Unpacking the Federal Drug Price Reduction Struggle
How Political Rhetoric and Behind-the-Scenes Deal-Making Obscure Who Really Pays – or How Much
Our Mission
We connect researchers from across the University of Pennsylvania with a common mission: to improve health and health care by catalyzing collaborative, multidisciplinary research that influences policy and practice.
Featured Research Updates
Our work addresses some of the most pressing health and health care challenges facing our nation today.
Patients Face New Barriers for GLP-1 Drugs Like Wegovy and Ozempic
Even With Lower Prices, Medicare, Medicaid, and Other Insurers Tighten Coverage for Drugs Like Mounjaro and Zepbound Using Prior Authorization and Other Tools
America’s Kids Can’t Outrun a Broken Food System
Guidelines Matter, but Lasting Health Requires Investment in Better Food, More Activity, and More Targeted Tools From Medicaid and SNAP
Dancing Students Toward Health Care Career Opportunities
A Wharton–Netter Center Collaboration Uses Experiential Learning to Build a Health Care Workforce Pipeline
Heart Failure Patients May Get Sicker When the Rent Is Too High
Cheaper Housing Could be a Way to Lower Hospitalizations Among Medicaid Patients with Heart Failure
When Nurses Strike, It’s a Warning About Patient Safety
An LDI Expert Connects Nurse Wellbeing and Staffing to Patient Safety Outcomes
Impact Report
Our commitment to driving positive change through transformative research powered a series of standout achievements in 2025. Explore how we turned evidence into action to shape smarter health policy.
Upcoming Events
In-Person Event
Research Seminar with Riley League, PhD
Fragmented Insurance and Billing Frictions: Understanding Denied Health Insurance Claims
Open to Penn Affiliates
In-Person Event
Policy Seminar with Liz Fowler, PhD, JD
Health Policy at a Crossroads: Protecting Progress, Building for the Future
Open to Penn affiliates
Our Experts
Our 500+ Fellows are national experts and thought leaders who bridge all of Penn’s schools, the University of Pennsylvania Health System, and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Rachel M. Werner, MD, PhD
- Executive Director of the Leonard Davis Institute
- Robert D. Eilers Memorial – William Maul Measey Professor in Health Care Management and Economics , Wharton School
Jesslyn Jamison, PhD
- Postdoctoral Fellow, Penn Center for Mental Health , Perelman School of Medicine
Emna Bakillah, MD
- Resident, General Surgery , Perelman School of Medicine
- Master of Science in Health Policy Research (MSHP) Student , Perelman School of Medicine
Abigail Ross, PhD, MSW
- Associate Professor, Social Policy and Practice , School of Social Policy & Practice
- Associate Professor, Psychiatry , Perelman School of Medicine
Ross Koppel, PhD
- Professor, Medical Informatics , Perelman School of Medicine
- Professor, Sociology , School of Arts and Sciences
Yuvaram Reddy, MBBS, MPH
- Assistant Professor, Renal-Electrolyte & Hypertension , Perelman School of Medicine
Dahlia Stott, PhD
- Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Informatics , Perelman School of Medicine
Christopher B. Forrest, MD, PhD
- Professor, Pediatrics , Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
What We Do
As Penn’s hub for health care delivery, health policy, and population health, we connect and amplify over 500 Fellows across the University, and train the next generation of researchers.
Fast Facts
$160M+
Awarded in External Grant Funding
11,300+
Journal Articles Published (2020–2024)
$400K+
Awarded in Research Grants from LDI