Research Scientist
Dr. Mandell joined Arbor Research in 2017. She has extensive training and expertise in qualitative and mixed methods research, policy analysis, addressing health inequities through multi-level interventions, and community-based research approaches. Dr. Mandell conducts qualitative interviews, analyses, and environmental scans for an evaluation of value-based purchasing for home health care for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. She is also currently part of an evaluation team that is assessing a living organ donor wage reimbursement program for the Health Resources and Services Administration. Prior to joining Arbor Research, she received her PhD from the Department of Health Behavior and Health Education at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. For her dissertation, she used grounded theory to understand how advocates are mobilizing to protect vulnerable communities from toxic exposures harmful to reproductive health. She previously conducted research for the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the New York AIDS Coalition, and the Harvard School of Public Health, including qualitative interviewing, focus groups, survey development and implementation, and training and oversight of research staff. She also served as a health volunteer in the Peace Corps in Niger. She received her master’s degree from the Department of Society, Human Development and Health at the Harvard School of Public Health and her bachelor’s degree from the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures at Harvard University.