Beth Virnig, PhD, MPH

Professor & Senior Associate Dean of Academic Affairs & Research, Division of Health Policy and Management

Beth Virnig

Contact Info

virni001@umn.edu

Office Phone 612-624-4426

Office Address:
Mayo, A301

Mailing Address:
420 Delaware St. SE
MMC 729
Minneapolis, MN 55455

Professor & Senior Associate Dean of Academic Affairs & Research, Division of Health Policy and Management

Director, Research Data Assistance Center

Member, Masonic Cancer Center (MCC)

Member, Minnesota Population Center


PhD, Epidemiology/Biostatistics, University of Minnesota, 1993

MPH, Epidemiology, University of Minnesota, 1989

BA, Psychology, Carleton College, 1987

Summary

I am a widely published author of studies examining access to health care and use and outcomes of that care. I examine how health care is influenced by patients, providers, and markets. My research on the elderly in the Medicare program focuses on cancer surveillance and care, Medicare managed care, and end-of-life care.

I am also the director of the Research Data Assistance Center (ResDAC), which is funded by a contract from CMS to provide free assistance to academic, government, and nonprofit researchers interested in using Medicare or Medicaid data for their research.

As Senior Associate Dean, I focus on faculty development, research development, and strategic planning. I work closely with school leadership to ensure that our activities are mission-focused and aimed at building a healthier future. 

Expertise

Aging, chronic disease, equity, management & economics, methods, medicare, cancer, health care outcomes, access to care

Awards & Recognition

  • Delta Omega Public Health Honor Society

Research

Research Funding Grants

  • 2015–2020, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Research Data Assistance Center (ResDAC), Principal Investigator
  • 2014–2019, USAID, "Government Led, University Driven, Network Supported: Transforming Workforce Response to Infectious Disease Threats in Global Hotspots," Investigator
  • 2014–2018, American Cancer Society, "Effects of Media Controversies on Public Attitudes about Cancer Prevention," Investigator
  • 2012-2017, NIH-National Institute on Aging, "Osteoporotic Fractures in Men (MrOS)," Investigator

Publications

See a full list of my publications on PubMed

Key Publications

  • Jarosek SL, Shippee TP, Virnig BA, "Place of Death of Individuals with Terminal Cancer: New Insights from Medicare Hospice Place-of-Service Codes," Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2016
  • Xu WY, Abraham J, Marmor S, Knutson D, Virnig BA, "The Complex Relationship Between Quality and Resource Use Among Medicare Fee-for-Service Beneficiaries with Diabetes," Population Health Management, 2016
  • Setiawan VW, Virnig BA, Porcel J, Henderson BE, Le Marchand L, Wilkens LR, Monroe KR, "Linking Data from the Multiethnic Cohort Study to Medicare Data: Linkage Results and Application to Chronic Disease Research," American Journal of Epidemiology, 2015

Teaching

Teaching Areas

I teach in the following programs:

Courses

  • PubH 6700, Foundations of Public Health
  • PubH 7200, Global Public Health Systems in Developing Countries (as part of the University of Minnesota Public Health Institute)

Community Engagement

I am an investigator on the USAID-funded Emerging Pandemic Threats-2, which develops programs in disease surveillance, training, and outbreak response. My work as part of this project focuses on faculty development around workforce capacity in Southeast Asia and East and Central Africa. 

Media

In The News

SPH News

In The Media

  • Screening or Diagnostic mammogram? The Difference Could Cost You (Pocono Record)
  • Screening or Diagnostic mMammogram? The Difference Could Cost You (Philadelphia Inquirer)