Christine Lu

Christine Lu MSc, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Population Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute and she co-directs the PRecisiOn Medicine Translational Research (PROMoTeR) Center. She is a pharmacist, health policy scientist and pharmacoepidemiologist. After receiving an MSc (Biopharmaceuticals) and a PhD in Clinical Pharmacology from the University of New South Wales, Australia, Dr. Lu completed her post-doctoral training at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Lu leads the precision medicine & policy, and precision medicine oncology portfolios in the DPM. Her program of research focuses on the policy, legal, ethical, economic and societal issues of precision medicine. These include but are not limited to (1) coverage and reimbursement of genomic testing and sequencing; (2) disparities in access to genomic testing and sequencing and outcomes, and ethical implications; (3) barriers and facilitators to the implementation of genomic testing and sequencing; and (4) clinical and economic outcomes related to the use of genomic testing and sequencing, including the impact of value-based contracts. She also conducts research to examine access and affordability issues related to gene therapies.

Dr. Lu was multiple Principal Investigator of Genomics-based Technologies: Access and Reimbursement Issues. She co-led the Genetic and Molecular Tests Data Workgroup for the Cancer Research Network that investigated the range and depth of information available within and outside the Virtual Data Warehouse on clinical cancer makers. Dr. Lu is Principal Investigator of an NHGRI Genomic Innovator Award to pioneer new approaches for efficient, rigorous evaluation of outcomes of genomic medicine policies. She is site Principal Investigator of an NCI-funded project to examine organizational and economic barriers and facilitators to the implementation of universal Lynch Syndrome Screening across multiple healthcare systems (PI: A. Rahm, Geisinger Health). Dr. Lu is policy expert investigator of Precision Medicine Treatment (PreEMT) Model that simulates short- and long-term clinical benefits and estimates the cost-effectiveness of integrating different genome screening strategies into clinical care for healthy or high-risk newborns for heritable conditions (PI: A. Wu).

Dr. Lu provides one-on-one mentorship to PhD students, post-doctoral students, researchers, and mid-career university faculty. Please direct inquiries about fellowships and training opportunities relating to precision medicine research to Dr. Lu.

Dr. Lu has contributed substantially to evaluations of health policies in developing and developed countries using large, longitudinal administrative healthcare data and rigorous quasi-experimental research methods. Dr. Lu led a national investigation of the effects of Food and Drug Administration’s warnings and media attention regarding antidepressant and suicidality among youth. She received an Early Career Investigator award from the national Health Care Systems Research Network for this work. Dr. Lu was multiple Principal Investigator of a PCORI project (IHS-1408-20393) examining effects of high-deductible insurance plans on patients with bipolar disorder and an investigator of another four major projects assessing the impact of high-deductible insurance on appropriate health care.

Dr. Lu is an investigator of the Cancer Research Network and site PI of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care for the Mental Health Research Network, the Health Care Systems Research Network. She also serves as a pharmacoepidemiologist for the FDA-funded Sentinel System, a congressionally mandated national medical product safety surveillance system.

Focus Areas

• Genomics / Precision Medicine

Companies

• Associte Professor of Population Medicine Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute (2017)
• Assistant Professor Harvard Medical School, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute (2014 — 2017)
• Adjunct Senior Lecturer University of Sydney (2012 — 2015)
• Instructor Harvard Medical School & Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute (2011 — 2014)
• Adjunct Senior Lecturer University of South Australia (2010 — 2011)
• Research Fellow University of South Australia (2008 — 2010)
• Research Fellow Harvard Medical School (2007 — 2008)

Education

• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) UNSW Australia
• Master of Science (MSc) UNSW Australia
• Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPharm) University of Sydney