Capstone Projects
The Capstone Project (HSR 500; 1.0 Course Unit) is the culmination of the master’s program — a chance for students to bring together everything they’ve learned in a meaningful, publishable research project.
During the first several quarters, students collaborate with faculty advisers to design an original, independent research proposal aligned with their interests and career goals. Once data collection and preliminary analyses are complete, students enroll in HSR 500 to focus on advanced analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of their findings.
Throughout the capstone quarter, students draft a manuscript suitable for submission to a peer-reviewed journal, receiving ongoing feedback and mentorship from faculty. The experience showcases each student’s ability to conduct rigorous research and contribute new insights to the field of health services and outcomes research.
Recent Student Projects
| Capstone Title | Student | Graduation Year |
|---|---|---|
| Understanding the Importance of Race-Concordance between Pediatric Primary Care Clinicians and Patients and Associations with Patient Care Experiences | Bako Orionzi | 2025 |
| New and growing nodules are strongly associated with malignancy in follow-up screens for lung cancer: a cohort study | Kathryn Long | 2025 |
| Social Determinants of 6-Mercaptopurine Adherence Among Patients in follow-up Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia/Lymphoma: A Cross-Sectional Analysis | Ayah El-Khatib | 2025 |
| Association between the 2020 Hepatitis C Virus Universal Screening Guidelines and change in screening rates among patients with cirrhosis | Al'ona Furmanchuk, PhD | 2024 |
| A SART data cost-effectiveness analysis of planned oocyte cryopreservation versus in vitro fertilization with preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy considering ideal family size | Jennifer Bakkensen, MD | 2024 |
| Predictors of Endoscopic Assessment in Pediatric Patients Presenting with Bleeding of Esophageal Varices | Ariel Porto, MD | 2024 |
| Preterm birth among Black Latina women in the United States: The impact of self-identified race | Blair Simon, MD | 2024 |
| Child Opportunity Index & Pediatric Firearm Injury Emergency Department Visits | Megan Attridge, MD | 2022 |
| Differences in the Allocation of Healthcare Resources to Treat Patients with Cirrhosis Across Four Different Regions of the United States. A Cross-Sectional Study | Daniel Borja-Cacho, MD | 2022 |
| Association of Neighborhood Characteristics with Healthcare Transition Planning for Adolescents with Special Health Care Needs | Meredith Johnson, MD | 2022 |
| Youth Suicides and County-Level Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas in the United States | Jennifer Hoffman, MD | 2022 |
| Shared decision-making for families facing adversity and the role of the medical home | Alyssa Cohen, MD | 2022 |
| Parent and Caregiver Perspectives on Social Need and Trauma Screening in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit: A Qualitative Study | Rebecca Asp, MD | 2022 |
| Patient-reported experience measures on HIV viral load testing at public health facilities in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: A convergent mixed-method study | Peter Karoli, MD | 2022 |
| Knowledge and Practice Patterns Among Pulmonologists for Molecular Biomarker Testing in Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer | Adam Fox, MD | 2022 |
| Association Between the Use of Balanced Fluids and Outcomes in Critically Ill Children: A Before and After Study | Matthew Barhight, MD | 2021 |
| A Scoping Review on the Concept of Physician Caring | David Burstein, MD | 2021 |
| Association Between Pre-Admission Factors and Deterioration Among Children Following Transport | Cara Cecil, MD | 2021 |
| Validating a Local Quality Improvement Initiative to Reduce Transfusion in Lower Extremity Arterial Bypass | Matthew Chia, MD | 2021 |