Public Health Researcher Joins Pharmaceutical Health Outcomes and Policy Faculty

Sept. 6 — The University of Houston College of Pharmacy recently welcomed Moosa Tatar, Ph.D., as an assistant professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Health Outcomes and Policy.

Tatar earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial economics from the University of Sistan and Baluchistan in Zahedan, Iran, and a master’s degree in economics, planning and analysis of economic systems from Azad University, Science and Research Branch, in Tehran, Iran. He completed his Ph.D. in public sector economics at the University of Mazandaran in Babolsar, Iran, and earned a second Ph.D. in health services research, administration and policy from the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Neb.

In addition, Tatar completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Center for Value-Based Care Research at Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. He also served as a visiting scholar at the University of Utah and the University of Missouri-Columbia.

His research focuses on the use of large-scale empirical datasets to explore public health issues and evaluate health policies. From an interdisciplinary standpoint, his research combines data science approaches with applied econometric methods to predict and model public health policy and health care issues. Tatar applies these methods to analyze the effects of policymakers' decisions on complex public health problems, particularly focusing on causes of death, including opioid overdoses, COVID-19 and diabetes. The goal of his research is to achieve health equity, eliminate disparities and improve health. Tatar's research in these areas has informed the impacts of policies on outcomes of treatment interventions, patterns of care and health care costs.

Tatar has authored or co-authored more than a dozen articles in peer-reviewed journals, such as the American Journal on Addictions, American Journal of Public Health, JAMA Network Open, Journal of Global Health, and Scientific Reports. In addition, he has presented research at such meetings as the American Public Health Association (APHA), AcademyHealth and the Society for Medical Decision Making (SMDM).

Tatar’s research has been featured in a plethora of news avenues, such as CBS, CNN, Fox News and The Washington Post. He serves as an ad-hoc reviewer for 12 publications, including the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Annals of Translational Medicine, Drug and Alcohol Dependence, and JAMA Pediatrics. His professional memberships include APHA, SMDM and the National Research Mentoring Network, to name a few.