Director
Richard M. Scheffler, PhD [View CV, View Publications, View Wikipedia, View News Articles]
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.
Research Leadership
Brent D. Fulton, PhD, MBA – Associate Director [View CV]
Brent D. Fulton, Ph.D., MBA, is Associate Research Professor of Health Economics and Policy and Associate Director of the Nicholas C. Petris Center on Health Care Markets and Consumer Welfare in the School of Public Health at University of California, Berkeley. Professor Fulton’s primary research examines how markets and regulation can improve the delivery of healthcare, including its cost, quality, and access. His research areas include healthcare mergers and acquisitions, healthcare payment and delivery system reforms, accountable care organizations, health workforce, and cost analysis. In addition, he is developing public-private financing strategies that will provide funding for social drivers of health for families with children residing in low-income communities. He teaches health economics and was the first faculty lead for the health policy and management concentration in the School’s Online MPH Program. His 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 an Assistant Research Economist and Research Director of the Nicholas C. Petris Center on Health Care Markets and Consumer Welfare in the School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley. His research focuses on the impact of market power on health care prices, quality, and access as well as economy-wide wages. He has also worked on identifying the factors that contribute to the gender pay gap among physicians, forecasting future health workforce shortages, plan choice in the ACA Exchanges, and the drivers and consequences of anxiety disorder among adults. Dr. Arnold obtained his doctorate in economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Former Researchers
Ola Abdelhadi, PhD – Postdoctoral Scholar [View CV]
Ola Abdelhadi is currently at Stanford University. She was a postdoctoral research fellow at the Nicholas C. Petris Center on Health Care Markets and Consumer Welfare in the School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley. Her research focused on examining factors associated with health care quality and medical expenditures among adolescent and young adult cancer survivors. Her research areas of interest include health behaviors, health care access, prevention of chronic conditions, health care quality and health care utilization. Dr. Abdelhadi is trained in medicine, public health, and epidemiology. She holds a medical degree from Ain Shams University, a master’s degree in public health (MPH) from Purdue University majoring in family and community health, and a PhD in epidemiology from the University of California, Davis.
Arjun Teotia, PhD – Postdoctoral Scholar [View CV]
Arjun Teotia is currently at the Henry Ford Health System. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the Nicholas C. Petris Center on Health Care Markets and Consumer Welfare in the School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley. Effective August 1, 2023, Dr. Teotia began an an appointment as Assistant Research Economist at the Petris Center. His research interests include health markets, tobacco regulatory science, and maternal and children’s health. His work focuses on estimating causal effects of state and federal policies on public health, health behaviors, and health care – quality, access, and utilization. Prior to joining the Petris Center, he was a postdoctoral fellow at Rutgers University Center for Tobacco Studies, conducting economic evaluation of recent policies to curb smoking and vaping in the US. Arjun holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Georgia State University.
Student Researchers
Preethi Subbiah – Petris Coordinator and Research Assistant
Preethi Subbiah is an undergraduate research assistant at the Nicholas C. Petris Center. She is a senior at the University of California, Berkeley majoring in Public Health and Economics. At the Petris Center, Preethi engages in research surrounding mergers and acquisitions in the healthcare industry. She is interested in learning about making healthcare delivery more efficient while maintaining the quality of care. She hopes to make healthcare systems more equitable and accessible through the use of data science and health reform. After graduation, Preethi plans to pursue a Master’s degree in Healthcare Policy and Management.Jordan Wolf – Website Coordinator and Research Assistant
Jordan Wolf is an undergraduate research assistant at the Nicholas C. Petris Center. She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley majoring in Public Health and minoring in Data Science. At the Petris Center, Jordan engages in research surrounding hospital affiliations and its associated outcomes. She is interested in learning more about the healthcare market and the integration of data and technology within the healthcare industry. After graduation, Jordan hopes to pursue a graduate degree, combining her interests in public health and the market systems.
Recent Graduates
Natalie Zazula – Research Assistant
Natalie Zazula was an undergraduate research assistant at the Nicholas C. Petris Center. She graduated from the University of California in May 2024, Berkeley majoring in Public Health and minoring in Creative Writing. At the Petris Center, Natalie engaged in research surrounding hospital affiliations and its associated outcomes. She is interested in learning about healthcare market analysis, health equity, and the impact of private equity acquisitions on quality of care. After graduation, Natalie plans to pursue a master’s degree as a physician assistant.
Ming Senn Teo – Data Analytics Research Assistant
Ming Senn Teo was an undergraduate research assistant at the Nicholas C. Petris Center. He graduated from the University of California in May 2024, Berkeley majoring in Data Science. At the Petris Center, Ming engaged in Data Analytics surrounding price variation and transparency compliance. He is interested in environmental health management, specifically the health impacts of climate change. After graduation, Ming hopes to pursue a graduate degree or go into the health-tech/climate-tech industry.