Abigail Friedman, PhD

Abigail S. Friedman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Yale School of Public Health. Her research focuses on the policy determinants of tobacco use and disparities therein, with the overarching goal of informing and facilitating evidence-based policymaking to improve population health and reduce inequality. A health economist by training, she conducts work in three areas. The first uses quasi-experimental methods to estimate the effects of federal, state, and local policies on conventional and electronic cigarette use, in order to inform more nuanced policymaking that accounts for the differing health impacts of these products. The second line of research considers how new tobacco products and policies are affecting disparities in tobacco use, particularly by socioeconomic status and mental health. Finally, her work on mental health disparities in tobacco use focuses on identifying the drivers behind these differentials as well as potential means to close these gaps, particularly among adolescents and young adults.

Dr. Friedman received her undergraduate degree from Columbia University and her Ph.D. in the economics concentration of Harvard University’s Ph.D. Program in Health Policy.