Category: Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy
Delesha Carpenter promoted to full professor
April 17, 2024Delesha Carpenter, Ph.D., has been promoted to full professor in the Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy (DPOP) at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. She is also the executive vice chair of DPOP and the director of the Rural Research Alliance for Community Pharmacies (RURAL-CP). “As a first-generation college student, becoming a full professor feels a bit surreal,” said Carpenter. “The best part was sharing the news with my parents and watching their faces light up. They’re so proud. I didn’t think something like this was possible when I was younger, so my goal now is to encourage other … Read more
Research shines spotlight on preventing Alzheimer’s disease in women
April 1, 2024According to the Alzheimer’s Association, of the more than 6 million Americans over age 65 with Alzheimer’s disease, almost 4 million are women. Amanda Seyerle, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy, is hoping to help change that thanks to a three-year grant from the Alzheimer’s Association. Seyerle plans to use the nearly $200,000 grant to determine the metabolomic and genetic markers a woman needs to utilize hormone replacement therapy (HRT) effectively for the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease. Medicines that include female hormones, like estrogen, may decrease the risk for Alzheimer’s disease but may increase risk … Read more
Ph.D. candidate helping address mental health crisis through research
March 18, 2024Phil Hughes, Ph.D. candidate in the Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, is conducting research that is actively used in policy discussions. Hughes’ research was sparked by the growing mental health crisis in the U.S. and the need for additional mental health prescribers. In the early 90s, the Department of Defense began allowing psychologists with specialized training to prescribe medications. In the years since, six states passed laws to allow psychologists to become licensed prescribers in their states and more states considering the similar laws. Hughes noticed that there was little research done … Read more
Highlighting the impact of rural pharmacies through practice-based research
February 12, 2024The Rural Research Alliance of Community Pharmacies (RURAL-CP) is the first multi-state practice-based research network (PBRN) exclusively for rural community pharmacies. PBRNs work to identify clinical questions of interest to health care professionals and design studies to answer those questions. Although other pharmacy PBRNs exist, before RURAL-CP, none have focused exclusively on rural community pharmacies. The RURAL-CP’s mission is to reduce rural health disparities by supporting high-quality implementation research. This network will identify pressing research priorities in rural pharmacies and evaluate the implementation of pharmacy practices in rural areas with the goal of amplifying the voice of rural pharmacies … Read more
New leaders in pharmacy: Lisa Spees
January 17, 2024Lisa Spees, Ph.D. ‘16, joins the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy as an assistant professor in the Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy (DPOP) this month. She holds a dual appointment with the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. “I’m excited to be contributing my expertise in rural health equity, cost and cost effectiveness analyses, and community-engaged research methods to the phenomenal team of researchers in DPOP,” said Spees. She is trained as a health services researcher and decision scientist focused on improving care quality, equity and value for cancer populations. Her research focuses on identifying multi-level barriers across … Read more
First-of-its-kind nationwide analysis of children’s health care and neighborhood impact
October 9, 2023A new descriptive analysis from the Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy (DPOP) at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy found that children living in lower opportunity neighborhoods, areas that lack the vital conditions necessary for health, wealth and well-being, had the highest rates of poor physical and mental health status and fewest ambulatory care visits but accounted for the highest share of emergency department visits. This is the first analysis of its kind to look at all children across the U.S. and included a variety of variables such as health status, healthcare utilization and expenditures, access to care, parents’ … Read more
Assistant professor Joshua Niznik awarded five-year grant to study deprescribing in nursing homes
May 7, 2021The National Institutes on Aging awarded Joshua Niznik, Pharm.D., Ph.D., a 5-year K08 Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Award for his study, “Deprescribing Bisphosphonates in Nursing Home Residents with Dementia.” The $759,090 award will support Niznik’s study, which seeks to evaluate the risks and benefits of deprescribing versus continuing bisphosphonates (a group of medicines that slow down or prevent bone loss) in older nursing home residents with Alzheimer’s Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease-Related Dementias. “Deprescribing is an important and rapidly growing area of research in aging. Our study will address a critical gap in knowledge regarding the value of preventive medications in … Read more
Lafata awarded $750,000 grant to study virtual cancer visits, equity, disparities issues
February 24, 2021Genentech has awarded UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy’s Jennifer Elston Lafata, PhD, a two-year, $750,000 Health Equity Innovations Fund grant to study how health care organizations are considering equity as they establish new virtual visit programs in cancer care, and how these programs can improve cancer care access, quality and patient outcomes. The research will be done in partnership with the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit and in collaboration with community, patient and family advisors to enhance the relevance and usefulness of study findings. “The rapid scaling of virtual cancer visits during the pandemic has created an unprecedented need … Read more
Thorpe receives VA R01-equivalent grant to study deprescribing, prescribing safety at end-of-life
May 6, 2020In 2019, the United States spent over $630 billion on medical costs to treat 37 million older adults with life-limiting conditions (LLCs), such as Alzheimer’s disease, cancers and heart failure, said Joshua Thorpe, Ph.D., M.P.H, with the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. Average annual expenditures for older adults with LLCs are nearly three times higher than those with no LLCs ($19,000 vs. $6,500). Nearly 200,000 people may die of medication-related problems, with costs as high as $130 billion to the healthcare system, Thorpe said. With the help of a VA-R01 equivalent $1.2 million grant, Thorpe wants to reduce medication-related problems … Read more
Niznik joins Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy
December 10, 2019The Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy is pleased to announce that Joshua Niznik, Pharm.D., Ph.D., an assistant professor with the Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Medicine and the Center for Aging and Health at the UNC School of Medicine, now has a joint appointment with the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. Niznik is a geriatrics health services researcher with clinical training in the pharmaceutical sciences and expertise in pharmacoepidemiology. Niznik received his Pharm.D. and Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh and worked as a pharmacist with UPMC Magee-Women’s Hospital and as a researcher with the VA Pittsburgh Health … Read more