Paul  George

I am currently a fellow in pediatric hematology/oncology at Emory University School of Medicine and Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. As part of the fellowship, I am pursuing a PhD in Health Policy and Management with a focus in health economics at Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University.

My main research interest lies in utilizing econometric modeling on large data sets to elucidate protective and risk factors, specifically among vulnerable, under-represented, and/or global populations, allowing for the subsequent development of targeted and efficient interventions to improve outcomes in pediatric hematologic and oncologic conditions. Additionally, I am interested in global pediatric hematology/oncology program development, with a specific focus on improving the efficacy of international and resource-constrained programs.

Varied work and research opportunities and experiences have provided me with a unique skillset and perspective to address such projects. Prior to medical school, I worked for WorldTeach, a non-governmental organization that provides volunteer teachers to low and middle-income countries around the world. During medical medical school, I spent an additional year as a fellow in the South American Program in HIV Prevention Research (SAPHIR) with the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. As a resident in Global Child Health and Pediatrics at Texas Children’s Hospital, I worked at the largest children’s hospital and within the largest medical center in the United States. Furthermore, as part of my Global Child Health residency, I spent one year in Kampala, Uganda, where I worked in a variety of clinically settings, including a pediatric HIV clinic, a pediatric sickle cell disease (SCD) clinic, within a pediatric hematology-oncology program, and within the Mulago National Referral Hospital. During this year, I also had the opportunity to participate in Ministry of Health meetings, visit multiple clinics, and spend a week working in a rural, regional hospital. These combined longitudinal experiences from Houston to Africa have given me a unique perspective into many ways in which health care is provided and potential areas for analysis and intervention to improve health equity and outcomes.

Through pediatric hematology/oncology fellowship, I will continue to deepen my understanding of the care of patients with blood and cancer disorders and factors that might influence clinical outcomes. However, diseases such as acute leukemia and SCD involve a wide array of patients with many diverse risk factors, requiring sophisticated analytic techniques, especially when addressing disparities across countries and continents. As such, I am excited to pursue a PhD in Health Policy and Management. Through this unique opportunity to obtain rigorous social science and empirical research training in conjunction with my hematology/oncology fellowship, I hope to be well-equipped to evaluate and address risk factors and outcomes of pediatric blood and cancer disorders, both locally and globally.