CHP/PCOR trainees Hau Liu and Elisa Long were recognized as winners in the Lee Lusted Student Prize Competition, one of the most prestigious national awards for trainees in the field of medical decision making. The awards were announced at the close of the 27th annual meeting of the Society for Medical Decision Making, held Oct. 21-24, 2005 in San Francisco.

Hau Liu, a trainee with CHP/PCOR's Health Care Research and Policy Fellowship Program, was recognized for his presentation on "The cost-effectiveness of parathyroid hormone and alendronate in high-risk osteoporotic women" (co-authors Kaleb Michaud, Smita Nayak, D. Karpf, Douglas K. Owens and Alan Garber).

Elisa Long, a doctoral student in Management Science and Engineering and a collaborator on several CHP/PCOR research projects, won for her presentation on "The cost-effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy for injection drug users in Russia" (co-authors Margaret Brandeau, Tatyana Vinichenko, Cristina Galvin, Swati Tole, A. Schwartz, Gillian Sanders and Doug Owens). Of the 55 student presentations for the competition, Liu and Long were among the 4 winners selected.

In addition, several other CHP/PCOR researchers presented at the SMDM meeting -- including Emily Carter, Mary Goldstein, Kaleb Michaud, Smita Nayak, Gillian Sanders, Tamara Sims and Swati Tole -- and all gave outstanding presentations.

As in the past, CHP/PCOR was prominently represented at this year's SMDM meeting, with more than 15 of the centers' trainees, faculty members and affiliates in attendance. Dena Bravata and Gillian Sanders were the program co-chairs for the meeting. Kathryn McDonald is vice president of SMDM; Gillian Sanders is vice president-elect; and Dena Bravata is a trustee of the Society.