He received his Ph.D. in Public Policy from Harvard University. Dr. Needleman's research focuses on the impact of changing markets and public policy on quality and access to care. He has directed projects on a wide range of topics, including studies of the impact of nurse staffing and nurses working conditions on patient outcomes in hospitals and the cost and cost offsets of increasing nurse staffing. He currently serves on the Nursing Advisory Council of the Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Prior to coming to UCLA in 2003, Dr. Needleman was on the faculty of the Harvard School of Public Health. Before that position, he was vice president and co-director of the Public Policy Practice at Lewin/ICF, a Washington health policy research and consulting firm.