Elham Mahmoudi, PhD, MBA, MS

MAHMOUDI Elham
Associate Professor of Family Medicine, Medical School
[email protected]
Available to mentor
Elham Mahmoudi, PhD, MBA, MS
MAHMOUDI Elham
Associate Professor
  • About
  • Qualifications
  • Center Memberships
  • Research Overview
  • Recent Publications
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  • About

    Elham Mahmoudi is a health economist with over a decade of experience using large-scale national survey and claims data to shape smarter Medicare policy (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/elham.mahmoudi.1/bibliography/publi…). Her work centers on Traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage, with a particular focus on improving care and outcomes for older adults with complex needs — including those living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) or disability.

    A faculty member in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School, Dr. Mahmoudi is also a long-standing member of the University of Michigan Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation (IHPI). Her research has been supported by the NIH/National Institute on Aging (K01 and R01 awards), the Department of Defense, the Alzheimer's Association, and the Nelson Foundation.

    Her current R01 project examines whether Medicare Advantage plans improve the value and efficiency of care for people living with ADRD — with a special focus on disparities among racial and ethnic minority populations. This work reflects her deep commitment to ensuring that Medicare policy truly serves all those who need it most.

    Qualifications

    • Postdoctoral Research, Gerontology
      Wayne State University, Institute of Gerontology, Detroit, United States
      2009 - 2012
      Postdoctoral Research

    Center Memberships

    • Center Member
      Global REACH
    • Center Member
      Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation

    Research Overview

    Health Economics
    Economics of Dementia Care
    Equity and Efficiency in Health Care

    Recent Publications

    See All Publications
    • Journal Article
      When Context Matters: Social Disparities in Preventable Hospitalizations Among Medicare Beneficiaries with Dementia
      Kalesnikava VA, Madden B, Vugdalic N, Lin P, Mahmoudi E. Innovation in Aging, 2026 Apr 12; igag035 DOI:10.1093/geroni/igag035
    • Journal Article
      Implementing Clinical Decision Support for Primary Care Preventive Screenings for People with Physical Disabilities.
      James TG, Kellampalli S, Palazzolo B, Carbone L, Heizelman R, Mahmoudi E, McKee MM. Appl Clin Inform, 2026 Mar; 17 (2): 145 - 152. DOI:10.1055/a-2830-2528
      PMID: PMC13004660
    • Journal Article
      Racial composition in K-12 schooling and cognitive health of older Black adults.
      Best MN, Laurent SE, Doyle C, Torres ER, Mahmoudi E, Zahodne LB. J Alzheimers Dis, 2025 Dec 30; 13872877251409190 DOI:10.1177/13872877251409190
      PMID: 41468220
    • Journal Article
      E-Cigarette Sales to School-Uniformed Adolescents in China: A Randomized Clinical Trial
      Wang Y, Lv X, Laestadius LI, Guidry JPD, Mahmoudi E, Kong G, Chang J, Martin A, Yang M, Yan D, Si L, Bustamante AV, Fang H. JAMA Network Open, 2025 Oct 10; 8 (10): DOI:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.35623
      PMID: 41071555
    • Journal Article
      A 5-Year Longitudinal Retrospective Cohort Study of Health Care Use and Costs Before and After Incident Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury
      Lin P, Doza A, Gurney ZC, Rodriguez GM, Mahmoudi E. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 2025 Sep 1; 106 (9): 1331 - 1338. DOI:10.1016/j.apmr.2025.02.012
      PMID: 40015497
    • Journal Article
      Identifying Likely Incidents of Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury and Elevated Risk of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementia: Health Care Cost Institute Data
      Doza A, Lin P, Rodriguez GM, Cigolle C, Mahmoudi E. Topics in Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation, 2025 Sep 1; 31 (4): 188 - 198. DOI:10.46292/sci24-00050
      PMID: 41268140
    • Journal Article
      Decoding large language models for radiology: strategies for fine-tuning and prompt engineering.
      Vahdati S, Mahmoudi E, Ganjizadeh A, Chao C, Erickson BJ. Radiol Adv, 2025 Jul; 2 (4): umaf024 DOI:10.1093/radadv/umaf024
      PMID: PMC12429228
    • Journal Article
      NEIGHBORHOOD SOCIAL AND SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS AND COGNITIVE DECLINE FOR OLDER MEXICAN AMERICANS
      Lee JH, Rote S, Mahmoudi E, Armendariz M, Antonucci T, Manning M. Innovation in Aging, 2025 Jan 2; 8 (Supplement_1): 151 - 151. DOI:10.1093/geroni/igae098.0485
      PMID: PMC11689245

    Featured News & Stories

    MAHMOUDI Elham
    Department News

    Associate Professor Elham Mahmoudi, Ph.D. tapped as fellow of the Gerontological Society of America

    Elham Mahmoudi, Ph.D, associate professor in the Department of Family Medicine, has been selected as a fellow of the Gerontological Society of America, thanks to her contributions to research on improving health care and outcomes for older adults with complex needs.
    Group shot of people of various races and sexes, standing or seated on an outdoor deck
    Department News

    MDisability summer interns present disability-related work to Family Medicine researchers

    MDisability summer interns present their final projects to Family Medicine research faculty.
    Department News

    Traumatic spinal cord injury researchers call for greater care, rehab access

    Associate Professor Elham Mahmoudi, Ph.D., of the Department of Family Medicine, published a study exploring trends in healthcare use and costs before and after a person experiences a traumatic spinal cord injury in the U.S.
    Department News

    Enrollment in Medicare Advantage linked to lower risks of hospitalizations for patients with Alzheimer’s Disease, Dementia

    University of Michigan researchers found that individuals enrolled in Medicare Advantage have a lower risk of hospitalization, as well as all-cause 30-day hospital readmission, in contrast to those who are enrolled in traditional Medicare.
    Department News

    Department ranks among the Top 10 most NIH-funded research programs

    The University of Michigan Department of Family Medicine ranks among the Top 10 most NIH-funded research programs among its national peers