The National Academy of Social Insurance announced Isabel M. Perera (Gr’18), a post-doctoral fellow in the department of medical ethics and health policy in Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine, as the winner of the 2019 John Heinz Dissertation Award. Dr. Perera joins a prestigious and diverse network of over 40 previous Heinz Dissertation Award recipients who are scholars in social insurance and closely related fields. Dr. Perera’s dissertation, “States of Mind: A Comparative and Historical Study of the Political Economy of Mental Health” was submitted for her doctorate in political science at Penn. Dr. Perera was nominated by Julia Lynch, associate professor of political science at Penn.

Dr. Perera will receive $3,500 in prize money and travel expenses to attend the Academy’s policy conference on Regenerating Social Insurance for Millennials and the Millennium. The Heinz Dissertation Award will be presented on January 30, at the National Press Club in Washington, DC as part of the Academy’s 2019 conference.