Our Center for Advancing Health Services, Policy & Economics Research (CAHSPER) exists to develop and advance long-lasting solutions that achieve health equity.
CAHSPER is supported by the Institute for Public Health, the Institute for Clinical & Translational Sciences and the Department of Medicine at Washington University in St. Louis.
We improve health outcomes and equity through health services and economics research and policy translation.
- Research: Provide infrastructure and support to facilitate production of innovative health services, policy and economics research in nationally-recognized labs led by CAHSPER-affiliated principal investigators
- Convening: Bring people together to catalyze new ideas and collaborations
- Training: Provide tailored training for students, trainees, and junior faculty
- Policy Translation: Translate our research into meaningful positive local and national impact through partnerships with policymakers, public health leaders, and community members
Health services, policy, and economics are applied fields that study the quality, safety, accessibility, affordability, outcomes, and costs of health care. We provide timely, rigorous, and actionable evidence to inform policies and interventions that enhance health and health care, with a special focus on health equity for marginalized individuals and communities.
- Email us at cahsper@wustl.edu
Our Team

Abigail R. Barker, PhD
Associate Director for Policy Partnerships, Center for Advancing Health Services, Policy & Economics Research
- Email: arbarker@wustl.edu
Research Assistant Professor, Brown School

Kateri Chapman-Kramer, MSW, LCSW
Manager, Center for Advancing Health Services, Policy & Economics Research
- Email: kgchapman-kramer@wustl.edu

Kenton J. Johnston, PhD, MPH
Associate Director for Research, Center for Advancing Health Services, Policy & Economics Research
- Email: johnstonkj@wustl.edu
Additional titles: Associate Professor, School of Medicine; Director, Medicare Innovation Research Lab

Karen Joynt Maddox, MD, MPH
Co-Director, Center for Advancing Health Services, Policy & Economics Research
- Email: kjoyntmaddox@wustl.edu
Assistant Professor, School of Medicine

Timothy D. McBride, PhD, MS
Co-Director, Center for Advancing Health Services, Policy & Economics Research
- Email: tmcbride@wustl.edu
Bernard Becker Professor, Brown School
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Your contribution to the Institute for Public Health helps us train the next generation of public health leaders; fund innovative, transdisciplinary research to improve health status; and eliminate health disparities at home and abroad.