Director
Richard M. Scheffler, PhD [View CV]
Richard M. Scheffler is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Health Economics and Public Policy at the School of Public Health and the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley. He is also the Chair Emeritus in Healthcare Markets and Consumer Welfare endowed by the Office of the Attorney General for the State of California in 1999. In addition to directing the Petris Center, Dr. Scheffler is also the Director of the Global Center for Health Economics and Policy Research. He has been a visiting professor at the London School of Economics, Charles University in Prague, at the Department of Economics at the University of Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona and at Carlos III University of Madrid, Spain. Dr. Scheffler has been a visiting scholar at the World Bank, the Rockefeller Foundation in Bellagio, and the Institute of Medicine at the National Academy of Sciences and a consultant for the World Bank, the WHO, and the OECD. Professor Scheffler has been a Fulbright Scholar at Pontifica Universidad Catolica de Chile in Santiago, Chile, and at Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic. He was awarded the Chair of Excellence Award at the Carlos III University of Madrid in 2013. In 2015, Dr. Scheffler was awarded the Gold Medal for Charles University in Prague for his longstanding and continued support of international scientific and educational collaboration. In 2018, Petris Center Director Dr. Richard M. Scheffler was awarded the Berkeley Citation, among the highest honors the campus bestows on its community presented on behalf of the Chancellor to individuals whose contributions to UC Berkeley go beyond the call of duty and whose achievements exceed the standards of excellence in their fields.
Staff Members
Brent D. Fulton, PhD, MBA – Associate Director [View CV]
Brent D. Fulton, Ph.D., MBA, is an Assistant Adjunct Professor of Health Economics and Public Policy, and Associate Director of the Nicholas C. Petris Center on Health Care Markets and Consumer Welfare, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley. His research areas include healthcare market concentration, health insurance markets (rate review regulation, risk adjustment and reinsurance), health reform (accountable care organizations), health workforce (pay for performance and task shifting), and mental health services (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder). Brent’s doctorate is in public policy analysis from Pardee RAND Graduate School and his MBA is from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Daniel Arnold, PhD – Research Director [View CV]
Daniel Arnold is the Research Director of the Nicholas C. Petris Center on Health Care Markets and Consumer Welfare. He conducts research in the fields of health economics, industrial organization, and behavioral economics. His current research focuses on the impact of market concentration on hospital and physician prices, plan choice in the ACA Exchanges, and the drivers and consequences of anxiety disorder among Millennials. Dr. Arnold obtained his doctorate in economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Nina Nguyen – Program Manager
Nina Nguyen is currently a Master of Public Health candidate in the Health Policy and Management program at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health. Prior to pursuing graduate school, Nina worked with different health systems to design, build, and implement electronic medical records at various hospitals to improve workflows and increase patient safety. Her research interests are around health equity, particularly equitable access to quality health care among vulnerable populations.
Shivi Anand – Graduate Student Researcher [View CV]
Shivi Anand is a Master of Public Policy candidate at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy focusing on international development policy and data-driven impact evaluation. She is currently a Graduate Student Researcher at the Nicholas C. Petris Center on Healthcare Markets and Consumer Welfare researching the impacts of insurer and provider consolidation on health insurance premiums under different provider-concentration scenarios. During her time at graduate school, she has served as a Global Development Fellow with USAID in India and worked as a consultant for the Government of Colombia’s National Planning Department on optimizing agricultural supply chains. Prior to graduate school, Shivi spent two years working with the Government of India, designing and implementing national vocational training programs. Shivi holds a master’s degree in economics and a bachelor’s degree in electronics engineering.
Caitlin Kearns – Graduate Student Researcher [View CV]
Caitlin Kearns is a graduate student researcher with the Nicholas C. Petris Center on Healthcare Markets and Consumer Welfare and a PhD candidate in Economics at the University of California, Berkeley. Her research interests center around public policies related to inequality, particularly in the areas of consumer finance, housing, and education. Before coming to Berkeley, Caitlin worked as an Associate Economist with the Finance group at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Caitlin holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Wellesley College.
Caterina Y. Liu, MD – Graduate Student Researcher [View CV]
Caterina Y. Liu is a graduate researcher at the Nicholas C. Petris Center on Healthcare Markets and Consumer Welfare. She is currrently a MPH student in the Health Policy and Management track at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health. She is also currently a third-year resident physician in internal medicine and preventive medicine at Kaiser Permanente San Francisco and UCSF. Her research interests include access, cost, and organization of health care. Caterina received her bachelor’s degree in molecular and cellular biology from Harvard and her MD at UCSF.
Ben Kane – Graduate Student Researcher [View CV]
Ben Kane is currently a Master of Public Policy (MPP) candidate at the UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy. His research interests include access and affordability of health care, health reform, and health insurance exchanges. Before moving to Berkeley, Ben worked for US Congressman Alan Lowenthal of Long Beach, CA as a principal advisor on foreign affairs, healthcare, transportation, trade, immigration, Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) issues, and human rights. Ben received a bachelor’s degree in history and political science from Williams College.
Luke O’Neill – Graduate Student Researcher [View CV]
Luke O’Neill is currently a Master of Public Policy (MPP) candidate at the UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy. His research interests include economic development, poverty and inequality, and labor and employment. Before moving to Berkeley, Luke worked as a market research analyst for a marketing agency and a finance company, developing an expertise in employing qualitative research methods to solve policy problems in the areas of healthcare and public finance. Luke received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Boston College.
Niki Vora – Graduate Student Researcher [View CV]
Niki Vora is a dual degree MD/MS candidate at the UC Berkeley – UCSF Joint Medical Program and a graduate student researcher at the Nicholas C. Petris Center on Healthcare Markets and Consumer Welfare. Her research interests include healthcare delivery systems for resource-scarce settings, access to health services and disparities in health status. Niki is also conducting research with the UCSF Department of Dermatology on AI technologies and teledermatology as well as with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center on assessing patient quality of life to guide treatment options. Before joining the Joint Medical Program, Niki researched developing therapies for X-linked Adrenoleukodystrophy in the Hacia Laboratory at the USC Keck School of Medicine and worked as a HIV Testing Counselor in Los Angeles. She has previously worked as a calculus instructor for the South Central Scholars and served as a Physics Supplemental Instructor at the University of Southern California. Niki holds a bachelor’s degree in health promotion and disease prevention from USC.
Alexandra Peltz – Undergraduate Research Assistant [View CV]
Alex Peltz is an undergraduate research assistant at the Nicholas C. Petris Center. Alex is a third-year student at the University of California, Berkeley majoring in Public Health and pursuing minors in Public Policy and English. Alex is interested in health policy particularly with respect to healthcare coverage and accessibility to services. Alex is also interested in data analysis and aspires to learn more about health policy research as she continues to work at the Petris Center. Alex hopes to pursue a Master’s in either Public Health or Public Policy and perhaps a Doctorate in Health or Public Policy.