Polina Putrik has a PhD from Maastricht University School for Public Health and Primary Care in the Netherlands. The focus of her PhD was on socioeconomic inequities in health care and disease outcomes in rheumatic diseases.  Her published work has included international cross-country studies of inequalities of access to new pharmacological treatments, as well as studies of inequalities in costs, patient experience and outcomes.  Her undergraduate education was in Russia, where she studied social management with a specialization in health and social security systems, and then worked in a health insurance agency in Russia. In 2008 Polina enrolled in Erasmus Mundus Masters Programme in Sustainable Regional Health Systems offered by a consortium of European universities in Spain, Hungary and Italy, and in 2011 she graduated from Maastricht University with a second master’s degree in Public Health. Since 2012 Polina has worked in the Maastricht University Department of Rheumatology while studying for her PhD. Since 2016 Polina is studying towards a Master of Statistics in Hasselt University, Belgium. In 2017, Polina has been awarded a Niels Stensen fellowship to conduct a study on health literacy in rheumatology clinic in 3 Dutch centers, in collaboration with prof. Osborne (Deakin University) and prof. Buchbinder (Monash University). Polina is currently contributing to NHMRC Partnership Centre for Health System Sustainability by working together with the team of prof. Buchbinder. 

Polina's research interests lie in the intersection of public health and clinical care, with focus on equity of care, sustainability and cost-effectiveness (also for different population groups).