Dr Alison Buttenheim bio

Dr Alison Buttenheim - bio Alison Buttenheim is Professor of Nursing and Health Policy, the Silverstein Endowed Term Chair in Global Women’s Health, and Scientific Director of the Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research addresses persistent behavior change challenges in public and global health.

Using the techniques and frameworks of behavioral economics, Dr. Buttenheim designs, test, and scales innovative interventions to prevent and mitigate infectious diseases. She is a recognized global expert in the area of vaccine acceptance, with a particular focus recently on COVID-19 vaccines.

Dr. Buttenheim consulted with several local, state and national governments on the COVID-19 vaccine rollout and designed and evaluated multiple behaviorally-informed interventions to increase vaccine acceptance, including a financial voucher for older adults in South Africa, a geographically targeted sweepstakes in Philadelphia, and ownership and social norms messaging interventions.

She has served on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine’s Ad-Hoc Committee on a Framework for the Equitable Allocation of the COVID-19 Vaccine and provided testimony on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy to the US House of Representatives’ Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

As part of her global health practice, Dr. Buttenheim helped launch and serves as the Behavioural Design Lead for Indlela, a first-of-its kind "nudge unit" supporting innovations in HIV services delivery in South Africa.