Research Summary

As a health equity researcher and pharmacoepidemiologist, I am interested in the influence of healthcare services, especially medications, on population health. For instance, are certain populations underusing medications or using them unsafely? I use an interdisciplinary approach to identify how structural determinants—macro-level systems, institutions, and policies—impact healthcare use, especially medications in diverse populations. 

My research focuses on: ​

• inequities in access to care & health outcomes among immigrants

• racial/ethnic and socioeconomic inequities in cancer care

• drug utilization patterns among diverse populations

• the role of pharmacy systems in determining access to medications

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For example, I co-authored multiple highly publicized studies examining drug utilization patterns, including the prevalence of drug-drug interactions, among children and adolescents in the US (in Pediatrics & JAMA Pediatr.). Recently, I published a study examining medications included and released from the FDA’s Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy program (in JAMA). I have also published multiple studies examining disparities in access to pharmacies, including the rate of closures (in JAMA Intern. Med.), in underserved communities. My dissertation research focused on immigration status and its association with the prevalence and management of cardiovascular disease risk factors (in Am. J. Public Health & CIRC-CARDIOVASC QUAL.). Immigration status may be a critical yet overlooked factor influencing inequities because noncitizens experience significant barriers to legal and social protection, including inadequate healthcare access.  My unique research perspective has been of considerable interest and has garnered funding from the US National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Publications

• More than 50 peer review publications available on PubMed