PhD Program: Pharmaceutical Outcomes & Policy Research

About the track

Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy Research (POPR) is a specialty track/program in Pharmaceutical Sciences. The POPR track will train students to investigate the impact and outcomes of pharmaceutical products, pharmacy services, and pharmaceutical policies across health care systems. The core mission of POPR is the advancement of knowledge about the safety and effectiveness of medicines, and pharmacy’s role in improving population health. POPR students most often focus on patient-centered outcomes such as access, safety, quality of care, costs, and patient-reported health. Graduates will be trained to work in a broad range of settings, including: academia; pharmaceutical industry; government organizations such as FDA, AHRQ, NIH; contract research organizations; and health care systems

  • You will learn epidemiological study designs, data management, data analysis, and data interpretation.
  • You will develop strong quantitative methodological skills in pharmaceutical outcomes and health services research.
  • You will apply social/behavioral theory to the study of patient, provider, and organizational behaviors as it relates to pharmaceuticals and pharmacy practice.
  • You will learn how pharmaceutical outcomes research is used to inform clinical practice and guide health policy decisions.

Faculty Associated with this Track

Curriculum

Year 1

Fall
Course Number

Course Title

Credits

PHARM 3040

Statistical Methods

3

PHARM 3024

Pharmaceutical Sciences Seminar

1

EPIDEM 2185

Intro to SAS

2

PHARM 3028

Pharmacology and Therapeutics

4*

PHARM 3306

Intro to US Healthcare System

1 (1st 7 weeks)

PHARM 3302

Conducing Research with Large Biomedical Databases

1 (1st 7 weeks)

PHARM 3304

Research Methods

1.5 (2nd 7 weeks)

PHARM 3052

Journal Club

1 (2nd 7 weeks)

PHARM 3308

Data Security and Privacy

1 (2nd 7 weeks)

PHARM 3042

Research Practicum

As needed

 

Total

15.0

*Exempt if PharmD from ACPE accredited University

Spring

Course Number

Course Title

Credits

PHARM 3073

Applied Multivariate Statistics

3

PHARM 2003

Pharmacoepidemiology

2

PHARM 3023

Foundations in Clin. Drug Dev. And Assessment

1.5

PHARM 3024

Pharmaceutical Sciences Seminar

1

PHARM 3303

Journal Club

1 (2nd 7 weeks)

PHARM 3301

Secondary Database Applications

1 (2nd 7 weeks)

PHARM 3310

Secondary Database Sources, Methods, and Tools

1 (2nd 7 weeks)

PHARM 3042

Research Practicum

As needed

 

Total

15.0

Year 2

Fall

Course Number

Course Title

Credits

PHARM 3038

Grant Writing 1

2

PHARM 3024

Pharmaceutical Sciences Seminar

1

BIOST 2050

Longitudinal and Clustered Data Analysis

2

BIOST 2066

Applied Survival Analysis: Methods and Practice

2

 

Additional Electives

Variable

 

Research Practicum

As needed

 

Total

15.0

Spring

Course Number

Course Title

Credits

PHARM 3038

Grant Writing 2

2

PHARM 3024

Pharmaceutical Sciences Seminar

1

PHARM 3045

Advanced Statistical Methods

3

PHARM 3312

Communicating Data

1 (1st 7 weeks)

 

Additional Electives

Variable

 

Research Practicum

As needed

 

Total

15.0