Assel Ibadulla

Assel Ibadulla, from Shymkent, Kazakhstan, is pursuing a PhD in health policy at Stanford School of Medicine and the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. She graduated with honors in biological sciences from Nazarbayev University and holds a master of public health in health policy with global health concentration from Yale University. Assel aims to leverage decision sciences to help policymakers make cost-effective, equitable health decisions and strengthen health systems in low- and middle-income countries. She previously worked at Yale’s Equity Research and Innovation Center, focusing on healthcare equity for ethnic minorities, and at Harvard Health Systems Innovation Lab, where she contributed to research on transitioning to high-value health systems, while also assisting with WHO global health projects. Outside of academia, Assel founded a mental wellness initiative and the Aspire mentorship program for Central Asian students. She placed in the top 10 at the Asian Universities Alliance Entrepreneurship Competition at Tsinghua University for her Mind Matters app.