Her research addresses a range of topics related to the value of health care services delivered in the United States. Dr. Lavelle is particularly interested in advancing the use of comparative and cost-effectiveness research in pediatric populations. Previous work includes the development of novel methods for evaluating health and economic outcomes of childhood illness, and assessing preference-based quality of life outcomes in caregivers. Tara earned her PhD in Health Policy with a concentration in Decision Science from Harvard University in 2012 and was previously a postdoctoral research fellow in the Child Health Evaluation and Research Unit in the Division of General Pediatrics at the University of Michigan.