The Center for Pharmacoepidemiology and Treatment Science (PETS) seeks to advance pharmacoepidemiology and related fields through world-class research and training. PETS is uniquely positioned to take advantage of the opportunities created by the breadth and scale of Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences (RBHS).

RBHS is one of America’s largest, most comprehensive university-based centers for studying and improving human health and health care. Established in 2013 through the integration of Rutgers University with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ), RBHS comprises eight schools and their attendant faculty practices, centers, institutes, and clinics, including two medical schools and schools of pharmacy, nursing, and public health. RBHS is led by inaugural Chancellor Brian L. Strom, one of the founders of the field of pharmacoepidemiology.

Research

PETS faculty are experienced  pharmacoepidemiologists with training and a strong track-record in analyzing large clinical and administrative databases to study the utilization, safety, and comparative effectiveness/safety of drugs and devices and to develop new methods for studying treatment effects in large populations. Methodologic studies performed by faculty have focused on outcome validation, data linkage, approaches for dealing with confounding and bias (e.g., propensity scores, disease risk scores, instrumental variables, marginal structural models), and healthy user and healthy candidate bias. The PETS program is, by design and structure, interdisciplinary and committed not to any particular content area but rather to all relevant disciplines involving question on use and outcomes of therapeutics and diagnostics in large populations. The content interests of faculty members currently include cardiovascular medicine and heart failure, climate, schizophrenia, depression, and other mental disorders, juvenile idiopathic arthritis and other chronic inflammatory diseases. The areas of interest of adjunct PETS faculty from academia and industry are even more wide-ranging.

To perform their research, PETS faculty have access to a variety of local and national electronic health record and claims databases, the Center’s talented team of data analysts and research support staff, and administrative, information technology, and business resources within the Rutgers Institute for Health. They regularly collaborate with researchers across campus, across the US, and internationally, working with investigators from academia, industry, and government. PETS has a weekly research meeting to discuss study and grant ideas, works-in-progress, manuscript drafts, and journal clubs. Additionally, PETS faculty meet monthly with Chancellor Strom and other adjunct PETS faculty for “Storytime with Brian,” which provides additional opportunities to share, discuss, and receive feedback from other experienced faculty on new proposals, ongoing studies, research methods, and recent literature.

Education

PETS faculty are actively involved in educational efforts both locally and globally. At Rutgers, PETS faculty teach master’s and PhD students in pharmacoepidemiology methods as well as mentor undergraduates, graduate students, and clinical trainees in pharmacoepidemiologic research. PETS is working with the Rutgers School of Public Health to develop a certificate program and PhD program focused on pharmacoepidemiology and treatment science.

PETS faculty are also actively involved in the International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology (ISPE), serving in roles on the Education Committee and participating as faculty in a variety of courses at the annual International Conference on Pharmacoepidemiology & Therapeutic Risk Management.

Service

PETS faculty serve in a variety of positions locally, nationally, and globally to advance the health of individuals, communities, and populations. At Rutgers, PETS faculty are also faculty members at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, the Rutgers School of Pharmacy, and the Rutgers School of Public Health. Faculty members are involved in inpatient and outpatient patient care within the Departments of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics in Rutgers Health.

PETS faculty members serve on FDA Advisory Committees, on study sections at the National Institutes of Health, committees at the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, and in various roles within clinical and research organizations, including the Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance and the International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology (ISPE). They also participate in planning committees for the annual International Conference on Pharmacoepidemiology & Therapeutic Risk Management, organizing committee for the annual Asian Pharmacoepidemiology Conference, and on the editorial board for the Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety journal.