W&M Students Attend Research Consortium Launch Event

On Tuesday, October 7, a group of William & Mary Economics and Public Policy students traveled to Richmond to celebrate the launch of a new research initiative in the Commonwealth. The Research Consortium at the Virginia Center for Health Innovation (VCHI)  is a cutting-edge public-private partnership established to address the siloed nature of health policy research in Virginia. The W&M students are enrolled in “Health Policy Lab,” a COLL 400 course that counts as Economics and Public Policy elective credit and is taught by Professor Jen Mellor. Students in the course are working in teams to conduct quantitative research on issues related to the integration of primary care and behavioral health, the vertical integration of physician group practices and health systems, and the potential adverse consequences of using merit-based incentives to pay physicians and other practitioners.   

The Research Consortium at VCHI is intended to inform state health policy by producing timely, actionable research, by leveraging existing partnerships, and by building new connections across the Commonwealth. The new consortium also seeks to help train the next generation of health policy researchers. John Littel, the Chief of Staff for Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin and previous Secretary of Health and Human Resources in the Commonwealth, greeted more than 100 guests at the event, who included healthcare providers, insurers, and researchers. Dr. Lauryn Walker, the Executive Director of the Research Consortium, spoke about the importance of bringing state universities from across the Commonwealth together with vital data to inform policy.  Delegate Rodney Willett, who co-chairs the Consortium’s Executive Committee, remarked on the need for timely data on health policy issues affecting Virginians and commended the W&M students in the room for their desire to seek answers to tough questions.

Below are some thoughts from some of the W&M students about their experiences:

“W&M courses never fail to surprise me with invaluable real-world experiences. As a direct result of this field trip, I’ve gained real connections that I’ve followed up on for the benefit of my education and career.”  -Bayne Nobili, International Relations and Economics ‘27

“Meeting professionals working in my area of interest, health policy, gave me insight into all the different paths and opportunities I have.“ -Abigail Crosbie, Public Policy ‘27 

“The trip to VCHI opened by eyes to the broader world of heath policy, allowing me to converse with some incredible people who are already successful in the field.” -Cecelia Johnson, Public Policy ‘27

"As an economics major interested in a career in research, I was extremely happy to have the opportunity to speak with so many researchers and academics who are all united in tackling the same pressing issues of healthcare policy in Virginia." -Ben Kurokawa, Economics ‘26

“I really enjoyed speaking with a W&M alum who was also at the Research Consortium Launch event. It was a great opportunity to hear about how she is using the skills she learned at W&M in her current job working at a Virginia state agency.” -Zoe Pruthi, Economics ‘26

“This experience was a great way to learn more about different types of careers and the diversity in the work that is done related to health policy, and as an economics major I thought it was especially interesting to see how my economics coursework applies in a policy-heavy context.” -Eesha Kulkarni, Economics and Computational Applied Math & Statistics ‘26

“I found this event to be a great way to expand my knowledge of the healthcare industry, allowing me to get a better understanding of what life in that field is like. As a senior in economics, this was extremely helpful for me in determining my future.”  -Horatio Bushara, Economics ‘26