Q&A with Charleen Hsuan, new Clinical and Translational Science Institute team member

Charleen Hsuan, JD, PhD, recently joined Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute as regulatory impact lead, Research Methods Core. To request a consultation with the core, complete a service request form.

What is regulatory impact?

Regulatory impact is a new focus at Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute. Its goal is to support policy-relevant research and foster its translation between researchers and regulators. As you know, translational research includes translating research results to the broader community. Laws, regulations and policies can help or hinder this translation – so to successfully translate research to public health impact, it’s important to understand how laws, regulations and policy influence providers, patients and communities.

What are you responsible for?

In addition to leading Regulatory Impact, I am partnering with Penn State Social Science Research Institute, Penn State Center for Health Care and Policy Research and Edna Pierce Prevention Research Center on ways to enhance the Clinical and Translational Science Institute’s promotion of policy-relevant research.

What is your background?

I am an assistant professor in health policy and administration, College of Health and Human Development at University Park. I have a bachelor of science from Yale University, a juris doctorate from Columbia Law School, and a PhD in Health Policy and Management from UCLA. I was a former TL1 scholar from the UCLA Clinical and Translational Science Institute. My research focuses on how laws, regulations, and other policies influence access to care and disparities. Most of my current projects involve hospitals, but I have also worked on issues related to public health and public health systems.

What are some ways you can help faculty/researchers?

We are working on ways to promote and support researcher engagement in policy-relevant research informed by the regulatory context; for instance, we have added a regulatory impact consultation service for Clinical and Translational Science Institute grantees. In addition, we want to educate researchers through the Bench to Bedside and Beyond Seminar Series (to be held Feb. 28) about the regulatory context and how to effectively translate research results for policymakers. Finally, we will be creating opportunities to foster understanding of the effects of laws and policies, particularly unintended consequences for vulnerable populations.

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