Economics Graduate Advances to Postdoctoral Research at Yale

ATLANTA — For Reginald Hebert (M.A. ’22, Ph.D. ’25), the route to economics research began with a personal encounter with the U.S. healthcare system. Years before arriving at Georgia State University, he faced a family medical crisis that left him with questions about the complexities of navigating insurance and treatment options. So, he went back to school at Georgia State to find answers.

Hebert, a south Louisiana native, received his first degree in English literature with an interest in Anglo-Saxon texts. However, his wife’s complex medical experiences prior to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) encouraged a deep curiosity about healthcare policy and economics. He started his education over again while working full time, first earning an associate degree at Austin Community College in Texas followed by dual bachelor’s degrees in economics and mathematics at Texas State University.

Encouraged by his undergraduate faculty to further his studies, Hebert applied to doctoral programs. Georgia State stood out for its applied research strengths in public and health economics. He relocated to Atlanta at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to pursue his master’s and doctoral studies in economics at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies.

Along the way, he worked closely with faculty mentors, including his dissertation committee chair Mike Pesko, Economics Department Chair Jim Marton and professors Keith Teltser and Lauren Hoehn-Velasco. He also conducted research through Georgia State’s Second Century Initiative (2CI) Tobacco Research Cluster, focusing on tobacco control, healthcare access and policy evaluation — all grounded in the same questions that had first sparked his interest.

Hebert balanced his academic responsibilities with a part-time job at Apple and completed a six-month internship with the company’s Health Research Products team, where he gained a behind-the-scenes view of how research informs decision-making within a large organization. Managing long hours at work while preparing for qualifying exams and tackling intensive coursework wasn’t easy, but Hebert approached the experience with focus and resolve.

“I used to tell people that going to school became my hobby,” he said. “I just tried to keep showing up, to stay consistent — even when it felt like a lot.”

That mindset helped carry Hebert into his next chapter. In early 2024, he joined the Yale School of Public Health as a postdoctoral associate, working under economist Abigail Friedman. He moved to New Haven, Conn., just weeks after defending his dissertation, jumping into new research on tobacco regulation and health disparities.

Hebert sees the role as both a professional milestone and a chance to keep doing what brought him to economics in the first place — asking thoughtful questions that prompt his research and making the answers useful to others.

— By AYSPS Graduate Student Assistant Ayomidotun Olugbenle (M.A. in Communication)