Select Projects
The Effect of ACA Marketplace Policies on People's Costs
This paper estimates the effects of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace rule and expiration of enhanced tax credits on healthcare costs. Cited in litigation that temporarily halted implementation.
People at Risk of Losing Coverage Under Medicaid Work Requirements
This paper estimates the number of people who would have to take action to keep their Medicaid coverage under work requirements enacted in July in the Republican reconciliation legislation.
Medicaid Enrollment Estimates by Congressional District
This resource provides estimates of Medicaid and CHIP enrollment by 119th congressional district. Used on the Hill and featured in various media outlets, including The New York Times.
Simulation of Bayesian Regression Models
My statistics thesis uses simulations to assess the ability of semi-parametric, Bayesian regression models to detect statistical interactions in exposure mixture studies.
Longitudinal Analysis of Spatially Correlated Data
This project explores the implementation of a multinomial, multilevel logistic regression model for the longitudinal analysis of an unordered categorical response with spatially autocorrelated structure.
Risk and Benefit Modeling of Lung Cancer Screening Uptake
This paper examines the risk and benefit profiles of patients eligible for lung cancer screening and quantifies lost opportunity due to enrollment patterns and eligibility criteria.
Program Evaluation: Using Art for Public Health Messaging
I contributed quantitative analysis to this (publically available) report, which assesses the impact of engaging local Black and Latinx artists to lead in health messaging around vaccinations in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Evaluation of the Establishment of a Community-Based Research Project
This paper evaluates the success of outreach strategies for a community-based research project and assesses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on spatial biases in collected data.
Assessing the Learning Outcomes of Community-Based Research Collaborations
This paper uses semi-structured interview data to discuss the benefits of connecting college-level students and instructors with local K-12 classrooms through a community-based research project.
Automated Machine Learning for Genome-Wide Association Studies
I ran the simulations for this paper, which introduces software that uses evolutionary algorithms to automatically optimize machine learning models for the analysis of whole-genome data.
About
Background
Elizabeth Zhang
Statistics graduate interested in using data and research to inform policies around health care access and affordability.
Education
Amherst College
2020 - 2024
Bachelor of Arts in Statistics
Certificate in Culture, Health, & Science
Amherst, MA
Select Courses
Amherst College
STAT 495: Advanced Data Analysis
BIOL 490: Population Distribution Modeling
MATH/STAT 370: Theoretical Statistics
MATH/STAT 360: Probability
MATH 355: Real Analysis
MATH 272: Linear Algebra
STAT 240: Multivariate Data Analysis
STAT 230: Data Science
COSC 211: Data Structures
Professional Experience
Predoctoral Fellow
Jun 2026 - present
Health Care Affordability Lab at Yale
- Conducted research on the drivers and consequences of high health care spending
Health Policy Research Assistant
Jun 2024 - Jun 2026
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
- Modeled impacts of health policies to inform advocacy around Medicaid and Affordable Care Act coverage
- Provided expertise to congressional staff, advocacy organizations, and media and press outlets
Population Health Research Intern
Jun 2023 - Aug 2023
National Cancer Institute
- Performed risk and benefit modeling using survey data of lung cancer screening eligible patients
- Quantified lost opportunity due to enrollment patterns to inform cancer screening eligibility policy
Impact Data Analyst
Aug 2022 - Aug 2024
Broadsight
- Conducted statistical, visual, and written analysis of educational and public health, focus group, and interview data for local, community-based organizations across Western Massachusetts
- Advised on statistical methods and drafting and review of evaluation reports
Emergency Medical Technician, Crew Chief
Oct 2021 - May 2024
Amherst College Emergency Medical Services
- Led 3-member team of nationally certified emergency medical technicians responding to medical emergencies
- Facilitated internal squad trainings on best inclusive healthcare practices, collaborated with resource groups, and re-designed recruitment process to reduce bias (Director of DEI, Mar 2022 - Mar 2023)
Statistics and Data Science/Math Fellow
Sep 2021 - May 2024
Amherst College
- Conducted analysis of food sourcing and scope -1 and -2 carbon emissions in collaboration with Office of Sustainability to support Amherst's commitment to sustainable institutional practices
- Provided teaching support for intro/intermediate statistics, data science, probability, and theoretical statistics
Community-Based Research Assistant
Jan 2021 - May 2024
MassMammals Watch, Amherst College
- Developed novel population distribution model integrating community-collected and empirical research data
- Engaged with 12 local grade school classes through the development of a community science initiative