Current Fellows

Di Fang is an Associate Professor in the Food and Resource Economics Department at the University of Florida. She specializes in the economics of food, health, and nutrition policy, focusing on how policy influences dietary choices and health outcomes. She works across disciplines to examine how program design, retail environments, and consumer incentives can expand the availability and affordability of healthy foods.

An agricultural economist by training, Dr. Fang has extensive experience in food and nutrition research. She has published widely in economics and public health, and her findings have informed federal agencies and been cited in the White House Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. Her work has been supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), among others. She has worked with government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and academic partners to evaluate how programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), along with other economic incentives, pricing strategies, and market interventions, encourage healthier purchasing and improve diet quality. She also serves on editorial boards, holds leadership roles in professional associations, and mentors graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and early-career researchers.

Dr. Fang earned her BS in Economics from Nankai University in China and her PhD in agribusiness from Arizona State University. She is committed to connecting economics, nutrition, and public health to inform policies that strengthen food security and improve the well-being of all.

Nathalia Jimenez is Professor of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine and Adjunct Professor of Health Systems and Population Health at the University of Washington School of Medicine and the University of Washington School of Public Health. Dr. Jimenez has over 20 years of experience as a pediatric anesthesiologist, caring for children with complex medical conditions.

She is also principal investigator at Seattle Children’s Research Institute. Her research focus on improving access to healthcare for children, and development of family-centered programs to bridge care between hospitals and communities.

She is recognized for her research on factors associated with pediatric post-operative pain management, and for seminal work documenting large long-term disability in children with traumatic brain injuries. She developed a navigation program to improve receipt of rehabilitation care after hospital discharge, and she is currently testing the efficacy of this program in a multicenter effort. Her work highlights the importance school programs to decrease disability and improve community reintegration for children with complex medical conditions. She is also multiple principal investigator for a summer internship program engaging undergraduate students in pain and neurologic health research. Her dedication to academic anesthesiology has been recognized by the Association of University Anesthesiologists and the Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research.

Dr. Jimenez earned her MD from the Universidad Javeriana in Bogota, Colombia, and completed her anesthesiology residency there. She completed her pediatric anesthesiology fellowship and received her MPH from the University of Washington.

Brent Langellier is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Management and Policy at the Dornsife School of Public Health at Drexel University. His research focuses on understanding how public health and social policies can be used to address underlying causes of health disparities. Dr. Langellier has led and collaborated on numerous studies that explore how state and local immigration policies shape participation in public assistance programs, healthcare access, food security, and health status. In other work, he has examined drivers of enrollment in SNAP, Medicaid and Medicare, as well as the population health impacts of these programs. Dr. Langellier has also led studies documenting disparities in health care access and utilization among Latino and immigrant populations.

Dr. Langellier’s research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Wellcome Trust. Dr. Langellier has served as a standing member of the NIH Social Sciences and Population Studies (B) study section and contributed to USDA efforts to incorporate systems thinking into health policy development.

In addition to his research, Dr. Langellier has led training programs that seek to advance public health knowledge and skills among public health researchers and practitioners. At Drexel University, this includes development of an intensive weeklong summer training institute, ongoing training with staff at the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, and longtime leadership of a PhD program in Health Services Research. Dr. Langellier received his MA in Latin American Studies and PhD in Community Health Sciences from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Brian Keith McNeil is an Associate Professor of Clinical Urology at The State University of New York (SUNY), Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn, NY, where he also serves as the Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs for the College of Medicine and Vice Chair of the Department of Urology. He previously served as Program Director of SUNY Downstate’s Urology Residency Program and has held various leadership roles within the American College of Surgeons, American Urological Association, and New York Academy of Medicine.

Dr. McNeil is a surgeon, educator, patient advocate, and Presidential Leadership Scholar whose career has focused on expanding high-quality medical and surgical care. Dr. McNeil’s work explores regional variations in access to care. He emphasizes the principle of “thinking globally and acting locally” to improve patient outcomes for all. His academic and professional journey reflects a dedication to advancing clinical excellence while supporting the development of future health providers.

Raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Dr. McNeil earned his BS from Morehouse College, MD from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and MBA from New York University. He completed a clinical fellowship in urologic oncology at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center following research fellowships in urologic oncology at the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute and James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. McNeil continues to integrate clinical practice, leadership, and education to strengthen the delivery of care in both academic and community settings.

Stephen Morales is a healthcare strategist with more than 20 years of experience across the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device sectors, with a focus on market access, commercialization, and the intersection of policy and innovation. He has held leadership roles at Merck and Baxter and served as a senior advisor at leading consulting firms including LEK Consulting, Guidehouse, and the Marwood Group. In these roles, he has led strategies to launch new therapies, define pricing and reimbursement models, and support commercialization in therapeutic areas such as oncology, cardiovascular disease, dermatology, and rare diseases. In 2025, he founded Malmora Global, a health policy consultancy, to assist pharmaceutical companies in bridging their market access strategies and tactics with the dynamic legislative and regulatory environment for US healthcare.

Mr. Morales’ work is rooted in translating complex policy signals into actionable strategies for industry and health system stakeholders. He has led policy intelligence briefings for clients that assess the 10-year industry impact of healthcare reforms—such as Most Favored Nation (MFN) pricing, the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program, and state initiatives on Pharmacy Benefit Manager transparency. He has also contributed to publications and panels focused on aligning regulatory goals with innovation and patient access. His background in engineering and experience across both commercial and regulatory domains inform his systems-level analysis of policy development—operational feasibility, economic sustainability, and patient access. He has served in non-profit board leadership roles for Chicago-based hospital systems and mental health clinics.

Mr. Morales’ career reflects a commitment to aligning public policy with real-world implementation in the life sciences sector. He has advised executive teams, provider organizations, and investors on the downstream effects of health legislation, with a focus on ensuring that innovation remains accessible, sustainable, and responsive to evolving regulatory frameworks. He earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and completed an MBA with a concentration in Health Sector Management from Duke University.

Candice Morrissey is a Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine at the University of Utah School of Medicine in Salt Lake City. A practicing cardiac anesthesiologist, she specializes in the care of pregnant women with complex cardiac disease and works to expand access to safe and effective anesthesia care across urban, rural, and frontier areas of the Mountain West. As Vice Chair of Patient Safety and Quality Improvement, Dr. Morrissey applies systems-based approaches to improve perioperative care and outcomes. She is deeply engaged in healthcare quality and safety, collaborating with industrial engineers to develop innovative physician training programs focused on solving frontline safety and quality challenges.

Dr. Morrissey is a national and international lecturer and educator. She founded the Adult Cardiothoracic Anesthesia Fellowship at the University of Utah, expanding specialized training opportunities in the Mountain West region. Her academic and leadership efforts aim to address workforce gaps and enhance patient care capacity in rural and underserved areas.

Dr. Morrissey holds an MPH and MD from the University of Utah, and an MS in Health Economics, Policy, and Management from the London School of Economics. She completed residency and fellowship training in anesthesiology and cardiothoracic anesthesiology at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and a fellowship in perioperative echocardiography at the University of Utah Her training also includes advanced coursework in patient safety and quality improvement through the Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality at Johns Hopkins and Intermountain Healthcare’s Advanced Training Program in Clinical Quality Improvement.

Unini Odama is a board-certified internist and nephrologist, public health practitioner, and bioethicist. She most recently served as Vice President for Medical Affairs at DaVita, where she led infection prevention and management programs and played a key role in developing and implementing strategies to promote optimal kidney health and prevent chronic kidney disease. She practiced nephrology in rural Alabama and Georgia for over a decade, focusing on preventing chronic diseases and providing comprehensive health care. Dr. Odama has also served as a District Health Director for the Georgia Department of Public Health, overseeing health programs that serve thousands of individuals and managing workforce development, environmental health, and emergency preparedness. She is dedicated to preventing chronic diseases, building health and wellbeing capacity, and connecting health policies and innovations to person-centered care.

In addition to her clinical and public health work, Dr. Odama has made important contributions to research, education, and public service. She has published articles in well-known journals, including an NEJM piece on “A Person-Centered Approach to Kidney Care.” She has served as a CMS/CMMI Technical Expert Panelist and workgroup member. She has participated in various CDC webinars and workgroups on Infection Control, Emerging Threats, and Preparing for the Future. She is the founding physician of the YMCA-Davita Community Collaborative Kidney Health Program, which focuses on prevention, screening, and linking patients to care, and she volunteered as a nephrologist and advisor for Bridge of Life’s health education initiatives.

Additionally, she works as an affiliate educator in the Harvard Medical School MS of Bioethics Program, mentors graduate students, and has spoken at many national and international conferences.

Dr. Odama is a Fellow of the American Society of Nephrology. She earned her MD from the University of Jos, Nigeria, and completed her internal medicine training at Michael Reese/University of Illinois, Chicago. Dr. Odama also completed fellowships in hypertension, general nephrology, and transplant nephrology at Rush Presbyterian Hospital in Chicago and the Medical College of Virginia at Virginia Commonwealth University. She earned an MPH from Emory University and an MS in Bioethics from Harvard Medical School.

Juan A. Rios is a nationally recognized mental health expert, policy advisor, and clinical practitioner whose work spans youth mental health, gun violence prevention, and ethical technology integration. As an Associate Professor in the Department of Social Work at Rutgers University, and founding faculty at the Institute for Data Research and Innovation Science (IDRIS), Dr. Rios brings a uniquely actionable and research-informed lens to complex public health issues. A first generation college graduate raised in New Haven, Connecticut, his lived experience with community violence drives his passion for shaping policy that transforms lives and communities.

With over 17 years of clinical experience as a trauma-informed psychotherapist, Dr. Rios merges frontline insight with systems-level leadership. He has served as a consultant to multiple local and statewide initiatives in New Jersey, collaborating with public health officials, city governments, and violence prevention coalitions to develop policy solutions grounded in behavioral health science and community engagement. A former Fellow of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Culture of Health Leadership Institute, Dr. Rios leads the RIOS Research Lab, where his work integrates data science, digital health tools, and mindfulness-based interventions to address the upstream causes of youth distress and community instability. He is also a founding member of the Social Work Health Futures Lab, focused on aligning future oriented thinking with actionable health policy.

Dr. Rios has received numerous honors, including Seton Hall University’s Faculty Innovation in Teaching Award and the Janine Bruckner Community-Engaged Service Award. He holds a BSW from Southern Connecticut State University. an MSW and DSW from Rutgers University. As a frequent speaker and published author, Dr. Rios is a trusted voice in translating mental health innovation into scalable, public policy that enhances safety, resilience, and wellness.