Ulrike Muench

Ulrike Muench is an Associate Professor with tenure in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the UCSF School of Nursing, with affiliations at the Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies and Healthforce Center. She specializes in nursing workforce dynamics, opioid policy, Medicare systems, and disparities in healthcare. Her research leverages large datasets like Medicare claims and the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.

Education & Training:

• MSN (2005) and PhD (2012) in Nursing from Yale University
• Postdoctoral Fellowship (2014) at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing

Research Interests: Focuses on nurse practitioner roles, prescribing patterns in primary care/nursing homes, dementia care trajectories, and gender-based pay disparities in healthcare. Her work bridges health policy analysis with real-world clinical outcomes, aiming to inform equitable healthcare delivery systems.

Awards:

• 2016 Academy Health New Investigator Award
• 2018 American Academy of Nursing Fellow
• 2019 UCSF School of Nursing Mentoring Award

Grants & Advising: Leads studies funded by NIH and foundations, mentoring early-career researchers in health services research. Collaborates on projects addressing workforce distribution, rural-urban care disparities, and policy reform.

Labs/Teams: Active in UCSF's Healthforce Center, focusing on healthcare workforce analytics and interdisciplinary policy development.