Rate My Professor Lauren Nicholas

Lauren Hersch Nicholas is a Professor in the Division of Geriatrics, Department of Medicine at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus School of Medicine, with a secondary appointment as Associate Professor by courtesy in the Department of Economics at CU Denver. She earned a BA in Policy Analysis and Management from Cornell University in 2002, an MPP in Public Policy from The George Washington University in 2004, and a PhD in Social Policy and Policy Analysis focusing on health economics from Columbia University in 2008. Following postdoctoral training as a Research Investigator and NIA Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Michigan Population Studies Center from 2008 to 2010, she held faculty positions at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, advancing from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor in Health Policy and Management between 2013 and 2021. She joined the University of Colorado in 2021 as Associate Professor in Health Systems, Management and Policy at the Colorado School of Public Health until 2023, became Associate Professor in the Division of Geriatric Medicine in 2023, and was promoted to full Professor in 2024. She also serves as core faculty in the Center for Bioethics and Humanities.

A health economist, Dr. Nicholas researches the role of public policy in enhancing health and healthcare quality for older adults, focusing on interactions between healthcare utilization and economic outcomes in areas such as dementia, end-of-life care, surgery, and Medicare Advantage versus traditional Medicare. Her influential publications include 'Financial Presentation of Alzheimer Disease and Related Dementias' (JAMA Internal Medicine, 2021), 'Medicare-Covered Services Near the End of Life in Medicare Advantage vs Traditional Medicare' (JAMA Health Forum, 2024), 'Regional Variation in the Association Between Advance Directives and End-of-Life Medicare Expenditures' (JAMA, 2011), and 'How Do Surrogates Make Treatment Decisions for Patients with Dementia: An Experimental Survey Study' (Health Economics, 2024). She has received the 2025 Highly Cited Paper Award from Health Services Research, 2019 Excellence in Teaching Award from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, 2014 HCUP Article of the Year Award, 2012 AcademyHealth Article of the Year Award, and 2009 John Heinz Dissertation Award from the National Academy of Social Insurance. As principal investigator on NIH grants exceeding $3 million, including R01 awards on dementia care disparities and financial implications of early Alzheimer's, her expertise on dementia's financial symptoms has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. She serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management.