GARP Researchers

Ramanan Laxminarayan – Project Director

Ramanan  Laxminarayan is Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy at Resources for the Future. He is also a visiting scholar and lecturer at Princeton University. His research deals with the integration of epidemiological models of infectious diseases and drug resistance into the economic analysis of public health problems. He has worked to improve understanding of drug resistance as a problem of managing a shared global resource. Laxminarayan has worked with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank on evaluating malaria treatment policy, vaccination strategies, the economic burden of tuberculosis, and control of non-communicable diseases. He has served on a number of advisory committees at WHO, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Institute of Medicine. In 2003-04, he served on the National Academy of Science/Institute of Medicine Committee on the Economics of Antimalarial Drugs and subsequently helped create the Affordable Medicines Facility for malaria, a novel financing mechanism for antimalarials.  His work has been covered in major media outlets including Associated Press, BBC, CNN, the Economist, LA Times, NBC, NPR, Reuters, Science, Wall Street Journal, and National Journal.

Hellen Gelband – Study Coordinator

Hellen Gelband has worked for 28 years in analyzing and developing U.S. and global health policy from the epidemiologic perspective. She began her career with 15 years at the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment and spent 10 years at the Institute of Medicine of The National Academies. She has worked for the World Health Organization, the University of Oxford, a number of foreign governments, and U.S.-based consulting companies. Ms. Gelband is a member of the Board of Directors of the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative North America. At Resources for the Future, she works on malaria drug use strategies and policy responses to antibiotic resistance.

David L. Smith – Researcher

David L. Smith is Associate Director for Disease Ecology at the Emerging Pathogens Institute and Associate Professor of Zoology at the University of Florida, and is a Visiting Fellow at Resources for the Future.  His research interests include mathematical epidemiology, emerging infectious diseases, infectious disease ecology, the evolution of antimicrobial resistance, and the bioeconomics of infectious diseases.  He has published on the economic impact of agricultural antibiotic use, the spatial spread and economic epidemiology of hospital-acquired pathogens, the epidemiology of malaria, and the spatial spread of raccoon rabies. He earned doctoral and master’s degrees from Princeton University in ecology and evolutionary biology, and master’s and undergraduate degrees from Brigham Young University in mathematics.

Patricia Geli Rolfhamre – Researcher

Patricia Geli Rolfhamre is a post-doctoral researcher at Resources for the Future in Washington, D.C. Her research deals with mathematical models for the understanding, evaluation and prediction of the antimicrobial resistance problem and related control strategies. Prior to coming to RFF, she served the Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control (SMI) and Swedish Strategic Programme for the Rational Use of Antimicrobial Agents and Surveillance of Resistance (STRAMA) for 6 years. She has also worked with the World Health Organization on community surveillance of antimicrobial resistance and use in developing countries. Patricia received both her master’s degree and her doctorate in mathematical statistics from Stockholm University, Sweden.

Heather Randell – Research Assistant

Heather Randell is a research assistant at Resources for the Future in Washington, DC. She received a master’s degree in environmental management and a certificate in global health from Duke University, and a bachelor’s degree in biology from Cornell University. Her research interests include the interaction between the environment, land use change, and infectious diseases, as well as community-based control of vector-borne diseases. She has conducted survey research on household knowledge and behaviors related to malaria prevention in rural Tanzania, and is currently conducting a study on barriers to healthcare-associated infection (HAI) control in U.S. hospitals.

Cara Winters – Research Associate

Cara Winters is a research associate with Resources for the Future. Her interests include the economics of health systems in developing countries, and infectious diseases and reproductive health in conflict settings. Prior to joining RFF, she worked with a series of public health and development/relief organizations in East and Central Africa and South-East Asia. She received her master’s degree in public affairs and international development, with a focus on health policy, from Princeton University.

Alice Easton – Research Assistant

Alice Easton is a research assistant at Resources for the Future. She received a bachelor’s degree in ecology and evolutionary biology, with a certificate in public and international affairs, from Princeton University. Her past work focused on the impact of HIV control programs in southern India. Her interests include the ecology of infectious diseases, international development and its health consequences, and health policy in resource-poor settings.

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.Griffin LeNoir – Research Assistant

Griffin LeNoir works for the health team at Resources for the Future. He received a bachelor’s degree in speech communication and political science from Trinity University in San Antonio.