REC Scholar Rashmita Basu is a health economist specializing in the financing and delivery of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) care, specifically policies relevant to care delivery and reimbursement. Her career started with a Texas-based integrated healthcare delivery system, Baylor Healthcare, which gave her a real-world perspective on how healthcare system-level factors affect patient care. Dr. Basu is a native of India, where she obtained her undergraduate and Master’s degrees in Economics. She earned her PhD from Washington State University, specializing in health economics. She joined East Carolina University (ECU) in 2019 as an Assistant Professor after spending a brief period at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.

Dr. Basu’s research focuses on studying financial and service delivery challenges faced by people with ADRD and their caregivers. Beyond data and policy analysis, Dr. Basu deeply connects to the disease on a personal level. She witnessed the difficulties her family faced firsthand as they navigated caring for a loved one with dementia for many years.

After joining ECU, Dr. Basu attended a conference where she learned about Dr. Donna Roberson’s research on dementia caregiving. When she reached out to Dr. Roberson to discuss potential research collaborations, Dr. Roberson told her about the Duke/UNC ADRC. After learning about the REC Scholar opportunity, Dr. Basu decided to apply, and Dr. Roberson agreed to serve as her mentor. Dr. Basu’s REC project involves recruiting and collecting health and well-being data from people living with ADRD and their caregivers.

After getting involved with the Duke/UNC ADRC, Dr. Basu began attending the Duke/UNC ADRC monthly IDEAS Forum to learn about exciting research in ADRD. As a REC Scholar, she attended the national 2023 Fall ADRC Meeting and presented a poster on her REC research. She also presented her work at the 2023 and 2024 SLAM DUNC events, where she met Duke/UNC ADRC Data Management and Statistics Core leader Dr. Sheng Luo. They submitted an RO3 application together this past fall.

“The REC Scholar program offers me the opportunity to learn the breadth of ADRD research happening at the ADRC through the IDEAS Forum and participation in conferences, as well as the chance to form collaborations for grant applications,” says Dr. Basu.

Dr. Basu’s current research focuses on two main areas: the feasibility of recruiting people with ADRD for healthcare research, and the new payment model for home healthcare and its use in this population. These projects will inform future research on the delivery of person-centered care and any unintended consequences of the home healthcare payment model for the outcomes of people living with ADRD.

We look forward to following your work, Dr. Basu!