PhD in Pharmacy (PSOP) Alumni

Alumni of the graduate programs in Department of Pharmacy Systems, Outcomes, and Policy are leaders in the pharmaceutical industry, health care, consulting, government agencies, and academia.

Individuals with degrees from the program are widely sought after by employers. Below is a list of recent alumni and the title of their research capstone project/thesis or dissertation.

2023 Heading link

Name Degree Title
Claire Huang PhD Dissertation: "Examining the Use of Case-Crossover Design with Non-Transient Medication Exposures"
Abdullah Abdelaziz MS Capstone: "High Throughput Screening for Roflumilast Adverse Effects in Real-World Settings: A Sequence Symmetry Analysis"
Carter McCormick PhD Dissertation: "Quality of Care and Use of Pharmacologic Preventions for HIV in the United States"
Maja Kuharic PhD Dissertation: "Care Recipient Perceived Burden to Others: Assessing Measurement to Inform Health and Social Care"

2022 Heading link

Name Degree Title
Nadia Nabulsi PhD Dissertation: "Pain and Prescription Opioid Use among Survivors of Hematologic Malignancies: A Mixed-Methods Approach"
Tsz Chun "Anson" Lau MS Capstone: "Economic Evaluation of Systemstic Screening of ATTR Cardiomyopathy in Patients with Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection of Fraction in the United States"
Kellyn Moran PhD Dissertation: "Prevalence, Predictors, and Risks of Central Nervous System Drug Combinations in Older Adult Opioid Users"
Andrea Monteiro PhD Dissertation: "Advances in Measurement and Valuation of Tools to Inform Health and Social Care"

2021 Heading link

Name Degree Title
Connie Yan PhD Dissertation: "Evaluating Opioid Prescribing by Dentists in the United States: A Mixed Methods Approach."
Brian Talon PhD Dissertation: "Disparities in Healthcare Expenditure and Morality by Neighborhood Income in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia."
Chandler Coleman MS Capstone: "Physical functioning, frailty and risks of locally-advanced breast cancer among older women."
Inyoung Lee PhD Dissertation: "Exploration of Drug Safety and Administrative Claims Databases for Signal Detection in Pharmacovigilance."

2020 Heading link

Name Degree Title
Alemseged Asfaw Ph.D. Dissertation: "Use and Comparative Safety of Roflumilast in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease"
Jenny Guadamuz Ph.D. Dissertation: "Immigration Status and Medication Use for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in the United States"
Haridarshan Patel Ph.D. Dissertation: "Risk Evaluation and Prediction of Cardiac Events among Azithromycin Users"
Jifang Zhou Ph.D. Dissertation: "Intravenous Bisphosphonate Treatment Patterns and Risks of Skeletal Related Events in Multiple Myeloma"
Ali Alobaidi M.S. Capstone: "Opioid-related overdose among commercially insured patients with concurrent use of opioids and benzodiazepines"
Conor Hanrahan M.S. Capstone: "Network Meta-analysis of Infliximab Biosimilars for the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis"
Robert Schultz M.S. Capstone: "Cost-Analysis of Human Islet Transplant: 1-year"

2019 Heading link

Name Degree Title
Deval Gor Ph.D. Dissertation: "Antidiabetic Drugs in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease: Trends, Adherence, and Economic Outcomes. "
Rachel Harrington Ph.D. Dissertation: "Multimorbidity and Condition Clustering in Children & Adolescents: Resource Use, Expenditures, and Quality."
Kate Harrigan-Zhang M.S. Capstone: "Association between age and ADHD medication adherence in a pediatric population with multiple chronic conditions."
Jessica Hutti M.S. Capstone: "Risk of Serious Infection Associated with the Use of Tocilizumab in Adults with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Systematic Review."
Ruixuan Jiang Ph.D. Dissertation: "Assessment of Mode of Survey Administration and Study Design Effects on Preference Elicitation in Health."
Christopher Saffore Ph.D. Dissertation: "Impact of Academic Detailing on Opioid Prescribing Among Primary Care Providers in the Chicagoland Region."
Dolly Sharma Ph.D. Dissertation: "Impact on FDA’s Unapproved Drug Initiative on Drug Prices, Utilization, and Outcomes: Focus on Colchicine."

2018 Heading link

Name Degree Title
Sruthi Adimadhyam Ph.D. Dissertation: "Comparative Safety of sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitors in patients with type 2 diabetes."
Ernest Law Ph.D. Dissertation: "Examing Sources of Variation in Developing a Societal Health State Value Set."
Patrick Zueger Ph.D. Dissertation: "Study of Trends and Outcomes of Prescription Medications Continued During Hospice Care (STOP Med)."

2017 Heading link

Name Degree Title
Beenish Manzoor Ph.D. Dissertation: "Navigating safety of anticoagulant use, from precision medicine to direct oral anticoagulants."
Jennifer Samp Ph.D. Dissertation: "Comparative efficacy and safety of combination treatments for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease."
Swarnava Sanyal M.S. Capstone: "Racial differences and comparative effectiveness of rituximab-based therapies in elderly follicular lymphoma and other indolent lumphoma patients."
Shan Xing Ph.D Dissertation: "Second generation antipsychotics and diabetes outcomes in patients with depression and diabetes."

2016 Heading link

Name Degree Title
Yu-Ting Hung M.S Capstone: "Patient experience-based value sets: are they stable?"
Yash Jalundhwala Ph.D. Dissertation: "The role of health-related lifestyle attitudes in understanding health behaviors and outcomes."
Kibum Kim Ph.D. Dissertation: "Insight into the use and outcomes of anti-platelet agents in patients with acute coronary syndrome."
Wan-Ju Lee Ph.D Dissertation: "Utilization and risk of serious infection associated with TNF-a inhibitors in children and young adults."
Jin Ryu M.S. Capstone: "Progress and challenges of mental health service in Sub-Saharan Africa."

2015 Heading link

Name Degree Title
Vardhaman Patel Ph.D. Dissertation: "Direct thrombin inhibitors: use and consequences in patients with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia."
Iulia Ursan M.S. Capstone: "Engaging patients and caregivers to inform the need for patient navigators during hospital to home transitions."

2014 Heading link

Name Degree Title
Wei-Han (Wendy) Cheng M.S. Capstone: “Positive outcomes of varicose vein surgery: the patient perspective.”
Anurag Mohan M.S. Capstone: “Evaluating medication discrepancies among different medication lists in the electronic medical record.”
Kun Peng M.S. Capstone: “The misdiagnosis of COPD by spirometry in the US.”
Shraddha Shinde M.S. Capstone: “Impact of patient perceptions of outcomes on willingness to consider knee surgery.”
Shishir Sarangpur M.S. Capstone: “Impact of clinical services on the quality of anticoagulation control.”

2013 Heading link

Name Dgree Title
Sacheeta Bathija M.S. Thesis: “Anticoagulation management in patients who have undergone hip and knee replacement surgery.”
Fung-Ju (Irene) Lin Ph.D Dissertation: "Condition specific applications for the valuation of health."
Garima Sharma M.S. Capstone: "Psychometric validation of FACIT-dyspnea scale in COPD patients."

2012 Heading link

Name Degree Title
Sruthi Adimadhyam M.S. Thesis: “Risk of arrhythmias associated with inhaled anticholinergics in young individuals with asthma.”
Jennifer Samp M.S. Capstone: “Economic evaluation of the impact of medication errors reported by US clinical pharmacists.”

2011 Heading link

Name Degree Title
James Duhing Ph.D. Dissertation: “Medication guide comprehension and health literacy.”
Zenobia Dotiwala M.S. Thesis: “Seasonal variation in international normalized ratio among venous thromboembolism patients on warfarin.”
Xiaochan Luo M.S. Thesis: “Estimation of efficiency with the US population median-based EQ-5D index: findings from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.”
Sapna Rao M.S. Thesis: “Utilization of oral anti-diabetic medications: examining adherence to clinical guidelines.”

2010 Heading link

Name Degree Title
Maria Charisse De Leon Santos Ph.D. Thesis: “Health insurance and treatment use in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.”
Yash Jalundhwala Ph.D. Thesis: “Logical inconsistencies as a criterion for selecting health states in EQ-5D valuation studies.”
Xiaoqing (Frank) Liu M.S. Dissertation: “The impact of Medicare Part D on healthcare utilization and health of the Medicare beneficiaries.”
Caitlyn T. Wilke M.S. Dissertation: “Challenges and consequences of medication exposure definitions in comparative effectiveness research.”
Yoojung Yang Ph.D. Thesis: “Guideline-concordant policies and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureusprevalence in US hospitals.”

2009 Heading link

Name Degree Title
Xue Grace Chiou M.S Thesis: “Utilization trends in off-label anticonvulsant drug use in the United States, 1994 to 2004.”
Alexandra Perez M.S. Thesis: “Cost and effectiveness analysis of rate versus rhythm control of atrial fibrillation in heart failure.”
Meghana Aruru Ph.D. Dissertation: “Health communication and functional health literacy – impact on Medicare beneficiaries.”
Todd Chermak Ph.D. Dissertation: “Effect of package label characteristics on pharmacists' visual perception of drug names.”
Shengsheng Yu M.S. Thesis: “Determinants of cardio-protective dietary supplement use in the U.S. Population: 1999-2004.”

2008 Heading link

Name Degree Title
Hsiang-Wen (Margaret) Lin Ph.D. Dissertation: “Pharmacists’ knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy, and counseling on herbs and dietary supplements.”

2007 Heading link

Name Degree Title
Daniela L. Motta M.S Thesis: “Perceptions and attitudes of key stakeholders on the Brazilian National STD/AIDS Program.”
Caitlyn Wilke M.S Thesis: “Comparison of utility weighted and unweighted HRQL measures: an empirical study.”
Eunmi Jung M.S Thesis: “Medication use and adherence prior to death in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.”
Xiaoyan (Charlene) Ying M.S Thesis: “Risk factors associated with adverse drug events among a high risk outpatient population.”

2006 Heading link

Name Degree Title
Zhixiao (Jason) Wang Ph.D. Dissertation: “Medication adherence and its impact on health care utilization in veterans with Type II diabetes.”
Hongjun Yin Ph.D. Dissertation: "The effects of physical functioning on self-rated health in the elderly - a longitudinal analysis.”
Nasreen Khan Ph.D. Dissertation: “Prescription drug insurance and its effect on utilization and health of the elderly.”

2005 Heading link

Name Degree Title
Hiang Kiat (Jason) Tan M.S. Thesis: “Comparing exhaustive chi-square automatic interaction detector (CHAID) and logistic regression models in explaining the prescribing of antidepressants.”
Shih-Ying (Audrey) Hung M.S. Thesis: "Impact of caregiver depression and pain on proxy assessed health-related quality of life (HRQL) after stroke."
Sengwee (Darren) Toh M.S. Thesis: "Analysis of published case reports of drug name confusion.”
Qian (Cassie) Cai M.S. Thesis: "Time to permanent nursing home admissions among an aging population in the US."
Mehul R. Dalal Ph.D. Dissertation: "Impact of depression on functional disability and out-of-pocket medical expenditures in the elderly.”
Terrence R. Jackson Ph.D. Dissertation: "Design and validation of an objective structured clinical examination for pharmacy students delivering nonprescription medicines care.”

2004 Heading link

Name Degree Title
Vinit Nair M.S. Thesis: “Estimation of hepatotoxic drug use and outcomes in managed care as a medication error reduction strategy”
Bhakti Arondekar Ph.D. Dissertation: “Resource utilization and cost of care in post-MI patients with and without heart failure”

2003 Heading link

Name Degree Title
Chaitanya Sarawate M.S. Thesis: “Economic impact of postoperative ileus in abdominal surgical procedures.”
Yo (Nancy) Ko M.S. Thesis: “Functional health literacy among Chinese population in Chicago: a preliminary study.”
Charisse Johnson M.S. Thesis: “The geographic distribution of community-based pharmacy clerkship sites in the Chicago metropolitan area.”

2002 Heading link

Name Degree Title
Ken-Yu Chang Ph.D. Dissertation: “Effects of social inequality on stage at diagnosis of colorectal cancer in Illinois”

2001 Heading link

Name Degree Title
Hema N. Viswanathan M.S. Thesis: “Management of hypertension from the patient’s perspective.”
Catherine Leventis M.S. Thesis: “Analysis of structure-function claims of herbal products.”
Vishweshwar Shetty M.S. Thesis: “Psychometric properties of the health status measurement instrument in the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.”
Theresa M. Steward M.S. Thesis: “Disease state management programs: pharmaceutical executives’ opinions, attitudes and beliefs.”
Sudhir Sunagale M.S. Thesis: “Understanding the hospitalization cost of sepsis: differences in the length of stay, mortality and hospitalization costs between gram-positive and gram-negative sepsis.”

2000 Heading link

Name Degree Title
Mehul Dalal M.S. Thesis: “Determinants of patient satisfaction with asthma care at an outpatient clinic.”
Eskinder Tafesse Ph.D. Dissertation: “Factors affecting medical outcomes of rehabilitation among stroke patients."
Swu-Jane Lin Ph.D. Dissertation: “Diffusion of healthcare technology: adoption of fentanyl patch by physicians in Illinois.”

1998 Heading link

Name Degree Title
John W. Maxwell M.S. Thesis: “An evaluation of prescription keeping software.”
Sanjay K. Gandhi Ph.D. Dissertation: “SF-12 in arthritis clinical trials: psychometric evaluation and development of arthritis specific health indices and scores.”
Gina S. Gilomen-Study Ph.D. Dissertation: “Predicting managed care prescribing using the theory of reasoned action and the theory of planned behavior.”
Margaret C. Wright Ph.D. Dissertation: “Correlates of sentinel events in children with asthma in the Medicaid population in Cook County.”

1997 Heading link

Name Degree Title
Yudan Luo M.S. Thesis: “Strategic analysis of Zantac and Tagamet print advertising in a dynamic market.
Li-Chiun (Daphne) Hsiao Ph.D. Dissertation: “Drug cost sharing and willingness to pay for prescribed medication purchase among HMO diabetic enrollees.”

1996 Heading link

Name Degree Title
Seema Dedhiya M.S. Thesis: “Meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials of interferon-beta in the treatment of multiple sclerosis.”
Ulrike Wigger Ph.D. Dissertation: “Medical students and primary care physicians opinions and concerns on the use of information technology.”

1995 Heading link

Name Degree Title
Jeanne L. Gillespie M.S. Thesis: "Physicians' evaluations of pharmacists drug allergy intervention messages."
Andrea L. Taylor M.S. Thesis: “A comparative study of multiple formulary systems in an integrated healthcare delivery system.”
Musadik Malik Ph.D. Dissertation: “The effects of complexity and accountability on prescribing decision-making.”

1994 Heading link

Name Degree Title
Greg T. Biedron M.S. Thesis: "Pharmacist, nurse and physician perspectives of the drug use process."
Dalia R. Musonis M.S. Thesis: "Hospital pharmacists' role ambiguity, role conflict and job satisfaction."
Michael E. Sliwoski M.S. Thesis: "The role of the community pharmacist in diabetes management.”
Satish Srinivasan M.S. Thesis: "Compliance in pharmacist-physician interactions in healthcare delivery."
Jane Symon M.S. Thesis: "Factors affecting the role of the nutritional support pharmacist."
Robert J. Valuck Ph.D. Dissertation: "The effect of regulatory controls on the quality of psychoactive drug prescribing."

1993 Heading link

Name Degree Title
Musadik M. Malik M.S. Thesis: “The effects of cognitive and affective framing on prescribing decisions.”
Gregory Zaborniak M.S. Thesis: “A gap analysis of the buyer provider dyad: pharmacists-drug wholesaler personnel.”

1992 Heading link

Name Degree Title
Sybil N.E. Seoka Ph.D. Dissertation: “Project selection in pharmaceutical research and development, and new product market performance.”
Robert Valuck M.S. Thesis: “Macro-level screening criteria to identify suboptimal prescribers of controlled substances.”
Ulrike Wigger M.S. Thesis: “Use of Q-technique in pharmacy student selection.”

1991 Heading link

Name Degree Title
Bartholemew E. Clark M.S. Thesis: “Manager and pharmacist employee perception of the pharmacist’s professional and organizational roles in large pharmacy organizations.”
Christian H. Johnson M.S. Thesis: “Perceptions of pharmacy practice by students and faculty.”

1990 Heading link

Name Degree Title
Su-Yu Chien M.S. Thesis: “Attitudes of health science students toward drug dispensing by physicians.”

1989 Heading link

Name Degree Title
Gary Baker M.S. Thesis: “Work activity analysis: A pre- and post-computerization comparison.”
Janet Martin M.S. Thesis: “A case study of the effect of generics and new chemical entities on prescription cost of goods sold.”

1988 Heading link

Name Degree Title
Mark Pilkington M.S. Thesis: “Illinois pharmacists’ judgments concerning the likelihood of selecting alternative drug therapies.”
Sybil N.E. Seoka M.S. Thesis: “Drug interactions among the non-institutionalized elderly population.”

1987 Heading link

Name Degree Title
Carmen Catizone M.S. Thesis: “Historical analysis of the accession of the Chicago College of Pharmacy by the University of Illinois in 1896.”

1985 Heading link

Name Degree Title
Carl Bennett M.S. Thesis: “An analysis of perceptions of leadership behavior and effectiveness of hospital pharmacy directors.”
Steven Smith M.S Thesis: “Investigation of turnover of hospital pharmacists”

1982 Heading link

Name Degree Title
Frank Kokaisl M.S. Thesis: “Reported and perceived levels of compliance with US Supreme Court’s standards for outpatient dispensing.”
Mary Kroeger Macnider M.S. Thesis: “Hospital pharmaceutical group purchasing — an analysis of its advantages and disadvantages.”

1981 Heading link

Name Degree Title
Ronald Gottrich M.S. Thesis: “Pharmacists’ and physicians’ perceptions of drug product selection in Illinois: one year post inception.”
John Machowiak M.S. Thesis: “A sociodemographic analysis of patients’ expectations and satisfaction with traditional and clinical pharmacy services in a rural community.”

1980 Heading link

Name Degree Title
Paul Klinger M.S. Thesis: “An investigation of selected aspects of bid purchasing of antibiotics in hospital pharmacy.”
David Wegman M.S. Thesis: “Evaluation of pharmacy services in state and federal correctional facilities: development of standards.”

1979 Heading link

Name Degree Title
Diane J. Fisher M.S. Thesis: “Physicians’ perception of pharmacists as drug information consultants: application of Fishbein’s model.”