|
|
We are pleased to share that Juan M. Hincapie-Castillo, PharmD, MS, PhD, has accepted a position as Associate Professor in the School of Pharmacy and has joined CP3 as a faculty affiliate. Dr. Hincapie-Castillo comes to Pitt from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and his research focuses on legal epidemiology and evidence-based policymaking, with an emphasis on how laws and policies shape medication use, access, and health outcomes. A long-time collaborator with CP3, Dr. Hincapie-Castillo brings deep expertise that will further strengthen our work.
|
|
|
|
|
|
CP3 faculty affiliate Bryant Shuey, MD, MPH, has been selected as a 2025–26 State Health Policy Fellow by the National Academy of Medicine through Pitt’s Health Policy Institute. Dr. Shuey, an Assistant Professor of Medicine, brings expertise in substance use, chronic disease, and health policy evaluation, with a focus on access to opioid use disorder treatment. As a fellow, he will work directly with state government leaders to inform policy development and implementation.
|
|
|
|
We are pleased to announce that Adam Bress, PharmD, MS will be the next CP3 Visiting Scholar from May 10–13, 2026. His visit will be co-sponsored by the Pitt School of Pharmacy. Dr. Bress is a Professor of Population Health Sciences at the University of Utah School of Medicine, Director of the IMPACT Health Services Research Program, and an investigator at the VA Salt Lake City Health Care System. He is a nationally recognized expert in hypertension, cardiovascular outcomes, and the use of real-world data to inform clinical and policy decisions. Additional details will be shared closer to the visit.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dr. Tim Anderson is the Contact PI on a newly awarded VA Merit/Investigator-Initiated Trial, “Characterizing the Quality of Prescribing for Hospitalized Veterans”. Dr. Utibe Essien (UCLA) serves as MPI, with CP3 Director Dr. Walid Gellad as Co-Investigator. This 4-year study, in partnership with the VA Hospital Medicine Office, Office of Health Equity, and Center for Medication Safety, will examine prescribing quality for hospitalized Veterans, identify barriers to evidence-based care, and explore strategies to improve inpatient prescribing practices.
The VA Merit/ Investigator-Initiated Research grant “Evaluating Variation in Resistant Gram-Negative Infections and Antibiotic Treatment” has been funded. Led by Dr. Charlesnika Evans (Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine), with CP3 Associate Director Dr. Katie Suda as Co-Investigator, this mixed-methods study will examine demographic differences in multidrug-resistant gram-negative infections and antibiotic prescribing among Veterans, with the goal of advancing medication access and improving outcomes across the VA system.
|
|
|
|
Two CP3 faculty affiliates, Dr. Sarah Belcher and Dr. Luke Berenbrok, were recently highlighted in the Pitt Research Annual Report for work that advances medication use and patient care. Dr. Belcher’s featured research focuses on helping patients adhere to anticancer medications by addressing barriers to effective treatment. Dr. Berenbrok’s work highlights the role of pharmacies in providing over-the-counter care to improve access and support patient self-care.
|
|
|
|
Selected Recently Published Papers
Trends in Initiation of Buprenorphine for Opioid Use Disorder Among Older Adults
Bridget M. Mayrer, Roisin M. Sabol, Bryant Shuey, Payel J. Roy, Katie J. Suda, Tae Woo Park, Timothy S. Anderson
Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, October 25, 2025
Implementing Benzodiazepine Deprescribing in the Primary Care Clinic
Bryant Shuey, MD, MPH; Timothy S. Anderson, MD, MAS; Tae Woo Park, MD, MSc
JAMA Internal Medicine, November 17, 2025
Lessons Learned From Antiobesity Medication Withdrawal Trials
Elizabeth Oczypok, MD, PhD & Timothy S. Anderson, MD, MAS
JAMA Internal Medicine, November 24, 2025
Adherence, Switches, and Drug Spending After Angiotensin Receptor Blocker Recalls and Shortages
Katherine Callaway Kim, Eric T Roberts, Julie M Donohue, Lindsay M Sabik, Chester B Good, Joshua W Devine, Mina Tadrous, Katie J Suda
JAMA Health Forum, November 26, 2025
Trends in outpatient care utilization for patients with established atrial fibrillation before and after the Covid-19 pandemic: a nationwide analysis of claims data
Lanting Yang, Shangbin Tang, Jingchuan Guo, Nico Gabriel, A Mark Fendrick, Nimish Patel, Utibe R Essien, Jared W Magnani, Walid F Gellad, Inmaculada Hernandez
BMC Research Notes, November 27, 2025
Protocol for a Single-Arm Pilot Clinical Trial: Developing and Evaluating a Machine Learning Opioid Prediction & Risk-Stratification E-Platform (DEMONSTRATE)
Je-Won J. Hong, Debbie L. Wilson, Khoa Nguyen, Walid F. Gellad, Julie Diiulio, Laura Militello, Shunhua Yan, Christopher A. Harle, Danielle Nelson, Eric I. Rosenberg, Siegfried Schmidt, Chung-Chou Ho Chang, Gerald Cochran, Yonghui Wu, Stephanie A. S. Staras, Courtney Kuza, and Wei-Hsuan Lo-Ciganic
Journal of Clinical Medicine, November 30, 2025
Impact of study design decisions on identification of treatment initiators of medications for opioid use disorder
Payel J. Roy, Ryan Colvin, Katelin B. Nickel, Rachael K. Ross, Michael J. Durkin, Katie J. Suda, Andrew Atkinson, Anne M. Butler
Addiction, December 14, 2025
Price transparency compliance and variation for proton therapy in the United States
Kasey R Cargill, Noah M Feder, Tyler Wilhite, Walid F Gellad, Heath D Skinner, Yvonne M Mowery, Christopher T Wilke
Cancer Letters, January 2026
|
|
|
|
CP3's Dr. Luke Berenbrok spoke with Newsweek about ways that Medicare users can ensure they are using all of their benefits, especially those for OTC items. He suggests talking with community pharmacists for help with understanding what products are covered.
CP3’s Dr. Tim Anderson was recently featured in The New York Times and Ars Technica for his expertise on GLP-1 weight-loss medications. His work highlights both the growing use of these drugs among older adults and emerging evidence that while GLP-1s can improve heart health, benefits may diminish when treatment stops—raising important questions about long-term use, adherence,
and chronic disease management.
|
|
|
|
We are excited to start the year by sharing our risk prediction work at two conferences: the UPMC Digital Health Summit and the upcoming College on Problems of Drug Dependence's (CPDD) Scientific Conference. At the CPDD conference, we'll join our colleagues from the Brown School of Public Health to share lessons learned from our experiences doing this work.
|
|
CP3 Director Dr. Walid Gellad will moderate the panel “Focus on Non-Government Payers” at the conference Novel Solutions to Address the Rising Cost of Oncology Drugs: Targeting the Demand Side, held March 4–5, 2026 at Georgetown University. The session will examine how private payers shape cancer drug pricing, coverage, and affordability. Get more information or register here.
|
|
|
|
