Elena Elkin, Ph.D., M.P.A.

Professor of Health Policy and Management
Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health

Fellowship Profile

Fellowship Year: 2016-2017
Fellowship Placement: Sen Whitehouse (D-RI)
Sponsoring Institution: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Biography

Dr. Elkin studies determinants of cancer screening, treatment, and outcomes using population-based observational data
analysis, decision analysis, and patient and provider surveys. Much of her research addresses questions about screening
mammography. Her recent work involves the development and evaluation of a web-based tool, Breast Screening Decisions, to
help women in their 40's decide when to start and how often to have screening mammograms. She also studies the cost and
cost effectiveness of clinical, behavioral, and educational interventions for cancer patients and survivors. At Mailman, she
teaches Decision Analysis for Clinical and Public Health Practices (HPM P8568), offered in the spring semester for the
Comparative Effectiveness and Outcomes Research (CEOR) certificate.
Previously, Dr. Elkin was a faculty member in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Memorial Sloan Kettering
Cancer Center and in the Department of Healthcare Policy and Research at Weill Cornell Medical College. In 2016-2017, she
served as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellow, working in the office of U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse
(RI). She is currently a member of the Medicare Evidence Development & Coverage Advisory Committee (MEDCAC).
Dr. Elkin received her PhD in Health Policy, with a concentration in Decision Sciences, from Harvard University. She has a MPA
in Health Policy and Management from New York University and a BS in Communications from Cornell University