Impact

Penn State professor named Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellow

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) recently named the 2017-18 class of RWJF Health Policy Fellows, which includes Caprice Knapp, associate professor of health policy and administration at Penn State.

Beginning in September, Knapp and five other health professionals will spend a year in Washington, D.C., working on health-related legislative and regulatory issues with members of Congress and the executive branch. They also will engage in seminars and discussions on health policy and participate in leadership development programs.

“This is an opportunity to be on the front lines of health policymaking in the United States. I am so excited to see how I can play a role in the health care policy landscape,” Knapp said. "As a researcher, this is also a chance to try and determine how the work I do can be more relevant and ultimately disseminated to policymakers.”

The Fellows were chosen in a national competition for highly accomplished health, behavioral and social science professionals who have an interest in health policy. Their experiences in Washington will enrich their understanding of federal policy formation and how federal and state governments relate to the mission of their home institutions and local communities.  

The fellowship program will commence with an intensive three-month orientation, followed by a nine-month assignment in a congressional office or the executive branch, where the Fellows will be involved in health-related legislation and programs. After their Washington assignment, the Fellows will continue to receive support to sustain their development as health policy leaders.

“This new class of exceptional health policy Fellows will be participating in the deliberations over some of the most challenging and critical health and health care issues of our times,” said Marie Michnich, director of the RWJF Health Policy Fellows Program at NAM. “They bring their expertise and commitment to excellence as they engage in service at the highest levels of federal health policy formation.”

For more than 40 years the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has worked to improve health and health care, and is working with others to build a national "Culture of Health" enabling everyone in America to live longer, healthier lives. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org.

The National Academy of Medicine, established in 1970 as the Institute of Medicine, is an independent organization of eminent professionals from diverse fields including health and medicine; the natural, social and behavioral sciences; and beyond. It serves alongside the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering as an adviser to the nation and the international community. Through its domestic and global initiatives, the NAM works to address critical issues in health, medicine, and related policy and inspire positive action across sectors. The NAM collaborates closely with its peer academies and other divisions within the National Academies.

Last Updated June 14, 2017

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