Zizi Elsisi, BPharm, MS
Zizi is a fifth-year PhD candidate at the CHOICE Institute, drawing on a diverse background in pharmacy, health economics and outcomes research (HEOR), and policy analysis. She holds a master’s degree in pharmaceutical sciences (health outcomes track) and previously practiced as a pharmacist, providing a strong clinical foundation for her research in healthcare policy and economics.
Zizi’s dissertation assesses how a subscription-based Medicaid payment model influences Hepatitis C outcomes in Washington and Louisiana. Using claims data, synthetic controls, and Markov modeling, she evaluates the model’s effects on testing, treatment uptake, and potential long-term societal benefits compared to traditional pricing approaches. This research provides evidence on the value of innovative financing strategies for expanding access to Hepatitis C therapies.
Beyond her doctoral work, Zizi has accumulated extensive research and industry experience. As a Research Scientist Intern at Amazon, she worked with large claims datasets and electronic health records using SQL, performed analyses in Python and R, and developed health economic models to forecast the costs and resource utilization associated with hypertension. In her role as a Research Assistant at the Washington Research Foundation, she applied early-stage cost-effectiveness methods to support biotech startups, assessing the potential economic value of novel treatments for autism and fentanyl use disorder. Additionally, Zizi served as an Independent Consultant at Veritech Corporation, where she performed statistical and economic evaluations of high-cost therapies—particularly for hepatitis C—to inform strategic decision making. Earlier in her graduate studies, she interned with Genentech, supporting market launch activities for Tecentriq through budget impact, cost-effectiveness, and burden-of-illness analyses in early-stage lung cancer.
Zizi’s work has been presented at national and international conferences and published in peer-reviewed journals such as Value in Health and PharmacoEconomics. She has led or contributed to research on multiple disease areas, including hepatitis C, multiple sclerosis, oncology, and autism. Her expertise spans real-world evidence generation, policy analysis, decision modeling, cost-effectiveness and budget impact analysis, and causal inference.
Throughout her doctoral journey, Zizi has taken on leadership roles in professional organizations such as ISPOR, contributing to committees that promote education, outreach, and chapter onboarding. She is passionate about translating rigorous research into actionable insights that inform healthcare policies and improve patient outcomes. Zizi is excited to bring her strong analytical skills, multidisciplinary perspective, and collaborative spirit to an organization dedicated to advancing health outcomes and evidence-based decision making.
Website: https://zelsis.wixsite.com/my-site
Emma Behan, PharmD, MS, RPh
Emma is a second-year post-doctoral fellow with the CHOICE Institute and Genentech. She is a pharmacist by training and earned her MS in Health Economics and Outcomes Research from the CHOICE Institute. Currently, she is part of the Evidence for Access team at Genentech, supporting the women’s health oncology portfolio, primarily focusing on breast cancers, both marketed and pipeline indications.
During her time at Genentech, Emma is leading and supporting multiple HEOR projects. These projects include real-world evidence (RWE) analyses using various datasets, health equity studies, and economic models.
In the first year of her fellowship, Emma completed a claims database analysis evaluating the healthcare resource utilization and costs among Medicare enrolled patients with HR+ HER2- metastatic breast cancer. This research was recently accepted for publication in the Journal of Managed Care and Specialty Pharmacy.
Emma is actively seeking an in-house HEOR role in the pharmaceutical industry where she can continue to create value to drive decision-making at the strategic level.
Email: emmabehan4@gmail.com
Jennifer Deem, PhD, MS
A few years ago, driven by curiosity and a desire to make a broader impact, Jennifer embraced uncertainty—leaving a promising junior faculty role at the University of Washington (UW), where she studied neurocircuitry underlying homeostatic processes, to pursue a master’s degree in HEOR at the UW CHOICE Institute. Though new to HEOR at the time, her extensive experience in designing rigorous experiments, fostering collaborations, mentoring student researchers, and effectively communicating research through various channels demonstrated her strategic vision.
Since joining Pfizer in July, Jennifer has supported the value proposition of multiple assets in the oncology portfolio. Collaborating with teams in Precision Medicine and Lung, Genitourinary, and Hematology/Biosimilars, she has contributed to indications for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), prostate cancer, and cancer cachexia, showcasing her ability to transition across disease areas. She has led or supported studies in evidence synthesis, evidence generation, and economic modeling, generating insights for cross-functional teams in market access, strategic planning, and clinical development to inform trial design and product launch.
Jennifer is committed to advancing HEOR, supporting colleagues, and ensuring that innovative treatments not only demonstrate clinical value but also reach the patients who need them most. She is particularly interested in the U.S. market and the broader impact of HEOR studies to strategically communicate a product’s full value to patients, payers, physicians, and regulators.
Email: deemlab@mac.com
Filmon Haile, PharmD, MS
Filmon is finishing up his second-year postdoctoral fellowship as an HEOR strategist at the CHOICE Institute/AbbVie. He brings a strong background in demonstrating the economic value of pharmaceutical products, having worked across several therapeutic areas, including mental health, neurology, virology, and rare diseases.
During his fellowship, Filmon led a comprehensive thesis project analyzing treatment patterns and predictive factors for misdiagnosed Bipolar-I Disorder patients, from protocol development through data analysis and presentation. He also conducted a systematic literature review on Bipolar-I Disorder disparities, providing actionable insights for HEOR strategies. One of his proudest achievements comes from an economic evaluation of Alzheimer’s treatments, where he developed a 5-state Markov model to assess cost-effectiveness, which he presented at ISPOR 2024.
Filmon has worked on various HEOR projects during his fellowship, including developing cost-effectiveness analyses, retrospective observational studies, and prospective survey studies. His expertise spans real-world evidence (RWE), network meta-analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA), and patient-reported outcomes (PROs), among other methodologies.
Prior to his fellowship, Filmon completed internships at Neurocrine Biosciences and Gilead Sciences, where he contributed to cost-effectiveness modeling, regulatory submissions, and research efforts in virology and rare diseases. He is passionate about leveraging HEOR strategies to improve patient outcomes and support market access for innovative therapies.
Upon completion of his fellowship, Filmon aims to pursue a full-time role in HEOR strategy within the pharmaceutical industry, focusing on leveraging economic evidence to inform decision-making and improve patient care.
Email: hfilmon7@gmail.com
Alexandra Miller, PharmD, MPH, MS
Alexandra is completing her second year as a post-doctoral fellow with the CHOICE Institute and Genentech. She holds a Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) and a Master of Public Health (MPH) from the University of Texas at Austin, where she developed a passion for HEOR while conducting research on mobile health interventions for homeless populations in Austin.
During her fellowship, Alexandra earned a master’s degree in Health Economics and Outcomes Research (HEOR) and has been working with Genentech’s Evidence for Access team. Her experience spans neuroimmunology, immunology, and rare diseases, supporting new molecule launches, health technology assessments, and strategic planning for established products. She has led or co-led various HEOR studies, including economic modeling, real-world evidence analyses using claims data, and health equity initiatives.
As she concludes her fellowship, Alexandra is seeking an HEOR role in the pharmaceutical industry. Her goal is to further develop and implement HEOR strategies that enhance equitable patient access and demonstrate the value of innovative therapies.
Email: aem1834@uw.edu
Richard Ta, PharmD, MS
Richard is a second-year post-doctoral fellow at AbbVie, supporting global HEOR strategy for an immunologic dermatology indication. With more than three years of experience in the healthcare industry covering HEOR, consulting, and managed care, he has been instrumental at AbbVie in overseeing both global and select US HEOR initiatives, driving evidence generation and strategy development. His expertise in leading real-world evidence studies, developing economic models, and implementing patient-centered outcome strategies highlights his capabilities to utilize evidence-based approaches to drive impactful decision-making.
Richard now seeks to leverage his experience in a HEOR role within the pharmaceutical industry, aiming to deliver evidence-based insights that shape policy and reimbursement decisions, ultimately enhancing patient access to treatments.
Email: Richardta626@gmail.com