Dr. Almut Winterstein named chair of the department of pharmaceutical outcomes and policy

Almut Winterstein
Almut Winterstein

Almut Winterstein, Ph.D., has been named chair of the department of pharmaceutical outcomes and policy effective Jan. 1, 2016. She has served as interim chair since Oct. 2014, and her permanent appointment follows a national search.

A graduate of Friedrich Wilhelm University in Bonn, Germany, with a pharmacy degree and Charité Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany, with a Ph.D. in pharmacoepidemiology, Winterstein joined the University of Florida in 2000. She has held the position of professor in the department of pharmaceutical outcomes and policy at the College of Pharmacy since 2012. She also holds an affiliate appointment in the department of epidemiology at the College of Public Health and Health Professions and the College of Medicine. She served as the graduate program director of the department of pharmaceutical outcomes and policy, which included a Master of Science program sponsored by the Food and Drug Administration.

Dr. Winterstein’s research interests focus on drug safety and effectiveness of approved drug products, and the evaluation and improvement of medication use. Since her appointment at UF, she has collaborated with UF Health teaching hospitals on studies aimed at evaluating and improving patient safety and drug therapy outcomes. She has received funding from the FDA, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the National Institute of Health, and various professional associations and state agencies. She currently chairs the Food and Drug Administration/Center for Drug Evaluation and Research Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee, or DSaRM, and serves on the Federal Interagency Work Group on Adverse Drug Events. She was inducted as fellow of the International Society of Pharmacoepidemiology in 2013.

“Dr. Winterstein is an international leader in drug safety and pharmacoepidemiology,” said Julie Johnson, Pharm.D., dean and distinguished professor at the College of Pharmacy. “She has an outstanding record of scholarship, graduate and Pharm.D. education and will be an excellent leader for moving the department of pharmaceutical outcomes and policy to the next level.”