Health Outcomes Fellowship

PHOP Department Partners with Humana to Establish Graduate Research Fellowship Focused on Population Health

December 18 — University of Houston College of Pharmacy's Department of Pharmaceutical Health Outcomes and Policy (PHOP) has partnered with Humana, a leading health and well-being company, and Humana Pharmacy Solutions, Humana’s benefits manager arm, to establish a research-focused fellowship program for PHOP Ph.D. students.

The Humana Graduate Research Assistant Fellowship in Health Outcomes will gain a comprehensive overview of key areas within clinical care provision and population health outcomes; promote the role and value of team-based care to improve population health; and actively participate in specific research areas of integrated care through direct involvement in various projects and assignments with Humana.

Working under the mentorship of PHOP Department Chair and Professor Rajender R. Aparasu, Ph.D., FAPhA, and Associate Professor Hua Chen, Ph.D., M.D., the fellow will be provided research training and experience needed to successfully complete the project based on medical records and claims data to address clinic care provision and population health.

"This is an exciting opportunity for the department and our students to collaborate directly with an industry leader such as Humana on real-world, evidence-based solutions to current health care challenges," Aparasu said.

“We are always looking for ways to innovate and deliver improved clinical outcomes through population health, especially as it relates to our Medicare members,” said Michael Taday, PharmD, Vice President, Pharmacy Clinical Strategies and Operations at Humana. “This new fellowship program allows us to engage the next generation of researchers to work on the evolving role of the pharmacist in population health and how pharmacists can have evidence-based, clinical impact on our members to improve their lives.”

PHOP Ph.D. candidate Swarnava Sanyal has been selected as the inaugural fellow.