Nikhil Rao

Nikhil Rao

PhD Candidate in Health Policy (G1, Methods for Policy Research)
Nikhil Rao (he/they) graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2021 with a BS in Public Health through the Department of Health Policy and Management and a second major in Psychology. Prior to beginning studies at Harvard, Nikhil worked as a research analyst in the Urban Institute’s Health Policy Center. There, he contributed to studies related to quality of care in Medicare and Medicaid, structural racism’s impact on health, and access to pharmaceutical treatment for opioid use disorder. Their research interests include psychotropic medication utilization, health (care) outcomes for people with current or prior involvement with the criminal legal system, and harm reduction services for people who use drugs. Nikhil’s doctoral studies are supported by an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality training grant.

Year in Program