PhD in Health Services & Policy

Alumni Testimonials

Thomas R. Miller, PhD '07
Assistant Professor
Department of Health Policy and Management
School of Rural Public Health
Texas A&M Health Science Center
College Station, Texas

"The doctoral program in Health Services and Policy in the College of Public Health was certainly able to “teach an old dog new tricks.” After more than 20 years working in the business side of the health care industry, I returned to school to earn a Ph.D. and learn advanced research methods and statistics to study health services utilization and costs and the associated policy implications. While at Iowa, I analyzed Medicare claims data and other large secondary datasets and had the privilege to work directly with a nationally-renowned researcher on several large NIH grants. The value of the “apprentice-style” approach to the research experience at Iowa cannot be understated.

Now at Texas A&M Health Science Center in College Station, Texas, I continue to work on an array of health services research across the spectrum of clinical services and patient populations. I teach two courses on health care financial management in the master in health administration program. In addition to serving on several department, school, and university-level committees, I am a member of the Scientific Merit Review Board of the Veteran’s Health Administration’s Health Services Research and Development Service. I was recently approved for the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Chair in Regional Health Services in the Department of Family Medicine at Scott & White Healthcare. I will continue as faculty in the Health Policy and Management Department and jointly begin the chair position this fall, studying health care delivery and payment systems with a focus on primary care. I believe the doctoral studies at the University of Iowa’s College of Public Health gave me the robust foundation for success in my current career."

Adaeze Akamigbo, PhD '07
Senior Policy Analyst
Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
Washington, DC

"The Health Services and Policy program at the University of Iowa prepared me for a career in health policy and research. The department, with its heavy focus on research methods, gave me a solid foundation to succeed in both an academic setting and now in health policy. I focused on health outcomes among older adults, and several faculty members emphasized the science of outcomes research, as well as the broad policy issues that confront us in quality, access and aging policy. While at Iowa, I received immense support from the National Institute on Aging through a four year, NRSA competitive grant, as well through as a Dean’s Graduate Fellowship from the Graduate College. Obtaining a grant that facilitated my training, and support from faculty through the process was one of the most important aspects of my success as a doctoral student. Iowa was a place I could receive support from the department and across the university, and in turn, concentrate on my work. What I appreciate most about my doctoral training at Iowa is that it focused on developing independent researchers with broad knowledge of the health care system. This has served me extremely well, particularly in an environment where policy options must receive careful consideration and can have weighty consequences."