Junling Wang, PhD, MS, is the Principal Investigator of this project. Dr. Wang is a Professor in Health Outcomes and Policy Research at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, College of Pharmacy. She received her PhD in Pharmaceutical Health Services Research from the University of Maryland in 2005. Dr. Wang has continuously concentrated on the following two research areas: (1) outcomes/economic evaluation of pharmaceutical products and services including medication therapy management; and (2) racial and ethnic disparities in the utilization of health services and prescription drugs. Her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institute on Aging, Pharmacy Quality Alliance, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America Foundation, American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, Pfizer Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly and Company, and the State of Tennessee. Dr. Wang has published over 40 research articles in peer-reviewed journals. Her work has been cited by the Federal government as reasons for federal policy reform for the Medicare eligibility criteria for medication therapy management services. She has also received recognition for her research including the Nobuo Meade International Research Award and an Honorable Mention for Betty J. Cleckley Minority Issues Research Award from the American Public Health Association (APHA) Aging and Public Health Section. Dr. Wang’s leadership roles have included the APHA Aging and Public Health Section Program Chair, Membership Chair, governing councilor, and Nominations Committee. She was the APhA representative to the Pharmacy Quality Alliance in 2012-2014.
Ya-Chen Tina Shih, PhD, MA, is a Co-Investigator of this project. Dr. Shih is a Professor at MD Anderson Cancer Center of The University of Texas. She received her PhD in Economics from Stanford University in 1997. Dr. Shih has published more than 100 research articles in peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Shih has served as the principal investigator on projects studying the economics of cancer by the National Institutes of Health, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the American Cancer Society, and the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Dr. Shih was also a recipient of the 2005 Medstat MarketScan® Award and the 2007 E. Lee Walker Imagination Award for innovative cancer survivorship research.
Moreover, Dr. Shih has been a co-investigator of four grants with a focus on racial and ethnic disparities. She has published on whether Medicare coverage of colonoscopy has reduced the racial/ethnic disparities in endoscopic colorectal cancer screening among the elderly, racial disparities and socioeconomic status in association with survival in a large population-based cohort of elderly patients with colon cancer, and disparities in colorectal screening between US-born and foreign-born populations.
Jim Y Wan, PhD, is a Co-Investigator of this project. Dr. Wan is a Professor in Preventive Medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, College of Medicine. He received his PhD in Statistics from Yale University in 1987. He has been a Co-Investigator acts as a major statistician participating in many clinical studies for more than twenty years. Dr. Wan has published more than 100 research articles in peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Wan has also received recognition for Honorable Mention for Betty J. Cleckley Minority Issues Research Award in 2013 and Nominated for Betty J. Cleckley Minority Issues Research Award in 2014 from the American Public Health Association (APHA) Aging and Public Health Section.
Samuel Dagogo-Jack, DSc, is a Co-Investigator of this project. Dr. Dagogo-Jack is a Professor of Medicine and Director of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, and hold the A.C. Mullins Endowed Chair in Translational Research at the University of Tennessee, College of Medicine. He is also the Director of the Clinical Research Unit (former GCRC) at the University of Tennessee. He received his MD in Medicine/Surgery from the University of Ibadan Medical School, Ibadan Nigeria in 1978, and his PhD in Endocrinology from the University of Ibadan Medical School, Ibadan Nigeria, 1994. His research, focusing on ethnic disparities, diabetes prevention and prediction, utilizes several methodologies ranging from in vivo physiology to epidemiology and outcomes. Dr. Dagogo-Jack has published more than 500 research articles in peer-reviewed journals. He is currently the principal investigator on four National Institutes of Health grants and three industry grants that focus on the prevention, management, and complications of diabetes and prediabetes in diverse populations.
William Cushman, MD, is a Co-Investigator of this project. Dr. Cushman is a professor of Preventive Medicine, Medicine, and Physiology at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. He is also the Chief of the Preventive Medicine Section at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center, Memphis. He received his MD from the University of Mississippi School of Medicine in 1974. Dr. Cushman has been an investigator in many clinical trials related to hypertension, diabetes, and lipid therapy. He has been the Lead Hypertension Consultant to Medical Service in the Central Office of the VA, is VA champion for the VA/Department of Defense Hypertension Clinical Practice Guidelines, was on the seventh and eighth Joint National Committee Report on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of Hypertension (JNC 7 and 8) Expert Panel developing new U.S. hypertension guidelines. He has been the trial chairman for PATHS (Prevention and Treatment of Hypertension Study), a multicenter VA Cooperative clinical trial, also sponsored by NIH, examining the effects of reducing alcohol intake on blood pressure in heavy drinkers, and the VA participation in the Antihypertensive and Lipid Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial (ALLHAT), a National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) study comparing cardiovascular events from four major classes of antihypertensive agents in 42,418 patients. He also is a Principal Investigator leading VA Clinical Center Networks in two other NHLBI clinical trials: the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) Trial, and the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT). He is co-chair for VA Cooperative Study #597, The Diuretic Comparison Project (DCP), a randomized controlled trial examining whether treatment with chlorthalidone reduces cardiovascular outcomes compared with hydrochlorothiazide in older patients with hypertension. Dr. Cushman has published over 200 research articles in peer-reviewed journals. He has also received recognition for his research including the John Blair Barnwell Award (Barnwell Award) for outstanding achievement in clinical science, the Department of Veterans Affairs Clinical Science Research and Development’s (CSR&D) highest honor for scientific achievement and the 2005 Excellence in Leadership Award for the Consortium for Southeastern Hypertension Control (COSEHC).
Marie Chisholm-Burns, PharmD, PhD, MPH, MBA, is a Co-Investigator of this project. Dr. Chisholm-Burns serves as Dean and Professor at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Pharmacy and is a UTHSC Distinguished Professor in the Colleges of Pharmacy and Medicine. She is the Founder and Director of the Medication Access Program that increases medication access to transplant patients, has worked in multiple pharmacy settings, and is a member of the National Academies of Practice. Dr. Chisholm-Burns received her PharmD from the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy, PhD from the University of South Dakota, MPH from Emory University School of Public Health, and MBA from the University of Memphis.
Dr. Chisholm-Burns is nationally and internationally known for her work in improving health care and outcomes through increasing solid-organ transplant recipients’ adherence to medication protocols, health literacy, and access to medical care. A prolific scholar, she has published more than 180 peer-reviewed primary reports among over 365 total publications, many in journals such as Archives of Internal Medicine, Annals of Internal Medicine, Transplantation, Clinical Transplantation, and the American Journal of Transplantation. As a result of her research efforts, she has attracted greater than $17 million in grant funding from state sources, industry, the private sector, and the National Institutes of Health.
In 2008 and 2011, textbooks co-edited by Dr. Chisholm-Burns, Pharmacotherapy Principles and Practice and Pharmacy Management, Leadership, Marketing, and Finance, respectively, received the Medical Book Award from the American Medical Writers Association. She has received numerous awards and honors including the Robert K. Chalmers Distinguished Pharmacy Educator Award from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), the Clinical Pharmacy Education Award from the American College of Clinical Pharmacy, the Daniel B. Smith Practice Excellence Award from the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), the Rufus A. Lyman Award for most outstanding publication in the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education (1996 and 2007), the Nicholas Andrew Cummings Award from the National Academies of Practice, the Award of Excellence from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), the Pharmacy Practice Research Award (2011 and 2014) and Award for Sustained Contributions to the Literature from the ASHP Foundation, the Research Achievement Award from APhA, the Clinician of Distinction Award from the American Society of Transplantation, the Paul R. Dawson Biotechnology Award from AACP, the Chauncey I. Cooper Pharmacist Leadership Award from the National Pharmaceutical Association, and the ASHP/Association of Black Health-Systems Pharmacists Joint Leadership Award.
Dr. Chisholm-Burns is a Six Sigma Black Belt and a graduate of the AACP Academic Leadership Fellows program. She has also participated in leadership training workshops including “Leading Change and Organizational Renewal” and “Thriving Under Pressure,” both organized by Harvard University, and “CASE Development for Deans and Academic Leaders,” organized by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.
Dr. Christina A. Spivey, PhD, LMSW, is a Co-Investigator of this project. Dr. Spivey is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Translational Science of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Pharmacy and a member of the UTHSC Institute of Health Outcomes and Policy. She received her PhD in Social Work from The University of Georgia in 2007. Dr. Spivey has more than 90 publications (peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters) spanning such fields as social work, geriatrics, public health, and pharmacy. Her research efforts are largely focused on medication adherence and related outcomes in chronic disease state patient populations as well as the scholarship of teaching and learning. She has served as Co-Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator on competitive extramural grants from multiple funding agencies including the NIH, foundations, and industry.
Chi Chun Steve Tsang, PhD, is a support staff for this project. Dr. Tsang is a Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, College of Pharmacy. He holds a PhD in Economics from North Carolina State University. His research interests include the influences of health policies on disparities in health care outcomes, the decision behaviors of health care providers and patients, and the demands for drugs and health care services.
Xiaobei Dong, PhD, is a support staff for this project. Dr. Dong is a Postdoctoral Scholar in Health Outcomes and Policy Research at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, College of Pharmacy. She received her PhD in Public Policy from the University of Maryland in 2020. Her research agenda is focused on health policy and health disparities experienced among disadvantaged and vulnerable populations, such as people with disabilities, racial and ethnic minorities, and older adults with chronic conditions. She has received recognition for Honorable Mention for Betty J. Cleckley Minority Issues Research Award in 2021 from the American Public Health Association, Aging and Public Health Section.
Joseph Garuccio, PhD, MA, is a support staff for this project. Dr. Garuccio is a Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, College of Pharmacy, working under the direction of Dr. Junling Wang. A recent addition to the research team, he received his PhD in Economics from Georgia State University in 2021. Dr. Garuccio is an applied microeconomist specializing in Health Economics research. In 2020, he and coauthors produced that year’s third most-read article in the journal Health Affairs.
Jamie Browning, PharmD, MBA, is a support staff for this project. Dr. Browning is a Postdoctoral Scholar in Health Outcomes and Policy Research at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, College of Pharmacy under the mentorship of Dr. Junling Wang. Dr. Browning received a PharmD from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and an MBA from the University of Memphis. She also currently practices in the community pharmacy setting. Her research interests include effects of health disparities and social determinants of health on the utilization of and access to health services and medications among vulnerable and underserved populations.
Xiangjun Zhang, PhD, is a support staff for this project. Dr. Zhang is a Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, College of Pharmacy. She received her PhD in Public Health from the University of Nevada, Reno. Her research interests include health disparities, health services utilization, epidemiology, infectious disease prevention and interventions, and substance use prevention.
Yongbo Sim, PhD, is a support staff for this project. Dr. Sim is a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Translational Science at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Pharmacy. Dr. Sim received PhD in economics from Rutgers University in 2022. As a health economist, his research interests are as follows: (1) racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare utilization and use of prescription medications among Medicare beneficiaries and (2) socially marginalized groups’ illegal/delinquent activities and risky health behaviors, including opioid consumption, as a response to the relevant policies, such as the triplicate prescription program or Food Stamps.