Portia Y. Cornell, Ph.D.

2020-2021 RCMAR Scientist, USC Schaeffer Center
Investigator, Department of Health Services, Policy, and Practice, Brown University

Portia Y. Cornell, Ph.D.'s Bio

Portia Y. Cornell, Ph.D., is an investigator in the Department of Health Services, Policy, and Practice at the Brown University School of Public Health in Providence, Rhode Island. She is also a health research specialist at the Center of Innovation for Long-Term Services and Supports at the Providence Veterans Administration Medical Center. She received her undergraduate degree from Duke University, her master of science in public health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and her doctoral degree in health policy from Harvard University.

Dr. Cornell studies the effects of health care policy on the care of older adults. She is interested in how health systems can best support older adults to live with dignity and independence in care settings that meet their needs. She uses methods to draw causal inference from observational data. She has investigated nursing home quality, social workers in primary care, assisted living markets and policy, and long-term care insurance. Her research has been published in high-impact, peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Health Economics, Health Services Research, and Health Affairs.

RCMAR Pilot Project Title: : Racial Segregation and Disparities in Assisted Living for Older Adults with Dementia

Recent Work