Tipirneni receives emerging leader in managed care research award

Recognition from AJMC recognizes rising leaders who are making strides in the field of managed care research

The American Journal of Managed Care (AJMC) presented IHPI member Renuka Tipirneni, M.D., MSc, with the 2020 Seema S. Sonnad Emerging Leader in Managed Care Research Award during the 9th annual Patient-Centered Oncology Care 2020 conference.

“Dr. Tipirneni is an outstanding leader and embodies the values and qualities we look for when selecting the Seema S. Sonnad Emerging Leader in Managed Care Research Award winner,” said Mike Hennessy Jr., president and CEO of MJH Life Sciences, parent company of AJMC. “Her extensive background and passion for health reform, Medicaid policy, healthy aging and social determinants of health make her truly deserving of this award.”

Tipirneni is an assistant professor in the U-M Department of Internal Medicine, in the divisions of General Medicine and Hospital Medicine, as well as a member of IHPI. Her research focuses on investigating how health reform policies and programs affect patients with low socioeconomic status, older patients and other vulnerable populations.

Currently, Tipirneni’s work includes examinations of Medicaid policy such as work requirements, integration of behavioral and physical health care, and assessments of social determinants of health in clinical practice. She has evaluated the Affordable Care Act, Michigan’s Medicaid expansion, and other state and federal policies. Tipirneni is a recipient of a K08 career development award from the National Institute on Aging for examining the impact of coverage expansions on adults near retirement, and she received the Grace H. Elta MD Department of Internal Medicine Early Career Endowment Award in 2018.

“I am humbled to receive this award from AJMC that honors the legacy of Seema Sonnad. I strive to carry forward her legacy by continuing to translate research into health policy and mentor the next generation of diverse leaders in health insurance and managed care policy,” said Tipirneni.

This award was established in honor of Seema S. Sonnad, Ph.D., the former associate editor of AJMC, who died in June 2015. Sonnad served as a mentor to many young researchers and was an advocate for the creation of an award that recognizes and encourages early career achievements in the field of managed care.

For more information about the Seema S. Sonnad Emerging Leader in Managed Care Research Award, click here.