Karen Mara Clements

Karen Mara Clements serves as Assistant Professor in the Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences at UMass Chan Medical School's School of Medicine. Her academic appointments extend across multiple institutional units including the T.H. Chan School of Medicine's Biostatistics and Health Services Research division and the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences where she contributes to both the Masters in Clinical Investigation and Population Health Sciences programs.

• BA in Psychology from Wesleyan University
• MPH in Epidemiology & Biostatistics from Boston University School of Public Health
• ScD in Epidemiology from Harvard University School of Public Health

Dr. Clements' research focuses on critical intersections of disability health, maternal/child outcomes, and healthcare policy. Her work systematically examines disparities in healthcare access and quality for vulnerable populations, particularly women with disabilities and Medicaid beneficiaries. Through rigorous analysis of large claims datasets, she investigates pregnancy outcomes, chronic disease management barriers, and policy impacts on marginalized communities. Her scholarship consistently bridges epidemiological methods with actionable health services research to inform equitable care delivery.

Analysis of her 15 most recent publications reveals dominant research trajectories in disability health disparities (32% of works), maternal/child health (28%), and Medicaid policy evaluation (24%). Her methodological approach combines retrospective cohort analyses, systematic reviews, and implementation science frameworks, frequently utilizing Medicaid claims data across multiple states. Notable thematic clusters include hepatitis C treatment access barriers, opioid policy impacts, and perinatal care disparities for women with disabilities.

• Extensive collaboration with Medicaid policy researchers including Paul Jeffrey and Margaret Mitra
• Leadership in multi-state health services research initiatives
• Active involvement in Zero Suicide implementation studies

Dr. Clements maintains active research grants focused on healthcare equity for disabled populations and chronic disease management in public insurance programs. Her work demonstrates consistent funding support through state Medicaid agencies and federal health services research mechanisms. Current projects examine implementation challenges of national suicide prevention initiatives within integrated health systems and evaluate community-based interventions for medication adherence among substance use disorder patients.