About Me
Chào! My name is Trân T Ðoàn, PhD, MPH, and I am a T32 Post-Doctoral Primary Care Research Fellow in the Division of General Academic Pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
My dissertation—which focuses on measuring the cost-effectiveness of universal mental health screening for adolescent depression—will likely have policy implications for setting screening practices for pediatricians and other family physicians, who are in a strong position to advocate for youth’s mental health.
One-half of Americans are diagnosed with a mental illness at least once, with most symptoms presenting by age 14-year-old. Mental health is an understudied field, and even more so when it comes to programs tailored to multicultural adolescent populations. A cost-effectiveness analysis could be useful for comparing the benefits and harms of multiple options for screening and treating depression.
I received a PhD in Health Services Organization and Policy from the Department of Health Management and Policy at the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health. My doctorate is funded by the Health Policy Research Scholar with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Rackham Merit Fellowship at University of Michigan, among others.
I received a Master of Public Health in Infectious Disease and Microbiology and Global Health Certificate from the University of Pittsburgh as well as a Bachelor of Science in Honors Chemistry from the University of Richmond.
In between degrees, I worked for AIDS United, a national HIV nonprofit based in Washington DC on the Policy and Advocacy team as well as Hôpital Albert Schweitzer Haiti, a rural Haiti nonprofit hospital on the Development and Fundraising team. I was born to Vietnamese refugee-immigrants in Southern California, and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and the first to graduate from sixth grade. I am also a documentary narrator and yoga-certified instructor, both of which focus on collective healing from intergenerational trauma. Connect with me on Twitter @trantdoan.
Mission Statement
My goal is to support children and families in their decisions to seek health care services. My research aims to support patient-centered care and decision-making in health care and public health systems, so that a wide range of quality health and social services can be accessible for all. Research-wise, I aim to apply decision science tools and health simulation modeling for studying health equity while accounting for complexities.
Research Interests
Pediatric decision sciences, patient-centered care, family-centered care, child health, adolescent health, mental health, major depression, data disaggregation, language access, health data equity
Research Methods
Mixed methods, conjoint analysis, discrete choice experiment, cost-effectiveness analysis, decision analytic tree, Markov modeling, simulation modeling, qualitative interview, cognitive debriefing, survey development, pilot trials implementation
Curriculum vitae
My goal is to translate health policy research into digestible information that people can actually use.
Education
Doctor of Philosophy in Public Health
Health Management and Policy Department, University of Michigan’s School of Public Health
2016 to 2022
Master of Public Health, Global Health Certificate
Infectious Diseases and Microbiology Department, University of Pittsburgh’s School of Public Health
2011 to 2013
Bachelor of Science in Honors Chemistry
Chemistry Department, University of Richmond’s School of Arts and Sciences
2006 to 2010
Experience
Post-Doctoral Research Fellow
Pediatrics Department, Division of General Academic Pediatrics,
University of Pittsburgh
Feb 2022 to present
Graduate Research Assistant
Child Health Evaluation and Research Center, University of Michigan
Jun 2017 to Dec 2021
Graduate Teaching Assistant
Health Management and Policy Department, University of Michigan
Jan 2018 to Apr 2018
Nonprofit Health Policy Associate
AIDS United, Washington DC
Nov 2015 to Aug 2016
Nonprofit Community Outreach Manager
Hôpital Albert Schweitzer Haiti, Pittsburgh Office
Oct 2013 to Jul 2015
Graduate Research Assistant
Pennsylvania and Mid-Atlantic AIDS Education & Training Center, University of Pittsburgh
Oct 2011 to Apr 2012
Fellowships
Young Investigator Award, Academic Pediatric Association (2023)
May 2023 to Present
Ruth L. Kirschstein Institutional National Research Service Award, T32 Primary Care Research Fellowship (2022)
Pediatrics Department, Division of General Academic Pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh
Feb 2022 to Present
Avedis Donabedian Memorial Scholarship (2021)
University of Michigan
August 2021
AcademyHealth Diversity Scholars Network (2019)
AcademyHealth, July 2019
Health Policy Research Scholar (2016 cohort)
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Johns Hopkins University, MD
Aug 2016 to 2020
Rackham Merit Fellow (2016 cohort)
Rackham Graduate School, University of Michigan
Aug 2016 to 2022
Pedro Zamora HIV/AIDS Public Policy Fellow (2012)
AIDS United, Washington DC
Summer 2012
Kathryn Davis Foundation Projects for Peace (2009 cohort)
University of Richmond
Summer 2009
Bonner Scholars (2007 cohort)
Corella & Bertram F. Bonner Foundation
University of Richmond
Aug 2007 to Apr 2010
Skills & Languages
Adaptive
Collaborative
Communicative
Driven
Hardworking
Organized
English
Vietnamese (conversational)
Testimonies
As a Collaborator
“Tran is one of the most hardworking colleagues with whom I have had the pleasure of collaborating. Despite the fact that Tran and I worked in two different countries as part of the same team, she was always accountable, clear, and easy to work with — quite a feat when working as part of an international and diverse team! Any team would be fortunate to have her on staff.”
— Mrs. Adriana Deverlis, MPIA, Global Health Project Administrator for Global Health Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
As a Lecturer
“Thank you so much for taking the time to speak in the ‘Decision Science for Population Health’ course at the University of Michigan School of Nursing. Your talk about your background and current work and interests added depth to the students’ learning. Majority of them had never heard of cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) before. You definitely put things into perspective for them. They were able to really see the value and potential flaws with CEA, and how it applies to them as future healthcare leaders. They learned about many concepts (e.g. CEA, QALY, and ICER) that are very relevant to them in their current coursework as well as their future employment. I also appreciated the inviting, genuine, and interactive tone of your talk. The students were very pleased and suggested that I invited you back next term again to be a guest speaker for the class.”
— Dr. Marie-Anne Rosemberg, PhD RN, Assistant Professor, University of Michigan School of Nursing, Department of Systems, Populations and Leadership Vice Chair of Research
As a Scholar
“With her focus and skill, Tran Doan is going to be a force in the field! PhD student Tran Doan has witnessed firsthand the many challenges faced by refugee immigrants as they navigate a new country. At Michigan Public Health, she's working on policies that improve health care quality for under-resourced communities.”
— Dr. Ebbin Dotson, PhD MHSA, Assistant Professor, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Department of Health Policy and Management