About Me

Short Biography

Chào! My name is Dr. Trân T. Đoàn (she-series), and I was born in Southern California, USA, home to the largest expat community of Vietnamese people in the world. I earned a PhD in Health Management and Policy, specializing in operations research and decision science. My parents were Vietnamese refugee-immigrants. I am first-generation graduate from elementary school all the way to a doctorate. Recognizing my privilege to be born with American citizenship and all the opportunities and comforts that come along with it, I am deeply motivated to give back and do more. I am constantly curious and rooted in community and service. I lived in California, Georgia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Washington DC, and Michigan (in that order). I currently reside in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Connect with me on X/Twitter @trantdoan.

Professional Biography

My name is Dr. Trân T Ðoàn (she-her-Dr), and I work as a T32 Post-Doctoral Primary Care Research Fellow in the Pediatrics Department at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, General Academic Pediatrics Division. My research uses decision science tools—including cost-effectiveness analysis, discrete choice experiments, and mixed methods research—to support complex health care decision-making that are evidence-based and patient-centered. I am particularly interested to explore how adolescents, for whom data collection has been historically challenging, make decisions about seeking confidential and culturally competent mental health services. I also have a strong interest in health data equity, including evaluating the benefits and challenges of data disaggregation in diverse populations by race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, ability (disability), language preferences, and social determinants.

I received a Doctorate of Philosophy in Health Management and Policy at the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health. My doctorate was fully funded by the Health Policy Research Scholars program with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Rackham Merit Fellowship with the University of Michigan, among others. 

I received a Master of Public Health in Infectious Disease and Microbiology and a Global Health Certificate from the University of Pittsburgh. I also received a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry with honors 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, and for Hôpital Albert Schweitzer Haiti, a rural Haiti nonprofit hospital on the Development & Fundraising team. I was born to Vietnamese refugee-immigrants in California, 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 X/Twitter @trantdoan.