Almut Winterstein, RPH, Ph.D., FISPE, a professor and chair of the department of pharmaceutical outcomes and policy, has been named The Dr. Robert and Barbara Crisafi Chair in Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy. She is the second scholar appointed to the Crisafi endowed chair, succeeding Rich Segal, Ph.D., associate dean for faculty affairs, who originally held the position from 2011-16.
Longtime supporters of the University of Florida College of Pharmacy, Robert and Barbara Crisafi established the endowed chair to carry on his four decades of work in preventing medication errors in the nation’s hospitals. Robert was a 1956 Ph.D. graduate of the college and devoted his career to the successful development of several companies in the pharmacy sector. His pioneering efforts in medication safety resulted in the first unit-dose cups for liquid pharmaceuticals and bar coding technology to safeguard medication use.
Winterstein’s research interests focus on drug safety and effectiveness and the evaluation and prevention of inappropriate medication use. Since joining the faculty in the College of Pharmacy in 2000, 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 multiple federal agencies and currently chairs the Food and Drug Administration’s Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee. She was inducted as a fellow of the International Society of Pharmacoepidemiology in 2013.