Mahshid Abir

Mahshid Abir is a Senior Physician Policy Researcher and Professor of Policy Analysis at the RAND Corporation and Pardee RAND Graduate School. A practicing emergency physician, she specializes in evaluating the acute care continuum across pre-hospital, emergency, inpatient, and ambulatory care settings.

• Education: Earned her MD from the University of Cincinnati

Her research focuses on public health emergency preparedness, climate change-health associations, medical supply chain resilience, and critical care capacity. She has led studies for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and American College of Emergency Physicians. Key projects include:

• Developing hospital surge capacity metrics for pandemics
• Analyzing climate change impacts on chronic disease prevalence and drug demand
• Co-leading COVID-19 Public Assistance allocation frameworks
• Testifying before the U.S. Senate Aging Committee on disaster planning for older adults

Her methodological expertise includes mixed methods research, community-based participatory approaches, and economic modeling. She serves on three National Academy of Medicine consensus committees related to pandemic response and medical supply chains.