In May 2015, Anirban Basu, PhD, was named the next Stergachis Family Endowed Director of Pharmaceutical Outcomes Research & Policy Program (PORPP) in the Department of Pharmacy at the UW School of Pharmacy.
Dr. Basu was a Professor of Health Services and an Adjunct Professor of Pharmacy and Economics, and will maintain the affiliations with Health Services and Economics going forward. He will also co-direct of Program in Health Economics and Outcome Methodology (PHEnOM), a joint program between Departments of Health Services and PORPP. He is a faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and is an Associate Editor for the journals Health Economics, Journal of Health Economics and Observational Studies. He has taught courses on decision analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis and health services research methods.
“He is a well-established researcher and mentor,” said Lingtak Chan, Interim Chair for the Department of Pharmacy. “His work in comparative effectiveness and health economics research is internationally recognized.”
Dr. Basu has received numerous recognitions for his work throughout his career – the NARSAD Wodecroft Young Investigator Award (2005), the Research Excellence Award for Methodological Excellence (2007) and the Bernie O’Brien New Investigator Award (2009) from the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research, the Alan Williams Health Economics Fellowship (2008) from the University of York, UK and the Labelle Lectureship in Health Economics (2009) from McMaster University, Canada.
He completed his undergraduate work in Pharmaceutical Sciences at Jadavpur University in India and then a master’s at the University of Toledo. From there, he delved into Biostatistics at UNC Chapel Hill and earned his doctorate in Public Policy and Health Economics at the University of Chicago, looking at the theoretical foundation of cost effectiveness analysis.
“I feel very fortunate to be selected as the director of PORPP. I think so highly of the PORPP faculty and students,” commented Dr. Basu. “We are primed to make excellent strides in the coming years in the field and I am excited to work with the faculty and students in PORPP and see what we can do together in the next five to ten years.”
In his first six months, Dr. Basu says he will focus on learning the intricacies of the program as PORPP celebrates its 20th anniversary. “I want for us to cherish this milestone year as we look to the future,” he said.