In this short introduction to our panel discussion on the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, Joy Melnikow talks about how health professionals in the field can contribute to health care research. Melnikow is the Director of the Center for Healthcare Policy and Research, and a professor of family and community medicine at UC Davis. This talk is from the November 2013 Center for Poverty Research conference. The Affordable Care Act and Low Income Populations: Lessons from and Challenges for Research. This conference brought together a unique mix of researchers, policy professionals and industry leaders to discuss what the new law means for health care in this country, as well as its possible impacts on domestic poverty. Learn more at http://poverty.ucdavis.edu