Dr. Y. Alicia Hong Health Services Research · George Mason University

Teaching

Doctoral seminars where students leave with a publishable manuscript

Three courses at George Mason University and three developed at Texas A&M, covering systematic review methodology, research dissemination and health policy analysis.

Philosophy

Teach the work, not the description of the work

A doctoral student can pass a course on research methods and still not know how to start a literature search, respond to a reviewer, or explain a finding to someone with a budget. My courses are built to close that gap by making the real product the assignment: a systematic review manuscript, a conference presentation, a policy analysis report.

That means the syllabus has fewer topics and more iteration. Students draft, receive feedback, and revise, several times. The work is slower and the standard is higher, and by the end of the semester they hold something they can actually submit somewhere.

I also teach with current material by default. In the health policy course, this week's political events are the case study rather than a settled example from a decade ago. It makes preparation harder and the discussion considerably better, because nobody can look up the right answer in advance.

The final principle is that mentorship does not stop at the grade. A significant share of the lab's published output comes from students finishing work they began in a seminar, often after they have graduated.

In practice

What students do in my courses

  • Identify a real, current public health problem — not a topic from a list
  • Conduct a full literature search with documented strategy and quality appraisal
  • Write to journal specification, including structured abstract and reporting checklist
  • Present the work orally to a critical audience before submitting it
  • Respond to written feedback in a revision memo, as they would to reviewers
The measure of a research seminar is not what students can recall in April. It is whether anything they made in it is still being read in three years.

Current courses

Courses at George Mason University

Department of Health Administration and Policy, College of Public Health.

HAP 824Doctoral

Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis for Health Services Research

Offered in spring

Students identify a current public health problem, conceptualise a systematic review of the evidence on its causes, risk factors, interventions or policies, identify the gaps, and explore strategies to address them. Quality assessment and meta-analysis are included.

Learning outcomes

  • Design and document a reproducible search strategy
  • Appraise study quality and assess risk of bias
  • Conduct and interpret a meta-analysis where appropriate
  • Write a publishable systematic review manuscript

Syllabus (PDF)Course materials

HAP 865Doctoral

Health Services Research Seminar

Offered in fall

A seminar building the professional skills doctoral training often leaves implicit: presenting research well, publishing it, translating it into practice and policy, and thinking clearly about career options after the PhD.

Learning outcomes

  • Deliver a conference-standard research presentation
  • Prepare a manuscript for submission and respond to peer review
  • Translate findings for practice and policy audiences
  • Plan a post-doctoral career path deliberately

Syllabus (PDF)Course materials

HAP 635MPH core

Role of Government in Health Care and Public Health

Offered in fall and spring

An MPH core course on health policy and law, establishing how and why federal and state governments are involved in health care and public health. Current policies and political events serve as the case studies.

Learning outcomes

  • Trace the health policy-making process across federal and state levels
  • Analyse and evaluate a current health policy
  • Write a health policy analysis report
  • Argue a policy position from evidence rather than preference

Syllabus (PDF)Course materials

Previously taught

Courses developed at Texas A&M University School of Public Health

Taught between 2007 and 2019.

HPCH 672 · Doctoral seminar

Seminar in Public Health Intervention

Examines the theoretical foundation, implementation and effectiveness of public health interventions from a multilevel perspective, with emphasis on translation from research to practice and on the elements of evidence-based intervention strategy.

HPCH 642 · Graduate

mHealth: Mobile Technologies in Public Health

An overview of mHealth in public health settings: telemedicine, electronic health records, public health informatics, consumer mHealth tools, HIPAA obligations in mobile contexts, and FDA guidance on mHealth devices.

HPCH 611 · Graduate

Public Health Program Planning

An in-depth treatment of intervention programme design and implementation, with emphasis on evidence-based programming, implementation, evaluation and dissemination.

Teaching interests

Areas I teach and would teach again

  • Evidence synthesis — systematic review, meta-analysis, scoping review methodology
  • Research dissemination — academic writing, peer review, presentation, translation to policy
  • Health policy analysis — policy process, law, analysis and report writing
  • Digital health and mHealth — intervention design, regulation, evaluation
  • Behavioural intervention science — theory, multilevel design, implementation
  • Consumer health informatics — patient-generated data, adoption, usability
  • Programme planning and evaluation — logic models, process and outcome evaluation

Student mentorship

How supervision works in this group

Graduate supervision

Doctoral students in Health Services Research and Health Informatics work on a defined strand of an active funded project, so their dissertation has data, a team and a deadline that is not arbitrary. Weekly individual meetings, plus a lab meeting where work in progress is presented and criticised.

Master's capstones and theses

Capstone projects are scoped so that a strong one becomes a conference poster and, often, a paper. Recent capstones have covered nursing home quality and neighbourhood disadvantage, and eating behaviour among college students — both of which went on to be presented nationally.

Undergraduate research

Undergraduate researchers in Community Health join specific tasks with a clear deliverable: literature screening, data cleaning, recruitment materials. The aim is a genuine contribution and a reference letter that can describe something concrete.

Independent studies

Directed reading and independent study are available where a student's interest falls outside the taught curriculum. These require a written plan with deliverables agreed in the first two weeks.

Career mentoring

Advising continues past graduation. Former students have moved into federal fellowships, county public health analytics, academic posts and industry data roles, and several continue to publish with the lab.

Highlights

What the courses have produced

The strongest evidence for a research seminar is the published record of the people who took it.

Student publications from HAP 824

Systematic reviews written in the seminar have gone on to peer-reviewed publication and national conference presentation. Recent examples:

  • Aaron Hill — racial disparities in breast cancer mortality: a ten-year systematic review and meta-analysis, Journal of Cancer Survivorship (2025)
  • Ye Jin — federated learning for image-based cancer detection and diagnosis, Journal of Imaging Science and Technology
  • Kelly Baker — use of Z codes to document social risk factors in the electronic health record, Medical Care (2024)
  • Kevin Cevasco — patient engagement with conversational agents in health applications 2016–2022, Journal of Medical Systems
  • Elina Guralnik — use of electronic health records for chronic disease surveillance
  • Amara F. Orji — disparities in cervical cancer screening by disability type
  • Manal Alhussein — real-time tele-mentored ultrasound echocardiography for cardiovascular diagnosis

Student recognition

  • Sravya Vunnam — second place, College of Public Health Celebration of Scholarship Day poster presentation
  • Carolyn Hoffman — second place, Celebration of Scholarship Day poster presentation
  • Julie Mandeville — honourable mention, Celebration of Scholarship Day
  • Shaan Muberra Khan — presented at the UNC Water and Health Conference
  • Francis Amankwah — presented at the APHA Annual Meeting

Course development and innovation

  • Seven graduate courses developed across two institutions
  • Manuscript-as-final-assessment model in HAP 824, with iterative peer review built into the semester
  • Current-events case method in HAP 635, refreshed each term rather than reused
  • Presentation rehearsal with structured critique before every conference submission

Teaching awards and student evaluation summaries to be added before launch.

Moments

In the classroom and beyond

From study-abroad fieldwork to the hooding ceremony — the parts of teaching that do not fit on a syllabus.

Dr. Hong with students on an international study trip
Dr. Hong with graduating students at commencement
Dr. Hong with faculty colleagues in academic regalia

Resources

Course materials

Available to enrolled students through the university learning system. Public versions are posted here where licensing allows.

Syllabi

Current syllabi for HAP 824, HAP 865 and HAP 635, including assessment schedules and university policy statements.

Download syllabi

Reading lists

Core and supplementary readings by week, with open-access alternatives listed wherever one exists.

Download reading lists

Assignments

Assignment briefs and marking rubrics, including the systematic review manuscript brief and the policy analysis report brief.

Download assignments

Lecture materials

Slide decks and worked examples for search strategy construction, quality appraisal and meta-analysis in R.

Download slides

Course policies

Attendance, late submission, academic integrity and the group's policy on the use of AI tools in coursework.

Read policies

Templates

PRISMA flow diagram template, data extraction sheet and revision memo template used in HAP 824.

Download templates

Prospective students

Thinking about applying?

Applications go through the Department of Health Administration and Policy. An email beforehand is welcome and should include a CV and a paragraph on what you want to study.

Email Dr. HongSee who is in the group

  • Doctoral applicants — Health Services Research or Health Informatics, with a research interest that overlaps an active project
  • Master's applicants — Health Informatics, Public Health, or Data Analytics, for capstone supervision
  • Undergraduates — Community Health students interested in research assistant work

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