He practices Family Medicine at Family Practice Group in Arlington where he is President and co-owner of the practice. His research interests include advancing patient wellness through group visits, improving medical education, and primary care transformation. He is the Co-Founder of Wellness Campaign, a non-profit created to support communities, patients and providers. He also co-founded Care That Matters, a national multi-disciplinary group of health care professionals establishing and advocating for quality measures that are both patient-centered and evidence-based. Wayne is the founder of MAPCAP (MA Primary Care Alliance for Patients) which is working with clinicians and policymakers to develop prospective global payment models for primary care to increase primary care investment in Massachusetts. Wayne holds an MD from the University of Massachusetts and a BA from Brandeis University.

Nina Ashford DrPH, MPH

Affiliated Faculty

Nina is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Health and Community Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine. She joined the Department in 2021. Nina is a former federal government director committed to health equity through innovative person-centered policy, public health programming, and evaluation. She has over 15 years of experience working across multiple sectors including government, academia, and community-based non-profits. Nina spent 7 years at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Innovation Center leading the State and Population Health Group. Her portfolio included over $1 billion dollars of programs evaluating innovative ways to deliver preventive care and improve population for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. During her 9-year tenure at CMS Nina also served as the Deputy Director for the Program Alignment Group in the Medicare-Medicaid Coordination Office and Acting Director for the CMS Office of Minority Health. Nina’s dissertation examined the role of Patient Activation on clinical preventive service utilization among Medicare beneficiaries. Her research interests include delivery system reform, payment reform, health equity, population health, social determinants of health, Medicare, Medicaid, chronic disease prevention and management. Nina holds a DrPH and MPH from the Milken Institute of Public Health at the George Washington University, a BS from the University of Wisconsin Parkside, and a Certificate in Business Administration from Georgetown University.

Kenneth K. H. Chui, PhD, MS/MPH

Affiliated Faculty

Ken Chui is Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Health and Community Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine. He joined the Department in 2009. Ken is a methodologist with expertise in research design, quantitative data analysis, and innovative approaches to data visualization. He applies this expertise to a variety of research projects, including the examination of epidemics related to opioid overdoses and hepatitis C infections, health care decision making related to consumer choice of providers, health care claims data analysis, and health care delivery system evaluation projects. Ken holds a PhD and an MS in Food Policy and Applied Nutrition from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, an MPH in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from Tufts University School of Medicine, and a BSc in Food and Nutritional Sciences from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Karen Errichetti, DrPH, MPH

Affiliated Faculty

Karen Errichetti is Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Health and Community Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine. She joined the Department in 2020. Dr. Errichetti is a public health researcher with expertise in program evaluation, health planning, and public health informatics. Trained as an epidemiologist, Karen is passionate about making evidence-based research and public health data more accessible to communities to ensure just and equitable decision-making. She works extensively to support public health departments in developing data visuals and reports that people will understand and use at all levels of society. Her primary area of research is the implementation of health care innovations and models of delivery in communities at the US-Mexico border. Before coming to Tufts, Karen worked as a consultant, often supporting public health departments through the community health improvement process using a health equity approach. Karen holds a DrPH from Boston University School of Public Health, an MPH from Yale University School of Public Health, and a BA from Wellesley College.

Wenhui Feng, PhD, MPP

Affiliated Faculty

Wenhui Feng is Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Health and Community Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine since 2019. Wenhui’s research applies policy analysis and behavioral economics to a variety of health policies. She primarily focuses on obesity-related policies, including menu labeling, active transportation, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). She also examines characteristics of the health and social safety net, including the relationship between program generosity and health outcomes. She applies policy analysis and behavioral economics to a variety of health policies. Wenhui’s is currently evaluating local health departments’ role in shaping a system that supports healthy behaviors, and how to better leverage local health departments to improve health policies. Wenhui holds a PhD in Public Administration and Policy from Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the University of Albany, an MPP from Arizona State University, and a BS from South China University of Technology.

Susan Koch-Weser, ScM, ScD

Affiliated Faculty

Susan Koch-Weser is Associate Professor in the Department of Public Health and Community Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine. She came to Tufts in 2008. Susan’s research addresses how people find, understand, and apply information when making health decisions. She has worked on a range of projects, including research into patient decision-making and consumer choice of health care services, and product labeling to promote healthy behaviors. Susan is an active member of Tufts CTSI’s Stakeholder & Community Engagement Program, Addressing Disparities in Asian Populations through Translational Research (ADAPT), a community-academic partnership based in Boston’s Chinatown. She contributes methodological expertise, including having led a community health survey of Chinatown residents, and developing collective impact projects designed to promote health by coordinating interventions and data collection across multiple agencies. Susan holds a ScD and ScM from the Harvard School of Public Health and a BA from Wellesley College.

Keren Ladin, PhD, MSc

Affiliated Faculty

Keren Ladin is Associate Professor in the Departments of Occupational Therapy and Community Health at Tufts University. She is Director of Research on Aging, Ethics, and Community Health (REACH Lab) at Tufts University. Her research examines questions of equitable allocation of health resources, shared decision-making, and disparities, especially for older adults and for people facing medical decisions. Keren incorporates quantitative, qualitative, and normative approaches to study how systemic disadvantage affects health and the ability of individuals to make and pursue life plans. She has published extensively on topics related to transplantation, aging, kidney disease, and health disparities, and is an expert in mixed-methods, medical ethics, and health policy. Keren’s research has been funded by the Patient Centered Research Outcomes Institute (PCORI), the National Institutes of Health, and the Greenwall Foundation. At Tufts, she teaches courses in health policy, research methods, public health ethics, and health disparities. Keren currently serves as Chair of Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) and United Network on Organ Sharing (UNOS) Ethics Committees. Keren holds a Ph.D. in Health Policy from Harvard University, a Masters in Population and International Health from the Harvard School of Public Health, and a BA from the University of Chicago.

Amy Lischko, DSc, MSPH

Affiliated Faculty

Amy Lischko is Associate Professor in the Department of Public Health and Community Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine and Professor of the Practice at Tufts University in the Community Health and Economics Departments. Prior to joining Tufts in 2007, Amy served in senior positions in Massachusetts state government for 14 years, including as the Commissioner of Health Care Finance and Policy and the Director of Health Care Policy under Governor Mitt Romney. Amy has an academic background in health services research and significant practical experience having served on the front lines of reform in Massachusetts. This background makes her a tremendous asset in state health policy environments. Her research and evaluation experience has focused on cost and quality transparency, improving the affordability and effectiveness of health insurance, translating research into policy, consumer engagement, and health care system redesign. Amy has provided consulting services to numerous organizations in Massachusetts as well as to states across the country including Rhode Island, Vermont, Maine, Minnesota, Washington, Alaska, Kentucky, Georgia, and the US Virgin Islands. She has been the recipient of numerous grants from various foundations and contracts from various funders at the state, federal, and local level. Amy holds a DSc in Health Services Research from Boston University, and an MSPH and a BS from the University of Massachusetts.

Melissa McInerney, PhD, MPP

Affiliated Faculty

Melissa McInerney is Professor of Economics at Tufts University. Prior to joining Tufts in 2014, she was on the faculty at William and Mary. Melissa is an applied microeconomist whose research interests include health care policy and workplace safety. Her work related to health care policy examines the direct and indirect effects of the Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion on insurance coverage, health care, and health for older, low-income adults. Her work related to workplace safety primarily examines incentives in the Workers’ Compensation (WC) insurance program that provides medical care and cash benefits for workers who are injured on the job. Melissa brings expertise using large, secondary data sets such as the American Community Survey, the Health and Retirement Study, the National Health Interview Survey, hospital discharge data, and Medicare claims data. She has been funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the National Institute on Aging, the Department of Labor, the Russell Sage Foundation, and the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. Melissa holds a PhD in economics from the University of Maryland, College Park, an MPP from Georgetown University, and a BA from Carleton College.