About Me.

Dr. Ali Jalali is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Population Health Sciences at the Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University. He holds a PhD in economics and completed two years of postdoctoral training in health economics and applied econometrics (see Curriculum Vitae). His primary area of research expertise pertains to the development and application of econometric methods and research designs for comparative effectiveness and pharmacoeconomic evaluations of healthcare interventions for substance use disorders (e.g., opioid use disorder) conducted alongside clinical trials. His work focuses on addressing challenging data analytic problems that arise when clinical trial participants are enrolled in complex settings (e.g., jails, prisons, emergency departments) and the studies employ diverse data sources (e.g., data from clinical trial instruments, electronic medical records, and health insurance claims). Dr. Jalali’s research is supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

In 2024, Dr. Jalali was awarded the prestigious NIH Director’s New Innovator Award (DP2), through its Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) Initiative, a three-year $2.5 million grant recognizing exceptionally creative scientists whose innovative research ideas have the potential to make a significant impact on critical biomedical challenges related to pain, opioid use disorder, and overdose.  Additionally, his growing research portfolio spans other areas, such as maternal and infant health, competition in healthcare markets, employment outcomes following post-incarceration substance use treatment, and statistical issues in medical decision science.

Dr. Jalali is committed to being an effective and engaging educator, creating an inclusive learning environment for his students. He teaches a graduate course on Cost Effectiveness Analysis at Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, and continually serves as a research mentor to both graduate and medical students.