Staff Spotlight: Kate Ahrens, PhD, MPH - Principal Health Data Analyst

August 2024 - This month, we’re excited to feature Katherine (Kate) Ahrens, PhD, MPH, a principal health data analyst at Onpoint. Kate has more than 20 years of experience in public health research and epidemiology and a deep understanding of how clinical and claims data can be leveraged to support complex analyses. With a background that spans academia, large health systems, and the federal government, Kate brings unmatched expertise to our analytic work. In her previous role as an associate research professor at the University of Southern Maine’s Muskie School of Public Service, her research focused on maternal and child health, rural disparities, and opioid use disorder, topics she has explored in more than 150 papers published over the course of her career. At Onpoint, she helps design complex analytic projects and translates data into meaningful insights to support value-based care and program evaluation. We’re proud to have Kate on our team and look forward to highlighting the impact of her contributions and her extensive research background.

⚡Lightning Round⚡

Describe yourself in 3 words.
Responsible, curious, flexible

Coffee or tea?
Coffee

Cats or dogs?
Dogs

If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
Flying

What's your go-to karaoke song?
I literally have never done karaoke other than in Japan when I was 15 and I sang “Danny Boy.”

If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Peaches

About Yourself  
Tell us a bit about yourself. What do you like to do outside of work? Any hobbies or hidden talents that your team might not know about yet?
I enjoy being on the lake, especially in the mornings when it’s quiet and calm – and sitting under the stars in the fall next to a fire. No hidden talents – yet!

How would you describe your role? What skills do you rely on most?
I lead complex analyses using healthcare claims data. I rely most on my coding skills in SAS and SQL and my experience as an epidemiologist, matching research questions to analytic design.

What are some highlights of your work – both in your role and with your team?
Highlights of my work so far at Onpoint include writing a grant application to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study autism using multi-state all-payer claims data, updating Vermont’s expenditure analysis so the state can plan for future anticipated healthcare costs, and updating Onpoint’s Multi-State Behavioral Health Initiative interactive dashboards (a pro bono collaboration between Onpoint and five state APCDs).

About Working at Onpoint 

Why did you decide to join Onpoint's team?
Although I loved many aspects of being an associate professor at the University of Southern Maine – teaching statistics, conducting research, and authoring papers, for example – I was looking to develop new skills and knowledge and be part of a team in a fast-paced environment. I also hoped for an opportunity to mentor junior data analysts given my varied and long experience working as an epidemiologist and data analyst.

What do you enjoy most about working at Onpoint?
The people – funny, smart, hardworking, kind. And the data – complex, big, layered, comprehensive. I also like the culture of celebrating wins and acknowledging the contributions of each team member.

What excites you most about the company’s future?
I’m most excited about the tremendous potential of multi-state all-payer claims data for cross-state analyses. Onpoint is the vendor for 14 states’ all-payer claims data, which offers the opportunity to examine rare medical conditions and prescription drug use, evaluate state-specific programs and policies, and conduct small subgroup analyses in collaboration with our state clients. We also can use internal staging tables and Onpoint’s common data model to execute identical analyses across states at their direction, covering more than 125 million persons in the U.S.

About Growth & Teamwork 

What’s a new skill or lesson you’ve learned on the job that has helped you grow?
How to use collaboration tools like Jira, Confluence, and Bitbucket.

What advice would you give to someone just starting in your field?
Be choosy about the people and data you work with rather than the research topic. Check your analysis and results many times since it’s easy to make mistakes even when you are careful. Also, critique your own work before sharing it with others.

How do teamwork and collaboration play a role in your day-to-day work?
Everything I do is checked and reviewed by a team member or collaborator – all of my code, all of my writing, all of my results and presentations. It’s the best way to check for errors, inconsistencies, and ambiguity.

For more information about Kate, connect with her on LinkedIn.