Rodney A. Hayward

Rodney A. Hayward, MD, is Professor of Internal Medicine in the University of Michigan Medical School and Professor of Health Management and Policy in the University of Michigan School of Public Health. He concurrently serves as Senior Investigator at the Center for Clinical Management Research, Ann Arbor VA HSR&D, and is a member of the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation and the Caswell Diabetes Institute.

Education & Training:

• Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar, UCLA & RAND Corporation, Santa Monica

Research Interests:
His overarching research agenda centers on improving the quality, equity, and personalization of care for chronic diseases. Using advanced health-services research methods, simulation modeling, and large-scale epidemiologic cohorts, Dr. Hayward investigates:

• Measurement and profiling of clinical performance and patient-reported outcomes
• Environmental, organizational, and educational determinants of physician practice patterns
• Development of patient-centered decision support and quality-improvement interventions
• Impact of cardiovascular and metabolic risk-factor control on dementia and cognitive decline across racial and ethnic groups
• Design and validation of microsimulation models (e.g., MICROSIM) to evaluate long-term population health strategies

Recent Scholarly Contributions:
Between 2023 and 2025 Dr. Hayward co-authored eight high-impact papers that collectively advance understanding of stroke subtypes, post-stroke cognitive trajectories, blood-pressure management, and population-level prevention strategies. His work repeatedly integrates longitudinal cohort data from large multi-center studies with sophisticated statistical and simulation techniques to inform policy and clinical guidelines.

Scientific Recognition:

• Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar

Advising & Collaboration:
Dr. Hayward is currently available to mentor trainees and faculty. He collaborates extensively with interdisciplinary teams spanning neurology, biostatistics, health policy, geriatrics, and implementation science, both within the University of Michigan and with national networks such as the REGARDS and ARIC cohorts.

Laboratories & Centers:
He is affiliated with the Center for Clinical Management Research (VA Ann Arbor), the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, and the Caswell Diabetes Institute, providing rich environments for health-services and policy research, data analytics, and trainee development.