PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Pharmaceutical Outcomes Research Track
Current Students
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- Angela Czaja, MD
- One of the benefits of this program is having the opportunity to learn from experts in the field, with a nice balance of expertise in all three critical areas. The senior faculty have a wide network of collaborators to support a variety of clinical areas--the close proximity of all health sciences schools on the same campus also facilitates this. Most of the faculty are very accessible and willing to provide advice and education for on-going projects.
My interests are in pediatric off-label medication use currently with a focus on psychotropics. Under that broad category, I'm interested in drug safety and physician decision-making.
One of the reasons why I applied to this program was because I knew some of the faculty and knew that they could provide appropriate mentorship and expertise in the field.
- Robert Brett McQueen, MA
- I am in my 4th year of the POR program. I have a BA and MA in economics with an emphasis in applied econometrics. After completion of my MA degree I was seeking an applied graduate program related to health economics that had a competitive financial aid package. I chose the POR program because of the low student-to-faculty ratio, the unique training offered by expert faculty, and the very competitive financial aid package. I have been given opportunities as a teaching assistant and research assistant in the program. My dissertation research is on the comparative- and cost-effectiveness of a medical technology used in type 1 diabetes. My other research interests include cost-effectiveness analyses and burden of illness studies in multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, and oncology, among other disease states.
- William Padula, MS
- I am currently in my 4th year of the POR program. I have a Masters in health policy and clinical science with foci in epidemiology, health economics, health services research which incidentally are 3 areas of focus at the doctoral level here. I chose the program here because I wanted to expand in all these areas at a higher level and further develop my abilities as researcher.
Some benefits of the program are that we have guests in specialty areas that contribute to research and teaching. Therefore allowing us to work directly with people in areas of focus; the “experts” in the field. Another benefit is that pharmaceutical companies approach CePOR requesting consultations on complex methodology in drug research. This allows for opportunity to work with the drug industry, and thereby applying skills learned in the program.
My dissertation is comparative effectiveness research on quality improvement interventions for the prevention of hospital acquired pressure ulcers. I am identifying quality improvement strategies that clinicians can use to prevent pressure ulcers and other “never events.”
- Julia Slejko, BA
- I am in my final year of study in the CePOR doctoral program. My dissertation research is about incorporating patients’ medication adherence into cost-effectiveness analysis. One of the main benefits of the program is the opportunity for individual interaction with faculty. A low student-to-faculty ratio allows more time for mentorship and collaboration. The experience of working with researchers in different schools across the medical campus has enriched the academic experience and added an important perspective to my research. I was interested to find that the students and faculty have such diverse educational backgrounds. This has added much interest to our class discussions and to professional and social networking outside of class.