TRANSPERS News: Publication on Cost-Effectiveness and Equity, Awards, Arctic Adventures, and More

Letter from Center Director

Dear Colleagues,

Summer greetings! This newsletter highlights exciting new research from our team on cost-effectiveness and equity and other topics, plus we share news of conference presentations from the Arctic Circle to Academy Health and an honorary lecture award.

Do you have an announcement you would like to see in our next newsletter? Let us know!

Best,

Kathryn

Publications

Global Team Publishes Framework for Balancing Costs, Benefits, and Equity in Genomic Medicine

Jeroen Jansen, Kathryn Phillips, and other global researchers published a paper on a systematic approach to ensure genomic medicine doesn't leave certain populations behind. Their distributional cost-effectiveness analysis framework could help decision makers weigh both the benefits and impacts when rolling out genetic testing and treatments. By focusing on accurate data and distinguishing between biological and social factors, they offer a path to more balanced healthcare outcomes.

TRANSPERS Authors Explore FDA Leadership Perspectives on Healthcare Innovation and Access

TRANSPERS researchers Kathryn Phillips and Danea Horn recently published an interview with former FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf in Health Affairs Scholar, examining critical healthcare challenges that directly impact the precision medicine landscape and TRANSPERS studies. Dr. Califf discusses the ongoing tensions between accelerated drug approvals and robust evidence generation. This is a key issue in genomic medicine where TRANSPERS has extensive expertise in payer decision-making and coverage considerations. His insights on balancing individual patient needs with population-level evidence, addressing pharmaceutical supply chain vulnerabilities, and combating health misinformation directly align with TRANSPERS's research on value assessment and access to innovative healthcare technologies.

TRANSPERS Research Reveals Wide Variation in How Health Policy Journals Report Publication Times

Rapid publication and dissemination of new research on genomics and precision medicine has facilitated advances in the field. Thus, understanding publication timelines becomes increasingly important for innovation and to promote evidence-based policy decisions. A new study by Kathryn Phillips and Danea Horn published in JAMA Network Open found that health policy journals vary dramatically in how quickly they publish research and what review and publication timing (RPT) metrics they report. The research showed that open access journals tend to be faster than traditional subscription journals, and highly selective journals make initial decisions more quickly. This research points toward the need for standardization in reporting of RPTs to promote greater transparency in academic publishing.

Medicare Program Faces Critical Reform Decisions as Advantage Plans Dominate Coverage

A new interview with former Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Dr. Mark McClellan, published in Health Affairs Scholar (Editor-in-Chief is Kathryn Phillips), explores the urgent need for Medicare reforms as Medicare Advantage now covers over half of all beneficiaries. Dr. McClellan discusses how outdated payment systems may be driving up costs despite efficiency advantages, and highlights growing bipartisan pressure to reform controversial practices like prior authorization that frustrate patients and providers. This work expands TRANSPERS's ongoing research into healthcare policy and legislation, including a recent study on state biomarker testing laws, demonstrating the center's commitment to examining how policy decisions impact access to innovative medical technologies.

 

News

Kathryn Phillips is Honored with a UCSF Faculty Research Lecture Award

Kathryn Phillips was awarded the UCSF Faculty Research Lecture in Social, Behavioral, and Health Policy Sciences award for 2025. This award is bestowed on an individual member of the UCSF faculty with outstanding achievements in social, behavioral, and health policy research. Kathryn is now the 3^rd recipient of this award.

Read about this award and Kathryn’s career bridging science, economics, and policy to ensure that precision medicine and other new technologies reach patients fairly and affordably in the latest UCSF School of Pharmacy post.

TRANSPERS Researcher Danea Horn Featured in UCSF School of Pharmacy Interview

Danea Horn was featured in a recent UCSF School of Pharmacy interview discussing her research on how pharmaceutical programs and policies can unintentionally shape prescribing practices and patient behavior. Danea's work explores important questions like whether patients change their healthy behaviors after starting medications, and how financial incentives in programs like 340B influence treatment decisions. The interview highlights her unique perspective as both a researcher and kidney transplant recipient who relies on pharmaceuticals daily.

 

Conferences

TRANSPERS Team Member Presents Rare Disease Findings at International Conference in Arctic Norway

TRANSPERS researcher, Emily Mrig, recently traveled to the remote fishing village of Sommarøy, Norway — well above the Arctic Circle — to present at the Database of Individual Patients' Experiences (DIPEx) International Annual Meeting. DIPEx International is an association of expert researchers conducting qualitative research into people’s personal experiences of health and illness. Emily shared early findings from her research with rare disease patients and families, exploring their experiences with genomic sequencing and research participation. The presentation sparked valuable discussions with international colleagues about developing solutions to address the challenges identified by patients and families. Beyond the research exchange, the timing and location created a truly unique experience—since the conference took place in early June above the Arctic Circle, attendees enjoyed 24-hour daylight with the sun never setting. The team even captured a photo during evening activities like a Sea Eagle Boat Safari Tour that looked like they were taken in broad daylight, despite being snapped well after the conference day had ended.

TRANSPERS Collaborators Present at ISPOR 2025 and Academy Health 2025

Jeroen Jansen and Kathryn Phillips caught up with colleagues, and Jeroen taught cost-effectiveness modeling in R and served as a moderator and panelist at ISPOR 2025.

 

 

 

Janet Coffman presented a poster on Independent Medical Review Patterns for Cancer Genetic Testing at the Academy Health 2025 Annual Research Meeting.