Members
Elham Mahmoudi, PhD
Elham is an Associate Professor of Health Economics at the U-M Department of Family Medicine. Her research aims to reduce disparities in healthy aging by identifying the importance of social determinants of health and improving equity and efficacy in healthcare. Dr. Mahmoudi has extensive experience using various large secondary data (including nationally representative survey data, public and private administrative health insurance data, and electronic health records), quantitative analysis, and mixed methods approach (integration of quantitative and qualitative data analysis). She collaborates internationally with health services researchers at Pecking University in China. Dr. Mahmoudi has published over 80 peer-reviewed manuscripts and received funding from federal agencies (NIH and the Department of Defense) and private foundations (Craig Neilsen Foundation and Alzheimer’s Association).
She advises a wide range of undergraduate, graduate, medical students, residents, and postdoctoral fellows at different research levels and institutions. She is on the editorial board of the Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences and serves in leadership roles in many national and international committees. View CV
Elizabeth A. Katz, M.A.
Liz is a science communicator and senior research area specialist with the U-M Department of Family Medicine. She collaborates with Elham to edit her manuscripts and grant applications and to promote her work to internal and external audiences at U-M. She also serves as webmaster for this site. Liz has more than 25 years of editorial experience, including work in academic publishing, health writing, public and media relations, marketing and communications, and print journalism. She earned a master’s degree in Public Relations and Organizational Communications at Wayne State University in Detroit, where she also obtained a graduate certificate in Health Communication.
Lorrie Carbone, LMSW
Lorrie is a clinical researcher with the Department of Family Medicine. The focus of our projects is the many aspects of care of people with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia (ADRD) and their caregivers. Their projects demonstrate that breaking down barriers between health and social care programs provides better care, allowing older adults to age in their own homes. It also reduces unnecessary emergency room visits, and inpatient hospital stays. As a clinical Social Worker for over 30 years and health researcher for the past 13 years, she has been excited to venture into better understanding the whole health needs of people with medical issues, creating models of care that address those needs, and creating care systems that acknowledge and address health-related social needs.
Brian Madden
Brian Madden is a programmer and data analyst with MS degrees in Psychology and Survey Methodology. He has worked on research projects in several disciplines, including psychology, demography, pediatrics, OBGYN, and family medicine.
Shusei Yokota
Shusei is a research assistant who graduated from University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Science in Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience in 2024. Currently, he is involved in the scoping project on health care utilization and cost for patients with ADRD.
Zoe Gurney
Zoe works as a Research Assistant for Dr. Elham Mahmoudi and assists her with research about the efficiency of care for older adults with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia and mild cognitive impairment, as well as individuals with disabilities. Zoe graduated from Kalamazoo College with a BA in Economics, and she has begun pursuing a Master of Public Health degree in Global Health Epidemiology at the University of Michigan.
Lisbeth Hernandez
Originally from the Chicagoland area, Lisbeth is a research assistant with a Bachelor of Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She currently assists Elham with recruitment and data collection within the Latino/Hispanic communities. She also has a research background in emergency medicine as well as previous work experience in obstetrics/gynecology and cardiology.
