Andrew Foster
· George S. and Nancy B. Parker Professor of EconomicsVerifiedBrown University · Health Services, Policy and Management
Active 1959–2026
About
Andrew Foster is the George and Nancy Parker Professor of Economics at Brown University, where he also serves as a Professor of Health Services, Policy and Practice and the Director of the Population Studies and Training Center. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California at Berkeley in 1988. Foster is an empirical microeconomist with research interests spanning population, environment, development, and health. His recent work has focused on economic growth in rural India, examining issues such as non-farm economy growth, local democratization, groundwater usage, forest cover, household structure, inequality, and schooling, as well as the effects of air quality changes in Delhi. He has also collaborated on projects related to the market for nursing home care, exploring the impact of employment mandates on patient outcomes and worker quality in U.S. nursing homes. Foster's research portfolio includes studies on household and family economics, health economics, environmental economics, and economic demography, with a particular emphasis on population-environment interactions in India. His work has contributed to understanding the mechanisms behind forest cover changes, groundwater management, and health policy impacts, among other topics.
Research topics
- Computer Science
- Sociology
- Biochemistry
- Labour economics
- Biology
- Economic growth
- Environmental science
- Economics
- Microeconomics
- Chemistry
- Psychology
- Gerontology
- Combinatorial chemistry
- Demography
- Agricultural economics
- Bioinformatics
- Environmental health
- Geography
- Medicine
- Computational biology
- Agricultural science
- Business
Selected publications
International Forum of Allergy & Rhinology · 2026-01-06 · 4 citations
articleOpen accessBACKGROUND: Loss of smell is a principal symptom of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP), affecting health-related quality of life and posing a safety hazard. METHODS: WAYPOINT (NCT04851964), a phase 3, multicenter trial in adults with uncontrolled CRSwNP, randomized patients 1:1 to receive tezepelumab 210 mg or placebo subcutaneously every 4 weeks for 52 weeks. Changes from baseline in biweekly mean Nasal Polyposis Symptom Diary (NPSD) loss of smell item, University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT), and 22-item Sino-Nasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22) loss of smell/taste item scores, as well as anosmia (UPSIT score ≤18) prevalence, were assessed over 52 weeks. RESULTS: Among 408 patients (tezepelumab [n = 203]; placebo [n = 205]), significant improvements with tezepelumab versus placebo in NPSD loss of smell item, UPSIT, and SNOT-22 loss of smell/taste item scores were seen at week 4 (least-squares mean [LSM] treatment difference [95% CI]: -0.36 [-0.46, -0.27]; 6.03 [4.72, 7.34]; and -1.01 [-1.22, -0.80], respectively) and week 52 (-1.01 [-1.18, -0.83]; 9.50 [7.84, 11.16]; and -1.90 [-2.20, -1.61]); all nominal p < 0.0001. Between-treatment differences in daily NPSD loss of smell item score were evident from day 7 (LSM treatment difference: -0.08 [95% CI: -0.15, -0.02]; nominal p < 0.01). Improvements in NPSD loss of smell, UPSIT, and SNOT-22 loss of smell/taste item scores were observed across multiple prespecified subgroups. Anosmia prevalence was lower with tezepelumab than placebo at week 4 (43.0% [n/N = 64/149] vs. 80.3% [n/N = 106/132]) and week 52 (31.5% [n/N = 47/149] vs. 75.8% [n/N = 100/132]). CONCLUSIONS: Tezepelumab provides early and sustained improvements in sense of smell among patients with uncontrolled CRSwNP.
Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology · 2026-02-01
articleJournal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology · 2026-02-01
articleHospital Mergers and Acquisitions From 2010 to 2019: Creating a Valid Public Use Database
Health Services Research · 2025-05-12 · 3 citations
articleOpen accessOBJECTIVE: To create, analyze, and distribute the Strategic Hospital Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) Database, a detailed resource of hospital M&As from 2010 to 2019. STUDY SETTING AND DESIGN: We conducted more than 2000 Internet searches to supplement, verify, and correct M&A identifications of American Hospital Association (AHA) survey data. We assessed the accuracy of the AHA survey and performed staggered difference-in-differences analyses to estimate the impact of measurement error on treatment effects capturing shifts in our measure of hospital market power. DATA SOURCES AND ANALYTIC SAMPLE: We analyzed 1537 M&A-related ownership changes from 2010 to 2019 from our analytic sample of 4896 unique acute care general hospitals or critical access hospitals derived from the AHA Annual Survey dataset. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The AHA survey dataset correctly identified the M&A deal completion year for only 40.1% of M&A-related ownership changes. The improved accuracy and granular treatment indicators of our database corrected for underestimations of the impact of hospital consolidation on hospital market power, yielding an effect estimate over 200% higher than the uncorrected data. CONCLUSIONS: By reducing errors in hospital M&A identification, our database can enhance the quality of studies investigating the effects of hospital consolidation on healthcare access and health outcomes.
Annals of Allergy Asthma & Immunology · 2025-11-01
articleJournal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology · 2025-02-01
articleOpen accessClinical & Experimental Immunology · 2025-01-01 · 4 citations
reviewOpen accessChronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) is an inflammatory disorder of the sinonasal mucosa, predominantly characterized by epithelial dysfunction and chronic heterogeneous mucosal inflammation. CRSwNP and asthma are common comorbidities with overlapping pathophysiology, epithelial impairment, and activation of downstream type 2 inflammation. Thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) is an epithelial cytokine that sits at the top of the immunological cascade and initiates and amplifies type 2-dependent and -independent inflammatory responses. Although the role of TSLP in asthma has been well described, the role of TSLP in CRSwNP has yet to be comprehensively outlined. This review examines the evidence for TSLP as a key factor in CRSwNP pathogenesis. We explore what is known about TSLP expression patterns within the sinonasal mucosa, finding that TSLP expression is increased in patients with CRSwNP compared with healthy patients, and in eosinophilic- versus non-eosinophilic CRSwNP. We discuss the impact of environmental triggers and genetic factors on TSLP expression and activity, as well as other upstream regulators of TSLP signaling. We then consider the known mechanisms and effects of TSLP signaling on the recruitment and activation of various immune and structural cell types in CRSwNP. Finally, we consider the available evidence on the therapeutic potential of targeting TSLP signaling for the treatment of CRSwNP and discuss ongoing trials of promising therapeutic candidates.
EFFICACY OF BIOLOGICS IN PATIENTS WITH SEVERE, UNCONTROLLED CHRONIC RHINOSINUSITIS WITH NASAL POLYPS
Annals of Allergy Asthma & Immunology · 2025-11-01
article2025-09-27
article<bold>Objectives:</bold> To describe clinical characteristics, symptoms, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) by nasal polyp (NP) surgery in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP). <bold>Method:</bold> Data were drawn from the Adelphi Real World CRS Disease Specific Programme™, a cross-sectional survey of physicians and CRSwNP patients in Europe, the USA and Japan from March–September 2023. Physicians reported patient clinical characteristics, symptom severity, and NPS scores. Patients voluntarily completed a paper form including SNOT-22 and WPAI. Analyses were descriptive. <bold>Results:</bold> Overall, 245 physicians provided data on 795 patients with CRSwNP, of whom 228 self-reported data. Mean (standard deviation; SD) patient age of the 795 patients was 48.2 (14.6) years, 58.7% were male. The most common comorbidity was asthma (43.1%). In total, 70.4% had not undergone NP surgery, 20.4% had 1 surgery and 6.3% had ≥2 previous NP surgeries. Mean (SD) NPS scores were 3.6 (1.7) and 3.2 (2.4) for patients with 0 and ≥2 surgeries, respectively. Severe NP symptoms were reported for 15% and 24% of patients with 0 and ≥2 surgeries, respectively. Mean (SD) SNOT-22 total scores were 32.6 (20.7) and 48.1 (22.0), respectively. Mean (SD) overall work impairment was 24.0% (20.5%) and 34.4% (21.5%) for patients with 0 and 2 surgeries, respectively. <bold>Conclusion:</bold> Despite undergoing multiple surgeries, patients with recurrent CRSwNP often experience severe symptoms and worse HRQoL than patients who have not undergone NP surgery, indicating a need for better treatment practices in the real-world clinical setting.
Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology · 2025-02-01
article
Recent grants
NIH · $10.1M · 2001–2016
NIH · $8.0M · 1987–2028
NIH · $496k · 1996
Frequent coauthors
- 51 shared
Mark R. Rosenzweig
Blueprint Medicines (United States)
- 22 shared
Vincent Mor
Providence College
- 21 shared
Naresh Kumar
Brooklyn Hospital Center
- 18 shared
John Logan
John Brown University
- 15 shared
Fan Li
Yale University
- 12 shared
Jun Ke
Providence College
- 9 shared
Dean Karlan
- 9 shared
Edward Miguel
Education
- 1988
Ph.D.
University of California at Berkeley
Awards & honors
- National Institute of Aging, "Impact of Changing Medicaid Po…
- National Institute of Child Health and Development, "Air Qua…
- World Bank, "Rural Non-farm Activity in India" ($10,000, 200…
- National Institute of Child Health and Development, "Trainin…
- Mellon Foundation, "Migration and Urbanization" (2003-2005)
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