Dr. Danny Hughes, Professor of Economics at Georgia Tech, was named a Georgia Power Professor of Excellence on September 29, 2018. This summer, Dr. Hughes was awarded a 5-year, $3 million grant to establish the Health Economics and Analytics Lab (HEAL). This lab will focus on exploiting large scale medical claims databases to address the pressing concerns of improving population health, increasing access to medical care, and reducing medical costs. Dr. Hughes is a Georgia Tech Alum, graduating in 1998 with a Bachelor's of Science in Economics. Over the past 12 years, Dr. Hughes has been awarded over $20 million in external research funding and published over 80 scientific papers. Dr. Hughes is passionate about promoting student research and continually makes opportunities available for students in his research agenda.