Robert Schell

Bio/CV: 

Robert is a Health Policy PhD student in the School of Public Health advised by Professors Lia Fernald and William Dow. He received an M.S. in Applied Economics with a concentration in Applied
Econometrics and Quantitative Analysis from Cornell University in 2019. In 2016, he graduated summa cum laude from Denison University with a B.A. in Economics and a minor in German. Robert’s research focuses on emerging issues in public health, such as the obesity epidemic and the development of resistance to antimicrobials critically important to human health. His current research includes applying both machine learning techniques and causal inference methods from econometrics to predict the efficacy of changes to the SNAP program for different families across the country. He is also working on an ongoing project in collaboration with Cornell University’s Weill Medical School determining the effectiveness of cash transfers and daily self-weighing on reducing obesity rates among lower income adolescents in Harlem.