Maria Polyakova, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Health Policy at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Her research investigates the impact of government interventions in healthcare markets. She is especially interested in questions surrounding the design, financing, and broad economic impacts of public health insurance systems. Her work also investigates the drivers of individual decision-making in health care, the roots of socio-economic differences in health outcomes, and the impact of health shocks on the well-being of individuals and families. Dr. Polyakova received a BA degree in Economics and Mathematics from Yale University, and a PhD in Economics from MIT.