Research Interests of Faculty

Karen Blumenschein

(Pharm.D. - University of Kentucky, 1991) Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science - contingent valuation approach to benefit cost analysis; incorporating quality of life into health economic evaluations; estimation of patient-perceived value of community pharmacy services

J.S. Butler

(Ph.D. - Cornell University, 1982) Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science -- econometrics, some econometric theory but mainly applications of regression, hazard models, and limited dependent variable models to a variety of fields and areas, including labor economics, health economics, finance, development economics, higher education, psychology, and public policy; recent pharmacy research including labor economics in pharmacy, patient discontinuance of particular pharmaceuticals, and statistical models of intranasal delivery of drugs; research on teaching outcomes in several fields (economics, psychology, pharmacy)

Joseph Fink

(J.D. - Georgetown University, 1973) Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science - law pertaining to pharmacy, pharmacists and pharmaceuticals, food and drug law, and health care law; legal issues with state-level restrictions on distribution of methamphetamine precursors; legal aspects of clinical practice guidelines or algorithms

Kenneth Kirsh

(Ph.D. - Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, 2001) Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science -- opioid use in chronic pain management, predicting and screening for abuse and misuse of opioids among pain patients, pharmacist, physician and other health care worker attitudes towards pain management, symptom management and palliative care for oncology patients.

Seok-Woo Kwon

(Ph.D. - University of Southern California, 2003) Assistant Professor, Martin School of Public Policy and Administration - managing professionals and professional organizations, and quality improvement

James Marton

(Ph.D. - Washington University, 2000) Assistant Professor, Martin School of Public Policy and Administration - impact of government policy in health insurance markets; impact of cost sharing on enrollment in public insurance programs; flexible spending account (FSA) use for out-of-pocket medical expenses

David Nau

(Ph.D. - University of Florida, 1997) Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice & Science - drug benefit design; quality assessment and quality improvement methods; medication safety and medication-use policies; implementation and evaluation of pharmacist-provided disease management services; pharmaceutical outcomes research.

Kelly Smith

(Pharm.D. - University of Georgia, 1993) Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science -- medication use policy issues and applications in the acute care and academic settings; medication safety and performance improvement; recreational and prescription drug abuse patterns and management approaches

Douglas Steinke

(Ph.D. - University of Dundee, 2001) Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science - pharmacoepidemiology and biostatistics; health services research; program evaluation and health economics

Eugenia Toma

(Ph.D. - Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1977) Professor, Martin School of Public Policy and Administration - political economy, economics of education, consumer choice among school types, peer effects on educational outcomes

Sarah Wackerbarth

(Ph.D. - Wisconsin, 1997) Associate Professor, Martin School of Public Policy and Administration - decision-making in complex environments marked by uncertainty or scientific ambiguity; health-related decision processes of patients and providers; behavioral models of decision making; design of decision support; shared decision making