Spencer Cheng, PharmD, MS, RPh
Spencer is a second-year post-doctoral fellow with the CHOICE Institute and Genentech. She is a pharmacist by training and earned her MS in Health Economics and Outcomes Research from the CHOICE Institute. Currently, she is part of the Evidence for Access team at Genentech, supporting the oncology portfolio, primarily focusing on GI/GU cancers, both marketed and pipeline indications.
During her time at Genentech, Spencer is leading and supporting multiple HEOR projects. These projects include real-world evidence (RWE) analyses using various datasets, health equity studies, economic models, and collaborations with the health policy team to inform future IRA implications.
In the first year of her fellowship, Spencer completed a claims database analysis evaluating the productivity loss of patients newly diagnosed with cancer. This research was recently accepted for publication in the Journal of Managed Care and Specialty Pharmacy. Spencer also has diverse background experiences prior to her fellowship, including roles in HEOR at small to midsize biotechnology companies, market access consulting, global medical affairs, and managed care pharmacy.
As Spencer wraps up her fellowship, she is actively seeking an in-house HEOR role in the pharmaceutical industry where she can continue develop and execute HEOR strategy to increase equitable access to medications in the US and global markets.
Email: spencerjanecheng@gmail.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/spencerjanecheng
Shangqing (Joyce) Jiang, MPH, PhC
Joyce Jiang is a fifth-year HEOR PhD candidate at the University of Washington CHOICE Institute. Before entering the CHOICE Institute, Joyce completed her bachelor’s degree from Peking University and her MPH from Columbia University.
Joyce has extensive research experience in HEOR with a focus on genetic testing in oncology. Her dissertation, which focuses on machine learning models and genomics in guiding personalized colorectal cancer screening, was recognized by the PhRMA Foundation with a Predoctoral Fellowship Award. Additionally, Joyce has conducted multiple research projects in health informatics, value-based care, costs and utilization, using techniques of real-world data analytics, meta-analysis, and economic modeling. Joyce’s work has been published in peer-reviewed journals.
Because of her excellent academic and research performance, Joyce has received several awards and fellowships, such as Graduate School Top Scholar Award, Rubenstein Endowment Fellowship, Graduate School Student Conference Presentation Award, Provost Graduate Fellowship Award, and ISPOR Travel Grant.
Joyce has interned at Merck, Illumina, and BioMarin Pharmaceuticals as a Health Economist or a Data Scientist, where she worked with the HEOR team to generate clinical and economic evidence, research HTA policies, and inform market access strategies. Because of her outstanding performance, Joyce received “Innovation and Scientific Excellence” recognition at Merck.
In addition, Joyce has an entrepreneurial mindset. She is obtaining the Graduate Certificate in Technology Entrepreneurship at Foster School of Business at UW. In 2023, Joyce led a multi-interdisciplinary team and competed in the Hollomon Health Innovation Challenge. Her team, GenePedia, providing a digital solution to help genetic counselors work more efficiently, was recognized as the Best Idea in Digital Health at the Challenge. Joyce also has experience in healthcare business development and venture capital.
Joyce is graduating in June 2024 and eager to look for an opportunity in Market Access Strategies, HEOR, and business development. Her earliest start date is mid-June 2024.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sqjiang/
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=5TRrQbAAAAAJ&hl=en
Email: sjiang93@uw.edu
Arvind Katta, PharmD, MS
Arvind is currently in the second year of his HEOR fellowship with The CHOICE Institute and Bayer. His interest in health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) was sparked by working with the Value and Evidence Strategy team to support the development of multiple pipeline products during an internship with Alnylam Pharmaceuticals while pursuing his PharmD at Northeastern University.
While obtaining his Masters of HEOR from the CHOICE Institute, he conducted a retrospective claims analysis focused on treatment patterns of atrial fibrillation (AF) patients after experiencing a major bleed while taking direct-acting oral anticoagulants (DOACs), currently pending acceptance for publication with JMCP. In addition, he developed a partitioned survival model comparing the cost-effectiveness of multiple androgen receptor inhibitors for metastatic castration sensitive prostate cancer which was presented at the ISPOR Annual Meeting 2023.
While at Bayer, Arvind has led or co-led a wide range of projects including multiple real-world evidence (RWE) studies utilizing retrospective claims and EHR data, cost-calculators, internal database analyses, and the development of a machine-learning based patient identification algorithm in claims data. His work spans multiple therapeutic areas including oncology, thrombosis, chronic kidney disease, and women’s health.
Arvind’s current research interests include RWE, value-based contracting, patient-reported outcomes (PROs), burden of illness, and the early use of HEOR to inform clinical trial design.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arvind-katta-pharmd-ms-886626181/
Email: arvind.katta12@gmail.com
Sara Khor, MASc, PhC
Sara is a fifth-year PhD candidate at the CHOICE Institute. She is trained in both decision science and data science and is passionate about integrating the two in research that ensures equitable healthcare decision making. Her research focuses on three interrelated themes that lie in the intersection of data science, decision science, and health equity: 1) Algorithmic bias and fairness; 2) incorporating health equity into traditional decision analytic frameworks; and 3) generating evidence to inform policies to reduce patient financial toxicity and health disparities.
Sara’s interdisciplinary research has been published in various peer-reviewed journals, including JAMA Surgery, JAMA Network Open, Value in Health, Journal of Clinical Oncology, and Journal of General Internal Medicine. Her research has been featured in multiple media outlets, including STAT News, National Cancer Institute, Medscape, and Healio.
She has been awarded the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship in Health Outcomes Research and the American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education (AFPE) Predoctoral Fellowship in Health Outcomes Disparities. She has also been honored with a Conquer Cancer Merit Award from the ASCO Foundation, the Louis Sr. and Marilyn Garrison Endowed Prize in Health Policy and Economics, and the University of Washington School of Pharmacy Graduate Student Leadership Award.
Sara holds a Masters degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Toronto and held several health economics and health services research positions in Toronto and Seattle between 2009-2021 prior to starting her PhD studies.
Website: https://sarakhor.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sara-khor-59399124/
Publications: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=sara%20khor&sort=date
Email: khors@uw.edu
Jae Rok Kim, PharmD, MS
Jae is a 2nd year post-doctoral fellow at AbbVie currently supporting global HEOR strategy in migraine. Jae has over three years of expertise in the healthcare industry across HEOR, consulting, and payer relations. During his time at AbbVie, Jae has played a pivotal role in managing both US and global HEOR initiatives, contributing to evidence generation and strategic development. With a proven track record in leading real-world evidence (RWE) studies, developing economic models, and designing patient reported outcomes (PRO) strategies, Jae has consistently demonstrated his ability to navigate complex challenges with strategic thinking and analytic precision.
Jae is currently seeking to leverage his experiences in an HEOR role within the pharmaceutical industry. He is motivated by opportunities to contribute to advancements that enhance patient care and outcomes.
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaekim0505/
Email: jaerokk@gmail.com
Stella Ko, PharmD, MS
Stella is a second-year postdoctoral fellow at the CHOICE Institute/Genentech. After completing her first year of the fellowship at the CHOICE Institute and earning her master’s degree in health economics and outcomes research (HEOR), she is currently working at Evidence for Access, Genentech, supporting health economist leads in developing evidence strategies and tactics for immunology/respiratory and ophthalmology portfolios.
During her time at Genentech, she has been involved in numerous HEOR studies, including economic modeling and analyses, patient-reported outcomes research (discrete choice experiment), and real-world evidence generation in preparation of product launch (Xolair (omalizumab) in food allergy).
Before the fellowship, she gained relevant experience at the University of North Carolina (UNC) Health System and AESARA. During her time at UNC Health System, she created a drug monograph for consideration in the Integrated Delivery Network formulary. Additionally, she was a health economics and outcomes research/Market Access Intern at AESARA, organizing an AMCP dossier for a new drug to be considered on the payer’s formulary.
After the fellowship, she aspires to pursue a career in the pharmaceutical industry, focusing on HEOR strategy to play a crucial role in improving formulary access by providing evidence-based insights into the clinical, economic, and humanistic outcomes of healthcare interventions.
Email: stellako@uw.edu
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stellayeko/
Jacinda Tran, PharmD, MBA, PhC
Jacinda is a fifth year PhD candidate at the CHOICE Institute with over 10 years of experience in the healthcare sector. Her extensive background spans health economics and outcomes research, pharmacy, and public health. Jacinda’s career prior to her PhD encompassed significant roles as a health services researcher, government contractor, postdoctoral research fellow at UC San Diego, and practicing pharmacist in ambulatory care and clinical trial settings.
In her dissertation, Jacinda focuses on US HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use and access. She employs advanced methodologies of machine learning, geospatial analysis, mathematical modeling, and economic evaluation to assess the potential impact and value of community pharmacies to expand access to care.
Throughout her PhD, Jacinda has been involved in a wide range of academic and industry research including real world evidence generation, cost-effectiveness and budget impact analysis, discrete choice experiments, causal inference, matching-adjusted indirect comparisons, comparative effectiveness, patient reported outcomes, and early health technology assessment. Her research covers various fields such as access to care, infectious diseases, oncology, pharmacist scope of practice, and inflammatory bowel disease, and her work has been presented at numerous conferences.
Jacinda has collaborated on interdisciplinary, global teams and has served in multiple local and international leadership positions for professional organizations. She is eager to bring her experience, skills, and collaborative spirit to an organization dedicated to generating actionable insights to improve health outcomes and inform healthcare policy and decision making.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacindat/
Email: jntran@uw.edu