We welcomed back Inma Hernandez, PhD, former CP3 Associate Director, for a seminar on September 28. Dr. Hernandez currently serves as Senior Advisor for Drug Prices at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and is a Professor at UC San Diego's Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Her talk, “Insider Perspective: A Conversation on CMS, Pharmaceutical Policy, and Drug Pricing,” offered the University of Pittsburgh community a rare look at how policy decisions are shaped within CMS, including recent developments related to GLP-1 drugs.
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Congratulations to Anna Conboy, MEd, winner of Pitt Staff Council's Ronald W. Frisch Staff Professional Development Award. Anna manages the many grants within Dr. Katie Suda's research portfolio, and she plans to put the award toward earning her Project Management Professional (PMP) certification. Well deserved, Anna!
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Grants Funded
CP3 is proud to report an unprecedented number of grants funded this fall, including 2 R13s and 4 R01s, a reflection of the depth and breadth of the Center's research portfolio.
● Dr. Katie Suda received an NIA R01 for SUPPLY-US, comparing US and Canadian drug shortage patterns to build a US-specific At-Risk Medicine List for health system leaders.
● Dr. Katie Suda also received an NIH R13 to launch the first conference series dedicated exclusively to drug shortages, bringing together researchers, health systems, and policymakers to strengthen drug supply chain resiliency.
● Dr. Jenny Lo-Ciganic received an NIDA R01 for PRIME-OUD, an AI-assisted clinical decision support tool using reinforcement learning and large language models to help primary care providers personalize treatment for opioid use disorder with co-occurring depression and anxiety.
● Dr. Lucas Berenbrok, with Elaine Mormer (Communication Science and Disorders), received an NIDCD R13 to host the 2nd OTC Hearing Aid and Hearing Self-Care Symposium at Pitt, building on their decade-long collaboration on over-the-counter hearing aids.
● Dr. Jing Luo received an R01 from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases for OFF-RAMP Feasibility, a pilot trial comparing strategies for tapering GLP-1 based therapies while helping patients maintain weight loss.
● Drs. Tae Woo (Ted) Park and Tim Anderson are Co-PIs on a new NIDA R01, “Use and Effectiveness of Medications for Opioid Use Disorder in Older Adults with Multimorbidity.”
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Dr. Tim Anderson drew national media attention for a study on the 2026 AHA/ACC dyslipidemia guideline, which found that updated statin eligibility criteria now extend to 87.5 million US adults, an increase of 21.5 million people over prior guidance. The study was covered by CNN, Reuters, Medscape, U.S. News and World Report, MedPage Today, and several other national outlets. Read the full roundup here.
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CP3 Director Dr. Walid Gellad and Dr. Jenny Lo-Ciganic will both present at the Addiction Health Services Research (AHSR) Conference, held October 5 to 7 in Salt Lake City, UT, in the same symposium session organized by the NIH, “Technology-Enabled Interventions to Address the Opioid Overdose Crisis.” Dr. Gellad will present preliminary results from the mPROVEN trial, and Dr. Lo-Ciganic will present on her DEMONSTRATE project.
In the spring, we look forward to co-hosting a seminar with Pitt Public Health's Department of Health Policy and Management. Stay tuned for details.
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Selected Recently Published Papers
Health Care Utilization and Equity in Medicare Advantage Compared With Traditional Medicare
Lucy B. Schulson, Laura Hatfield, Alyssa Chen, Timothy S. Anderson, Jeffrey Souza, John Z. Ayanian, and Bruce E. Landon
JAMA Network Open, September 9, 2026
National Trends In US Opioid-Related Hospitalizations, 2016-23
Linnea M. Wilson, Tae Woo Park, Jonathan Hintz, Matthew Ronan, Timothy S. Anderson, and Shoshana J. Herzig
Health Affairs, August 3, 2026
Impact of VA-Purchased Community Care on Polypharmacy and Potentially Inappropriate Medication Use in Older Adult Veterans
Catherine S. Hwang, Eric T. Roberts, Florentina E. Sileanu, Yaming Li, Carolyn T. Thorpe, Maria K. Mor, Thomas R. Radomski, John Cashy, Aaron L. Schwartz, Katie J. Suda, Loren J. Schleiden, Timothy S. Anderson, Megan E. Vanneman, Walid F. Gellad
Health Services Research, August 2, 2026
Impact of a Long-Term Benzodiazepine Use Prior Authorization Policy on Utilization and Non-Fatal Adverse Health Outcomes in a State Medicaid Program
Daniel M. Hartung, Sarah Servid, Luke Middleton, Tracy Klein, Jonah Geddes, Timothy S. Anderson, and Tae Woo Park
Medical Care, July 24, 2026
Initiation, Adherence, and Persistence to Guideline-Directed Medical Therapy After Heart Failure Hospitalization
Lily G. Bessette, Jared W. Magnani, Maria M. Brooks, Bridget M. Mayrer, Ella Hileman-Kaplan, Gail D. Gallman, Sonja A. Swanson, and Timothy S. Anderson
JAMA Internal Medicine, July 20, 2026
Implications of the 2026 Dyslipidemia Guideline for Primary Prevention Statin Therapy
Timothy S. Anderson, Linnea M. Wilson, and Jeremy B. Sussman
JAMA, July 20, 2026
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