Lisa A. Prosser, PhD, MS

Dr. Prosser is the Marilyn Fisher Blanch Research Professor of Pediatrics. Her research focuses on measuring the value of childhood health interventions using methods of decision sciences and economics. Current research topics include newborn screening programs, vaccination programs, and methods for valuing family spillover effects of illness. She also uses quantitative survey methods (health utility assessment, conjoint analysis) to measure health-related quality of life and preferences for health interventions.

Dr. Prosser's research evaluating the cost-effectiveness of vaccination programs has been used in setting national vaccine policy for children and adults. Her work with the Evidence Review Group for the Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders in Newborns and Children using decision science modeling to project long-term health outcomes for proposed newborn screening programs has been used to inform national newborn screening policy decisions. She is currently a member of the evidence review group for the Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders in Newborns and Children (2007-present), the ACIP Zoster Working Group (2011-present), and the Community Preventive Services Task Force (2024-present).

Dr. Prosser has contributed to faculty development programs at the department, school, and institutional level. She currently serves as the Associate Vice President for Research-Health Sciences. Dr. Prosser also holds an adjunct faculty appointment at the Harvard School of Public Health.

The Valuation of Child Health Initiative (VoCHI) is designed to advance novel research in methods for the economic evaluation of childhood health interventions. Primary areas of research include methods for valuing family spillover effects of illness, equity weighting for cost-effectiveness analysis, approaches for valuing quality of life for childhood conditions, family well-being, and implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on valuation frameworks for health resource allocation. This initiative supports several graduate student research assistant positions.

Education

Ph.D., Health Policy (Concentration: Decision Sciences), Harvard University, 2000
M.S., Technology & Policy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1992
M.S., Management, MIT Sloan School of Management, 1992
B.A., Mathematics (Concentration: Operations Research), Cornell University, 1988