Mark A. Peterson

Mark A. Peterson is Professor of Public Policy, Political Science, and Law at UCLA, and has twice been the Chair of the Department of Public Policy. He is a Faculty Associate of the Center for Health Policy Research, the Center for Healthier Children, Families, and Communities, and the Institute for Society & Genetics; member of the Policy Impact Core for the Center for HIV Identification, Prevention, and Treatment Services; and is on the Internal Advisory Board for the Clinical and Translational Science Institute at UCLA. Prior to coming to UCLA, he was Professor of Public Affairs, Political Science, and Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh, and Henry La Barre Jayne Associate Professor of Government at Harvard University.

A specialist on American national institutions, much of Professor Peterson’s scholarship focuses on the Presidency, Congress, interest groups, and public opinion, evaluating interactions among them, and their implications for policy making, both within the general domain of domestic policy and with special attention to national health care policy, Medicare reform, and HIV/AIDS politics and policy. He also studies the role of evidence in policy making, including the contextual factors that promote or inhibit its influence. He has often been interviewed for television, radio, and print media stories, including for CBS News, NPR, CNN Money.Com, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and USA Today.