The National Center for Health Research (NCHR) is a nonprofit think tank that conducts, analyzes, and scrutinizes research on a range of health issues. We focus on the safety of medical products and consumer products, as well as the prevention strategies and treatments that are most effective for which types of patients and consumers. We do not accept funding from companies that make products that are the subject of our work. The key staff of the National Center for Health Research also work with NCHR’s largest program, which is the Cancer Prevention and Treatment Fund.
Diana Zuckerman, PhD, President
Diana Zuckerman received her Ph.D. in psychology from Ohio State University and was a post-doctoral fellow in epidemiology and public health at Yale Medical School. She started her career on the faculty of Vassar College and Yale University.
After a post-doctoral training at Yale Medical School, she took a position at Harvard directing a groundbreaking research study of college students. Dr. Zuckerman left her academic career to come to Washington, D.C. as a Congressional Science Fellow in a program run by the American Association of the Advancement of Science. After spending the year as a staff member in the House of Representatives, she spent the next ten years working as a Congressional staffer in the House and Senate and at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, working to improve federal health programs and policies for adults and children. She initiated highly influential Congressional hearings on a wide range of health issues, including cancer prevention and treatment and the safety of medical products.
Dr. Zuckerman served as a senior policy advisor in the Clinton White House, working for First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and the Office of Science and Technology Policy. She subsequently served in leadership positions at numerous nonprofit organizations and has been in her current position since founding NCHR in March, 1999. She has testified before Congress, the Canadian Parliament, and numerous U.S. federal agencies, and been an invited speaker at national medical, public health, and legal conferences.
While in her current position, Dr. Zuckerman was a fellow at the University of Pennsylvania Center for Bioethics for several years. She is currently on the Board of Directors of the Alliance for a Stronger FDA. She was previously on the Board of the Congressionally mandated Reagan-Udall Foundation for the FDA, and the chair of the Maryland Women’s Health Promotion Council, appointed by the Governor of Maryland. She was the first non-physician to be elected to the Women in Medicine International Hall of Fame.
Dr. Zuckerman is the author of five books, several book chapters, dozens of articles in medical and academic journals, and in newspapers across the country. Her policy work has resulted in news coverage on all the major TV networks, including ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox News, public television, “60 Minutes,” “20/20,” “Voice of America,” National Public Radio, and in major U.S. print media such as The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Washington Times, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, USA Today, Detroit Free Press, New York Daily News, Newsweek, Time, U.S. News and World Report, Forbes, Family Circle, New Yorker, Glamour, Self, as well as many other newspapers, magazines, and radio programs. She has also been interviewed on numerous documentaries in the U.S. and abroad, and two U.S. movies were based on her investigations.
Akashleena Mallick, MD, MPH, Post-Doctoral Fellow
Akashleena Mallick is a postdoctoral fellow at the National Center for Health Research (NCHR), where her work bridges clinical science, public health, and health policy. Her focus areas include neurological and cardiovascular diseases, community engagement, and how to ensure that evidence-based interventions actually work in real-world settings. At NCHR, she is responsible for public comments to federal agencies such as the FDA and CMS, which analyze clinical and regulatory evidence to help shape patient-centered, evidence-based healthcare. Dr. Mallick’s interdisciplinary expertise spans clinical medicine and research with a strong emphasis on improving care delivery and outcomes for patients with stroke, hypertension, and other chronic conditions. Her work combines the rigor of scientific evaluation with a deep commitment to community engagement and health literacy.
Prior to joining NCHR in 2025, Dr. Mallick completed her Master of Public Health (MPH) at Brown University School of Public Health, where she was the 2025 Master’s Commencement Speaker. She previously served as a postdoctoral fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital and served as the President of the Mass General Postdoctoral Association. She has worked across Harvard-affiliated institutions, including Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Trained as a physician in India, she brings extensive experience in both clinical care and health systems research across the U.S. and India. She can be reached at akm@center4research.org
Ava Marshall, MA, Assistant to the President/Social Media Coordinator
As the Assistant to the President and Social Media Coordinator, Ava Marshall is key to ensuring the efficient and effective management of the organization’s daily operations and public outreach. She oversees NCHR’s social media strategy, delivering precise, timely, and evidence-based health information and policy updates to diverse stakeholders, including patients, media professionals, policymakers, and the public. As editor of NCHR’s monthly digests and biennial reports, she translates complex health issues into clear, accessible information for a broad audience.
Ava completed her Master’s degree in Health Communications from Johns Hopkins University in 2026 and her Bachelor’s degree in Rhetoric Communications from St. Lawrence University in 2023 with minors in Public Health and Anthropology. Ava is deeply committed to combating misinformation and translating complex health information into clear, user-friendly information for individuals from all backgrounds. She can be reached at avm@center4research.org
Farmin Shahabuddin, MPH, BS, Public Health Fellow
Farmin Shahabuddin is a Public Health Fellow at the National Center for Health Research (NCHR). In this role, she supports the development of evidence-based health information and policy materials that inform consumers, policymakers, and health professionals. She assists with analyzing current research, writing articles for our websites, and identifying gaps in existing data to advance NCHR’s mission of promoting safe, effective, and equitable healthcare. She is passionate about translating scientific evidence into actionable strategies that promote equity, safety, and informed health decisions for all populations.
Prior to her current position, Farmin was NCHR’s Susan F. Wood Women’s Health Intern after completing her Master of Public Health degree at Rutgers University with a concentration in Global Public Health. At Rutgers, her capstone project examined migraine as a neglected neurological disorder, producing actionable policy recommendations. As part of her practicum experience with Child Family Health International (CFHI), she developed educational materials and policy recommendations to improve sickle cell treatment access in underserved communities. She also worked as a Policy and Planning Intern for the Behavioral Health Administration with the Maryland Department of Health, where she analyzed proposed state and federal legislation to assess policy implications and created stakeholder presentations on regulations to inform behavioral health priorities. She can be reached at fs@center4research.org.
Nicole Vassilev, BS, Health Communications and Social Media Intern
Nicole Vassilev is a Health Communications and Social Media Intern at NCHR. She works with the team to draft social media posts, distill health information, and support their communication needs. Nicole is a recent graduate of the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, earning her Bachelor of Science (BS) in Public Health, while pursuing a Master of Public Health (MPH) in Health Policy, through GW’s dual BS/MPH program. Nicole also has a minor in Journalism and Mass Communication, where she interviewed sources, produced videos, and wrote stories on social media, mental health, climate change, and ultra-processed foods.
Prior to this internship, Nicole drafted policy memos on topics such as food insecurity, vaccine equity, and opioid overdose treatment. She analyzed maternal and child health information as the Outreach Director for GlobeMed, which is an organization dedicated to improving the health of women in Uganda. Nicole also conducted occupational health research as an intern at the Center for Construction Research and Training, where she synthesized fatality reports and literature reviews to outline safer conditions for construction workers. She is committed to working to improve health outcomes through research and policy-backed interventions. She can be reached at: nv@center4research.org