Curriculum Vitae

Modified

September 17, 2025

Sean Y. Sylvia

Associate Professor Department of Health Policy and Management Gillings School of Global Public Health University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Co-Principal Investigator Digital Health Economics and Policy Lab (DHEP Lab) https://dhep.org/

Co-Founder & CEO CollectiveGood https://www.collectivegood.io/

1101-D McGavran-Greenberg Bldg., CB 7411 Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3210 sean.sylvia@unc.edu | +1 (919) 445-0886 | https://ssylvia.io

Education

PhD in Agricultural and Resource Economics (Development Economics), 2014

University of Maryland - Dissertation: “Essays on Health and Education in Rural China” - Committee: John Strauss, Duncan Thomas, Thomas Reardon

Master of Science in Agricultural and Resource Economics, 2012

University of Maryland

Bachelor of Arts in Economics and International Studies, 2006

University of Alabama - Phi Beta Kappa - Murray Haven Award in Economics - Undergraduate Research Award

Professional Experience

Associate Professor, 2023 - Present

Department of Health Policy and Management, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - Research focus on digital health innovations and AI applications in healthcare - Principal Investigator on NIH K01 grant studying antibiotic use and resistance - Co-PI of Digital Health Economics and Policy Lab (DHEP Lab) - Faculty Fellow at Cecil G. Sheps Center, Carolina Population Center, and FPG Child Development Institute

Assistant Professor, 2017 - 2023

Department of Health Policy and Management, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - Established research program in global health economics and digital health - Mentored 9 PhD students and numerous master’s students - Built collaborative research partnerships in China, Kenya, Madagascar, and other LMICs

Assistant Professor, 2014 - 2017

School of Economics, Renmin University of China - Conducted field experiments on health and education interventions - Developed expertise in China’s healthcare system and policy environment

Short-term Consultant, 2010 - 2012

Development Economics Research Group, World Bank - Provided technical assistance on impact evaluation projects

Publications

Selected Recent Peer-Reviewed Articles

• – denotes student or mentee

Zhang, Z., M.K. Bundorf, Q. Gong, C.M. Shea, D. Gilleskie, and S. Sylvia, 2025. “Telehealth payment parity and outpatient service utilization: evidence from privately insured workers.” Health Affairs Scholar. 3(4):qxaf068.
Zhang, Z., Q. Gong, D. Gilleskie, J.G. Moulton, and S. Sylvia, 2024. “The Impact of Multimorbidity on Labor Force Participation Among the Middle-Aged and Older Working Population in the United States.” The Journals of Gerontology: Series B. 79(10):gbae131.
S. Sylvia, and J. Oliva, 2024. “Artificial Intelligence in Health Care: Opportunities, Challenges, and the Road Ahead.” North Carolina Medical Journal. 85(4).
Templin, T., M.W. Perez, S. Sylvia, J. Leek, and N. Sinnott-Armstrong, 2024. “Addressing 6 challenges in generative AI for digital health: A scoping review.” PLOS Digital Health. 3(5):e0000503.
Cheng, T., S. Sylvia, and W. Yip, 2024. “Innovative approaches of measuring care quality in China’s market for telemedicine.” The Lancet Regional Health - Western Pacific. 46:101070.

Over 100 total publications in health economics, global health, and digital health

Selected Conference Presentations

Sylvia, S. (2024). “AI Applications in Global Health: Evidence and Policy Implications.” Keynote at Digital Health Innovation Summit, Boston.
Sylvia, S. (2024). “Collective Intelligence for Healthcare Quality Improvement.” iHEA World Congress, Cape Town.

Research Grants & Funding

Active External Funding (Principal Investigator)

K01AI159233 (Sylvia) 08/2022–07/2026 NIH/NIAID, $742,500 Understanding the Drivers of Antibiotic use in the Treatment of Childhood Diarrhea and Relationship to Antibiotic Resistance in China

Gillings Innovation Lab (Sylvia) 2024-2025 Utilizing Reinforcement Learning with Collective Expert Feedback to Advance the Use of Generative AI for Primary Care $75,000

Carolina Population Center (Sylvia) 2024-2025 Open Sourcing a Maternal and Child Health Home Visiting Platform Called “Healthy Future” $30,000

Active External Funding (Co-Investigator)

1OT2OD032581-02-321 (Oliva/Sylvia) 09/2023-09/2025 NIH/AIM-AHEAD, $1.2M total Human+AI Collaborative Systems for Better Medical Decision-Making Role: Co-PI

R01AI173558 (Boyce) 09/2023–08/2027 NIH/NIAID, $3.1M total After the flood: Optimal strategies to prevent malaria epidemics caused by severe flooding

R01HD101453 (Tumlinson) 05/2021–04/2026 NIH/NICHD, $2.8M total Social Accountability Interventions to Increase Contraceptive Use

R01AI158826 (Tucker) 03/2021–02/2026 NIH/NIAID, $3.2M total Pay-it-forward gonorrhea testing among men who have sex with men: The PIONEER pragmatic randomized controlled trial

Teaching Experience

Health Economics (HPAM 741) - Fall 2018-2024

UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health - Core doctoral course covering theoretical foundations and empirical methods - Enrollment: 15-20 PhD students annually - Course evaluations: 4.8/5.0 average

Global Health Economics Seminar (HPAM 992) - Spring 2019-2024

UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health - Advanced doctoral seminar on current research in global health economics - Focus on causal inference methods and digital health applications - Guest lectures from leading researchers in the field

Service

Professional Service

Editorial Positions - Associate Editor, BMJ Global Health (2025–) - Guest Editor, North Carolina Medical Journal, AI in Medicine Special Issue (2024)

Reviewer for Major Journals - American Economic Journal: Applied Economics - Journal of Health Economics, Health Economics - Journal of Development Economics, World Development - BMJ, BMJ Global Health, PLOS Medicine - Journal of Medical Internet Research - Health Policy and Planning

Grant Review Panels - NIH Social Sciences and Population Studies B Study Section (2021) - NSF Economic Sciences Program Ad-hoc Reviewer (2023) - International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie)

Institutional Service

Department of Health Policy and Management - Economics PhD Minor Lead (2025–) - PhD Advisory Committee (2024–) - Equity in Hiring Task Force (2021-2023) - Master’s Program Advisory Committee (2019–2023)

UNC Gillings School - Gillings Study Section (2023, 2024) - Gillings Public Health AI Working Group (2023, 2024)

University of North Carolina - Carolina Population Center Director’s Advisory Committee (2022–) - Carolina Asia Center Advisory Committee (2018–) - FLAS Fellowship Selection Committee (2019, 2020)

Skills & Technical Competencies

Programming Languages

Python (Advanced) - pandas, numpy, scikit-learn, TensorFlow
R (Advanced) - tidyverse, ggplot2, econometric packages
SQL (Intermediate) - PostgreSQL, MySQL
Julia (Beginner)
Stata (Advanced)

Statistical & Analytical Tools

Machine Learning: scikit-learn, TensorFlow, XGBoost
Causal Inference: DML, IV methods, RDD, experimental design
Statistical modeling: GLM, time series, Bayesian methods, survival analysis
Data visualization: matplotlib, ggplot2, plotly, interactive dashboards
Survey data analysis: complex sampling, weighting

Software & Platforms

Version control: Git/GitHub
Containerization: Docker
Cloud platforms: AWS, Google Cloud Platform
Database management: PostgreSQL, MongoDB
Experiment tracking: Weights & Biases
LLMOps tools and AI/ML pipelines
Survey platforms: Qualtrics, SurveyCTO
GIS software: QGIS, ArcGIS

Awards & Honors

Research Excellence Award, Gillings School of Global Public Health, UNC (2025)
Rising Scholar Best Paper Award, China Health Policy and Management Society (2018)
Fulbright Fellowship, U.S. Student Program, China (2007)
Phi Beta Kappa, University of Alabama (2006)
Murray Haven Award in Economics, University of Alabama (2006)
Undergraduate Research Award, University of Alabama (2006)

Professional Memberships

American Economic Association
International Health Economics Association
American Society of Health Economists
Society of Labor Economists
Agricultural and Applied Economics Association
Association for Asian Studies
Chinese Economists Society
China Health Policy and Management Society

Practice

Co-Founder & CEO, Collective Good Health Inc. (2024-Present) Social enterprise developing technology solutions to advance global health equity - Leading development of AI-powered diagnostic and care coordination tools - Building partnerships with health systems in low- and middle-income countries - Translating academic research into scalable health technology solutions

Languages

English: Native Language
Chinese: Professional working proficiency
Japanese: Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT), Level 2

Last updated: January 2025

--- title: "Curriculum Vitae" date-modified: last-modified format: html: toc: true toc-depth: 3 --- # Sean Y. Sylvia **Associate Professor** Department of Health Policy and Management Gillings School of Global Public Health University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill **Co-Principal Investigator** Digital Health Economics and Policy Lab (DHEP Lab) https://dhep.org/ **Co-Founder & CEO** CollectiveGood https://www.collectivegood.io/ 1101-D McGavran-Greenberg Bldg., CB 7411 Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3210 sean.sylvia@unc.edu | +1 (919) 445-0886 | https://ssylvia.io --- ## Education ### PhD in Agricultural and Resource Economics (Development Economics), 2014 **University of Maryland** - Dissertation: "Essays on Health and Education in Rural China" - Committee: John Strauss, Duncan Thomas, Thomas Reardon ### Master of Science in Agricultural and Resource Economics, 2012 **University of Maryland** ### Bachelor of Arts in Economics and International Studies, 2006 **University of Alabama** - Phi Beta Kappa - Murray Haven Award in Economics - Undergraduate Research Award --- ## Professional Experience ### Associate Professor, 2023 - Present **Department of Health Policy and Management, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill** - Research focus on digital health innovations and AI applications in healthcare - Principal Investigator on NIH K01 grant studying antibiotic use and resistance - Co-PI of Digital Health Economics and Policy Lab (DHEP Lab) - Faculty Fellow at Cecil G. Sheps Center, Carolina Population Center, and FPG Child Development Institute ### Assistant Professor, 2017 - 2023 **Department of Health Policy and Management, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill** - Established research program in global health economics and digital health - Mentored 9 PhD students and numerous master's students - Built collaborative research partnerships in China, Kenya, Madagascar, and other LMICs ### Assistant Professor, 2014 - 2017 **School of Economics, Renmin University of China** - Conducted field experiments on health and education interventions - Developed expertise in China's healthcare system and policy environment ### Short-term Consultant, 2010 - 2012 **Development Economics Research Group, World Bank** - Provided technical assistance on impact evaluation projects --- ## Publications ### Selected Recent Peer-Reviewed Articles *• – denotes student or mentee* 1. **Zhang, Z.**, M.K. Bundorf, Q. Gong, C.M. Shea, D. Gilleskie, and **S. Sylvia**, 2025. "Telehealth payment parity and outpatient service utilization: evidence from privately insured workers." *Health Affairs Scholar*. 3(4):qxaf068. 2. **Zhang, Z.**, Q. Gong, D. Gilleskie, J.G. Moulton, and **S. Sylvia**, 2024. "The Impact of Multimorbidity on Labor Force Participation Among the Middle-Aged and Older Working Population in the United States." *The Journals of Gerontology: Series B*. 79(10):gbae131. 3. **S. Sylvia**, and J. Oliva, 2024. "Artificial Intelligence in Health Care: Opportunities, Challenges, and the Road Ahead." *North Carolina Medical Journal*. 85(4). 4. Templin, T., M.W. Perez, **S. Sylvia**, J. Leek, and N. Sinnott-Armstrong, 2024. "Addressing 6 challenges in generative AI for digital health: A scoping review." *PLOS Digital Health*. 3(5):e0000503. 5. Cheng, T., **S. Sylvia**, and W. Yip, 2024. "Innovative approaches of measuring care quality in China's market for telemedicine." *The Lancet Regional Health - Western Pacific*. 46:101070. *Over 100 total publications in health economics, global health, and digital health* ### Selected Conference Presentations 1. **Sylvia, S.** (2024). "AI Applications in Global Health: Evidence and Policy Implications." Keynote at Digital Health Innovation Summit, Boston. 2. **Sylvia, S.** (2024). "Collective Intelligence for Healthcare Quality Improvement." iHEA World Congress, Cape Town. --- ## Research Grants & Funding ### Active External Funding (Principal Investigator) **K01AI159233** (Sylvia) 08/2022–07/2026 NIH/NIAID, $742,500 Understanding the Drivers of Antibiotic use in the Treatment of Childhood Diarrhea and Relationship to Antibiotic Resistance in China **Gillings Innovation Lab** (Sylvia) 2024-2025 Utilizing Reinforcement Learning with Collective Expert Feedback to Advance the Use of Generative AI for Primary Care $75,000 **Carolina Population Center** (Sylvia) 2024-2025 Open Sourcing a Maternal and Child Health Home Visiting Platform Called "Healthy Future" $30,000 ### Active External Funding (Co-Investigator) **1OT2OD032581-02-321** (Oliva/Sylvia) 09/2023-09/2025 NIH/AIM-AHEAD, $1.2M total Human+AI Collaborative Systems for Better Medical Decision-Making Role: Co-PI **R01AI173558** (Boyce) 09/2023–08/2027 NIH/NIAID, $3.1M total After the flood: Optimal strategies to prevent malaria epidemics caused by severe flooding **R01HD101453** (Tumlinson) 05/2021–04/2026 NIH/NICHD, $2.8M total Social Accountability Interventions to Increase Contraceptive Use **R01AI158826** (Tucker) 03/2021–02/2026 NIH/NIAID, $3.2M total Pay-it-forward gonorrhea testing among men who have sex with men: The PIONEER pragmatic randomized controlled trial --- ## Teaching Experience ### Health Economics (HPAM 741) - Fall 2018-2024 **UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health** - Core doctoral course covering theoretical foundations and empirical methods - Enrollment: 15-20 PhD students annually - Course evaluations: 4.8/5.0 average ### Global Health Economics Seminar (HPAM 992) - Spring 2019-2024 **UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health** - Advanced doctoral seminar on current research in global health economics - Focus on causal inference methods and digital health applications - Guest lectures from leading researchers in the field --- ## Service ### Professional Service **Editorial Positions** - Associate Editor, BMJ Global Health (2025–) - Guest Editor, North Carolina Medical Journal, AI in Medicine Special Issue (2024) **Reviewer for Major Journals** - American Economic Journal: Applied Economics - Journal of Health Economics, Health Economics - Journal of Development Economics, World Development - BMJ, BMJ Global Health, PLOS Medicine - Journal of Medical Internet Research - Health Policy and Planning **Grant Review Panels** - NIH Social Sciences and Population Studies B Study Section (2021) - NSF Economic Sciences Program Ad-hoc Reviewer (2023) - International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie) ### Institutional Service **Department of Health Policy and Management** - Economics PhD Minor Lead (2025–) - PhD Advisory Committee (2024–) - Equity in Hiring Task Force (2021-2023) - Master's Program Advisory Committee (2019–2023) **UNC Gillings School** - Gillings Study Section (2023, 2024) - Gillings Public Health AI Working Group (2023, 2024) **University of North Carolina** - Carolina Population Center Director's Advisory Committee (2022–) - Carolina Asia Center Advisory Committee (2018–) - FLAS Fellowship Selection Committee (2019, 2020) --- ## Skills & Technical Competencies ### Programming Languages - Python (Advanced) - pandas, numpy, scikit-learn, TensorFlow - R (Advanced) - tidyverse, ggplot2, econometric packages - SQL (Intermediate) - PostgreSQL, MySQL - Julia (Beginner) - Stata (Advanced) ### Statistical & Analytical Tools - Machine Learning: scikit-learn, TensorFlow, XGBoost - Causal Inference: DML, IV methods, RDD, experimental design - Statistical modeling: GLM, time series, Bayesian methods, survival analysis - Data visualization: matplotlib, ggplot2, plotly, interactive dashboards - Survey data analysis: complex sampling, weighting ### Software & Platforms - Version control: Git/GitHub - Containerization: Docker - Cloud platforms: AWS, Google Cloud Platform - Database management: PostgreSQL, MongoDB - Experiment tracking: Weights & Biases - LLMOps tools and AI/ML pipelines - Survey platforms: Qualtrics, SurveyCTO - GIS software: QGIS, ArcGIS --- ## Awards & Honors - **Research Excellence Award**, Gillings School of Global Public Health, UNC (2025) - **Rising Scholar Best Paper Award**, China Health Policy and Management Society (2018) - **Fulbright Fellowship**, U.S. Student Program, China (2007) - **Phi Beta Kappa**, University of Alabama (2006) - **Murray Haven Award in Economics**, University of Alabama (2006) - **Undergraduate Research Award**, University of Alabama (2006) --- ## Professional Memberships - American Economic Association - International Health Economics Association - American Society of Health Economists - Society of Labor Economists - Agricultural and Applied Economics Association - Association for Asian Studies - Chinese Economists Society - China Health Policy and Management Society --- ## Practice **Co-Founder & CEO, Collective Good Health Inc.** (2024-Present) Social enterprise developing technology solutions to advance global health equity - Leading development of AI-powered diagnostic and care coordination tools - Building partnerships with health systems in low- and middle-income countries - Translating academic research into scalable health technology solutions --- ## Languages - **English**: Native Language - **Chinese**: Professional working proficiency - **Japanese**: Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT), Level 2 --- *Last updated: January 2025*