Pinar Karaca-Mandic is a Distinguished McKnight University Professor and the C. Arthur Williams Jr. Professor in Healthcare Risk Management in the Department of Finance, Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota. She is the Founding Director of the Business Advancement Center for Health (BACH), and a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Dr. Karaca-Mandic is also the CEO and a co-founder of XanthosHealth, a University of Minnesota start-up developing a digital social care referral platform for individuals affected by cancer.
As a health economist, she is passionate about improving “value” and “equity” in healthcare. Her research contributes to better understanding factors that improve access to safe and effective medical technologies and treatments; identifies the roles of regulations and market-based models in the functioning of the health insurance markets; as well as addresses frictions and social determinants of health through innovations.
Dr. Karaca-Mandic has published over 135 manuscripts in leading economics, medical and health policy journals. Her work was awarded numerous recognitions including 1st place nationally in Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s Step-Up App Challenge for her work on a mobile health technology to collect patient reported outcomes, as well as INFORMS Information Systems Society Design Science Award, Innovations That Inspire Award from AACSB and Women’s Health Leadership TRUST Award for Community Engagement for her leadership of the University of Minnesota COVID-19 Hospitalization Tracking Project. Most recently, she received a University of Minnesota Distinguished McKnight University Professorship.
She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from University of California at Berkeley, and BA in economics and mathematics, and a concentration in public policy from Swarthmore College.