MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Ph.D. students in the West Virginia University School of Pharmacy put their knowledge to the test and not only won a team award for their research skills but also had the opportunity to present their findings at the recent International Society of Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) 18th Annual Meeting held in New Orleans, La.
Parul Agarwal, Mayank Ajmera, Amit Raval and Rini Vohra represented the WVU student chapter of ISPOR and competed in the Student Research Competition. The teams were quizzed on research topics including methods, design and statistical analysis. Eighteen teams from universities across the U.S. participated in the competition, and the WVU team won third place.
Ajmera also won the Best Student Podium Presentation award. Ajmera presented his project, “Association between Inhaled Anticholinergics Use and All-Cause Mortality among Elderly Medicare Beneficiaries with Respiratory Diseases.” He was selected for the award out of 60 research presenters. Ajmera is a third-year Ph.D. student mentored by Usha Sambamoorthi, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Systems and Policy.
Sandipan Bhattacharjee, a third-year Ph.D. student, was the recipient of an ISPOR Student Travel award in the amount of $1,300. The award funded the cost of meeting registration, travel and lodging. At the ISPOR Annual Meeting, Bhattacharjee presented his research, “Antidepressant Use and the Risk of Incident Diabetes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” He was also able to attend course sessions during the meeting. Bhattacharjee was one of 30 applicants selected worldwide for the award. He is conducting his research under the mentorship of Dr. Sambamoorthi.
The students are all studying in the Health Outcomes Research pathway of the Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences program. The Health Outcomes Research pathway focuses on the results of healthcare treatments as they relate to the improvement of patient care and quality of life, decreasing morbidity and mortality, health policy research and cost effectiveness of treatments.
WVU ISPOR chapter Student Research Competition team members (front l-r) Rini Vohra and Parul Agarwal and (back l-r) Mayank Ajmera and Amit Raval.
